Article
Cell Biology
Lisa Dobson, William B. Barrell, Zahra Seraj, Steven Lynham, Sheng-Yuan Wu, Matthias Krause, Karen J. Liu
Summary: This study demonstrates that murine neural crest cells display actin-based lamellipodia and filopodia in vivo. Serine-threonine kinase GSK3 and cytoskeletal regulator Lpd are found to be required for lamellipodia formation while preventing focal adhesion maturation. These findings improve the understanding of cytoskeletal regulation in mammalian neural crest migration and have implications for neural crest anomalies and cancer.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Pokrant, Jens Ingo Hein, Sarah Koerber, Andrea Disanza, Andreas Pich, Giorgio Scita, Klemens Rottner, Jan Faix
Summary: Lamellipodia, actin-based sheet-like membrane protrusions, drive 2D-cell migration, while microspikes are actin-filament bundles embedded within lamellipodia. Ena/VASP proteins and MyoX are found to be essential for microspike formation and their tight functional association in lamellipodia.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Fernando Montano-Rendon, Glenn F. W. Walpole, Matthias Krause, Gerald R. V. Hammond, Sergio Grinstein, Gregory D. Fairn
Summary: PI 3-kinase is crucial for phagocytosis, with PI3,4P2, Lamellipodin, and VASP playing essential roles in actin-driven pseudopod extension and particle engulfment. Phosphoinositides are key regulators of vesicular traffic and signaling during phagocytosis, with locally generated PtdIns(3,4)P-2 influencing pseudopod progression and phagocytosis. Lamellipodin and VASP are important actin-regulatory proteins involved in phagosome formation downstream of PtdIns(3,4)P-2.
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Sofia Julin, Nadine Best, Eduardo Anaya-Plaza, Eeva Enlund, Veikko Linko, Mauri A. Kostiainen
Summary: Stimuli-responsive lipid-DNA origami fibers were formed through electrostatic co-assembly of cationic lipids and 6-helix bundle (6HB) DNA origami. The photosensitive lipid degrades under UV-A light and allows controlled release of 6HBs from the fibers.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Felix Schneider, Isabell Metz, Marco B. Rust
Summary: Directed outgrowth of axons is crucial for establishing neuronal networks. Growth cones, enriched in filamentous actin, guide axon outgrowth by sensing guidance cues and controlling actin dynamics. Understanding the mechanisms of actin regulation is essential for neuronal network formation, and recent progress in tools and techniques provides new opportunities for research in this field.
BRAIN RESEARCH BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Jens Ingo Hein, Jonas Scholz, Sarah Koerber, Thomas Kaufmann, Jan Faix
Summary: Besides Ena/VASP proteins, numerous other factors contribute to filopodia formation.
Article
Cell Biology
Cristian Suarez, Jonathan D. Winkelman, Alyssa J. Harker, Hannah J. Ye, Patrick M. Mccall, Alisha N. Morganthaler, Margaret L. Gardel, David R. Kovar
Summary: The utilization of actin binding proteins to assemble and maintain diverse actin filament networks within cells is a long-standing question in cell biology. Filopodia, which are complex actin structures involved in cell motility, have a distinct architecture and are mediated by different actin elongation factors. This study reconstituted the formation of filopodia-like networks from lamellipodia-like networks using purified proteins, providing insights into the mechanisms of filopodia assembly.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Tomke Sturner, Andre Ferreira Castro, Maren Philipps, Hermann Cuntz, Gaia Tavosanis
Summary: The cytoskeleton plays a crucial role in defining the dendrite morphologies of neurons. In this study focused on Drosophila larvae, the authors used computational modeling to investigate how actin-modulatory proteins (AMPs) contribute to defining neuronal types. They found that the main branches follow general models based on optimal wiring principles, while the short terminal branches require additional growth programs.
