Review
Plant Sciences
Maria Ada Prusicki, Martina Balboni, Kostika Sofroni, Yuki Hamamura, Arp Schnittger
Summary: Live-cell imaging is a powerful tool for understanding cellular processes, especially in meiosis where chromosomes and cellular components exhibit complex dynamics over a short period of time. Recent advances in live-cell imaging now allow real-time analysis of meiotic events in plants.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Julian Haase, Richard Chen, Wesley M. Parker, Mary Kate Bonner, Lisa M. Jenkins, Alexander E. Kelly
Summary: The TFIIH complex plays a crucial role in maintaining chromosome compaction and condensin enrichment by dynamically altering the chromatin environment to facilitate condensin loading and condensin-dependent loop extrusion.
Article
Biology
Martin Houlard, Erin E. Cutts, Muhammad S. Shamim, Jonathan Godwin, David Weisz, Aviva Presser Aiden, Erez Lieberman Aiden, Lothar Schermelleh, Alessandro Vannini, Kim Nasmyth
Summary: The eukaryotic cell cycle is characterized by dramatic changes in chromosomal DNA morphology between interphase and mitosis. Cohesin and condensin enzymes extrude DNA loops to configure chromosomal DNA topology, with cohesin acting during interphase and condensin primarily during mitosis. MCPH1 gene mutations in patients with microcephaly and the deletion of Mcph1 in mouse embryonic stem cells unleash condensin II activity during interphase, leading to compact chromosomes in G1 and G2 phases. This process is inhibited by MCPH1's binding to condensin II's NCAPG2 subunit, highlighting the crucial role of MCPH1 in blocking condensin II's association with chromatin.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Abdelhalim Boukaba, Jian Liu, Carl Ward, Qiongfang Wu, Alexei Arnaoutov, Jierong Liang, Elena M. Pugacheva, Mary Dasso, Victor Lobanenkov, Miguel Esteban, Alexander V. Strunnikov
Summary: Many tumors express meiotic genes that can cause chromosome instability. The abnormal expression of meiotic cohesins is associated with chromosome missegregation, DNA damage, and altered gene expression. Additionally, meiotic cohesins localize to the same sites as BORIS/CTCFL, rather than the CTCF sites associated with somatic cohesins.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Optics
Zewei Luo, Ge Wu, Mengting Kong, Zhi Chen, Zhengfei Zhuang, Junchao Fan, Tongsheng Chen
Summary: Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy is a valuable tool for studying biological systems, but super-resolution FRET imaging in living cells is challenging. In this study, we propose a SR FRET method called SIM-FRET that combines SR structured illumination microscopy (SIM) imaging and acceptor sensitized emission FRET imaging to achieve live-cell quantitative SR FRET imaging. Our method provides enhanced spatial resolution and maintains the advantages of quantitative FRET analysis. We validate the effectiveness of SIM-FRET through simulated models and live-cell samples, and demonstrate its ability to reveal the intricate structure of FRET signals.
PHOTONICS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Adam Coln Hundahl, Arjen Weller, Jannik Bruun Larsen, Claudia U. Hj, Morten B. Hansen, Ann-Kathrin Muendler, Astrid Knuhtsen, Kasper Kristensen, Eva C. Arnspang, Thomas Lars Andresen, Kim I. Mortensen, Rodolphe Marie
Summary: Oral drug delivery is the preferred administration route for most drugs, but it is limited for biologics due to the intestinal barrier. One strategy to improve the absorption is chemical modification through lipidation. However, the mechanistic understanding of the effect is largely unexplored. This study developed a method to quantify peptide transport through a monolayer of Caco-2 cells and investigated the effects of lipidation on transport mechanism.
JOURNAL OF CONTROLLED RELEASE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ryosuke Tany, Yuhei Goto, Yohei Kondo, Kazuhiro Aoki
Summary: This study reports a live-cell fluorescence imaging system for monitoring GPCR downstream signaling dynamics, and observed heterogeneity in GPCR signaling dynamics between receptors and cells.
