Publications by authors named "T L Kay"
Background: The harmonious operation of many insect societies depends upon colony-wide dissemination of a non-volatile pheromone produced by a single queen, which informs workers of her presence. This represents a major challenge in large colonies. Honeybee colonies, which can exceed 60,000 bees, are believed to solve this challenge using 'messenger' workers that actively relay the queen pheromone throughout the hive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFType 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease that develops when T cells destroy the insulin-producing beta cells that reside in the pancreatic islets. Immune cells, including T cells, infiltrate the islets and gradually destroy the beta cells. Human islet-infiltrating CD4 T cells recognize peptide epitopes derived from proinsulin, particularly C-peptide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTranscription through chromatin under torsion represents a fundamental problem in biology. Pol II must overcome nucleosome obstacles and, because of the DNA helical structure, must also rotate relative to the DNA, generating torsional stress. However, there is a limited understanding of how Pol II transcribes through nucleosomes while supercoiling DNA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- DNA replication and transcription happen at the same time on the same DNA, which can create conflicts between the replisome and RNA polymerase, potentially causing genome instability.
- Research shows that collisions between RNA polymerase and the replication fork are more harmful when they come from opposite directions (head-on) compared to when they run in the same direction (co-directional), but the exact reasons behind this aren't fully understood.
- The study found that RNA polymerase binds more stably in head-on conflicts, especially with longer RNA transcripts, which enhances its ability to block replication; an RNA-DNA hybrid forms during this process, creating additional complications for the replication fork but could also help initiate replication on the lagging strand.
Article Synopsis
- * Current research seeks to understand T1D and develop new treatments, including immune system modulation, β-cell regeneration, and advanced insulin delivery methods like closed-loop pumps and stem cell therapies.
- * Recent studies suggest that TNF-α inhibitors could help preserve β-cell function in people with advanced T1D, prompting experts to convene and plan pivotal clinical trials to further evaluate their effectiveness.