Article
Biology
Bahti Zakirov, Georgios Charalambous, Raphael Thuret, Irene M. Aspalter, Kelvin Van-Vuuren, Thomas Mead, Kyle Harrington, Erzsebet Ravasz Regan, Shane Paul Herbert, Katie Bentley
Summary: This study demonstrates the unexpected role of filopodia in speeding up collective endothelial decisions during blood vessel formation, with coupled positive feedback between movement and sensing on filopodia contributing to a bistable switch-like property on Notch lateral inhibition. Computational neuroscience methods suggest that filopodia may function as a primitive form of active perception, providing a new perspective on cell behavior and tip cell selection process. Exciting research directions are discussed based on the conceptual approach to interpreting cell behavior.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Niklas Geue, Tom S. Bennett, Alexandra-Ana-Maria Arama, Lennart A. I. Ramakers, George F. S. Whitehead, Grigore A. Timco, P. B. Armentrout, Eric J. L. McInnes, Neil A. Burton, Richard E. P. Winpenny, Perdita E. Barran
Summary: This study investigates the disassembly mechanisms and energetics of a series of heterometallic rings and ro-taxanes using ion mobility mass spectrometry and density functional theory. It shows that the stability of these complexes can be tuned by altering the metal composition and end groups.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
Wenqing Chen, Lulu Liu, Wentao Yang, Dong Chen, Zhengtai Liu, Yaobo Huang, Tong Zhang, Haijun Zhang, Zhonghao Liu, D. W. Shen
Summary: Recent research has shown the existence of topological nodal-line states and drumheadlike surface states in the centrosymmetric superconductor SnTaS2, offering a promising platform for exploring the exotic properties of topological nodal-line fermions and studying topological superconductivity.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Joana Zink, Maike Frye, Timo Froemel, Claudia Carlantoni, David John, Danny Schreier, Andreas Weigert, Hebatullah Laban, Gabriela Salinas, Heike Stingl, Lea Guenther, Rudiger Popp, Jiong Hu, Benoit Vanhollebeke, Hannes Schmidt, Amparo Acker-Palmer, Thomas Rennee, Ingrid Fleming, Peter M. Benz
Summary: Endothelial tip cells are essential for VEGF-induced angiogenesis, and Ena/VASP proteins, particularly EVL, play a pivotal role in this process. EVL deletion compromises the radial sprouting of the vascular plexus and reduces endothelial tip cell density and filopodia formation, impairing VEGF-induced endothelial cell proliferation and sprouting. This study demonstrates that endothelial EVL regulates sprouting angiogenesis via VEGF receptor-2 internalization and signaling through the MAPK/ERK pathway.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Jonathan H. Gillen, Connor A. Moore, My Vuong, Juvairia Shajahan, Mitchell R. Anstey, Jeffrey R. Alston, Christopher M. Bejger
Summary: This study demonstrates the preparation of main-chain organometallic polymers using Janus NHC linkers and polynuclear cluster nodes for the first time. The crosslinked framework Co4S4-MCOP undergoes reversible electron transfer in the solid state and discrete molecular cluster species can be excised from the framework through digestion in solutions of excess monocarbene. Additionally, a synthetic route to monodisperse framework particles is shown via coordination modulation.
CHEMICAL COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Inorganic & Nuclear
Avik De, Sukhen Bala, Sayan Saha, Krishna Sundar Das, Sohel Akhtar, Amit Adhikary, Arijit Ghosh, Guo-Zhang Huang, Srijita Paul Chowdhuri, Benu Brata Das, Ming-Liang Tong, Raju Mondal
Summary: The study presents the synthesis, characterization, and luminescence-magnetic properties of Ln-clusters using a novel ligand. The clusters exhibit unique features such as chirality and interesting fluorescence and magnetic behavior, with the Gd cluster showing significant cryogenic magnetic cooling behavior. These compounds were effectively used as fluorescent probes for imaging of human breast adenocarcinoma cells.
DALTON TRANSACTIONS
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Stefanie Moritz, Matthias Krause, Jessica Schlatter, Nils Cordes, Anne Vehlow
Summary: Glioblastoma patients face poor prognosis due to aggressive invasion and therapy resistance, with Lamellipodin playing a key role in mediating these processes. The study highlights a novel Lamellipodin-RICTOR-EGFR signaling axis contributing to glioblastoma radiation survival, adding a critical facet to the complex resistance network in glioblastoma.