Dimethyl sulfoxide stimulates the AhR-Jdp2 axis to control ROS accumulation in mouse embryonic fibroblasts.

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-binding protein that responds to environmental aromatic hydrocarbons and stimulates the transcription of downstream phase I enzyme-related genes by binding the cis element of dioxin-responsive elements (DREs)/xenobiotic-responsive elements. Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a well-known organic solvent that is often used to dissolve phase I reagents in toxicology and oxidative stress research experiments. In the current study, we discovered that 0.

A missense variant in NUF2, a component of the kinetochore NDC80 complex, causes impaired chromosome segregation and aneuploidy associated with microcephaly and short stature.

Mutations in proteins involved in cell division and chromosome segregation, such as microtubule-regulating, centrosomal and kinetochore proteins, are associated with microcephaly and/or short stature. In particular, the kinetochore plays an essential role in mitosis and cell division by mediating connections between chromosomal DNA and spindle microtubules. To date, only a few genes encoding proteins of the kinetochore complex have been identified as causes of syndromes that include microcephaly.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells generated from a patient with idiopathic basal ganglia calcification.

Idiopathic basal ganglia calcification (IBGC) is a rare neurodegenerative disease, characterized by abnormal calcium deposits in basal ganglia of the brain. The affected individuals exhibit movement disorders, and progressive deterioration of cognitive and psychiatric ability. The genetic cause of the disease is mutation in one of several different genes, SLC20A2, PDGFB, PDGFRB, XPR1 or MYORG, which inheritably or sporadically occurs.

sp. nov., isolated from humic soil on bird's nest fern ( L.).

A novel member of the actinobacteria, designated strain A-T 0013, was isolated from humic soil on a bird's nest fern ( L.) collected from Khao Yai National Park in Thailand. According the results of a polyphasic taxonomic study, A-T 0013 had characteristics typical of members of the genus .

Magnetically Navigated Protein Transduction In Vivo using Iron Oxide-Nanogel Chaperone Hybrid.

Systems for "protein transduction," intracellular delivery of functional proteins, are needed to address deliverability challenges of protein therapeutics. However, in vivo protein transduction remains challenging because of instability in serum, extracellular protease digestion and rapid excretion from the bloodstream. Here, a magnetically guided in vivo protein transduction using magnetic nanogel chaperone (MC) composed of iron oxide nanoparticles and a polysaccharide nanogel, a protein carrier inspired by "catch and release" mechanisms of molecular chaperones is demonstrated.

The function and regulation mechanism of piRNAs in human cancers.

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are mainly expressed in mammalian germ cells, playing an important role in maintaining germ line DNA integrity, inhibiting transposon transcription and translation, participating in heterochromatin formation, epigenetic regulation, and germ cell genesis. They combine with P-element induced wimpy testis (PIWI) proteins to form effector complexes known as piRNA-induced silencing complexes (pi-RISC) to regulate the gene silencing pathway. Recent evidence suggests that numerous piRNAs, with tumor-promoting and tumor-suppressing functions in cancer development, are dysregulated in tumor tissues, and are related to clinical prognosis.

25th ANNIVERSARY OF CLONING BY SOMATIC-CELL NUCLEAR TRANSFER: Epigenetic abnormalities associated with somatic cell nuclear transfer.

Twenty-five years have passed since the birth of Dolly the sheep, the first mammalian clone produced by adult somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT). During that time, the main thrust of SCNT-related research has been the elucidation of SCNT-associated epigenetic abnormalities and their correction, with the aim of improving the efficiency of cloned animal production. Through these studies, it has become clear that some epigenomic information can be reprogrammed by the oocyte, while some cannot.

Identification of OPN3 as associated with non-syndromic oligodontia in a Japanese population.

Tooth agenesis is one of the most frequent congenital abnormalities found in the maxillofacial region. Oligodontia, a severe form of tooth agenesis, occurs as an isolated anomaly or as a syndromic feature. We performed whole exome sequencing analyses to identify causative mutation in a Japanese family with three affected individuals with non-syndromic oligodontia.

sp. nov., isolated from mountain forest soil.

A novel actinomycete, strain SMC 257, was isolated from a soil sample collected from mountain forest, Nan Province, Thailand. Strain SMC 257 formed tightly closed spiral spore chains on aerial mycelia. A polyphasic approach was used for the taxonomic study of this strain.

microRNA-33 maintains adaptive thermogenesis via enhanced sympathetic nerve activity.

Adaptive thermogenesis is essential for survival, and therefore is tightly regulated by a central neural circuit. Here, we show that microRNA (miR)-33 in the brain is indispensable for adaptive thermogenesis. Cold stress increases miR-33 levels in the hypothalamus and miR-33 mice are unable to maintain body temperature in cold environments due to reduced sympathetic nerve activity and impaired brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis.

Oxygen concentration affects frequency and range of transconjugants for the incompatibility (Inc) P-1 and P-7 plasmids pBP136 and pCAR1.

The frequency of transconjugants were compared for the incompatibility (Inc) P-1 and P-7 plasmids pBP136 and pCAR1 under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Filter mating assays were performed with one donor strain and one recipient strain using different donors of Pseudomonas and recipient strains, including Pseudomonas, Pantoea, and Buttiauxella. Under anaerobic condition, frequencies of transconjugants for both plasmids were 101-103-fold lower than those under aerobic condition regardless of whether aerobically or anaerobically grown donors and recipients were used.

Biomedical Applications of Bacterial Exopolysaccharides: A Review.

Bacterial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are an essential group of compounds secreted by bacteria. These versatile EPSs are utilized individually or in combination with different materials for a broad range of biomedical field functions. The various applications can be explained by the vast number of derivatives with useful properties that can be controlled.

