piRNA involvement in genome stability and human cancer.

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a large family of small, single-stranded, non-coding RNAs present throughout the animal kingdom. They form complexes with several members of the PIWI clade of Argonaute proteins and carry out regulatory functions. Their best established biological role is the inhibition of transposon mobilization, which they enforce both at the transcriptional level, through regulation of heterochromatin formation, and by promoting transcript degradation.

The effects of nicotine on cone and rod b-wave responses in larval zebrafish.

Acetylcholine is present in and released from starburst amacrine cells in the inner plexiform layer (IPL), but its role in retinal function except, perhaps, in early development, is unclear. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are thought to be present on ganglion, amacrine, and bipolar cell processes in the IPL, and it is known that acetylcholine increases the spontaneous and light-evoked responses of retinal ganglion cells. The effects of acetylcholine on bipolar cells are not known, and here we report the effects of nicotine on the b-wave of the electroretinogram in larval zebrafish.