An Advanced Mobile Laboratory to enable field-based microbial ecology and cell biology across scales

The paper introduces the Advanced Mobile Laboratory (AML), a field-deployable platform that integrates high-end imaging, cell sorting, and cryo-preparation technologies to enable immediate, multiscale analysis of environmental microbial communities directly at the sampling site, thereby bridging the gap between field ecology and mechanistic cell biology.

Leisch, N., Baars, S., Beavis, T. + 43 more2026-03-16📄 cell biology

Activation of PPARγ redirects fibro-adipogenic progenitors to replace ectopic bone with fat in models of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva and trauma-induced heterotopic ossification

This study demonstrates that the FDA-approved PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone effectively redirects fibro-adipogenic progenitors from forming ectopic bone to generating ectopic fat, thereby eliminating heterotopic ossification lesions in mouse models of both fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva and trauma-induced heterotopic ossification.

Koirala, P., Chen, Z., Hanumantharao, S. N. + 8 more2026-03-16📄 cell biology

Transferrin participates in the pathogenesis of endometriosis by influencing the proliferation, migration and apoptosis of endometrial cells

This study demonstrates that transferrin (TF) is upregulated in endometriosis and contributes to the disease's pathogenesis by promoting the proliferation and migration of endometrial stromal cells while inhibiting their apoptosis, likely through the modulation of ferroptosis-related pathways.

Fang, J., Chaochao, X., Yunqin, N. + 3 more2026-03-16📄 cell biology

The extracellular matrix gene mec-9 regulates C. elegans sensory cilia

This study demonstrates that the extracellular matrix gene *mec-9*, expressed in companion neurons rather than ciliated neurons, non-autonomously regulates *C. elegans* sensory cilia function, protein localization, microtubule structure, and extracellular vesicle shedding, thereby providing a model to investigate the link between cilia and the extracellular matrix in ciliopathies.

Jacobs, K. C., De Vore, D. M., Knobel, K. M. + 8 more2026-03-16📄 cell biology

CHPT1-LCAT rewires lipolysis towards ferroptosis

This study identifies a previously unrecognized intracellular metabolic axis involving CHPT1 and an enzymatically active pool of LCAT that selectively channels diacylglycerol into polyunsaturated cholesteryl esters to drive ferroptosis, revealing that subcellular lipid routing rather than bulk lipid abundance determines ferroptotic vulnerability and offering therapeutic potential for cancer and metabolic liver disease.

Ma, L., Teng, P., Zhang, Q. + 10 more2026-03-16📄 cell biology