Development of a CRISPR/Cpf1 system for targeted gene disruption in Aspergillus aculeatus TBRC 277.

Background: CRISPR-Cas genome editing technologies have revolutionized biotechnological research particularly in functional genomics and synthetic biology. As an alternative to the most studied and well-developed CRISPR/Cas9, a new class 2 (type V) CRISPR-Cas system called Cpf1 has emerged as another versatile platform for precision genome modification in a wide range of organisms including filamentous fungi.

Results: In this study, we developed AMA1-based single CRISPR/Cpf1 expression vector that targets pyrG gene in Aspergillus aculeatus TBRC 277, a wild type filamentous fungus and potential enzyme-producing cell factory.

Prediction Model of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by Deep Learning with Patient Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), early diagnosis is essential for both current and potential treatments. To find a supportive approach for the diagnosis, we constructed an artificial intelligence-based prediction model of ALS using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Images of spinal motor neurons derived from healthy control subject and ALS patient iPSCs were analyzed by a convolutional neural network, and the algorithm achieved an area under the curve of 0.

sp. nov., isolated from phenanthrene-degrading consortium enriched from Antarctic soil.

A novel bacterium, designated strain ANT13_2, was isolated from a phenanthrene-degrading consortium enriched from a soil sample collected near the Great Wall Station located in the southwestern area of King George Island, Antarctica. Following a polyphasic taxonomic study, a novel species belonging to the genus was described. The strain was a Gram-stain-positive bacterium that exhibited a rod-coccus growth cycle.

Quick validation of genetic quality for conditional alleles in mice.

Site-specific conditional inactivation technologies using Cre-loxP or Flp-FRT systems are becoming increasingly important for the elucidation of gene function and disease mechanism in vivo. A large number of gene knockout mouse models carrying complex conditional alleles have been generated by global community efforts and made available for biomedical researchers. The structures of conditional alleles in these mice are becoming increasingly complex and sophisticated, and so the validation of the genetic quality of these alleles is likewise becoming a laborious task for individual researchers.

FGF-23 from erythroblasts promotes hematopoietic progenitor mobilization.

Fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF-23) hormone is produced by bone-embedded osteocytes and regulates phosphate homeostasis in kidneys. We found that administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) to mice induced a rapid, substantial increase in FGF-23 messenger RNA in bone marrow (BM) cells. This increase originated mainly from CD45-Ter119+CD71+ erythroblasts.

Dynamic erectile responses of a novel penile organ model utilizing TPEM†.

Male penis is required to become erect during copulation. In the upper (dorsal) part of penis, the erectile tissue termed corpus cavernosum (CC) plays fundamental roles for erection by regulating the inner blood flow. When blood flows into the CC, the microvascular complex termed sinusoidal space is reported to expand during erection.

Behavioral changes and brain epigenetic alterations induced by maternal deficiencies of B vitamins in a mouse model.

Rationale: B vitamins play essential roles in brain development and functionality; however, the effects of their deficiency during early life on mental health are not thoroughly understood.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of a maternal deficiency of vitamin B6, B9 (folate), and B12 on behavioral changes in adult offspring.

Methods: Female C57BL/6 J mice were put on a diet lacking vitamin B6, B9, B12, or the above three vitamins from pregnancy to weaning.

High affinity promoter binding of STOP1 is essential for early expression of novel aluminum-induced resistance genes GDH1 and GDH2 in Arabidopsis.

Malate efflux from roots, which is regulated by the transcription factor STOP1 (SENSITIVE-TO-PROTON-RHIZOTOXICITY1) and mediates aluminum-induced expression of ALUMINUM-ACTIVATED-MALATE-TRANSPORTER1 (AtALMT1), is critical for aluminum resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana. Several studies showed that AtALMT1 expression in roots is rapidly observed in response to aluminum; this early induction is an important mechanism to immediately protect roots from aluminum toxicity. Identifying the molecular mechanisms that underlie rapid aluminum resistance responses should lead to a better understanding of plant aluminum sensing and signal transduction mechanisms.

Revision of (, ) to include Sarea and Tromera.

The resinicolous fungi and () were taxonomically revised on the basis of morphological observations and phylogenetic analyses of the nucleotide sequences of the nSSU-LSU---mtSSU genes. The results of phylogenetic analyses show that and are grouped with members of . According to the results of phylogenetic analyses and their sexual and asexual morphs resemblance, is synonymized with .

Establishment and application of information resource of mutant mice in RIKEN BioResource Research Center.

Online databases are crucial infrastructures to facilitate the wide effective and efficient use of mouse mutant resources in life sciences. The number and types of mouse resources have been rapidly growing due to the development of genetic modification technology with associated information of genomic sequence and phenotypes. Therefore, data integration technologies to improve the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of mouse strain data becomes essential for mouse strain repositories.

Complete Genome Sequence of Alistipes indistinctus Strain 2BBH45, Isolated from the Feces of a Healthy Japanese Male.

The genus is one of the members of the human gut microbiota. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of strain 2BBH45, harboring plasmid p2BBH45.

An interplay of NOX1-derived ROS and oxygen determines the spermatogonial stem cell self-renewal efficiency under hypoxia.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced by NADPH1 oxidase 1 (NOX1) are thought to drive spermatogonial stem cell (SSC) self-renewal through feed-forward production of ROS by the ROS-BCL6B-NOX1 pathway. Here we report the critical role of oxygen on ROS-induced self-renewal. Cultured SSCs proliferated poorly and lacked BCL6B expression under hypoxia despite increase in mitochondria-derived ROS.