Nutrient-Sensing Ghrelin Receptor in Macrophages Modulates Bisphenol A-Induced Intestinal Inflammation in Mice.

Bisphenols are environmental toxins with endocrine disruptor activity, yet bisphenol A (BPA) and its analogs are still widely used in manufacturing plastic products. There is evidence showing that BPA elicits inflammation in humans and animals, but the target cell types of BPA are not well understood. In this study, we sought to determine BPA's direct effect on macrophages and BPA immunotoxicity in mouse intestine.

An ASO therapy for Angelman syndrome that targets an evolutionarily conserved region at the start of the transcript.

Angelman syndrome is a devastating neurogenetic disorder for which there is currently no effective treatment. It is caused by mutations or epimutations affecting the expression or function of the maternally inherited allele of the ubiquitin-protein ligase E3A () gene. The paternal allele is imprinted in neurons of the central nervous system (CNS) by the antisense () transcript, which represents the distal end of the small nucleolar host gene 14 () transcription unit.

Reproducibility of CRISPR-Cas9 methods for generation of conditional mouse alleles: a multi-center evaluation.

Background: CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing technology has facilitated the generation of knockout mice, providing an alternative to cumbersome and time-consuming traditional embryonic stem cell-based methods. An earlier study reported up to 16% efficiency in generating conditional knockout (cKO or floxed) alleles by microinjection of 2 single guide RNAs (sgRNA) and 2 single-stranded oligonucleotides as donors (referred herein as "two-donor floxing" method).

Results: We re-evaluate the two-donor method from a consortium of 20 laboratories across the world.

Autoantibodies to folate receptor alpha during early pregnancy and risk of oral clefts in Denmark.

The objective of this study was to determine whether IgG and IgM autoantibodies to folate receptor alpha (FRalpha) in pregnant women are associated with an increased risk of oral cleft-affected offspring. A case-control study nested in the prospective Danish National Birth Cohort (100,418 pregnancies, enrolled during 1997-2003) was done. Hundred eighty-five children were born with an oral cleft.

Autoantibodies to folate receptor during pregnancy and neural tube defect risk.

Periconceptional folic acid can reduce the occurrence of neural tube defects (NTDs) by up to 70%, and autoantibodies for folate receptors (FRs) have been observed in serum from women with a pregnancy complicated by an NTD. This population-based cohort study has examined serum from pregnant mothers for autoantibodies to FRs, antibodies to bovine folate binding protein (FBP), and inhibition of folic acid binding to FR and FBP in association with NTD risk. The mid-gestational maternal serum specimens used for this study were collected during the 15-18th week of pregnancy.

Structure and biosynthesis of the BT peptide antibiotic from Brevibacillus texasporus.

We isolated a novel gram-positive bacterium, Brevibacillus texasporus, that produces an antibiotic, BT. BT is a group of related peptides that are produced by B. texasporus cells in response to nutrient limitation.

Multiple targeting modules on peroxisomal proteins are not redundant: discrete functions of targeting signals within Pmp47 and Pex8p.

Several peroxisomal proteins have two nonoverlapping targeting signals. These signals have been termed "redundant" because targeting can still occur with only one signal. We now report that separate targeting motifs within both Pmp47 and Pex8 provide complementary function.