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[
Curr Biol,
2009]
The oocyte-to-embryo transition requires drastic reorganizations within a short timeframe. Recent studies show that, in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, phosphotyrosine-binding pseudo-phosphatases are key regulators of this critical developmental transition.
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[
Curr Biol,
2012]
What are the earliest signals produced at a wound edge that mobilise epithelial cells to heal the wound? Live analysis of wound healing in the worm Caenorhabditis elegans shows that calcium may be the key early trigger.
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[
Curr Biol,
2003]
The centrosome serves as a structural context for cytoplasmic organization. Recent studies on mutants of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans have provided new insight into the framework to which microtubules and key regulators of centrosome behavior are anchored.
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Nat Cell Biol,
2011]
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.
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Cell Metab,
2016]
Dietary restriction is a robust and conserved intervention to slow aging and extend lifespan. In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Hou et al. (2016) use a systems biology approach in C. elegans to uncover key molecular nodes underlying the transcriptomic response to dietary restriction and predict novel regulators of lifespan.
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Cell Metab,
2013]
Extensive transcriptional networks maintain sterol homeostasis across species, underscoring the importance of sterol balance for healthy life. Magner et al. (2013) now show that, in C. elegans, the nuclear receptor NHR-8 is key in regulation of cholesterol balance and production of dafachronic acid, a bile acid-like steroid that controls longevity.
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Mol Cell,
2018]
A new mechanism for clearing protein damage from maturing oocytes has been described in a recent study by Bohnert and Kenyon (2017), who demonstrated that sperm-secreted hormones activate a vascular H<sup>+</sup>-ATPase pump that acidifies lysosomes and thus restores protein homeostasis.
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Cell,
2007]
Gap junctions are increasingly recognized as key regulators of embryonic development, nervous system function, and neoplasia. Chuang et al. (2007) now show that developing neural circuits use communication through gap junctions to establish left-right asymmetry in the central nervous system of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans, revealing that nematodes share a mechanism for left-right asymmetry in common with vertebrates.
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[
Science,
1998]
Animals use apoptosis, or programmed cell death, to eliminate extraneous or dangerous cells. The muscle of this controlled cellular deconstruction is provided by the caspase family of cysteine proteases, which cleave key targets in the cell. Caspases normally exist in cells as inactive proenzymes; proteolytic processing at a few specific sites unleashes their latent enzymatic activity and triggers cell destruction.
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[
Science,
1995]
When it comes to G proteins, cell biologists have amassed a great wealth of material. They have identified nearly 30 of these proteins, which serve as key relays in the pathways that transmit signals from hormones, neurotransmitters, and other cellular regulators from the cell membrane to the interior. And studies with cultured cells have enabled researchers to learn a great deal about the biochemistry of G proteins...