Mitotic bookmarking by transcription factors: be aware of redundancy.

A recent report by Chervova, Molliex, et al. shows redundant functions for the transcription factors (TFs) ESRRB and NR5A2 as mitotic bookmarkers in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. These occupy some of their target sites in mitotic chromatin, ensuring their robust reactivation after cell division, including markers and regulators of pluripotency.

Perovskite Solar Modules: Design Optimization.

The increasing demand for solar energy has led researchers worldwide to develop new photovoltaic technologies. Among these, perovskite materials are one of the most promising candidates, with a performance evolution unparalleled in the photovoltaic field. However, this thin-film technology is not yet available at a commercial level, mainly due to upscaling issues.

Function and regulation of transcription factors during mitosis-to-G1 transition.

During cell division, drastic cellular changes characteristic of mitosis result in the inactivation of the transcriptional machinery, and global downregulation of transcription. Sequence-specific transcription factors (TFs) have thus been considered mere bystanders, devoid of any regulatory function during mitosis. This view changed significantly in recent years, upon the conclusion that many TFs associate with condensed chromosomes during cell division, even occupying a fraction of their genomic target sites in mitotic chromatin.

Function of Proneural Genes Ascl1 and Asense in Neurogenesis: How Similar Are They?

Proneural genes were initially identified in , where pioneer work on these important regulators of neural development was performed, and from which the term proneural function was coined. Subsequently, their counterparts in vertebrates were identified, and their function in neural development extensively characterized. The function of proneural transcription factors in flies and vertebrates is, however, very distinct.

Cadherin Expression and EMT: A Focus on Gliomas.

Cadherins are calcium-binding proteins with a pivotal role in cell adhesion and tissue homeostasis. The cadherin-dependent mechanisms of cell adhesion and migration are exploited by cancer cells, contributing to tumor invasiveness and dissemination. In particular, cadherin switch is a hallmark of epithelial to mesenchymal transition, a complex development process vastly described in the progression of most epithelial cancers.

Proneural genes define ground-state rules to regulate neurogenic patterning and cortical folding.

Asymmetric neuronal expansion is thought to drive evolutionary transitions between lissencephalic and gyrencephalic cerebral cortices. We report that Neurog2 and Ascl1 proneural genes together sustain neurogenic continuity and lissencephaly in rodent cortices. Using transgenic reporter mice and human cerebral organoids, we found that Neurog2 and Ascl1 expression defines a continuum of four lineage-biased neural progenitor cell (NPC) pools.

Hierarchical reactivation of transcription during mitosis-to-G1 transition by Brn2 and Ascl1 in neural stem cells.

During mitosis, chromatin condensation is accompanied by a global arrest of transcription. Recent studies suggest transcriptional reactivation upon mitotic exit occurs in temporally coordinated waves, but the underlying regulatory principles have yet to be elucidated. In particular, the contribution of sequence-specific transcription factors (TFs) remains poorly understood.

Tlx3 Exerts Direct Control in Specifying Excitatory Over Inhibitory Neurons in the Dorsal Spinal Cord.

The spinal cord dorsal horn is a major station for integration and relay of somatosensory information and comprises both excitatory and inhibitory neuronal populations. The homeobox gene Tlx3 acts as a selector gene to control the development of late-born excitatory (dILB) neurons by specifying glutamatergic transmitter fate in dorsal spinal cord. However, since Tlx3 direct transcriptional targets remain largely unknown, it remains to be uncovered how Tlx3 functions to promote excitatory cell fate.

Chicken eggs as a surveillance tool for malaria and leishmaniasis vector presence.

Introduction: Malaria and leishmaniases are transmitted by vectors during blood-feeding. Vector-infected animals develop antibodies against the vector's saliva. This study evaluated IgY antibody detection in the chicken eggs exposed to bites from Migonemyia migonei, Lutzomyia longipalpis and Anopheles aquasalis.

