Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-08-12Epub Date: 2026-06-29DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.001
Hui Zheng, Hongyu Zhao, Hong Zhang
{"title":"Two parallel neuronal circuits involving electrical synapse and DAF-7/TGF-β signaling regulate muscle autophagy in C. elegans.","authors":"Hui Zheng, Hongyu Zhao, Hong Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The systemic coordination of autophagy during development remains poorly understood. Here, we identify two parallel neuronal circuits that regulate the autophagy-lysosome pathway in the body wall muscle of C. elegans. One circuit, utilizing UNC-7/UNC-9 electrical synapses between AVA interneurons and A-type motor neurons (A-MNs), promotes autophagy by inhibiting neuropeptide release from A-MNs. The other employs the TGF-β-like molecule DAF-7, secreted from ASI sensory neurons, which activates autophagy via the canonical TGF-β pathway. These pathways converge to regulate cytosolic Ca²⁺ levels in the muscle, thereby maintaining lysosomal integrity. Disruption of either circuit elevates Ca²⁺, overactivating calpain. This leads to the accumulation of non-degradative autolysosomes and accelerates muscle degeneration. Our findings elucidate a neuronal mechanism for controlling muscle autophagy and provide insights into the pathogenesis of neurogenic myopathy.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"1634-1651.e6"},"PeriodicalIF":9.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148351018","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":"Pulmonary cold sensing through Club cells triggers adipose thermogenesis to ameliorate obesity.","authors":"Junkun Jiang, Chengrui Liang, Zelin Wang, Zhangming Lu, Wenjing Yu, Xinran Wang, Chuan Zhang, Zhen-Ning Zhang, Bing Luan","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.003","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.003","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Cold exposure is a well-known trigger for thermogenesis, primarily through skin cold-sensitive neurons activating adipose metabolism via the central nervous system (CNS). However, whether the lungs-also exposed to cold air-function as a cold sensor and regulate metabolism remains unknown. Here, using CC10-Cre- and adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based mouse models, we uncover a pulmonary cold sensing system that drives thermogenesis, establishing a peripheral thermoregulatory mechanism. Specifically, we identify KCNK2 channels in Club cells within the bronchial epithelium as primary pulmonary cold sensors, where cold exposure enhances Irisin expression and secretion via Ca²⁺ fluctuations to drive thermogenesis in adipose tissue. Notably, pharmacological activation of this pathway via fluoxetine tracheal infusion enhances thermogenesis and ameliorates obesity in mice, highlighting a potential anti-obesity delivery strategy.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"1685-1698.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":9.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148600111","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 : 2026-08-12Epub Date: 2026-07-17DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.015
Robin M Skory, Ana Domingo-Muelas, Sarah Declercq, Winter Vandenberghe, Piotr Tetlak, Blake Hernandez, Dominic Stoop, Colin C Conine, Maté Biro, Björn Heindryckx, Nicolas Plachta
{"title":"Live imaging captures the events immediately following fertilization.","authors":"Robin M Skory, Ana Domingo-Muelas, Sarah Declercq, Winter Vandenberghe, Piotr Tetlak, Blake Hernandez, Dominic Stoop, Colin C Conine, Maté Biro, Björn Heindryckx, Nicolas Plachta","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.015","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Fertilization involves dynamic sperm-egg interactions, yet has been primarily studied in static samples. Here, we use high-resolution live imaging to capture fertilization from the moment of sperm binding in zona-intact mouse oocytes. We identify two phases of sperm remodeling: a static phase, during which sperm remain beneath the oocyte cortex as DNA decondensation and histone loading occur, and a mobile phase characterized by stereotyped sperm movement. Initial displacement away from the spindle is driven by cytoplasmic streaming, with manipulations in mouse indicating that sperm movement requires chromatin decondensation and oocyte polarization. Subsequently, polar body cytokinesis generates convergent cortical flows that draw sperm toward the emerging female pronucleus. Finally, we capture sperm-egg fusion in human oocytes and characterize post-fusion events including meiotic resumption and sperm movement, offering a live-imaging description of human fertilization dynamics. Together, these findings provide a continuous spatiotemporal framework for mammalian fertilization, extended by initial observations in human oocytes.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"1620-1633.e4"},"PeriodicalIF":9.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148469484","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 : 2026-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.010
