{"title":"Modes of Notch signalling in development and disease","authors":"Sarah J. Bray, Anna Bigas","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00835-2","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00835-2","url":null,"abstract":"Many different animal developmental and homeostatic processes rely on signalling via the highly conserved Notch pathway. Often Notch signalling has iterative roles during cell specification and differentiation, controlling not only the state of progenitor cells but also the fate and function of their progeny. Its roles continue throughout the lifespan of the organism, regulating normal tissue maintenance, as well as operating in response to damage. Consistent with such fundamental roles, the pathway has been associated with numerous diseases, including cancers. Understanding how Notch signalling is orchestrated to bring about different outcomes is challenging, given that it has many diverse functions. Classic models proposed that stochastic differences in cell states were important to polarise signalling during cell fate decisions. Subsequently, the importance of oscillatory Notch signalling was uncovered, and it became clear that it operates in different modalities depending on the regulatory inputs. With the advent of ever-more-sensitive live-imaging and quantitative approaches, it is becoming evident that differences in the dynamics, levels and architectures of Notch signalling are critical in shaping and maintaining tissues. This Review focuses on the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in conferring different modalities on Notch pathway operations and how these enable different types of functional outcomes from pathway activation. We also discuss their dysregulation in cancer. The Notch pathway regulates many developmental and homeostatic processes in animals. This Review discusses how different modes of Notch signalling can have different functional outcomes, and how their dysregulation is associated with cancer states.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 7","pages":"522-537"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143582963","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":"CRISPR–Cas applications in agriculture and plant research","authors":"Aytug Tuncel, Changtian Pan, Joshua S. Clem, Degao Liu, Yiping Qi","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00834-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00834-3","url":null,"abstract":"Growing world population and deteriorating climate conditions necessitate the development of new crops with high yields and resilience. CRISPR–Cas-mediated genome engineering presents unparalleled opportunities to engineer crop varieties cheaper, easier and faster than ever. In this Review, we discuss how the CRISPR–Cas toolbox has rapidly expanded from Cas9 and Cas12 to include different Cas orthologues and engineered variants. We present various CRISPR–Cas-based methods, including base editing and prime editing, which are used for precise genome, epigenome and transcriptome engineering, and methods used to deliver the genome editors into plants, such as bacterial-mediated and viral-mediated transformation. We then discuss how promoter editing and chromosome engineering are used in crop breeding for trait engineering and fixation, and important applications of CRISPR–Cas in crop improvement, such as de novo domestication and enhancing tolerance to abiotic stresses. We conclude with discussing future prospects of plant genome engineering. CRISPR–Cas-mediated genome, epigenome and transcriptome engineering in crops is crucial as the human population grows and climate deteriorates. This Review discusses new CRISPR–Cas tools for precise engineering, and their uses in improving crop traits such as yield and tolerance to climate stresses.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 6","pages":"419-441"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143569572","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":"Dodging mitochondrial mislocalization","authors":"Lisa Heinke","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00840-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00840-5","url":null,"abstract":"Subunits of mitochondrial and cytosolic ribosomes need to be targeted to their correction cellular location. A study identified a mitochondrial avoidance segment in a eukaryotic cytosolic ribosome subunit that prevents its mislocalization to mitochondria.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 4","pages":"253-253"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143560754","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":"Improving chemical reprogramming strategies","authors":"Yanglu Wang, Lin Cheng","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00836-1","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00836-1","url":null,"abstract":"In this Tools of the Trade article, Wang and Cheng (Deng Lab) describe an improved protocol for the generation of human pluripotent stem cells by chemical reprogramming based on the targeting of epigenetic obstacles.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 5","pages":"333-333"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143435205","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":"Profiling the disordered proteome in cells using a chemical tag","authors":"Tze Cin Owyong, Shouxiang Zhang","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00833-4","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00833-4","url":null,"abstract":"In this Tools of the Trade article, Zhang and Owyong (Hong lab) discuss the development of a fluorescent probe that binds disordered proteins in situ and allows their enrichment and identification using a mass-spectrometry-based workflow.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 5","pages":"334-334"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143414665","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":"Regulation and function of insulin and insulin-like growth factor receptor signalling","authors":"Eunhee Choi, Cunming Duan, Xiao-chen Bai","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00826-3","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00826-3","url":null,"abstract":"Receptors of insulin and insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) are receptor tyrosine kinases whose signalling controls multiple aspects of animal physiology throughout life. In addition to regulating metabolism and growth, insulin–IGF receptor signalling has recently been linked to a variety of new, cell type-specific functions. In the last century, key questions have focused on how structural differences of insulin and IGFs affect receptor activation, and how insulin–IGF receptor signalling translates into pleiotropic biological functions. Technological advances such as cryo-electron microscopy have provided a detailed understanding of how native and engineered ligands activate insulin–IGF receptors. In this Review, we highlight recent structural and functional insights into the activation of insulin–IGF receptors, and summarize new agonists and antagonists developed for intervening in the activation of insulin–IGF receptor signalling. Furthermore, we discuss recently identified regulatory mechanisms beyond ligand–receptor interactions and functions of insulin–IGF receptor signalling in diseases. Insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signalling regulates metabolism, cell growth and proliferation and diverse cell-specific processes. This Review discusses recent structural insights into insulin–receptor and IGF–receptor binding and activation, regulation of insulin and IGF signalling and new agonists with therapeutic potential.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 7","pages":"558-580"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143385074","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":"Expanding the genetic code for site-specific lysine lactylation","authors":"Zhi Zong","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00832-5","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00832-5","url":null,"abstract":"In this Tools of the Trade article, Zong (Zhou lab) describes how using genetic code expansion enabled the precise incorporation of post-translational modifications such as lysine lactylation into proteins, allowing the authors to investigate their role in cellular processes.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 4","pages":"252-252"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143083415","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":"Unravelling the complexity of gene regulation through multiplexed protein mapping","authors":"Isabel Nadine Goronzy","doi":"10.1038/s41580-025-00830-7","DOIUrl":"10.1038/s41580-025-00830-7","url":null,"abstract":"In this Tools of the Trade article, Goronzy (Guttman lab) describes the development of ChIP-DIP, a high-throughput, split-pool barcoding method that enables genome-wide profiling of hundreds of regulatory proteins, transforming our ability to study the regulation of gene activity across cell types and biological contexts.","PeriodicalId":19051,"journal":{"name":"Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology","volume":"26 4","pages":"251-251"},"PeriodicalIF":81.3,"publicationDate":"2025-02-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143124317","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}