BIOCHEMICAL JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Richard S. Muniz, Paul C. Campbell, Thomas E. Sladewski, Lars D. Renner, Christopher L. de Graffenried
Summary: Researchers have developed a method for long-term live-cell imaging of Trypanosoma brucei using agarose microwells, allowing high spatial and temporal resolution imaging of cell division and monitoring of cell toxicity. With this approach, they found that asymmetric daughter cells produced during T. brucei division divide at different rates.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eugene Kim, Alejandro Martin Gonzalez, Biswajit Pradhan, Jaco van der Torre, Cees Dekker
Summary: Condensin is a motor protein that organizes chromosomes by extruding loops of DNA. This study investigates how DNA supercoiling affects loop extrusion and provides insights into the loading and formation of supercoiled loops by SMC complexes.
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Joanna M. Wenda, Reinier F. Prosee, Caroline Gabus, Florian A. Steiner
Summary: Centromeres are crucial regions on chromosomes for kinetochore formation and microtubule attachment during mitosis. In the nematode C. elegans, the loading factor KNL-2 plays a key role in CENP-A deposition. Phosphorylation of KNL-2 by CDK-1 regulates the cooperation between centromeres and the condensation machinery, impacting chromosome segregation and condensation levels.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Michal Aleksander Ciach, Grzegorz Bokota, Aneta Manda-Handzlik, Weronika Kuzmicka, Urszula Demkow, Anna Gambin
Summary: Trapalyzer is a computer program that automatically quantifies neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) by analyzing fluorescent microscopy images. It can detect, classify, and count NETs at different stages of formation, providing insight into this process. The program is easy to install and use, and does not require large training data sets.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Kevin Yueh Lin Ho, Rosalyn Leigh Carr, Alexandra Dmitria Dvoskin, Guy Tanentzapf
Summary: In this study, a long-term organ culture and imaging strategy for hematopoiesis in flies was developed, and it was found that fly blood progenitors undergo symmetric cell divisions that are linked to both cell size and spatial orientation. Additionally, infection-induced activation of hematopoiesis was shown to occur through modulation of the kinetics of cell differentiation.
Article
Biology
Ya Min, Stephanie J. Conway, Elena M. Kramer
Summary: This study presents a detailed protocol for live imaging and quantitative analysis of floral meristem development in Aquilegia coerulea. Using confocal microscopy and image analysis software, the researchers were able to study the cellular growth dynamics during floral organ primordia initiation and the transition from floral meristem proliferation to termination. This protocol provides a powerful tool for studying meristem and floral organ development, and can be easily adapted to other plant lineages, including emerging model systems, to explore questions beyond the scope of common model systems.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hanwen Zhang, Xiaohui Lin, Shan Zha
Summary: Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1) and 2 (PARP2) are important enzymes in cells that play a role in DNA repair and are targeted by PARP inhibitors in cancer therapy. Recent quantitative live-cell imaging studies have provided insights into the distinct DNA substrate specificities and recruitment mechanisms of PARP1 and PARP2, which have implications for cancer therapy and the toxicities of PARP inhibitors.
BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY TRANSACTIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Saskia M. A. de Man, Gooitzen Zwanenburg, Tanne van der Wal, Mark A. Hink, Renee van Amerongen
Summary: WNT/CTNNB1 signaling regulates tissue development and homeostasis in multicellular animals by affecting the dynamic distribution of CTNNB1 through regulatory nodes including the destruction complex, nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, and nuclear retention, as revealed by an integrated experimental and computational approach. The study found that a substantial fraction of CTNNB1 resides in slow-diffusing cytoplasmic complexes, which undergo a major reduction in size when the pathway is hyperactivated. The research provides quantitative insight into endogenous protein behavior and sheds light on the molecular mechanism underlying WNT/CTNNB1 signaling.
