Age-related cognitive decline is one of the most haunting aspects of human aging. In a recent publication, Coleen Murphy and colleagues (Kaletsky et al., 2016) describe the transcriptional program that maintains youthful function of aging neurons in the nematode worm.
Chordate claudins are core components of tight junctions. By contrast, VAB-9, a nematode four-pass transmembrane protein related to claudins, localizes to adherens junctions and contributes to cell adhesion and actin - plasma membrane association.
FOXO transcription factors promote longevity from worms to mammals, but the mechanisms by which FOXO extends lifespan have remained elusive. In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, FOXO is now shown to recruit the nucleosome remodelling complex SWI/SNF to its target genes, which is essential for FOXO to elicit stress resistance and longevity.
In the nematode C.elegans, immobility induced by the anesthetic halothane is coupled to its ability to modulate neuronal resting membrane potential, perhaps through effects on leak channels; a similar anesthetic, isoflurane, appears to work a different way.
Autophagy contributes to lipid catabolism through direct mobilization and breakdown of cellular lipid stores. Two recent studies reveal the regulatory mechanisms activated by cells during starvation to ensure that the cellular compartments involved in autophagic lipid catabolism are ready to receive, process and use these lipids. The regulators represent attractive therapeutic targets to help fight lipid-excess-associated diseases.
Aurora A kinase is a key regulator of cell division, whose functions were attributed to its ability to phosphorylate diverse substrates. Aurora A is now shown to have a kinase-independent role in the regulation of chromatin-mediated microtubule assembly.
The tumor suppressor Rb is known to have its hand in many pots. New findings have added another pot to the mix - cell metabolism. This may lead to a better understanding of Rb mutant phenotypes and Rb's roles in oncogenesis.