ACSS2 regulates ferroptosis in an E2F1-dependent manner in breast cancer brain metastatic cells.

Brain metastasis diagnosis in breast cancer patients is considered an end-stage event. The median survival after diagnosis is measured in months, thus there is an urgent need to develop novel treatment strategies. Breast cancers that metastasize to the brain must adapt to the unique brain environment and are highly dependent on acetate metabolism for growth and survival.

Selective and brain-penetrant ACSS2 inhibitors target breast cancer brain metastatic cells.

Breast cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) typically results in an end-stage diagnosis and is hindered by a lack of brain-penetrant drugs. Tumors in the brain rely on the conversion of acetate to acetyl-CoA by the enzyme acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2), a key regulator of fatty acid synthesis and protein acetylation. Here, we used a computational pipeline to identify novel brain-penetrant ACSS2 inhibitors combining pharmacophore-based shape screen methodology with absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) property predictions.

Towards a species-level phylogeny for Neotropical Myrtaceae: Notes on topology and resources for future studies.

Premise: Increasingly complete phylogenies underpin studies in systematics, ecology, and evolution. Myrteae (Myrtaceae), with ~2700 species, is a key component of the exceptionally diverse Neotropical flora, but given its complicated taxonomy, automated assembling of molecular supermatrices from public databases often lead to unreliable topologies due to poor species identification.

Methods: Here, we build a taxonomically verified molecular supermatrix of Neotropical Myrteae by assembling 3909 published and 1004 unpublished sequences from two nuclear and seven plastid molecular markers.

MelastomaTRAITs 1.0: A database of functional traits in Melastomataceae, a large pantropical angiosperm family.

The recent availability of open-access repositories of functional traits has revolutionized trait-based approaches in ecology and evolution. Nevertheless, the underrepresentation of tropical regions and lineages remains a pervasive bias in plant functional trait databases, which constrains large-scale assessments of plant ecology, evolution, and biogeography. Here, we present MelastomaTRAITs 1.

Discovery of novel brain permeable human ACSS2 inhibitors for blocking breast cancer brain metastatic growth.

Breast-cancer brain metastasis (BCBM) poses a significant clinical challenge, resulting in an end-stage diagnosis and hindered by limited therapeutic options. The blood-brain barrier (BBB) acts as an anatomical and physiological hurdle for therapeutic compounds, restricting the effective delivery of therapies to the brain. In order to grow and survive in a nutrient-poor environment, tumors in the brain must adapt to their metabolic needs, becoming highly dependent on acetate.

Fructose promotes liver cancer via microbial acetate-induced O-GlcNAcylation.

High dietary fructose consumption is linked to multiple disease states, including cancer. Zhou and colleagues recently reported a novel mechanism where high dietary fructose levels increase acetate production by the gut microbiome increasing post-translational modification O-GlcNAcylation in liver cells, which contributes to disease progression in mouse models of hepatocellular carcinoma.

From Nature to Innovation: The Uncharted Potential of Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents.

This review discusses the significance of natural deep eutectic solvents (NaDESs) as a promising green extraction technology. It employs the consolidated meta-analytic approach theory methodology, using the Web of Science and Scopus databases to analyze 2091 articles as the basis of the review. This review explores NaDESs by examining their properties, challenges, and limitations.

On a sugar high: Role of O-GlcNAcylation in cancer.

Recent advances in the understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying cancer progression have led to the development of novel therapeutic targeting strategies. Aberrant glycosylation patterns and their implication in cancer have gained increasing attention as potential targets due to the critical role of glycosylation in regulating tumor-specific pathways that contribute to cancer cell survival, proliferation, and progression. A special type of glycosylation that has been gaining momentum in cancer research is the modification of nuclear, cytoplasmic, and mitochondrial proteins, termed O-GlcNAcylation.

The evolution of Ericaceae flowers and their pollination syndromes at a global scale.

Premise: Floral evolution in large clades is difficult to study not only because of the number of species involved, but also because they often are geographically widespread and include a diversity of outcrossing pollination systems. The cosmopolitan blueberry family (Ericaceae) is one such example, most notably pollinated by bees and multiple clades of nectarivorous birds.

Methods: We combined data on floral traits, pollination ecology, and geography with a comprehensive phylogeny to examine the structuring of floral diversity across pollination systems and continents.

More than a spiny morphology: plastome variation in the prickly pear cacti (Opuntieae).

Background: Plastid genomes (plastomes) have long been recognized as highly conserved in their overall structure, size, gene arrangement and content among land plants. However, recent studies have shown that some lineages present unusual variations in some of these features. Members of the cactus family are one of these lineages, with distinct plastome structures reported across disparate lineages, including gene losses, inversions, boundary movements or loss of the canonical inverted repeat (IR) region.

Ontogenetic transitions, biomechanical trade-offs and macroevolution of scyphozoan medusae swimming patterns.

Ephyrae, the early stages of scyphozoan jellyfish, possess a conserved morphology among species. However, ontogenetic transitions lead to morphologically different shapes among scyphozoan lineages, with important consequences for swimming biomechanics, bioenergetics and ecology. We used high-speed imaging to analyse biomechanical and kinematic variables of swimming in 17 species of Scyphozoa (1 Coronatae, 8 "Semaeostomeae" and 8 Rhizostomeae) at different developmental stages.

Kruppel-like factor 8 regulates triple negative breast cancer stem cell-like activity.

Introduction: Breast tumor development is regulated by a sub-population of breast cancer cells, termed cancer stem-like cells (CSC), which are capable of self-renewing and differentiating, and are involved in promoting breast cancer invasion, metastasis, drug resistance and relapse. CSCs are highly adaptable, capable of reprogramming their own metabolism and signaling activity in response to stimuli within the tumor microenvironment. Recently, the nutrient sensor O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) and O-GlcNAcylation was shown to be enriched in CSC populations, where it promotes the stemness and tumorigenesis of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Role of O-GlcNAcylation on cancer stem cells: Connecting nutrient sensing to cell plasticity.

