Structural and bioinformatics analyses identify deoxydinucleotide-specific nucleases and their association with genomic islands in gram-positive bacteria.

Dinucleases of the DEDD superfamily, such as oligoribonuclease, Rexo2 and nanoRNase C, catalyze the essential final step of RNA degradation, the conversion of di- to mononucleotides. The active sites of these enzymes are optimized for substrates that are two nucleotides long, and do not discriminate between RNA and DNA. Here, we identified a novel DEDD subfamily, members of which function as dedicated deoxydinucleases (diDNases) that specifically hydrolyze single-stranded DNA dinucleotides in a sequence-independent manner.

Performance of PSMA-PET/CT as verified by bone biopsy for diagnosing osseous metastases of prostate cancer.

Objective: Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-PET/CT has shown considerable promise in the evaluation of prostate cancer bone metastases; however, data utilizing a histopathologic reference standard in this setting are limited. We therefore sought to evaluate the diagnostic performance of PSMA-PET/CT using a consistent histopathologic gold standard in the form of bone biopsy.

Materials And Methods: In this single-center, retrospective study, we identified 80 patients with prostate cancer who underwent CT-guided bone biopsy of a tracer-avid osseous lesion on PSMA-PET/CT performed with F-piflufolastat.

Diribonuclease activity eliminates toxic diribonucleotide accumulation.

RNA degradation is a central process required for transcriptional regulation. Eventually, this process degrades diribonucleotides into mononucleotides by specific diribonucleases. In Escherichia coli, oligoribonuclease (Orn) serves this function and is unique as the only essential exoribonuclease.

Major-groove sequence-specific RNA recognition by LoaP, a paralog of transcription elongation factor NusG.

LoaP is a member of the universal NusG protein family. Previously, we reported that unlike other characterized homologs, LoaP binds RNA sequence-specifically, recognizing a stem-loop in the 5'-untranslated region of operons it regulates. To elucidate how this NusG homolog acquired this ability, we now determined the co-crystal structure of Thermoanaerobacter pseudethanolicus LoaP bound to its cognate 26-nucleotide dfn RNA element.

Diagnostic efficacy and clinical impact of image-guided core needle biopsy of suspected vertebral osteomyelitis.

Objectives: The diagnostic yield and clinical impact of image-guided core needle biopsy (ICNB) of suspected vertebral osteomyelitis in adults is heterogenous in published studies owing to small sample sizes, indicating the need for large cohort studies.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of ICNBs was performed from 2010 to 2021 for patients with imaging findings consistent with vertebral osteomyelitis. For each biopsy, a series of factors were analyzed, as well as if histopathology was diagnostic of osteomyelitis and if microbiological cultures were positive.