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Matthias Samwer, Daniel W. Gerlich
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gabriel E. Neurohr, Rachel L. Terry, Jette Lengefeld, Megan Bonney, Gregory P. Brittingham, Fabien Moretto, Teemu P. Miettinen, Laura Pontano Vaites, Luis M. Soares, Joao A. Paulo, J. Wade Harper, Stephen Buratowski, Scott Manalis, Folkert J. van Werven, Liam J. Holt, Angelika Amon
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Iva M. Tolic, Daniel W. Gerlich
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY OF THE CELL
(2019)
Article
Cell Biology
Ana F. David, Philippe Roudot, Wesley R. Legant, Eric Betzig, Gaudenz Danuser, Daniel W. Gerlich
JOURNAL OF CELL BIOLOGY
(2019)
Review
Cell Biology
Paul Batty, Daniel W. Gerlich
TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGY
(2019)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bryan A. Gibson, Lynda K. Doolittle, Maximillian W. G. Schneider, Liv E. Jensen, Nathan Gamarra, Lisa Henry, Daniel W. Gerlich, Sy Redding, Michael K. Rosen
Review
Cell Biology
Gabriel E. Neurohr, Angelika Amon
TRENDS IN CELL BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sara Cuylen-Haering, Mina Petrovic, Alberto Hernandez-Armendariz, Maximilian W. G. Schneider, Matthias Samwer, Claudia Blaukopf, Liam J. Holt, Daniel W. Gerlich
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael Mitter, Daniel W. Gerlich
TRENDS IN BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Michael Mitter, Zsuzsanna Takacs, Thomas Koecher, Ronald Micura, Christoph C. H. Langer, Daniel W. Gerlich
Summary: This study presents a protocol for sister chromatid-sensitive Hi-C (scsHi-C) that allows investigation of the organization of replicated genomes. The scsHi-C technique distinguishes DNA contacts within individual sister chromatids from those between sister chromatids, enabling the mapping of 3D genome organization in replicated chromosomes. The protocol combines chromosome conformation capture with labeling of nascent DNA and has the potential to be applied in various cell types.
Article
Cell Biology
Allegra Terhorst, Arzu Sandikci, Charles A. Whittaker, Tamas Szoradi, Liam J. Holt, Gabriel E. Neurohr, Angelika Amon
Summary: Prolonged cell cycle arrests lead to growth attenuation, activation of the Environmental Stress Response (ESR), and reduced ribosome content. The ESR plays a cytoprotective role during prolonged arrests.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maximilian F. D. Spicer, Daniel W. Gerlich
Summary: Chromosomes undergo transformations during the cell cycle, including transcription, replication, and segregation. These changes are driven by DNA loop extrusion and a chromatin solubility phase transition. Condensins enrich at an axial core, forming loops and providing resistance to spindle pulling forces. Mitotic chromosomes are further compacted by deacetylation of histone tails, making them insoluble and resistant to microtubule penetration. Ki-67 regulates surface properties, allowing independent chromosome movement in early mitosis and clustering during mitotic exit. Recent progress has shed light on the material properties of chromatin and how they facilitate accurate chromosome segregation.
CURRENT OPINION IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Paul Batty, Christoph C. H. Langer, Zsuzsanna Takacs, Wen Tang, Claudia Blaukopf, Jan-Michael Peters, Daniel W. Gerlich
Summary: Genetic information is stored in folded linear DNA molecules inside cells. During cell division, sister chromatids need to be disentangled and condensed into separate bodies for proper separation. In human cells, sister chromatids are extensively resolved during interphase, depending on the loop-extruding activity of cohesin. Increasing cohesin's looping capability can further enhance sister DNA resolution, even in the absence of mitosis-specific activities.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Christoph C. H. Langer, Michael Mitter, Roman R. Stocsits, Daniel W. Gerlich
Summary: HiCognition is a visual exploration and machine-learning tool based on a new genomic region set concept, allowing for detection of patterns and associations between 3D chromosome conformation and collections of 1D genomics profiles. By revealing how transcription and cohesion subunit isoforms contribute to chromosome conformation, HiCognition demonstrates how its flexible user interface and machine learning tools help understand the relationship between genome structure and function.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sandhya Manohar, Gabriel E. Neurohr
Summary: Cellular senescence is a permanent state of cell cycle arrest that plays a crucial role in various cellular functions, including tumor suppression. Recent findings suggest that increased cell size is not only a consequence but also a cause of permanent cell cycle exit, altering normal cellular physiology and contributing to senescence induction. This has potential clinical implications for cancer therapeutics and may impact treatment outcomes for patients.
