Tension promotes kinetochore-microtubule release by Aurora B kinase.

To ensure accurate chromosome segregation, interactions between kinetochores and microtubules are regulated by a combination of mechanics and biochemistry. Tension provides a signal to discriminate attachment errors from bi-oriented kinetochores with sisters correctly attached to opposite spindle poles. Biochemically, Aurora B kinase phosphorylates kinetochores to destabilize interactions with microtubules.

Photoactivatable trimethoprim-based probes for spatiotemporal control of biological processes.

Optogenetic tools allow regulation of cellular processes with light, which can be delivered with spatiotemporal resolution. By combining the chemical versatility of photoremovable protecting groups with the biological specificity of self-labeling tags, we developed a series of chemi-optogenetic tools that enable protein recruitment with precise spatiotemporal control. To this end, we created a modular platform for chemically inducible proximity (CIP), a technique in which two proteins of interest are brought together by the presence of a small molecule to induce a biological effect.

Reversible optogenetic control of protein function and localization.

Protein-protein interactions are highly dynamic biological processes that regulate various cellular reactions. They exhibit high specificity and spatiotemporal control in order to efficiently utilize finite resources in a cellular compartment. Photoactivatable chemically inducible dimerization (pCID) has emerged as an attractive technique in the scientific community, leading to the development of systems that can be activated with various wavelengths of light in order to manipulate processes on biologically relevant scales with molecular specificity.

Reversible Control of Protein Localization in Living Cells Using a Photocaged-Photocleavable Chemical Dimerizer.

Many dynamic biological processes are regulated by protein-protein interactions and protein localization. Experimental techniques to probe such processes with temporal and spatial precision include photoactivatable proteins and chemically induced dimerization (CID) of proteins. CID has been used to study several cellular events, especially cell signaling networks, which are often reversible.

p63(+)Krt5(+) distal airway stem cells are essential for lung regeneration.

Lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and pulmonary fibrosis involve the progressive and inexorable destruction of oxygen exchange surfaces and airways, and have emerged as a leading cause of death worldwide. Mitigating therapies, aside from impractical organ transplantation, remain limited and the possibility of regenerative medicine has lacked empirical support. However, it is clinically known that patients who survive sudden, massive loss of lung tissue from necrotizing pneumonia or acute respiratory distress syndrome often recover full pulmonary function within six months.