High-Performance Chemigenetic Potassium Ion Indicator.

Potassium ion (K) is the most abundant metal ion in cells and plays an indispensable role in practically all biological systems. Although there have been reports of both synthetic and genetically encoded fluorescent K indicators, there remains a need for an indicator that is genetically targetable, has high specificity for K versus Na, and has a high fluorescent response in the red to far-red wavelength range. Here, we introduce a series of chemigenetic K indicators, designated as the HaloKbp1 series, based on the bacterial K-binding protein (Kbp) inserted into HaloTag7 self-labeled with environmentally sensitive rhodamine derivatives.

The use of biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs does not increase surgical site infection or delayed wound healing after orthopaedic surgeries for rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To investigate the effect of the use of biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) on surgical site infection (SSI) and delayed wound healing (DWH) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients undergoing orthopaedic surgery.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 965 elective orthopaedic procedures undertaken in RA patients. The incidences of SSI and DWH were compared between the bDMARDs user and non-user groups.

Clinical Significance of Tumor Location for Ureteroscopic Tumor Grading in Upper Tract Urothelial Carcinoma.

Although previous literature shows tumor location as a prognostic factor in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC), there remains uninvestigated regarding the impact of tumor location on grade concordance and discrepancies between ureteroscopic (URS) biopsy and final radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) pathology. In this international study, we retrospectively reviewed the records of 1,498 patients with UTUC who underwent diagnostic URS with concomitant biopsy followed by RNU between 2005 and 2020. Tumor location was divided into four sections: the calyceal-pelvic system, proximal ureter, middle ureter, and distal ureter.

A lactate-dependent shift of glycolysis mediates synaptic and cognitive processes in male mice.

Astrocytes control brain activity via both metabolic processes and gliotransmission, but the physiological links between these functions are scantly known. Here we show that endogenous activation of astrocyte type-1 cannabinoid (CB1) receptors determines a shift of glycolysis towards the lactate-dependent production of D-serine, thereby gating synaptic and cognitive functions in male mice. Mutant mice lacking the CB1 receptor gene in astrocytes (GFAP-CB1-KO) are impaired in novel object recognition (NOR) memory.

Development of an miRFP680-Based Fluorescent Calcium Ion Biosensor Using End-Optimized Transposons.

The development of new or improved single fluorescent protein (FP)-based biosensors (SFPBs), particularly those with excitation and emission at near-infrared wavelengths, is important for the continued advancement of biological imaging applications. In an effort to accelerate the development of new SFPBs, we report modified transposons for the transposase-based creation of libraries of FPs randomly inserted into analyte binding domains, or vice versa. These modified transposons feature ends that are optimized to minimize the length of the linkers that connect the FP to the analyte binding domain.