The EMBO Journal 28, 3459 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.311

Authors: Samy Lamouille & Rik Derynck

EMBO J2822, 3500–3513 (2009); published online 10 September 2009SnoN was first identified based on its homology with the proto-oncogene c-Ski, and has since been implicated as a promoter of oncogenic transformation and cancer progression. Consistent with a role as proto-oncogene, SnoN negatively regulates TGF-β signalling, through its interactions with Smad complexes. Thus, SnoN inhibits the growth inhibitory effect of TGF-β, which is considered as the basis for the tumour suppressor activity of TGF-β signalling. In this issue of The EMBO Journal, Pan et al (2009) now demonstrate that SnoN also functions as a tumour suppressor, independently of its role in Smad signalling. The tumour suppressor role of SnoN results from its interaction with the promyelocytic leukaemia (PML) protein and the accumulation of SnoN in PML nuclear bodies, thus allowing SnoN to stabilize p53 and induce premature senescence.

The EMBO Journal 28, 3461 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.280

Authors: Shinobu Chiba, Anne Lamsa & Kit Pogliano

Proteins in the YidC/Oxa1/Alb3 family have essential functions in membrane protein insertion and folding. Bacillus subtilis encodes two YidC homologs, one that is constitutively expressed (spoIIIJ/yidC1) and a second (yqjG/yidC2) that is induced in spoIIIJ mutants. Regulated induction of

The EMBO Journal 28, 3476 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.277

Authors: Masaki Osawa, David E Anderson & Harold P Erickson

We have created FtsZ-YFP-mts where an amphipathic helix on the C-terminus tethers FtsZ to the membrane. When incorporated inside multi-lamellar tubular liposomes, FtsZ-YFP-mts can assemble Z rings that generate a constriction force. When added to the outside of liposomes, FtsZ-YFP-mts bound and produced concave depressions,

The EMBO Journal 28, 3485 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.282

Authors: Ning Sheng Liu, Li Shen Loo, Eva Loh, Li-Fong Seet & Wanjin Hong

Although many proteins have been shown to participate in ligand-stimulated endocytosis of EGF receptor (EGFR), the adaptor protein responsible for interaction of activated EGFR with endocytic machinery remains elusive. We show here that EGF stimulates transient tyrosine phosphorylation of Tom1L1 by the Src family kinases,

The EMBO Journal 28, 3500 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.250

Authors: Deng Pan, Qingwei Zhu & Kunxin Luo

SnoN represses TGF-β signalling to promote cell proliferation and has been defined as a proto-oncogene partly due to its elevated expression in many human cancer cells. Although the anti-tumourigenic activity of SnoN has been suggested, the molecular basis for this has not been defined. We

The EMBO Journal 28, 3514 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.291

Authors: Rania Azar, Amandine Alard, Christiane Susini, Corinne Bousquet & Stéphane Pyronnet

Assembly of the multi-subunit eukaryotic translation initiation factor-4F (eIF4F) is critical for protein synthesis and cell growth and proliferation. eIF4F formation is regulated by the translation-inhibitory protein 4E-BP1. While proliferation factors and intracellular pathways that impinge upon 4E-BP1 phosphorylation have been extensively studied, how they

The EMBO Journal 28, 3523 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.283

Authors: Karen Shahbabian, Ailar Jamalli, Léna Zig & Harald Putzer

In contrast to Escherichia coli, initiation of mRNA decay in Gram-positive organisms is poorly understood. We studied the fate of the highly structured RNAs generated by premature transcription termination of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent riboswitches in Bacillus subtilis. An essential protein of earlier unknown

The EMBO Journal 28, 3534 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.279

Authors: Nadine Martin, Klaus Schwamborn, Valérie Schreiber, Andreas Werner, Christelle Guillier, Xiang-Dong Zhang, Oliver Bischof, Jacob-S Seeler & Anne Dejean

Heat shock and other environmental stresses rapidly induce transcriptional responses subject to regulation by a variety of post-translational modifications. Among these, poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation and sumoylation have received growing attention. Here we show that the SUMO E3 ligase PIASy interacts with the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase PARP-1, and that

The EMBO Journal 28, 3549 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.278

Authors: Bettina Meier, Louise J Barber, Yan Liu, Ludmila Shtessel, Simon J Boulton, Anton Gartner & Shawn Ahmed

