The Role of Med15 Sequence Features in Transcription Factor Interactions.

Med15 is a general transcriptional regulator and tail module subunit within the RNA Pol II mediator complex. The Med15 protein has a well-structured N-terminal KIX domain, three activator binding domains (ABDs) and several naturally variable polyglutamine (poly-Q) tracts (Q1, Q2, Q3) embedded in an intrinsically disordered central region, and a C-terminal mediator association domain (MAD). We investigated how the presence of ABDs and changes in length and composition of poly-Q tracts influences Med15 activity using phenotypic, gene expression, transcription factor interaction and phase separation assays of truncation, deletion, and synthetic alleles.

Colliding public health priorities: A call to improve the understanding of autistic individuals utilizing housing assistance.

The objective of this study was to identify utilization of housing support provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) among autistic people in the U.

Do the Effects of Head Start Vary Across Time Based on Children's Exposure to Different Patterns of Childhood Adversity? Differential Intervention Effects Using Latent Profile Analysis and Time-varying Effect Modeling.

This study examined whether exposure to different patterns of poverty-related adversity (i.e., risk profiles) was associated with longitudinal child outcomes and children's response to Head Start.

Striatal stimulation enhances cognitive control and evidence processing in rodents and humans.

Brain disorders, in particular mental disorders, might be effectively treated by direct electrical brain stimulation, but clinical progress requires understanding of therapeutic mechanisms. Animal models have not helped, because there are no direct animal models of mental illness. Here, we propose a potential path past this roadblock, by leveraging a common ingredient of most mental disorders: impaired cognitive control.

Intracellular pocket conformations determine signaling efficacy through the opioid receptor.

It has been challenging to determine how a ligand that binds to a receptor activates downstream signaling pathways and to predict the strength of signaling. The challenge is compounded by functional selectivity, in which a single ligand binding to a single receptor can activate multiple signaling pathways at different levels. Spectroscopic studies show that in the largest class of cell surface receptors, 7 transmembrane receptors (7TMRs), activation is associated with ligand-induced shifts in the equilibria of intracellular pocket conformations in the absence of transducer proteins.