Journal of Cell Science

Open figure viewer How would you explain the main findings of your paper in lay terms? Cells constantly receive information from their surroundings through receptors on their surface. When these receptors detect signals, they activate signaling pathways that allow cells to adapt, respond to changes in their environment and survive.

Author contributions Conceptualization: W.Z., Z.L., Y.S.S.; Data curation: W.Z., S.T., X.-y.-T, J.L., Z.L., Y.S.S.; Formal analysis: W.Z., Z.L., Y.S.S.; Funding acquisition: P.H., Z.L., Y.S.S.; Investigation: W.Z., Z.L.; Methodology: W.Z., J.L., Z.L., Y.S.S.; Project administration: W.Z., Z.L., Y.S.S.; Resources: Y.S.S.; Software: W.Z.; Supervision: Y.S.S.; Validation: W.Z.; Visualization: W.Z.; Writing – original draft: W.Z., Z.L., Y.S.S.; Writing – review & editing: W.Z., S.T., X.-y.-T,...

Open figure viewer The axon initial segment (AIS) is the main region of a neuron where action potentials are initiated. This requires the clustering of transmembrane ion channels, whose localisation in turn relies on the clustering of scaffold proteins that facilitate attachment of the channels to the cytoskeleton. However, the mechanisms driving the clustering of these scaffold proteins remains unclear.

Open figure viewer Under nutrient starvation, cells undergo autophagy to recycle cellular components. The cytoskeleton is known to play a key role in this, but the involvement of intermediate filament networks remains overlooked. Here, Quentin Frenger, Etienne Morel and colleagues (Frenger et al., 2026) use super resolution microscopy to study vimentin intermediate filaments during the early stages of starvation-induced autophagy in cultured mammalian cells.

Open figure viewer Keywords: Austrofundulus limnaeus, Anoxia, ATR, Cell cycle, Replication stress Subjects: Biochemistry, Cell biology and disease, Cell cycle, Imaging Maintaining a stable genome is a vital requirement for cell and organismal survival and proliferation, with errors in processes involved in genome maintenance potentially leading to disease, dysfunction and death (Tomasetti et al., 2017; Zeman and Cimprich, 2014).

Open figure viewer How would you explain the main findings of your paper in lay terms? Parkinson's disease is usually thought of as a brain condition, but the most common genetic cause – a variant in a gene called LRRK2 – also affects immune cells. We studied how this variant (called G2019S) affects macrophages, the immune cells responsible for clearing up damage and debris in our tissues. Macrophages contain small compartments called lysosomes that break down waste materials inside the cell.

Open figure viewer How would you explain the main findings of your paper in lay terms? The ability of cells to divide is reliant upon intact genomes. When environmental conditions change and become damaging to DNA, cells typically stop dividing, and these conditions can potentially lead to cell death.

Open figure viewer How would you explain the main findings of your paper in lay terms? In this study, we investigated the effects of a protein variant that is found in people with Parkinson's Disease (PD), named LRRK2G2019S, in a model of immune cells called RAW264.7 macrophages. We used this model due to the evidence that some neurodegenerative diseases are heavily influenced by the malign activation of the immune system.

Open figure viewer Epithelial homeostasis and morphogenesis are based on the fine tuning of cell elimination, inclusion and division to maintain tissue barrier function. The modulation of cell number within epithelia poses a complex challenge, as tissue barrier function needs to be maintained at all times. As a result, the appearance of epithelia coincide with the development of complex remodeling steps that allow the exclusion of cells from (or integration of cells into) the tissue.

Open figure viewer The G2019S gain-of-function variant in LRRK2 (LRRK2G2019S) causes familial Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent research indicates that LRRK2 has highly cell type- and context-specific impacts on responses to cell stress, such as lysosome damage or dysregulated iron metabolism, both of which occur in PD. Macrophages express high levels of LRRK2, providing an interesting system to explore how LRRK2G2019S affects cell function.