Tumor growth and metastasis can be promoted by a small sub-population of cancer cells, termed cancer stem-like cells (CSCs). While CSCs possess capability in self-renewing and differentiating, the hierarchy of CSCs during tumor growth is highly plastic. This plasticity in CSCs fate and function can be regulated by signals from the tumor microenvironment.

A pipeline for assembling low copy nuclear markers from plant genome skimming data for phylogenetic use.

Background: Genome skimming is a popular method in plant phylogenomics that do not include a biased enrichment step, relying on random shallow sequencing of total genomic DNA. From these data the plastome is usually readily assembled and constitutes the bulk of phylogenetic information generated in these studies. Despite a few attempts to use genome skims to recover low copy nuclear loci for direct phylogenetic use, such endeavor remains neglected.

Out of chaos: Phylogenomics of Asian Sonerileae.

Sonerileae is a diverse Melastomataceae lineage comprising ca. 1000 species in 44 genera, with >70% of genera and species distributed in Asia. Asian Sonerileae are taxonomically intractable with obscure generic circumscriptions.

O-GlcNAc transferase regulates glioblastoma acetate metabolism via regulation of CDK5-dependent ACSS2 phosphorylation.

Glioblastomas (GBMs) preferentially generate acetyl-CoA from acetate as a fuel source to promote tumor growth. O-GlcNAcylation has been shown to be elevated by increasing O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) in many cancers and reduced O-GlcNAcylation can block cancer growth. Here, we identify a novel mechanism whereby OGT regulates acetate-dependent acetyl-CoA and lipid production by regulating phosphorylation of acetyl-CoA synthetase 2 (ACSS2) by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5).

O-GlcNAcylation regulation of cellular signaling in cancer.

O-GlcNAcylation is a post-translational modification occurring on serine/threonine residues of nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins, mediated by the enzymes OGT and OGA which catalyze the addition or removal of the UDP-GlcNAc moieties, respectively. Structural changes brought by this modification lead to alternations of protein stability, protein-protein interactions, and phosphorylation. Importantly, O-GlcNAcylation is a nutrient sensor by coupling nutrient sensing with cellular signaling.

An Ex Vivo Brain Slice Model to Study and Target Breast Cancer Brain Metastatic Tumor Growth.

Brain metastasis is a serious consequence of breast cancer for women as these tumors are difficult to treat and are associated with poor clinical outcomes. Preclinical mouse models of breast cancer brain metastatic (BCBM) growth are useful but are expensive, and it is difficult to track live cells and tumor cell invasion within the brain parenchyma. Presented here is a protocol for ex vivo brain slice cultures from xenografted mice containing intracranially injected breast cancer brain-seeking clonal sublines.

NaSO and NaCl salts differentially modulate the antioxidant systems in the highly stress tolerant halophyte Prosopis strombulifera.

Prosopis strombulifera (Lam.) Benth. is a halophytic shrub abundant in high-salinity areas in central Argentina, with high tolerance against NaCl but strong growth inhibition by NaSO.

Current knowledge about NaSO effects on plants: what is different in comparison to NaCl?

In some areas of the world, high levels of sodium sulfate (NaSO) are found in the soil together with sodium chloride (NaCl). However, most studies on salinity are performed utilizing only NaCl as a salinizing agent. Generally, plant species have different tolerance/susceptibility responses when grown in the presence of these salts.

New insights into the salt tolerance of the extreme halophytic species Lycium humile (Lycieae, Solanaceae).

Knowledge about Solanaceae species naturally adapted to salinity is scarce, despite the fact that a considerable number of Solanaceae has been reported growing in saline environments. Lycium humile Phil. inhabits extreme saline soils in the Altiplano-Puna region (Central Andes, South America) and represents a promising experimental model to study salt tolerance in Solanaceae plants.

A list of land plants of Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Brazil, highlights the presence of sampling gaps within this protected area.

Background: Brazilian protected areas are essential for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the plant richness, protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity.

Insights Into Chloroplast Genome Evolution Across Opuntioideae (Cactaceae) Reveals Robust Yet Sometimes Conflicting Phylogenetic Topologies.

Chloroplast genomes (plastomes) are frequently treated as highly conserved among land plants. However, many lineages of vascular plants have experienced extensive structural rearrangements, including inversions and modifications to the size and content of genes. Cacti are one of these lineages, containing the smallest plastome known for an obligately photosynthetic angiosperm, including the loss of one copy of the inverted repeat (∼25 kb) and the gene suite, but only a few cacti from the subfamily Cactoideae have been sufficiently characterized.

A two-tier bioinformatic pipeline to develop probes for target capture of nuclear loci with applications in Melastomataceae.

Premise: Putatively single-copy nuclear (SCN) loci, which are identified using genomic resources of closely related species, are ideal for phylogenomic inference. However, suitable genomic resources are not available for many clades, including Melastomataceae. We introduce a versatile approach to identify SCN loci for clades with few genomic resources and use it to develop probes for target enrichment in the distantly related and (Melastomataceae).

Biochemical and molecular approach of oxidative damage triggered by water stress and rewatering in sunflower seedlings of two inbred lines with different ability to tolerate water stress.

Water stress accelerates the generation of reactive oxygen species, which trigger a cascade of antioxidative defence mechanisms comprising enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants. The aim of this study was to investigate the oxidative damage and the antioxidative defence systems in seedlings of the water stress-tolerant (B71) and the sensitive (B59) inbred lines of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) in response to water stress and rewatering.