229 posts · 131,009 views
HighMag is a blog for great cell biological images. We post images that are visually striking, biologically interesting, and technically challenging.
Erin Campbell
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- June 18, 2012
- 03:52 PM
- 450 views
June 18, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
I love chromosomes. I am always in awe when I see these little things that are chock full of information and instructions for a cell, and in turn, a whole organism. When I think about how finely-tuned the dance is that allows chromosome segregation to happen correctly every time during mitosis, I am beyond impressed. Today’s image is from a paper describing how sister chromatids become bound to one another. Sister chromatids remain held together until anaphase segregates them into two futur........ Read more »
Higashi TL, Ikeda M, Tanaka H, Nakagawa T, Bando M, Shirahige K, Kubota Y, Takisawa H, Masukata H, & Takahashi TS. (2012) The Prereplication Complex Recruits XEco2 to Chromatin to Promote Cohesin Acetylation in Xenopus Egg Extracts. Current biology : CB, 22(11), 977-88. PMID: 22560615
- June 14, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 328 views
June 14, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
You have this friend who is good at everything. He bakes cookies for sick kids at the hospital, he’s grand champion of all trivia nights at your local bar, he takes violin lessons every week, he works out every morning before the sun rises, and it’s just so annnnnooying how perfect he is and how much you want to be like him. Well, take that formins! You’re everywhere, and it’s annoying how good you are at your jobs! Today’s image is from a paper showing a novel role for the Diaphan........ Read more »
Block, J., Breitsprecher, D., Kühn, S., Winterhoff, M., Kage, F., Geffers, R., Duwe, P., Rohn, J., Baum, B., Brakebusch, C.... (2012) FMNL2 Drives Actin-Based Protrusion and Migration Downstream of Cdc42. Current Biology, 22(11), 1005-1012. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.064
- June 11, 2012
- 02:36 PM
- 357 views
June 11, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
If you invited a protein to a party, it’d win your Twister tournament without a doubt. A protein is not just some static stick of cellular function, but can be a complicated structure that bends or twists in three dimensions and can interact with other domains (of itself or another protein). Today’s image is from a paper describing a thorough analysis of one domain on a Shroom protein. Shroom (Shrm) proteins play important roles throughout development. Through their interaction with Rho k........ Read more »
Mohan, S., Rizaldy, R., Das, D., Bauer, R., Heroux, A., Trakselis, M., Hildebrand, J., & VanDemark, A. (2012) Structure of Shroom domain 2 reveals a three-segmented coiled-coil required for dimerization, Rock binding, and apical constriction. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 23(11), 2131-2142. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E11-11-0937
- June 7, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 373 views
June 7, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Al Green was most likely singing “Let’s Stay Together” to some babe he was in love with, but I’d like to imagine he was talking about cells. I’m not sure they play Al Green in the lab that today’s image comes from, but I’d suggest adding his work to their playlist (good advice for everyone, really). Today’s image is from a paper showing how cadherin’s structural changes affect cell adhesion. Cadherins are transmembrane proteins that play an important role in cell-cell a........ Read more »
Petrova, Y., Spano, M., & Gumbiner, B. (2012) Conformational epitopes at cadherin calcium-binding sites and p120-catenin phosphorylation regulate cell adhesion. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 23(11), 2092-2108. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E11-12-1060
- June 4, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 282 views
June 4, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
If you’re like me, you look forward to summer’s juicy blueberries. You’ll sprinkle or mix them into everything you eat, and sneak a big handful every time you open your fridge. You tell yourself that it’s all for the antioxidants. Just make a bigger rationalization leap and say you’re helping blueberries fight alongside dividing mitochondria to protect us from the evils of oxidative damage. Mitochondria are the cell’s main source of energy, and without their dynamic dividing and fusi........ Read more »
