CLCa mediates a novel cross-talk between Wnt secretion and actin organization.

Mammalian clathrin light chains (CLCa, CLCb) are critical players in clathrin-mediated endocytosis. However, their physiological role in contributing to specific cellular processes and early development remains elusive. To elucidate their individual functions, we generated CLC knockout mESCs.

Traffic flow and signals: Regulating the movement within cells.

Intracellular trafficking is known to regulate the outcomes of cellular signalling, with its role in signal generation, reception and interpretation well appreciated. Trafficking within cells can control ligand release, generate and maintain morphogen gradients, regulate ligand uptake within a cell and integrate multiple signals that ultimately result in altered gene expression. This process is especially important over the course of development of multicellular organisms wherein signals within a developing embryo result in the generation of specialized cells.

Soft glassy rheology of single cells with pathogenic protein aggregates.

A correlation between the mechanical properties of cells and various diseases has been emerging in recent years. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been widely used to measure a single cell's apparent Young's modulus by treating it as a fully elastic object. More recently, quantitative characterization of the complete viscoelasticity of single cells has become possible.

A high-throughput screen in mESCs to identify the cross-talk between signaling, endocytosis, and pluripotency.

Embryonic stem cell fate is regulated by various cellular processes. Recently, the process of endocytosis has been implicated in playing a role in the maintenance of self-renewal and pluripotency of mouse embryonic stem cells. A previous siRNA-based screen interrogated the function of core components of the endocytic machinery in maintaining the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells, revealing a crucial role for clathrin mediated endocytosis.

Protocol for measuring mechanical properties of live cells using atomic force microscopy.

Atomic force microscope (AFM) is a powerful and versatile tool to determine the physical properties of cells. The force-distance curves obtained from AFM experiments can be used to determine the stiffness and viscoelastic properties of cells. Here, we present a protocol for the determination of viscoelasticity from live cells such as Drosophila hemocytes or mouse embryonic stem cells using AFM.

Preexisting tissue mechanical hypertension at adherens junctions disrupts apoptotic extrusion in epithelia.

Apical extrusion is a tissue-intrinsic process that allows epithelia to eliminate unfit or surplus cells. This is exemplified by the early extrusion of apoptotic cells, which is critical to maintain the epithelial barrier and prevent inflammation. Apoptotic extrusion is an active mechanical process, which involves mechanotransduction between apoptotic cells and their neighbors, as well as local changes in tissue mechanics.

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) researchers in India.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the nationally mandated lockdown has resulted in facility closures, decreased laboratory activities, and shifting to remote working. The effects of the pandemic have spread across all professions, including academia. Hence, the present study aims to understand the extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) researchers and stakeholders in India.

Balance between autophagy and cell death is maintained by Polycomb-mediated regulation during stem cell differentiation.

Autophagy is a conserved cytoprotective process, aberrations in which lead to numerous degenerative disorders. While the cytoplasmic components of autophagy have been extensively studied, the epigenetic regulation of autophagy genes, especially in stem cells, is less understood. Deciphering the epigenetic regulation of autophagy genes becomes increasingly relevant given the therapeutic benefits of small-molecule epigenetic inhibitors in novel treatment modalities.

Cell-cell adhesions in embryonic stem cells regulate the stability and transcriptional activity of β-catenin.

E-cadherin (CDH1) is involved in maintaining cell-cell adhesions in embryonic stem cells (ESCs). However, its function in the context of cell fate decisions is largely unknown. Using mouse ESCs (mESCs), we demonstrate that E-cadherin and β-catenin interact at the membrane and continue to do so upon internalization within the cell.

Correction to: A cost-effective and efficient approach for generating and assembling reagents for conducting real-time PCR.

In Volume 46 of the Journal of Biosciences, in the article titled 'A cost-effective and efficient approach for generating and assembling reagents for conducting real-time PCR' by Ridim D Mote, V Shinde Laxmikant, Surya Bansi Singh, Mahak Tiwari, Hemant Singh, Juhi Srivastava, Vidisha Tripathi,Vasudevan Seshadri, Amitabha Majumdar and Deepa Subramanyam, published on 27 November 2021 (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-021- 00231-w), the second author's name was incorrectly set as V Shinde Laxmikant.

Clathrin Light Chains: Not to Be Taken so Lightly.

Clathrin is a cytosolic protein involved in the intracellular trafficking of a wide range of cargo. It is composed of three heavy chains and three light chains that together form a triskelion, the subunit that polymerizes to form a clathrin coated vesicle. In addition to its role in membrane trafficking, clathrin is also involved in various cellular and biological processes such as chromosomal segregation during mitosis and organelle biogenesis.

A cost-effective and efficient approach for generating and assembling reagents for conducting real-time PCR.

Real-time PCR is a widely used technique for quantification of gene expression. However, commercially available kits for real-time PCR are very expensive. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has severely hampered the economy in a number of developing countries, resulting in a reduction in available research funding.

Understanding the role of Beclin1 in mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation through CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene editing.

Autophagy is a vacuolar pathway for the regulated degradation and recycling of cellular components. Beclin1, a Bcl2-interacting protein, is a well-studied autophagy regulator. Homozygous loss of Beclin1 in mice leads to early embryonic lethality.