Laurie Exposito, Paula Cambronera-Ghiglione, Maria Elena Fernández-Sánchez, Emmanuel Farge
{"title":"Mechanical control of human embryonic mesoderm fate via β-catenin is conserved with other metazoans","authors":"Laurie Exposito, Paula Cambronera-Ghiglione, Maria Elena Fernández-Sánchez, Emmanuel Farge","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.010","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148715634","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 : 2026-08-12Epub Date: 2026-07-13DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.014
Nadia M E Ayad, Aisha Almsoud, Johnathon N Lakins, Ajinkya Ghagre, Allen J Ehrlicher, Ophir D Klein, FuiBoon Kai, Valerie M Weaver
{"title":"Tissue tension permits β-catenin phosphorylation to drive mesoderm specification in human embryonic stem cells.","authors":"Nadia M E Ayad, Aisha Almsoud, Johnathon N Lakins, Ajinkya Ghagre, Allen J Ehrlicher, Ophir D Klein, FuiBoon Kai, Valerie M Weaver","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.014","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The role of morphogenetic forces in cell fate specification is an area of intense interest. Using an ectopically expressed nonphosphorylatable mutant of β-catenin (Y654F) in human embryonic stem cell colonies, we provide evidence that impeding tension-dependent Src-mediated β-catenin phosphorylation compromises BMP4-driven Brachyury (T) expression. This impediment also disrupts the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition essential for mesoderm specification. Mechanistically, the Y654F mutation prevents the translocation of the junctional and cytoskeletal pool of β-catenin to the nucleus. However, saturation of Wnt signaling with exogenous Wnt3a or the inhibition of GSK3β rescues mesoderm expression. These findings suggest that BMP4 initiates a force-dependent junctional β-catenin translocation upstream of both Wnt secretion and cytosolic Wnt/β-catenin stabilization to drive mesoderm specification. Ultimately, our work highlights the importance of force-dependent Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the self-organization of tissues during developmental processes, such as gastrulation, and emphasizes a role for fine-tuned molecular regulation of the Wnt signaling pathway.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"1652-1666.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":9.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148435676","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 : 2026-08-12DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.013
Kayla C. LaRue-Nolan, Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico
{"title":"KRAS mutations take different trajectories to drive pancreatic transformation","authors":"Kayla C. LaRue-Nolan, Martin E. Fernandez-Zapico","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.013","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.013","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":"15 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":11.8,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148715637","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 : 2026-08-12Epub Date: 2026-07-24DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.002
Lahong Xu, Fausto Andres Ortiz-Morea, Sung-Il Kim, Camilla Ferrari, Yan Yan, Derui Liu, Daniel Osorio Hurtado, James J Cai, Klaas Vandepoele, Libo Shan, Ping He
{"title":"Longitudinal zone- and cell type-specific pattern-triggered immune responses in Arabidopsis roots.","authors":"Lahong Xu, Fausto Andres Ortiz-Morea, Sung-Il Kim, Camilla Ferrari, Yan Yan, Derui Liu, Daniel Osorio Hurtado, James J Cai, Klaas Vandepoele, Libo Shan, Ping He","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.002","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Roots, composed of diverse cell types across longitudinal developmental zones, are vital for plant survival against microbial challenges. Leveraging single-cell transcriptomics and live-cell imaging of Arabidopsis roots, we reveal here that plant-derived phytocytokines elicit more potent immune responses than microbe-derived patterns across root cell types and zones. The differential expression of receptors and key signaling modules in distinct cell types and zones contributes to the response intensity to specific elicitors. Phytocytokines sustain growth-defense trade-offs by suppressing the expression of receptor-like kinase genes associated with root cell division and elongation. The intensity of immune responses in different root zones is associated with fungal and bacterial pathogen invasion sites. Furthermore, motif-informed network inference highlighted key transcriptional regulators driving cell identity-specific transcriptomic immune responses. Our study provides a comprehensive landscape of transcriptional responses in plant roots in response to diverse immune elicitors, highlighting how distinct phytocytokines orchestrate stage- and cell type-dependent transcriptional reprogramming.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"1730-1746.e7"},"PeriodicalIF":9.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13450817/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148583670","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Developmental cellPub Date : 2026-08-12Epub Date: 2026-07-24DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.001
