Non-muscle myosin II (NMII) generates contractile forces, and Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based tension sensors can measure forces in cells. Hart et al. have developed a FRET-based mechanical biosensor based on NMII that is suitable for live-cell imaging. The authors adapted a tension sensor module whose FRET efficiency decreases after physical extension resulting from exposure to mechanical

During development, haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) experiencing high cellular stress produce increased levels of calreticulin, which triggers their engulfment by macrophages. A study now shows that repetitive elements promote the expression of β2-microglobulin (B2M) in HSPCs to prevent their engulfment by macrophages. Pessoa Rodrigues et al. performed a genome-wide screen in human

Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) serve important roles in airway inflammation in asthma. After being activated, ILC2s form lipid droplets (LDs). Rao et al. show that in airway inflammation models, LD accumulation in ILC2s promotes the secretion of HMGB1, a damage-associated molecular pattern molecule, and neutrophil chemotaxis. The researchers triggered airway inflammation through intranasal IL-33

P-bodies contain a variety of RNA and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and modulate their RNA content in response to stress. However, changes in P-body composition in unstressed conditions is less well studied. In recent work, using RNA sequencing and single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization, Safieddine et al. show that mRNA localization in P-bodies is highly dynamic during the cell cycle. P-bodies

Rapid advances in stem cell and bioengineering technologies have sparked a revolution in developmental biology, with stem cell-based embryo models emerging as crucial tools to uncover the intricacies of human embryogenesis. However, making progress relies on precisely posing our questions and selecting our models.

Lactylation, the covalent modification of lysine with lactate, is a recently identified post-translational modification, and the full extent of its substrates as well as physiological role and effects are only beginning to be revealed. Wei Liu and colleagues report the lactylation of TFEB, the master regulator of lysosome biogenesis and autophagy, which results in its stabilization and promotes autophagy

Deregulation of antigen presentation is a common cancer feature that leads to immune escape. A new study reports an approach to reprogramme tumour cells in vivo, enabling them to present antigens, establish systemic immunity and induce tumour regression. Using adenoviral delivery of the transcription factors PU.1, IRF8 and BATF3, Ascic et al. reprogrammed mouse tumour cells into type 1 conventional

RNA polymerases initiate along a genome bound by nucleosomes, transcription factors, chromatin remodellers and other RNA polymerase complexes. Understanding the interplay between transcription and chromatin landscapes has been limited by correlative comparisons. Tullius et al. used a high-resolution, long-read, single-molecule fibre sequencing method — Fiber-seq — to study the competition and co-ordination

Some essential amino acids modulate lifespan; the effect of non-essential amino acids, such as tyrosine (Tyr), is less clear. In a recent study, Kosakamoto et al. examine the contribution of Tyr to Drosophila melanogaster physiology. Using a synthetic diet, the researchers established that Tyr deprivation prolonged lifespan and negatively affected reproductive functions. However, higher dietary amino

Retraction to: Nature Cell Biology 23:758-770 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-021-00702-0 (2021)

Mitophagy, the selective autophagy of damaged mitochondria, is mediated by several receptors, including BNIP3 and NIX, and is important for mitochondrial homeostasis. Mitochondria are also the major source of reactive oxygen species (ROS); mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) can give rise to lipid peroxides, which, in turn, induce ferroptosis, a specific type of cell death. In this study, Kanki and co-workers

SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to various types of cell death including apoptosis, necroptosis and pyroptosis. Liang et al. report the dynamics and features of cell death in infected human airway epithelial cells, the primary target cell type that hosts SARS-CoV-2 replication. The authors first showed that SARS-CoV-2 infection in ACE2-expressing lung epithelial cells initially induced apoptosis and

UV radiation not only induces DNA damage, but also damages RNA, eliciting a ribotoxic stress response (RSR), but its contribution to subsequent cell death remains unclear. Green and colleagues establish a detailed timeline of signalling events activated in cells upon UV damage and report that UV-mediated apoptosis is driven by RSR, and not the DNA damage response. The authors show that the immediate-early

Ferroptosis is a distinct form of iron-dependent cell death that can propagate over a distance through a population of cells in a wave-like process. Co et al. further characterize this phenomenon and report ferroptotic trigger waves as a large-scale cell death mechanism to control limb development. The authors developed a cellular system to pinpoint the time and location of ferroptosis induction through

This issue presents a Focus of specially commissioned articles that discuss cell death in its multiple forms, implications for homeostatic physiology and disease and outstanding questions in this expanding field.