{"title":"A plant histone H3.3-specific amino acid safeguards the deposition of H3K36 methylation for proper development and stress responses.","authors":"Xiaoyi Li, Huairen Zhang, Lijun Ma, Mande Xue, Qian Liu, Zdravko J Lorković, Frédéric Berger, Danhua Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Histone variants are key regulators of chromatin function. The H3 variants H3.1 and H3.3 evolved independently in animals and plants and differ at amino acid position 31, where H3.1 contains alanine (A), whereas H3.3 carries serine (S) in animals or threonine (T) in plants. Although S and T can both be phosphorylated, the biological significance of plants having selectively adopted T over S remains unclear. Here, we report that H3.3T31 plays a critical role in plant development and stress responses by promoting H3K36me3 on H3.3. T31 prevents plant-specific H3K27 methyltransferases ATXR5 and ATXR6 from depositing H3K27me1, which otherwise inhibits the H3K36 methyltransferase EFS. The substitution of H3.3T31 with S or A increases ATXR5/6 activity and elevates H3K27me1, leading to reduced H3K36me3. Together, these findings suggest co-selection of the plant-specific H3.3T31 residue and ATXR5/6 to ensure the preferential accumulation of H3K27me1 on H3.1 and H3K36me3 on H3.3, thereby supporting chromatin function in plants.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"871-885.e6"},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147347475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-04-08DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.003
Niveda Udaykumar, Shannon L McKinney-Freeman
{"title":"A sharper view: Imaging the fetal liver niche for HSCs.","authors":"Niveda Udaykumar, Shannon L McKinney-Freeman","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this issue of Developmental Cell, Vijaykumar et al. interrogate the fetal liver (FL) hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) niche using 3D quantitative microscopy, fluorescent genetic reporters, and transcriptomics, thereby illuminating important HSPC support cells and mechanisms impacting HSPC FL egress across this window of ontogeny.<sup>1</sup>.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"61 4","pages":"711-712"},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147644535","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-04-08Epub Date: 2026-02-05DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.01.007
I-Ling Lu, Mengyi Song, Cinthia Rangel-Sandoval, Juan Moriano Palacios, JaeYeon Kim, Eric J Huang, Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Arnold Kriegstein, Mercedes F Paredes, David H Rowitch
{"title":"Hypoxia-inducible factor signaling regulates embryonic interneuron development, GRIN2B expression and adult cortical function.","authors":"I-Ling Lu, Mengyi Song, Cinthia Rangel-Sandoval, Juan Moriano Palacios, JaeYeon Kim, Eric J Huang, Arturo Alvarez-Buylla, Arnold Kriegstein, Mercedes F Paredes, David H Rowitch","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Although hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are central regulators of cellular adaptation to oxygen and metabolic fluctuations in the mammalian brain, potential roles for HIF regulation during inhibitory neuron development are poorly understood. Here, we report that Nkx2.1-cre-driven conditional deletion of Hif1/2a in the medial ganglionic eminence (MGE) leads to reduced proliferation of Lhx6-positive interneuron precursors, whereas loss of von Hippel-Lindau (vHL), required for HIF degradation, drives increased precursor proliferation. Integrating single-cell transcriptomics, we identified HIF targets regulating proliferation and synaptogenesis. We also show that HIF1A directly activates glutamate ionotropic receptor NMDA type subunit 2B (GRIN2B), encoding glutamate ionotropic receptor N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) subunit 2B. In the adult HIF1 conditional knockout (cKO) cortex, we observed decreased numbers of parvalbumin (PV) interneurons and fewer GABAergic synapses and GRIN2B/Bassoon puncta on layer 2/3 excitatory neurons, resulting in attenuated long-term potentiation. These findings identify non-canonical roles for HIF signaling that are essential for PV interneuron production, GRIN2B expression, and cortical circuit maturation and function.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"773-786.e6"},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146131451","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-04-08DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.007
Virangika K Wimalasena, Andrew J Ewald
{"title":"Active wetting and mechanics of collective cancer invasion.","authors":"Virangika K Wimalasena, Andrew J Ewald","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.007","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this issue of Developmental Cell, Wu et al.<sup>1</sup> identify that invasion of ovarian cancer cell spheroids into the mesothelium is critically aided by apical constriction of mesothelial cells. Experimentally, integrin adhesions linked invasion and constriction, while computational modeling revealed that these cell behaviors are explainable by active wetting theory.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"61 4","pages":"716-717"},"PeriodicalIF":8.7,"publicationDate":"2026-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147644581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-03-30DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.001
