FRPR-1, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) in the FMRFamide-related peptide receptor family, modulates larval development as a receptor candidate of the FMRFamide-like peptide FLP-1 in Caenorhabditis elegans.

FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs) and their receptors FMRFamide-related peptide receptors (FRPRs) are widely conserved in free-living and parasitic nematodes. Herein, we identified FRPR-1 as a of FLP-1 receptor candidate involved in larval development and diapause in the model nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Our molecular genetic study, supported by in silico research, revealed the following: 1) frpr-1 loss-of-function completely suppresses the promotion of larval diapause caused by flp-1 overexpression; 2) AlphaFold2 analysis revealed the binding of FLP-1 to FRPR-1; 3) FRPR-1 as well as FLP-1modulates the production and secretion of the predominant insulin-like peptide DAF-28, which is produced in ASI neurons; and 4) the suppression of larval diapause by frpr-1 loss-of-function is completely suppressed by a daf-28 defect.

Blood DNA virome associates with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.

Aberrant immune responses to viral pathogens contribute to pathogenesis, but our understanding of pathological immune responses caused by viruses within the human virome, especially at a population scale, remains limited. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing datasets of 6,321 Japanese individuals, including patients with autoimmune diseases (psoriasis vulgaris, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) or multiple sclerosis) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or healthy controls. We systematically quantified two constituents of the blood DNA virome, endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and anellovirus.

The small GTPase RAB-18 is involved in regulating development/diapause by recruiting the intestinal cholesterol transporter NCR-1 onto the apical side in Caenorhabditis elegans.

RAB family proteins, which are small GTPases, are integral to the process of eukaryotic membrane trafficking. In the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, 31 RAB proteins have been identified through genome sequencing. Using an RNAi screen specifically targeting C.