Pluripotency of embryonic stem cells lacking clathrin-mediated endocytosis cannot be rescued by restoring cellular stiffness.

Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) display unique mechanical properties, including low cellular stiffness in contrast to differentiated cells, which are stiffer. We have previously shown that mESCs lacking the clathrin heavy chain (), an essential component for clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), display a loss of pluripotency and an enhanced expression of differentiation markers. However, it is not known whether physical properties such as cellular stiffness also change upon loss of , similar to what is seen in differentiated cells, and if so, how these altered properties specifically impact pluripotency.

Stress - (self) eating: Epigenetic regulation of autophagy in response to psychological stress.

Autophagy is a constitutive and cytoprotective catabolic process. Aberrations in autophagy lead to a multitude of degenerative disorders, with neurodegeneration being one of the most widely studied autophagy-related disorders. While the field has largely been focusing on the cytosolic constituents and processes of autophagy, recent studies are increasingly appreciating the role of chromatin modifications and epigenetic regulation in autophagy maintenance.

Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis Regulates a Balance between Opposing Signals to Maintain the Pluripotent State of Embryonic Stem Cells.

Endocytosis is implicated in the maintenance of embryonic stem cell (ESC) pluripotency, although its exact role and the identity of molecular players remain poorly understood. Here, we show that the clathrin heavy chain (CLTC), involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME), is vital for maintaining mouse ESC (mESC) pluripotency. Knockdown of Cltc resulted in a loss of pluripotency accompanied by reduced E-cadherin (E-CAD) levels and increased levels of transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling.

Creation of Linear Carbon Dot Array with Improved Optical Properties through Controlled Covalent Conjugation with DNA.

Controlled conjugation of fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) with DNA and subsequent fabrication of the CDs into an array through hybridization mediated self-assembly in the solution phase is reported. Covalent conjugation of CD with DNA and the subsequent array formation change the mobility of the CD-DNA array in gel electrophoresis and HPLC significantly. Interspatial distance in the CD-DNA array is tuned by the DNA sequence length and maintained at ∼8 ± 0.

Shaping Cell Fate: Influence of Topographical Substratum Properties on Embryonic Stem Cells.

Development of multicellular organisms is a highly orchestrated process, with cells responding to factors and features present in the extracellular milieu. Changes in the surrounding environment help decide the fate of cells at various stages of development. This review highlights recent research that details the effects of mechanical properties of the surrounding environment and extracellular matrix and the underlying molecular mechanisms that regulate the behavior of embryonic stem cells (ESCs).

Dual repression of endocytic players by ESCC microRNAs and the Polycomb complex regulates mouse embryonic stem cell pluripotency.

Cell fate determination in the early mammalian embryo is regulated by multiple mechanisms. Recently, genes involved in vesicular trafficking have been shown to play an important role in cell fate choice, although the regulation of their expression remains poorly understood. Here we demonstrate for the first time that multiple endocytosis associated genes (EAGs) are repressed through a novel, dual mechanism in mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs).

A MicroRNA/Ubiquitin Ligase Feedback Loop Regulates Slug-Mediated Invasion in Breast Cancer.

The transformation of a normal cell to cancer requires the derail of multiple pathways. Normal signaling in a cell is regulated at multiple stages by the presence of feedback loops, calibration of levels of proteins by their regulated turnover, and posttranscriptional regulation, to name a few. The tumor suppressor protein FBXO31 is a component of the SCF E3 ubiquitin ligase and is required to arrest cells at G1 following genotoxic stresses.

A miR-372/let-7 Axis Regulates Human Germ Versus Somatic Cell Fates.

The embryonic stem cell cycle (ESCC) and let-7 families of miRNAs function antagonistically in the switch between mouse embryonic stem cell self-renewal and somatic differentiation. Here, we report that the human ESCC miRNA miR-372 and let-7 act antagonistically in germline differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). hESC and iPSC-derived primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs) expressed high levels of miR-372 and conversely, somatic cells expressed high levels of let-7.

miR-294/miR-302 promotes proliferation, suppresses G1-S restriction point, and inhibits ESC differentiation through separable mechanisms.

The miR-294 and miR-302 microRNAs promote the abbreviated G1 phase of the embryonic stem cell (ESC) cell cycle and suppress differentiation induced by let-7. Here, we evaluated the role of the retinoblastoma (Rb) family proteins in these settings. Under normal growth conditions, miR-294 promoted the rapid G1-S transition independent of the Rb family.

Regulation of epithelial-mesenchymal and mesenchymal-epithelial transitions by microRNAs.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and the reverse process, mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET), are essential during development and in the regulation of stem cell pluripotency, yet these processes are also activated in pathological contexts, such as in fibrosis and cancer progression. In EMT and MET, diverse signaling pathways cooperate in the initiation and progression of the EMT and MET programs, through regulation at transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational levels. MicroRNAs recently emerged as potent regulators of EMT and MET, with their abilities to target multiple components involved in epithelial integrity or mesenchymal traits.

Generation of induced pluripotent stem cells from the prairie vole.

The vast majority of animals mate more or less promiscuously. A few mammals, including humans, utilize more restrained mating strategies that entail a longer term affiliation with a single mating partner. Such pair bonding mating strategies have been resistant to genetic analysis because of a lack of suitable model organisms.