📄 Category

cell biology

415 papers

Cell biology is the study of life at its most fundamental unit: the cell. This field explores how these microscopic building blocks function, communicate, and replicate to sustain living organisms, from the simplest bacteria to complex human tissues. By understanding the machinery inside a cell, scientists unlock secrets about growth, disease, and the very nature of existence itself.

At Gist.Science, we track every new preprint uploaded to bioRxiv within this dynamic category. Our team processes each submission to provide both accessible plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries, ensuring you can grasp complex discoveries without getting lost in dense jargon. Below are the latest papers in cell biology, offering a fresh look at the inner workings of life as they are shared with the world.

📄 cell biology

Human iPSC Models of Ganglioside Deficiency Reveal a Sialylated Lipid Requirement for Plasma-Membrane Organization and Neuronal Activity

Using human iPSC-derived cortical neurons, this study reveals that while both ST3GAL5 and B4GALNT1 deficiencies eliminate major gangliosides, only ST3GAL5 loss triggers a fatal reprogramming of the lipid repertoire that depletes plasma membrane proteins and abolishes neuronal activity, whereas B4GALNT1 deficiency is compensated by precursor sialylated lipids that preserve membrane organization and electrical function.

Barrow, H. G., Han, Z. Z., Nicholson, A. S., Strasser, S., Nash, D. A., Suberu, J. O., Antrobus, R., te Vruchte, D., Pri (…)2026-03-20
📄 cell biology

Age-dependent accumulation of RAD51 on non-damaged chromosomes prevents chromosome segregation in mammalian oocytes

This study reveals that the AAA+ ATPase FIGNL1 prevents age-dependent accumulation of RAD51 on non-damaged chromosomes in mammalian oocytes, a process whose failure leads to defective chromosome condensation and meiotic arrest due to the mislocalization of condensin II and topoisomerase II.

Ito, M., Soeda, S., Kondo, T., Furukohri, A., Kajitani, M., Ogata, R., Ohsugi, M., Shinohara, A.2026-03-20
📄 cell biology

Optimization of isolation, expansion, and differentiation of canine intestinal organoids

This study establishes an optimized protocol for isolating, expanding, and differentiating canine intestinal organoids from the duodenum and colon, demonstrating that 100 nM PGE2 enhances growth and a two-phase differentiation approach yields functional, marker-positive models suitable for future disease research and translational applications despite a limited sample size.

Dias, I. E., Ritchie, A., Delemarre, M., Schneeberger, K., Viegas, C. A., Dias, I. R., Carvalho, P. P., Spee, B.2026-03-20
📄 cell biology

Analysis of cancer mutations introduced into the Drosophila Notch Negative Regulatory Region uncovers a diversity of regulatory outcomes

This study characterizes the diverse regulatory outcomes of introducing over 20 human cancer mutations into the Drosophila Notch Negative Regulatory Region, revealing distinct mechanisms of constitutive activation and synergy with PEST deletions that depend on the specific mutation location and its impact on protein stability and ligand responsiveness.

Shimizu, H., Baron, M.2026-03-19
📄 cell biology

Species-specific small models for cell type classification approach the performance of large single cell foundation models

The paper introduces CytoType and its simplified variant ESM-CE, species-specific models that leverage pre-trained protein embeddings to achieve cell type classification performance comparable to large foundation models while using orders of magnitude fewer parameters and offering greater interpretability.

Mahmoudabadi, G., Krishnan, L., Ganapathi, T., Pearce, J., Quake, S., Karaletsos, T.2026-03-18
📄 cell biology

A Rare T-Cell Factor 4 Lineage-negative Epithelial Stem Cell Supports Wound Repair and APC-deletion-induced Colon Tumorigenesis

This study identifies a rare Tcf4 lineage-negative stem cell population in the colon that is essential for wound repair and serves as the specific cell of origin for Apc-deletion-induced tumors in a Tcf4-haploinsufficient background.

Thorpe, A. V., Mosbruger, T., Georges, S. J., Crowley, O. M., Tuohy, T., Dalley, B., Bice, B. D., Fuller, A. K., Hidalgo (…)2026-03-18