Nilay Taneja, Claire A Looney, Michael F Moubarak, Meriel J McGovern, Kenji Yeoh, Jennifer A Zallen
{"title":"The actin crosslinker Fimbrin is required for force sensing at tricellular junctions.","authors":"Nilay Taneja, Claire A Looney, Michael F Moubarak, Meriel J McGovern, Kenji Yeoh, Jennifer A Zallen","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.07.001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Epithelial cells sense and respond to mechanical forces by reinforcing connections between adherens junctions and the actin cytoskeleton. Tricellular junctions are key sites of mechanotransduction in epithelial cells, but how force responses are coordinated at these structures during epithelial remodeling is poorly understood. We show that the actin crosslinking protein Fimbrin is recruited by forces to tricellular junctions in Drosophila and promotes actin reorganization and cell adhesion during epithelial remodeling. In the absence of Fimbrin, cells fail to reorganize actin or recruit junction-stabilizing proteins to tricellular junctions under tension, disrupting cell adhesion. Conversely, increasing Fimbrin activity constitutively activates multiple force-response pathways, aberrantly stabilizing adhesion. We show that Fimbrin directs force responses by amplifying actomyosin contractility, and that force-regulated actin remodeling and Plastin3 and Afadin localization occur at tricellular junctions in the mouse embryo. These results suggest that conserved mechanisms underlie force responses at tricellular junctions in fly and mouse epithelia.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"1699-1716.e12"},"PeriodicalIF":9.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148583737","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 : 2026-08-12Epub Date: 2026-07-21DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.016
Adrien Grimont, David J Falvo, Whitney J Sisso, Francisco Santos, Christopher W Chan, Paul Zumbo, William B Fall, Katherine Ferrick, Grace Pan, Megan Cleveland, Tomer M Yaron-Barir, Alexa Osterhoudt, Yinuo Meng, Maria Paz Zafra, Andre F Rendeiro, Erika Hissong, Rhonda K Yantiss, Doron Betel, Mark A Magnuson, Steven D Leach, Anil K Rustgi, Lukas E Dow, Rohit Chandwani
{"title":"Molecular dynamics driving phenotypic divergence among KRAS mutants in pancreatic tumorigenesis.","authors":"Adrien Grimont, David J Falvo, Whitney J Sisso, Francisco Santos, Christopher W Chan, Paul Zumbo, William B Fall, Katherine Ferrick, Grace Pan, Megan Cleveland, Tomer M Yaron-Barir, Alexa Osterhoudt, Yinuo Meng, Maria Paz Zafra, Andre F Rendeiro, Erika Hissong, Rhonda K Yantiss, Doron Betel, Mark A Magnuson, Steven D Leach, Anil K Rustgi, Lukas E Dow, Rohit Chandwani","doi":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.016","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Inflammation in the pancreas drives acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM), a progenitor-like state that can be hijacked by mutant Kras in the formation of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. How these cell fate decisions vary according to KRAS mutation remains poorly understood. To define mutation-specific lineage reversion and tumor initiation, we implement Ptf1a-tdTomato mice and multiple KRAS mutants across several genetic, pharmacologic, and inflammatory perturbations in vivo. Whereas KRAS<sup>G12D</sup> co-opts injury to enable lineage reversion, enhancer reprogramming, and tumor initiation, KRAS<sup>G12R/V</sup> cannot sustain dedifferentiated and neoplastic transcriptional and epigenetic programs. Specifically, KRAS<sup>G12R/V</sup> mutants fail to invoke robust EGFR, AKT, and RAC1/VAV1 signaling and to license Pou2f3 and Vav1 in chromatin, such that only constitutive AKT activation is sufficient to rescue the tumorigenic potential of KRAS<sup>G12R</sup>in vivo. As the marked heterogeneity among KRAS variants begins early in tumorigenesis, these data are crucial to deciphering mutation-specific oncogenic trajectories and directing the implementation of KRAS-directed therapeutics.</p>","PeriodicalId":11157,"journal":{"name":"Developmental cell","volume":" ","pages":"1667-1684.e8"},"PeriodicalIF":9.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13404274/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148548163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}