The Fourth Annual Symposium of the Midwest Aging Consortium.

The Midwest Aging Consortium (MAC) has emerged as a critical collaborative initiative aimed at advancing our understanding of aging and developing strategies to combat the rising prevalence of age-related diseases. Founded in 2019, MAC brings together researchers from various disciplines and institutions across the Midwestern United States to foster interdisciplinary geroscience research. This report summarizes the highlights of the Fourth Annual Symposium of MAC, which was held at Iowa State University in May 2023.

Fmo induction as a tool to screen for pro-longevity drugs.

Dietary restriction (DR) and hypoxia (low oxygen) extend lifespan in Caenorhabditis elegans through the induction of a convergent downstream longevity gene, fmo-2. Flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) are highly conserved xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes with a clear role in promoting longevity in nematodes and a plausible similar role in mammals. This makes them an attractive potential target of small molecule drugs to stimulate the health-promoting effects of longevity pathways.

Sulfoproteomics Workflow with Precursor Ion Accurate Mass Shift Analysis Reveals Novel Tyrosine Sulfoproteins in the Golgi.

Tyrosine sulfation in the Golgi of secreted and membrane proteins is an important post-translational modification (PTM). However, its labile nature has limited analysis by mass spectrometry (MS), a major reason why no sulfoproteome studies have been previously reported. Here, we show that a phosphoproteomics experimental workflow, which includes serial enrichment followed by high resolution, high mass accuracy MS, and tandem MS (MS/MS) analysis, enables sulfopeptide coenrichment and identification via accurate precursor ion mass shift open MSFragger database search.

Methodology to Metabolically Inactivate Bacteria for Caenorhabditis elegans Research.

Caenorhabditis elegans is a common model organism for research in genetics, development, aging, metabolism, and behavior. Because C. elegans consume a diet of live bacteria, the metabolic activity of their food source can confound experiments looking for the direct effects of various interventions on the worm.

FMO rewires metabolism to promote longevity through tryptophan and one carbon metabolism in C. elegans.

Flavin containing monooxygenases (FMOs) are promiscuous enzymes known for metabolizing a wide range of exogenous compounds. In C. elegans, fmo-2 expression increases lifespan and healthspan downstream of multiple longevity-promoting pathways through an unknown mechanism.

The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility on Social Media and Brand Advocacy Behavior of Customers in the Banking Context.

This research study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related communication on social media and brand advocacy behavior of retail banking customers in a developing country. This study also proposes a dual mediating mechanism of customer engagement and customer-company identification in the above-proposed relationship. The data were collected from retail banking customers with the help of a self-administered questionnaire ( = 356).

Mitotic phosphorylation inhibits the Golgi mannosidase MAN1A1.

N-glycans are processed mainly in the Golgi, and a well-organized Golgi structure is required for accurate glycosylation. However, during mitosis the Golgi undergoes severe fragmentation. The resulting trafficking block leads to an extended exposure of cargo molecules to Golgi enzymes.

Serotonin and dopamine modulate aging in response to food odor and availability.

An organism's ability to perceive and respond to changes in its environment is crucial for its health and survival. Here we reveal how the most well-studied longevity intervention, dietary restriction, acts in-part through a cell non-autonomous signaling pathway that is inhibited by the presence of attractive smells. Using an intestinal reporter for a key gene induced by dietary restriction but suppressed by attractive smells, we identify three compounds that block food odor effects in C.

Employees' Green Enterprise Motivation and Green Creative Process Engagement and Their Impact on Green Creative Performance.

Based on the recent surge in environmental degradation issues mainly caused by the manufacturing industry and the inadequacy of the measures taken to respond to them, this research focuses on investigating whether employees' motivation to protect the natural environment leads to their green creative performance (GCP) at work. It also examines the role of green creative process engagement (GCPE) as a mediator between green motivation (GM) and GCP. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to examine the hypotheses which indicated that employees' GCP appears to be significantly influenced by their GM.

Flavin-Containing Monooxygenases Are Conserved Regulators of Stress Resistance and Metabolism.

