The natural compound periplogenin suppresses the growth of prostate carcinoma cells by directly targeting ATP1A1.

Natural compounds constitute a major resource for the development of medicines for multiple diseases. While many natural compounds show strong biological activity, the mechanisms that confer clinical benefits are often elusive and have been attributed to multiple pathways. Periplogenin (PPG), a natural compound isolated from Cortex periplocae, exhibits strong anti-tumor activities in several human cancer cell lines.

Loss of cohesin regulator PDS5A reveals repressive role of Polycomb loops.

Polycomb Repressive Complexes 1 and 2 (PRC1, PRC2) are conserved epigenetic regulators that promote transcriptional gene silencing. PRC1 and PRC2 converge on shared targets, catalyzing repressive histone modifications. Additionally, a subset of PRC1/PRC2 targets engage in long-range interactions whose functions in gene silencing are poorly understood.

Identification of CCZ1 as an essential lysosomal trafficking regulator in Marburg and Ebola virus infections.

Marburg and Ebola filoviruses are two of the deadliest infectious agents and several outbreaks have occurred in the last decades. Although several receptors and co-receptors have been reported for Ebola virus, key host factors remain to be elucidated. In this study, using a haploid cell screening platform, we identify the guanine nucleotide exchange factor CCZ1 as a key host factor in the early stage of filovirus replication.

Ascl1 and Ngn2 convert mouse embryonic stem cells to neurons via functionally distinct paths.

Ascl1 and Ngn2, closely related proneural transcription factors, are able to convert mouse embryonic stem cells into induced neurons. Despite their similarities, these factors elicit only partially overlapping transcriptional programs, and it remains unknown whether cells are converted via distinct mechanisms. Here we show that Ascl1 and Ngn2 induce mutually exclusive side populations by binding and activating distinct lineage drivers.