BIOMEDICINE: Converging Checkpoint Signals

Hypergrowth mTORC1 signals translationally activate the ARF tumor suppressor checkpoint.

The ARF tumor suppressor is a potent sensor of hyperproliferative cues emanating from oncogenic signaling. ARF responds to these cues by eliciting a cell cycle arrest, effectively abating the tumorigenic potential of these stimuli. Prior reports have demonstrated that oncogenic Ras(V12) signaling induces ARF through a mechanism mediated by the Dmp1 transcription factor. However, we now show tha...

Converging Hands or Converging Minds?

Interlocutors sometimes repeat each other’s representational hand gestures. We investigated if this is a case of direct mimicry of form, or whether perceiving a gesture gives rise to a semantic representation, which subsequently informs gesture production. For this we used an interactive route description task, in which a confederate’s gestures indicated the route in either the vertical or the ...

Checkpoint Mediators: Relaying Signals from DNA Strand Breaks

The recently identified checkpoint mediator MDC1 facilitates recruitment of DNA repair proteins to damaged sites and establishment of the intra-S-phase cell-cycle checkpoint. Increasing evidence suggests that proteins like MDC1 provide the framework necessary for transducing signals from DNA double-strand breaks.

Postreplication gaps at UV lesions are signals for checkpoint activation.

Exposure of eukaryotic cells to UV light induces a checkpoint response that delays cell-cycle progression after cells enter S phase. It has been hypothesized that this checkpoint response provides time for repair by signaling the presence of structures generated when the replication fork encounters UV-induced DNA damage. To gain insight into the nature of the signaling structures, we used time-...

Tropical Biomedicine