Chaperone-mediated secretion switching from early to middle substrates in the type III secretion system encoded by pathogenicity island 2.

The bacterial type III secretion system (T3SS) delivers virulence proteins, called effectors, into eukaryotic cells. T3SS comprises a transmembrane secretion apparatus and a complex network of specialized chaperones that target protein substrates to this secretion apparatus. However, the regulation of secretion switching from early (needle and inner rod) to middle (tip/filament and translocators) substrates is incompletely understood.

Nasal TRPA1 mediates irritant-induced bradypnea in mice.

Transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1), a member of the TRP superfamily, exists in sensory neurons such as trigeminal neurons innervating the nasal cavity and vagal neurons innervating the trachea and the lung. Although TRPA1 has been proposed as an irritant receptor that, when stimulated, triggers bradypnea, precise locations of the receptors responsible have not been elucidated. Here, we examined the relative importance of TRPA1 located in the upper airway (nasal) and the lower airway (trachea/lungs) in urethane-anesthetized mice.

Odour-induced analgesia mediated by hypothalamic orexin neurons in mice.

Various folk remedies employ certain odorous compounds with analgesic effects. In fact, linalool, a monoterpene alcohol found in lavender extracts, has been found to attenuate pain responses via subcutaneous, intraperitoneal, intrathecal, and oral administration. However, the analgesic effects of odorous compounds mediated by olfaction have not been thoroughly examined.