Kageyama, Y., Zhang, Z., Roda, R., Fukaya, M., Wakabayashi, J., Wakabayashi, N., Kensler, T., Reddy, P., Iijima, M., & Sesaki, H. (2012) Mitochondrial division ensures the survival of postmitotic neurons by suppressing oxidative damage. originally published in the Journal of Cell Biology, 197(4), 535-551. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201110034
- May 31, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 420 views
May 31, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
I love it when things really throw me for a loop. Like when I heard that Kim Kardashian earned a perfect SAT score and was accepted into Harvard. Okay, that’s not really true…but just imagine our collective “whaaaa?!” In science there are always things that flip your lid, and today’s image is from a paper that does just that. Clathrin-coated pit closure just got more interesting.** Clathrin-mediated endocytosis is a process during which material is brought into the cell through pit........ Read more »
Shevchuk, A., Novak, P., Taylor, M., Diakonov, I., Ziyadeh-Isleem, A., Bitoun, M., Guicheney, P., Lab, M., Gorelik, J., Merrifield, C.... (2012) An alternative mechanism of clathrin-coated pit closure revealed by ion conductance microscopy. originally published in the Journal of Cell Biology, 197(4), 499-508. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201109130
- May 21, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 383 views
May 21, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Whenever we go on a trip, my long-suffering husband quietly puts our luggage next the car and slinks away, trembling and twitching. He knows a mad-woman is ready to pack the trunk, playing luggage-Tetris until it all fits and speaking in tongues. Seriously, though, I’m freaking awesome. That said, I don’t envy the insane packing that a cell must accomplish to jam all of that DNA into neat little chromosomes ready for their own cell division road trip. A recent paper h........ Read more »
Gassmann, R., Rechtsteiner, A., Yuen, K., Muroyama, A., Egelhofer, T., Gaydos, L., Barron, F., Maddox, P., Essex, A., Monen, J.... (2012) An inverse relationship to germline transcription defines centromeric chromatin in C. elegans. Nature, 484(7395), 534-537. DOI: 10.1038/nature10973
- May 17, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 423 views
May 17, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Hit the road, Jack! Cells undergo cell death all the time, but it’s important for a tissue to clear these cells out before problems crop up. Today’s image is from a paper showing the migration of apoptotic cells, and revealing the role a protein called elmo1 in cell corpse clearing. Apoptosis is programmed cell death, and is as part of normal development and tissue function as cell division is. Apoptotic cells must be cleared out of the healthy tissue, and failure to do so can result in i........ Read more »
van Ham, T., Kokel, D., & Peterson, R. (2012) Apoptotic Cells Are Cleared by Directional Migration and elmo1- Dependent Macrophage Engulfment. Current Biology, 22(9), 830-836. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.03.027
- May 14, 2012
- 03:37 PM
- 488 views
May 14, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Transformers may have been the hot toy in the 80s and I definitely remember coveting my big brother’s collection, but they have nothing on the cool ability of cells to completely transform themselves. During epithelial remodeling, a polarized epithelial cell transforms itself into a migratory cell….they truly are “more than meets the eye” (“robots in disguise!” ptchoo ptchoo!). Today’s stunning images are from a paper describing the cytoskeletal changes that drive this transforma........ Read more »
Gierke, S., & Wittmann, T. (2012) EB1-Recruited Microtubule TIP Complexes Coordinate Protrusion Dynamics during 3D Epithelial Remodeling. Current Biology, 22(9), 753-762. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.02.069
- May 10, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 477 views
May 10, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
I’m an old fart…heck, I was born an old fart. So, you won’t be seeing me in da club. But if I ever go, I’ll be reassured knowing that bouncers kick the knuckleheads out and keep the crowd to a safe limit. Though they may be beefy tough guys, bouncers are clearly getting their cues from epithelial cells, which extrude both dying and healthy cells when overcrowded, according to a recent paper. Cell extrusion is the process in which epithelial cells get rid of apoptotic, or dying, cells......... Read more »