Flavin-Containing Monooxygenases are conserved xenobiotic-detoxifying enzymes. Recent studies have revealed endogenous functions of FMOs in regulating longevity in and in regulating aspects of metabolism in mice. To explore the cellular mechanisms of FMO's endogenous function, here we demonstrate that all five functional mammalian FMOs may play similar endogenous roles to improve resistance to a wide range of toxic stresses in both kidney and liver cells.

An alternative food source for metabolism and longevity studies in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Caenorhabditis elegans is an instrumental research model used to advance our knowledge in areas including development, metabolism, and aging. However, research on metabolism and/or other measures of health/aging are confounded by the nematode's food source in the lab, live E. coli bacteria.

Hypoxic response regulators RHY-1 and EGL-9/PHD promote longevity through a VHL-1-independent transcriptional response.

HIF-1-mediated adaptation to changes in oxygen availability is a critical aspect of healthy physiology. HIF is regulated by a conserved mechanism whereby EGLN/PHD family members hydroxylate HIF in an oxygen-dependent manner, targeting it for ubiquitination by Von-Hippel-Lindau (VHL) family members, leading to its proteasomal degradation. The activity of the only C.

Golgi structure formation, function, and post-translational modifications in mammalian cells.

The Golgi apparatus is a central membrane organelle for trafficking and post-translational modifications of proteins and lipids in cells. In mammalian cells, it is organized in the form of stacks of tightly aligned flattened cisternae, and dozens of stacks are often linked laterally into a ribbon-like structure located in the perinuclear region of the cell. Proper Golgi functionality requires an intact architecture, yet Golgi structure is dynamically regulated during the cell cycle and under disease conditions.

DNA replication licensing factor Cdc6 and Plk4 kinase antagonistically regulate centrosome duplication via Sas-6.

Centrosome number is tightly controlled during the cell cycle to ensure proper spindle assembly and cell division. However, the underlying mechanism that controls centrosome number remains largely unclear. We show herein that the DNA replication licensing factor Cdc6 is recruited to the proximal side of the centrioles via cyclin A to negatively regulate centrosome duplication by binding and inhibiting the cartwheel protein Sas-6 from forming a stable complex with another centriole duplication core protein, STIL.

Monoubiquitination of Syntaxin 5 Regulates Golgi Membrane Dynamics during the Cell Cycle.

The Golgi apparatus undergoes a ubiquitin-dependent disassembly and reassembly process during each cycle of cell division. Here we report the identification of the Golgi t-SNARE syntaxin 5 (Syn5) as the ubiquitinated substrate. Syn5 is monoubiquitinated by the ubiquitin ligase HACE1 in early mitosis and deubiquitinated by the deubiquitinase VCIP135 in late mitosis.

DNA replication initiator Cdc6 also regulates ribosomal DNA transcription initiation.

RNA-polymerase-I-dependent ribosomal DNA (rDNA) transcription is fundamental to rRNA processing, ribosome assembly and protein synthesis. However, how this process is initiated during the cell cycle is not fully understood. By performing a proteomic analysis of transcription factors that bind RNA polymerase I during rDNA transcription initiation, we identified that the DNA replication initiator Cdc6 interacts with RNA polymerase I and its co-factors, and promotes rDNA transcription in G1 phase in an ATPase-activity-dependent manner.

Mena-GRASP65 interaction couples actin polymerization to Golgi ribbon linking.

In mammalian cells, the Golgi reassembly stacking protein 65 (GRASP65) has been implicated in both Golgi stacking and ribbon linking by forming trans-oligomers through the N-terminal GRASP domain. Because the GRASP domain is globular and relatively small, but the gaps between stacks are large and heterogeneous, it remains puzzling how GRASP65 physically links Golgi stacks into a ribbon. To explore the possibility that other proteins may help GRASP65 in ribbon linking, we used biochemical methods and identified the actin elongation factor Mena as a novel GRASP65-binding protein.

Bio-inspired protein-gold nanoconstruct with core-void-shell structure: beyond a chemo drug carrier.

Chemotherapy has been widely used in clinical practice for cancer treatment. A major challenge for a successful chemotherapy is to potentiate the anticancer activity, whilst reducing the severe side effects. In this context, we design a bio-inspired protein-gold nanoconstruct (denoted as AFt-Au hereafter) with a core-void-shell structure which exhibits a high selectivity towards carcinoma cells.