Loss of STING impairs lactogenic differentiation.

Heightened energetic and nutrient demand during lactogenic differentiation of the mammary gland elicits upregulation of various stress responses to support cellular homeostasis. Here, we identify the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) as an immune supporter of the functional development of mouse mammary epithelial cells (MECs). An in vitro model of MEC differentiation revealed that STING is activated in a cGAS-independent manner to produce both type I interferons and proinflammatory cytokines in response to the accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species.

Immune Cell Contribution to Mammary Gland Development.

Postpartum breast cancer (PPBC) is a unique subset of breast cancer, accounting for nearly half of the women diagnosed during their postpartum years. Mammary gland involution is widely regarded as being a key orchestrator in the initiation and progression of PPBC due to its unique wound-healing inflammatory signature. Here, we provide dialogue suggestive that lactation may also facilitate neoplastic development as a result of sterile inflammation.

Sequencing by binding rivals SMOR error-corrected sequencing by synthesis technology for accurate detection and quantification of minor (< 0.1%) subpopulation variants.

Background: Detecting very minor (< 1%) subpopulations using next-generation sequencing is a critical need for multiple applications, including the detection of drug resistant pathogens and somatic variant detection in oncology. A recently available sequencing approach termed 'sequencing by binding (SBB)' claims to have higher base calling accuracy data "out of the box." This paper evaluates the utility of using SBB for the detection of ultra-rare drug resistant subpopulations in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) using a targeted amplicon assay and compares the performance of SBB to single molecule overlapping reads (SMOR) error corrected sequencing by synthesis (SBS) data.

Transition metal nitride catalysts for selective conversion of oxygen-containing molecules.

Earth abundant transition metal nitrides (TMNs) are a promising group of catalysts for a wide range of thermocatalytic, electrocatalytic and photocatalytic reactions, with potential to achieve high activity and selectivity while reducing reliance on the use of Pt-group metals. However, current fundamental understanding of the active sites of these materials and the mechanisms by which selective transformations occur is somewhat lacking. Recent investigations of these materials from our group and others have utilized probe molecules, model surfaces, and techniques to elucidate the origin of their activity, strong metal-support interactions, and unique d-band electronic structures.

Pan-Enterovirus Characterization Reveals Cryptic Circulation of Clinically Relevant Subtypes in Arizona Wastewater.

Background: Most seasonally circulating enteroviruses result in asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infections. In rare cases, however, infection with some subtypes can result in paralysis or death. Of the 300 subtypes known, only poliovirus is reportable, limiting our understanding of the distribution of other enteroviruses that can cause clinical disease.