Eisenhoffer, G., Loftus, P., Yoshigi, M., Otsuna, H., Chien, C., Morcos, P., & Rosenblatt, J. (2012) Crowding induces live cell extrusion to maintain homeostatic cell numbers in epithelia. Nature, 484(7395), 546-549. DOI: 10.1038/nature10999
- May 7, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 478 views
May 7, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Phosphorylation serves as a molecular switch, and the combinations of different proteins phosphorylated or dephosphorylated at any given time is mind-numbing. Phosphorylation caused one of many “Holy crap, cells are amazing!” moments in college as I realized how the regulation within a cell can be so complex. Today’s image is from a study that looks at the regulation of phosphorylation of a polarity protein. Protein kinase C (PKC) is a family of kinases, one of which is the well-studied ........ Read more »
Mashukova, A., Forteza, R., Wald, F., & Salas, P. (2012) PDK1 in apical signaling endosomes participates in the rescue of the polarity complex atypical PKC by intermediate filaments in intestinal epithelia. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 23(9), 1664-1674. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E11-12-0988
- May 3, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 430 views
May 3, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Where did you come from? Understanding the answer to this question helps you get a grasp on who you are currently, and who you are becoming. Whoa, that was deep…enough of that crap! A recent paper puts the psychotherapy treatment on cells in the developing heart and adds to our understanding of where they are from. The change that takes place in a developing heart is astounding—a simple tube structure with a single layer of cardiac muscle cells called cardiomyocytes must develop into a co........ Read more »
Gupta, V., & Poss, K. (2012) Clonally dominant cardiomyocytes direct heart morphogenesis. Nature, 484(7395), 479-484. DOI: 10.1038/nature11045
- April 30, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 458 views
April 30, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
One might think that once you’ve won your first Nobel Prize, it’s time to kick back and watch the youngsters do the dirty work of solving all of biology’s riddles. No so. Apparently, Nobel-ers don’t like to kick back at all, but continue to push the limits of our knowledge. I think they’re all wearing superhero capes underneath their biologist uniforms (plaid shirts and old jeans?). Today’s image is from the lab of Eric Wieschaus, in a paper that provides a fascinating alternative me........ Read more »
Wang, Y., Khan, Z., Kaschube, M., & Wieschaus, E. (2012) Differential positioning of adherens junctions is associated with initiation of epithelial folding. Nature, 484(7394), 390-393. DOI: 10.1038/nature10938
- April 26, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 449 views
April 26, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
One of my favorite analogies in cell biology revolves around cupcakes and asymmetric cell division, which happen to be two of the most wonderful things in the world. If you cut a cupcake in half down the center, you have two equal pieces with both icing and cake. Or, you can cut the cupcake in half across the center, and have one piece with just icing and one piece with just cake. Today’s image is from a paper describing how a cell divides to result into two equal icing-and-cake cells. Duri........ Read more »
Woolner, S., & Papalopulu, N. (2012) Spindle Position in Symmetric Cell Divisions during Epiboly Is Controlled by Opposing and Dynamic Apicobasal Forces. Developmental Cell, 22(4), 775-787. DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2012.01.002
- April 23, 2012
- 07:12 AM
- 477 views
April 23, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
I love plants. I support our local botanical garden, I’ve been a vegetarian for almost 17 years, and I talk to (and hug) our yard’s new trees to welcome them to the family. Clearly I’m pro-plants. So why aren’t there more plant cell biology pictures on my blog? I have no excuses. Today, enjoy this lovely image from Arabidopsis, the go-to model plant in cell biology.Rapid growth in a developing organism can provide challenges for the tissue, especially in tissues where the cells adhe........ Read more »
Uyttewaal, M., Burian, A., Alim, K., Landrein, B., Borowska-Wykręt, D., Dedieu, A., Peaucelle, A., Ludynia, M., Traas, J., Boudaoud, A.... (2012) Mechanical Stress Acts via Katanin to Amplify Differences in Growth Rate between Adjacent Cells in Arabidopsis. Cell, 149(2), 439-451. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.02.048
