Efficient Protein Transfection by Swarms of Chemically Powered Plasmonic Virus-Sized Nanorobots.

Transfection is based on nonviral delivery of nucleic acids or proteins into cells. Viral approaches are being used; nevertheless, their translational capacity is nowadays decreasing due to persistent fear of their safety, therefore creating space for the field of nanotechnology. However, nanomedical approaches introducing static nanoparticles for the delivery of biologically active molecules are very likely to be overshadowed by the vast potential of nanorobotics.

Reactivation of endogenous retroviral elements via treatment with DNMT- and HDAC-inhibitors.

Inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases (DNMTis) or histone deacetylases (HDACis) are epigenetic drugs which are investigated since decades. Several have been approved and are applied in the treatment of hematopoietic and lymphatic malignancies, although their mode of action has not been fully understood. Two recent findings improved mechanistic insights: i) activation of human endogenous retroviral elements (HERVs) with concomitant synthesis of double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs), and ii) massive activation of promoters from long terminal repeats (LTRs) which originated from past HERV invasions.

Erratum: DNMT and HDAC inhibitors induce cryptic transcription start sites encoded in long terminal repeats.

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1038/ng.3889.

DNMT and HDAC inhibitors induce cryptic transcription start sites encoded in long terminal repeats.

Several mechanisms of action have been proposed for DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors (DNMTi and HDACi), primarily based on candidate-gene approaches. However, less is known about their genome-wide transcriptional and epigenomic consequences. By mapping global transcription start site (TSS) and chromatin dynamics, we observed the cryptic transcription of thousands of treatment-induced non-annotated TSSs (TINATs) following DNMTi and HDACi treatment.

Zinc and Copper Homeostasis in Head and Neck Cancer: Review and Meta-Analysis.

Metals are known for playing essential roles in human physiology. Copper and zinc are trace elements closely dependent on one another and are involved in cell proliferation, growth, gene expression, apoptosis and other processes. Their homeostasis is crucial and tightly controlled by a resourceful system of transporters and transport proteins which deliver copper and zinc ions to their target sites.