A cost-free CURE: using bioinformatics to identify DNA-binding factors at a specific genomic locus.

Research experiences provide diverse benefits for undergraduates. Many academic institutions have adopted course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) to improve student access to research opportunities. However, potential instructors of a CURE might still face financial or practical hurdles that prevent implementation.

A bioinformatics screen reveals Hox and chromatin remodeling factors at the histone locus.

Cells orchestrate histone biogenesis with strict temporal and quantitative control. To efficiently regulate histone biogenesis, the repetitive replication-dependent histone genes are arrayed and clustered at a single locus. Regulatory factors concentrate in a nuclear body known as the histone locus body (HLB), which forms around the locus.

A venous-specific purinergic signaling cascade initiated by Pannexin 1 regulates TNFα-induced increases in endothelial permeability.

The endothelial cell barrier regulates the passage of fluid between the bloodstream and underlying tissues, and barrier function impairment exacerbates the severity of inflammatory insults. To understand how inflammation alters vessel permeability, we studied the effects of the proinflammatory cytokine TNFα on transendothelial permeability and electrophysiology in ex vivo murine veins and arteries. We found that TNFα specifically decreased the barrier function of venous endothelium without affecting that of arterial endothelium.

The interactome of the copper transporter ATP7A belongs to a network of neurodevelopmental and neurodegeneration factors.

Genetic and environmental factors, such as metals, interact to determine neurological traits. We reasoned that interactomes of molecules handling metals in neurons should include novel metal homeostasis pathways. We focused on copper and its transporter ATP7A because ATP7A null mutations cause neurodegeneration.

The Immunoglobulin-like Gene spe-45 Acts during Fertilization in Caenorhabditis elegans like the Mouse Izumo1 Gene.

The Caenorhabditis elegans spe-9 class genes, which show specific or predominant expression in the male germline, are indispensable for fertilization [1, 2]. However, due to the rapid evolution of genes involved in reproduction, we do not currently know if there are spe-9 class genes in mammals that play similar roles during fertilization to those found in C. elegans.

Neuronal copper homeostasis susceptibility by genetic defects in dysbindin, a schizophrenia susceptibility factor.

Environmental factors and susceptible genomes interact to determine the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders. Although few genes and environmental factors have been linked, the intervening cellular and molecular mechanisms connecting a disorder susceptibility gene with environmental factors remain mostly unexplored. Here we focus on the schizophrenia susceptibility gene DTNBP1 and its product dysbindin, a subunit of the BLOC-1 complex, and describe a neuronal pathway modulating copper metabolism via ATP7A.

Molecular basis of neurodegeneration and neurodevelopmental defects in Menkes disease.

ATP7A mutations impair copper metabolism resulting in three distinct genetic disorders in humans. These diseases are characterized by neurological phenotypes ranging from intellectual disability to neurodegeneration. Severe ATP7A loss-of-function alleles trigger Menkes disease, a copper deficiency condition where systemic and neurodegenerative phenotypes dominate clinical outcomes.

Presynaptic membrane retrieval and endosome biology: defining molecularly heterogeneous synaptic vesicles.

The release and uptake of neurotransmitters by synaptic vesicles is a tightly controlled process that occurs in response to diverse stimuli at morphologically disparate synapses. To meet these architectural and functional synaptic demands, it follows that there should be diversity in the mechanisms that control their secretion and retrieval and possibly in the composition of synaptic vesicles within the same terminal. Here we pay particular attention to areas where such diversity is generated, such as the variance in exocytosis/endocytosis coupling, SNAREs defining functionally diverse synaptic vesicle populations and the adaptor-dependent sorting machineries capable of generating vesicle diversity.