Hae-Lim Lee, Axel Poulet, Sudheesh Allikka Parambil, Josien C. van Wolfswinkel
{"title":"Host-transposon mutualism supports regeneration in planarians","authors":"Hae-Lim Lee, Axel Poulet, Sudheesh Allikka Parambil, Josien C. van Wolfswinkel","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.001","url":null,"abstract":"Transposons make up a significant fraction of eukaryotic genomes. They are commonly viewed as selfish elements that are detrimental to their hosts, and they are prime targets of specialized host defenses that constrain their expansion. Mutualistic interactions, in which elements co-exist and benefit each other, have so far not been found between transposable elements and eukaryote hosts.","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"64 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147587415","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unleashing T cell surveillance for the eradication of quiescent persister tumor cells resistant to neoadjuvant chemotherapy","authors":"Haigang Geng, Hongye Wang, Chuanjie Zhang, Yangyang Zhou, Yiqing Zhong, Zhenhua Zhu, Zhaorong Wu, Tangansu Zhang, Nuo Xu, Zhongyi Dong, Haoyu Zhang, Qian Li, Yan Li, Xiangyu Tang, Xifu Cheng, Xiang Xia, Zizhen Zhang, Bo Zhai, Zhigang Zheng, Qing Li, Chunchao Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.020","url":null,"abstract":"Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has shown efficacy in reducing tumor burden in colorectal cancer (CRC), its impact on long-term patient outcomes remains limited. Here, we identify quiescent persister tumor cells (PTCs) as a critical determinant of therapeutic failure. Elevated PTC abundance correlates with poor long-term prognosis, even in patients exhibiting an initial response to treatment. Quiescent PTCs possess aggressive stem-like traits and orchestrate an immunosuppressive microenvironment characterized by CD96<sup>+</sup>CD8<sup>+</sup> T cell infiltration in an orthotopic CRC mouse model. CD96 depletion diverts CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells from an exhaustion trajectory and promotes memory-like phenotypes through enhanced mitochondrial function. Consistently, anti-CD96 therapy effectively eliminates PTCs in preclinical models. We also engineered epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM)-targeted human chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells deficient in CD96 expression, which robustly target PTCs and demonstrate remarkable therapeutic potential against CRC. Overall, our study uncovers CD96 as a previously unrecognized axis of vulnerability within the PTC-driven microenvironment, offering a promising avenue to enhance CRC therapeutic outcomes.","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"22 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147507365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-03-24DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.009
Zhen Zhang, Ben Jin, Chenyu You, Ya Li, Li Lin, Jianlong Sun
{"title":"Hematopoietic stem cells activate a latent differentiation pathway to facilitate recovery after 5-fluorouracil-induced myeloablation","authors":"Zhen Zhang, Ben Jin, Chenyu You, Ya Li, Li Lin, Jianlong Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.03.009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147501745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-03-23DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.017
Stefan R. Torborg, Jung Yun Kim, Anupriya Singhal, Olivera Grbovic-Huezo, Matilda Holm, Katherine Wu, Xuexiang Han, Yu-Jui Ho, Caj Haglund, Michael J. Mitchell, Scott W. Lowe, Lukas E. Dow, Kenneth L. Pitter, Francisco J. Sanchez-Rivera, Andre Levchenko, Tuomas Tammela
{"title":"Disruption of WNT/Notch signaling in pancreatic cancer reveals tumors depend on the intricate equilibrium of malignant cell states","authors":"Stefan R. Torborg, Jung Yun Kim, Anupriya Singhal, Olivera Grbovic-Huezo, Matilda Holm, Katherine Wu, Xuexiang Han, Yu-Jui Ho, Caj Haglund, Michael J. Mitchell, Scott W. Lowe, Lukas E. Dow, Kenneth L. Pitter, Francisco J. Sanchez-Rivera, Andre Levchenko, Tuomas Tammela","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.017","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"219 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147501750","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-03-23DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.018
Miguel F. Tenreiro, Alysson R. Muotri
{"title":"Reconstructing human corticogenesis: Insights from cerebral organoids into neurodevelopment and disease modeling","authors":"Miguel F. Tenreiro, Alysson R. Muotri","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.02.018","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"57 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-03-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147501749","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}