Control from Without

Control from Without

Courtesy of Bruce Vogel (hemicentin-GFP in C. elegans)

The paper
X. Xu, B.E. Vogel, “A secreted protein promotes cleavage furrow maturation during cytokinesis,” Curr Biol, 21:114-19, 2011. Free F1000 Evaluation

The finding
Successful cell division is critical to the survival of all life and depends on the coordinated actions of dozens of proteins. Bruce Vogel, at the University of Maryland in Baltimore, has shown for the first time that a protein secreted to the outside of the cell, hemicentin, is essential for cell division in the gonads of nematode worms and in the developing mouse embryo.

The history
Vogel cloned the hemicentin gene ten years ago, giving it that name in part because the protein, secreted by muscle and gonad cells, was frequently associated with membrane-spanning areas called hemidesmosomes, where fibrous keratins inside the cell create attachment points with the extracellular matrix outside.

The surprise
Because...