The telomerase reverse transcriptase adds de novo DNA repeats to chromosome termini. Here we define Caenorhabditis elegans MRT-1 as a novel factor required for telomerase-mediated telomere replication and the DNA-damage response. MRT-1 is composed of an N-terminal domain homologous to the second OB-fold

The EMBO Journal 28, 3564 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.289

Authors: So-Hee Lim, Seok-Kyu Kwon, Myung Kyu Lee, Jeonghee Moon, Dae Gwin Jeong, Eunha Park, Seung Jun Kim, Byung Chul Park, Sang Chul Lee, Seong-Eon Ryu, Dae-Yeul Yu, Bong Hyun Chung, Eunjoon Kim, Pyung-Keun Myung & Jae-Ran Lee

The receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatases (RPTPs) have been linked to signal transduction, cell adhesion, and neurite extension. PTPRT/RPTPρ is exclusively expressed in the central nervous system and regulates synapse formation by interacting with cell adhesion molecules and Fyn protein tyrosine kinase. Overexpression of PTPRT in

The EMBO Journal 28, 3579 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.286

Authors: William C Florence, Chengfeng Xia, Laura E Gordy, Wenlan Chen, Yalong Zhang, James Scott-Browne, Yuki Kinjo, Karl O A Yu, Santosh Keshipeddy, Daniel G Pellicci, Onisha Patel, Lars Kjer-Nielsen, James McCluskey, Dale I Godfrey, Jamie Rossjohn, Stewart K Richardson, Steven A Porcelli, Amy R Howell, Kyoko Hayakawa, Laurent Gapin, Dirk M Zajonc, Peng George Wang & Sebastian Joyce

The semi-invariant natural killer (NK) T-cell receptor (NKTcr) recognises structurally diverse glycolipid antigens presented by the monomorphic CD1d molecule. While the α-chain of the NKTcr is invariant, the β-chain is more diverse, but how this diversity enables the NKTcr to recognise diverse antigens, such as

The EMBO Journal 28, 3591 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.290

Authors: Christopher M J Williams, Angelo G Scibetta, J Karsten Friedrich, Monica Canosa, Chiara Berlato, Charlotte H Moss & Helen C Hurst

Overexpression of the activator protein (AP)-2γ transcription factor in breast tumours has been identified as an independent predictor of poor outcome and failure of hormone therapy. To understand further the function of AP-2γ in breast carcinoma, we have used an RNA interference and gene expression

The EMBO Journal 28, 3602 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.288

Authors: Motoyuki Hattori, Norihiko Iwase, Noritaka Furuya, Yoshiki Tanaka, Tomoya Tsukazaki, Ryuichiro Ishitani, Michael E Maguire, Koichi Ito, Andres Maturana & Osamu Nureki

The MgtE family of Mg2+ transporters is ubiquitously distributed in all phylogenetic domains. Recent crystal structures of the full-length MgtE and of its cytosolic domain in the presence and absence of Mg2+ suggested a Mg2+-homeostasis mechanism, in which the

The EMBO Journal 28, 3613 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.284

Authors: Brandy Barren, Lokesh Gakhar, Hakim Muradov, Kimberly K Boyd, S Ramaswamy & Nikolai O Artemyev

The inhibitory interaction of phosphodiesterase-6 (PDE6) with its γ-subunit (Pγ) is pivotal in vertebrate phototransduction. Here, crystal structures of a chimaeric PDE5/PDE6 catalytic domain (PDE5/6cd) complexed with sildenafil or 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine and the Pγ-inhibitory peptide Pγ70−87 have been determined at 2.9 and 3.0 Å,

The EMBO Journal 28, 3623 (2009). doi:10.1038/emboj.2009.287

Authors: Nicholas J Anthis, Kate L Wegener, Feng Ye, Chungho Kim, Benjamin T Goult, Edward D Lowe, Ioannis Vakonakis, Neil Bate, David R Critchley, Mark H Ginsberg & Iain D Campbell

Fundamental to cell adhesion and migration, integrins are large heterodimeric membrane proteins that uniquely mediate inside-out signal transduction, whereby adhesion to the extracellular matrix is activated from within the cell by direct binding of talin to the cytoplasmic tail of the β integrin subunit. Here,