Antigen presentation by MHC-II is shaped by competitive and cooperative allosteric mechanisms of peptide exchange.

Major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC-II) presents antigens to T helper cells. The spectrum of presented peptides is regulated by the exchange catalyst human leukocyte antigen DM (HLA-DM), which dissociates peptide-MHC-II complexes in the endosome. How susceptible a peptide is to HLA-DM is mechanistically not understood.

Assessing the impact of environmental education in a critical orangutan landscape in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Gunung Palung National Park (GPNP) and the surrounding region in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, host a significant population of Critically Endangered Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) amidst various conservation challenges, including habitat destruction, the illegal pet trade, and human-wildlife conflict. The Gunung Palung Orangutan Conservation Program (GPOCP) employs diverse strategies, including environmental education, to address these challenges. Environmental education helps to connect local students with conservation efforts, educate them about endangered endemic species, and highlight the relationship between human behavior and ecosystem health.

Three-dimensional tissue engineered skeletal muscle modelling facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy.

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by sporadic misexpression of the transcription factor double homeobox 4 (DUX4) in skeletal muscles. So far, monolayer cultures and animal models have been used to study the FSHD disease mechanism and for FSHD therapy development, but these models do not fully recapitulate the disease and there is a lack of knowledge on how DUX4 misexpression leads to skeletal muscle dysfunction. To overcome these barriers, we have developed a three-dimensional tissue engineered skeletal muscle (3D-TESM) model by generating genetically matched myogenic progenitors (MPs) from human induced pluripotent stem cells of three mosaic FSHD patients.

The role of DNA methylation in chondrogenesis of human iPSCs as a stable marker of cartilage quality.

Background: Lack of insight into factors that determine purity and quality of human iPSC (hiPSC)-derived neo-cartilage precludes applications of this powerful technology toward regenerative solutions in the clinical setting. Here, we set out to generate methylome-wide landscapes of hiPSC-derived neo-cartilages from different tissues-of-origin and integrated transcriptome-wide data to identify dissimilarities in set points of methylation with associated transcription and the respective pathways in which these genes act.

Methods: We applied in vitro chondrogenesis using hiPSCs generated from two different tissue sources: skin fibroblasts and articular cartilage.

SLAMF7 (CD319) on activated CD8 T cells transduces environmental cues to initiate cytotoxic effector cell responses.

CD8 T-cell responses are meticulously orchestrated processes regulated by intercellular receptor:ligand interactions. These interactions critically control the dynamics of CD8 T-cell populations that is crucial to overcome threats such as viral infections or cancer. Yet, the mechanisms governing these dynamics remain incompletely elucidated.