KIF24 depletion induces clustering of supernumerary centrosomes in PDAC cells.

Clustering of supernumerary centrosomes, which potentially leads to cell survival and chromosomal instability, is frequently observed in cancers. However, the molecular mechanisms that control centrosome clustering remain largely unknown. The centrosomal kinesin KIF24 was previously shown to restrain the assembly of primary cilia in mammalian cells.

CEP164 Deficiency Causes Hyperproliferation of Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Primary cilia are hair-like projections that protrude from most mammalian cells and mediate various extracellular signaling pathways. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells are known to lose their primary cilia, but the relevance of this phenomenon remains unclear. In this study, we generated PDAC-originated Panc1 cells devoid of primary cilia by mutating a centriolar protein, centrosomal protein 164 (CEP164), which is required for ciliogenesis.

HDAC2 promotes loss of primary cilia in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Loss of primary cilia is frequently observed in tumor cells, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) cells, suggesting that the absence of this organelle may promote tumorigenesis through aberrant signal transduction and the inability to exit the cell cycle. However, the molecular mechanisms that explain how PDAC cells lose primary cilia are still ambiguous. In this study, we found that inhibition or silencing of histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2) restores primary cilia formation in PDAC cells.

Reversible Size Control of Liquid-Metal Nanoparticles under Ultrasonication.

This paper describes the reversible control of the size of liquid-metal nanoparticles under ultrasonication. Gallium was utilized as a liquid metal, which has a melting point of 29.8 °C.

A new methodology for functionalization at the 3-position of indoles by a combination of boron Lewis acid with nitriles.

We discovered that a reagent comprising a combination of PhBCl2 and nitriles was useful for syntheses of both 3-acylindoles and 1-(1H-indol-3-yl)alkylamine from indoles. The reaction proceeded selectively at the 3-position of indoles providing 3-acylindoles in moderate to high yields on treatment with the above reagent. Furthermore, the reaction provided the corresponding amine products in moderate to high yields after the intermediate imine was reduced by NaBH3CN.

Evaluation of synthetic naphthalene derivatives as novel chemical chaperones that mimic 4-phenylbutyric acid.

The chemical chaperone 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) has potential as an agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the requirement of high concentrations warrants chemical optimization for clinical use. In this study, novel naphthalene derivatives with a greater chemical chaperone activity than 4-PBA were synthesized with analogy to the benzene ring.