Activity regulates a cell type-specific mitochondrial phenotype in zebrafish lateral line hair cells.

Hair cells of the inner ear are particularly sensitive to changes in mitochondria, the subcellular organelles necessary for energy production in all eukaryotic cells. There are over 30 mitochondrial deafness genes, and mitochondria are implicated in hair cell death following noise exposure, aminoglycoside antibiotic exposure, as well as in age-related hearing loss. However, little is known about the basic aspects of hair cell mitochondrial biology.

αδ-4 Is Required for the Molecular and Structural Organization of Rod and Cone Photoreceptor Synapses.

αδ-4 is an auxiliary subunit of voltage-gated Ca1.4 L-type channels that regulate the development and mature exocytotic function of the photoreceptor ribbon synapse. In humans, mutations in the gene encoding αδ-4 cause heterogeneous forms of vision impairment in humans, the underlying pathogenic mechanisms of which remain unclear.

Near-infrared branding efficiently correlates light and electron microscopy.

The correlation of light and electron microscopy of complex tissues remains a major challenge. Here we report near-infrared branding (NIRB), which facilitates such correlation by using a pulsed, near-infrared laser to create defined fiducial marks in three dimensions in fixed tissue. As these marks are fluorescent and can be photo-oxidized to generate electron contrast, they can guide re-identification of previously imaged structures as small as dendritic spines by electron microscopy.

Simvastatin inhibits Staphylococcus aureus host cell invasion through modulation of isoprenoid intermediates.

Patients on a statin regimen have a decreased risk of death due to bacterial sepsis. We have found that protection by simvastatin includes the inhibition of host cell invasion by Staphylococcus aureus, the most common etiologic agent of sepsis. Inhibition was due in part to depletion of isoprenoid intermediates within the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway and led to the cytosolic accumulation of the small GTPases CDC42, Rac, and RhoB.