PAD2-Mediated Citrullination Contributes to Efficient Oligodendrocyte Differentiation and Myelination.

Citrullination, the deimination of peptidylarginine residues into peptidylcitrulline, has been implicated in the etiology of several diseases. In multiple sclerosis, citrullination is thought to be a major driver of pathology through hypercitrullination and destabilization of myelin. As such, inhibition of citrullination has been suggested as a therapeutic strategy for MS.

A Zeb2-miR-200c loop controls midbrain dopaminergic neuron neurogenesis and migration.

Zeb2 is a homeodomain transcription factor that plays pleiotropic functions during embryogenesis, but its role for midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neuron development is unknown. Here we report that is highly expressed in progenitor cells in the ventricular zone of the midbrain floor plate and downregulated in postmitotic neuroblasts. Functional experiments show that expression in the embryonic ventral midbrain is dynamically regulated by a negative feedback loop that involves .

Zeb1 potentiates genome-wide gene transcription with Lef1 to promote glioblastoma cell invasion.

Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive brain tumor, with a subpopulation of stem-like cells thought to mediate its recurring behavior and therapeutic resistance. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) inducing factor Zeb1 was linked to tumor initiation, invasion, and resistance to therapy in glioblastoma, but how Zeb1 functions at molecular level and what genes it regulates remain poorly understood. Contrary to the common view that EMT factors act as transcriptional repressors, here we show that genome-wide binding of Zeb1 associates with both activation and repression of gene expression in glioblastoma stem-like cells.

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation from Mouse Embryonic Tissue or Adherent Cells in Culture, Followed by Next-Generation Sequencing.

Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is considered the method of choice for characterizing interactions between a protein of interest and specific genomic regions. It is of paramount importance in gene-regulation studies, as it can be used to map the target regions of sequence-specific transcription factors and cofactors, or histone marks that characterize distinct chromatin states. ChIP can be used directly to probe interactions with candidate regions (ChIP-PCR), or coupled to Next-Generation Sequencing (ChIP-seq) to generate genome-wide information.

Multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa survey in a stream receiving effluents from ineffective wastewater hospital plants.

Background: Multi-drug resistant forms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDRPA) are a major source of nosocomial infections and when discharged into streams and rivers from hospital wastewater treatment plants (HWWTP) they are known to be able to persist for extended periods. In the city of Manaus (Western Brazilian Amazon), the effluent of three HWWTPs feed into the urban Mindu stream which crosses the city from its rainforest source before draining into the Rio Negro. The stream is routinely used by Manaus residents for bathing and cleaning (of clothes as well as domestic utensils) and, during periods of flooding, can contaminate wells used for drinking water.

One more factor joins the plot: Pbx1 regulates differentiation and survival of midbrain dopaminergic neurons.

Midbrain dopaminergic neurons have been the subject of intense research, because of their importance in pathologies such as Parkinson's disease. In this issue of , Villaescusa (2016) show the transcription factor Pbx1 is required for the differentiation and survival of midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Notably, Pbx1 protects from oxidative stress by inducing Nfe2l1, and the expression of both genes is reduced in dopaminergic neurons from Parkinson's patients.

Zeb1 controls neuron differentiation and germinal zone exit by a mesenchymal-epithelial-like transition.

In the developing mammalian brain, differentiating neurons mature morphologically via neuronal polarity programs. Despite discovery of polarity pathways acting concurrently with differentiation, it's unclear how neurons traverse complex polarity transitions or how neuronal progenitors delay polarization during development. We report that zinc finger and homeobox transcription factor-1 (Zeb1), a master regulator of epithelial polarity, controls neuronal differentiation by transcriptionally repressing polarity genes in neuronal progenitors.

Proteomic analysis of Chromobacterium violaceum and its adaptability to stress.

Background: Chromobacterium violaceum (C. violaceum) occurs abundantly in a variety of ecosystems, including ecosystems that place the bacterium under stress. This study assessed the adaptability of C.