- April 19, 2012
- 04:08 PM
- 381 views
April 19, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
“Location, Location, Location!” My husband and I have been watching too many house-hunting shows on HGTV (International Househunters FTW!), so the importance of location has been beaten into my brain. This real estate mantra applies in cell biology too. Today’s image is from a paper describing how the location of a dendrite can affect the strength of the synapse.The synapse is the site of exchange between one neuron and another. The presynaptic terminal of a neuron’s axon will connec........ Read more »
de Jong, A., Schmitz, S., Toonen, R., & Verhage, M. (2012) Dendritic position is a major determinant of presynaptic strength. originally published in the Journal of Cell Biology, 197(2), 327-337. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201112135
- April 16, 2012
- 08:02 AM
- 425 views
April 16, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
I’m a homebody. I admit it. We’re all supposed to be adventurous, live on the edge, blah blah blah….but I thrive at home with my family around me. Maybe this makes me more like a stem cell than you glamorous jet-setters out there, and that seems pretty okay to me. Stem cells must stay in their niche, and a recent paper shows how some stem cells in the fruit fly do this through regulation of asymmetric division. When adult stem cells divide, they produce a daughter cell that will tak........ Read more »
Roth, T., Chiang, C., Inaba, M., Yuan, H., Salzmann, V., Roth, C., & Yamashita, Y. (2012) Centrosome misorientation mediates slowing of the cell cycle under limited nutrient conditions in Drosophila male germline stem cells. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 23(8), 1524-1532. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E11-12-0999
- April 12, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 391 views
April 12, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
“Hang in there!” says the kitten dangling from a tree branch. Maybe this poster from my junior high-era bedroom should have had a white blood cell instead. While defending the body from infection, white blood cells have to anchor themselves to avoid being swept away from the constant blood flow around them. Today’s image is from a recent paper showing how this happens. Leukocytes, or white blood cells, find their way to sites of infection in the body. Once there, leukocytes are subjec........ Read more »
Rullo, J., Becker, H., Hyduk, S., Wong, J., Digby, G., Arora, P., Cano, A., Hartwig, J., McCulloch, C., & Cybulsky, M. (2012) Actin polymerization stabilizes 4 1 integrin anchors that mediate monocyte adhesion. originally published in the Journal of Cell Biology, 197(1), 115-129. DOI: 10.1083/jcb.201107140
- April 9, 2012
- 07:56 AM
- 477 views
April 9, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Membranes really know how to mingle. They are dynamic in the cell—budding away from one organelle to fuse with another, remodeling themselves for the situation. My awkward party persona should take some notes…I’ve never seen membranes hang out next to the Chex Mix bowl all night. Today’s image is from a recent paper on membrane scission and the role of membrane remodeling proteins. The membranes that compartmentalize a cell’s organelles are under constant transformation. Membrane ........ Read more »
Boucrot, E., Pick, A., Çamdere, G., Liska, N., Evergren, E., McMahon, H., & Kozlov, M. (2012) Membrane Fission Is Promoted by Insertion of Amphipathic Helices and Is Restricted by Crescent BAR Domains. Cell, 149(1), 124-136. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.047
- April 5, 2012
- 07:00 AM
- 370 views
April 5, 2012
by Erin Campbell in HighMag Blog
Sometimes I read something that elicits an old-school Joey Lawrence, “Whoa!” I may not be an early 90s heartthrob with voluminous hair, but sometimes the science world makes me sound like one. Today’s image is from a paper on emergence—not a particularly common topic in cell biology, but here the use of microtubules helps to model and test it.Emergence describes the spontaneous order that can arise out of simple interactions of things. Examples of emergent phenomena in nature include ........ Read more »
Sumino, Y., Nagai, K., Shitaka, Y., Tanaka, D., Yoshikawa, K., Chaté, H., & Oiwa, K. (2012) Large-scale vortex lattice emerging from collectively moving microtubules. Nature, 483(7390), 448-452. DOI: 10.1038/nature10874
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