Structural determinants of co-translational protein complex assembly.

Protein assembly into functional complexes is critical to life's processes. While complex assembly is classically described as occurring between fully synthesized proteins, recent work showed that co-translational assembly is prevalent in human cells. However, the biological basis for the existence of this process and the identity of protein pairs that assemble co-translationally remain unknown.

Comprehensive microcrystal electron diffraction sample preparation for cryo-EM.

Microcrystal electron diffraction (MicroED) has advanced structural methods across a range of sample types, from small molecules to proteins. This cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) technique involves the continuous rotation of small 3D crystals in the electron beam, while a high-speed camera captures diffraction data in the form of a movie. The crystal structure is subsequently determined by using established X-ray crystallographic software.

CySP3-96 enables scalable, streamlined, and low-cost sample preparation for cysteine chemoproteomic applications.

Cysteine chemoproteomic screening platforms are widely utilized for chemical probe and drug discovery campaigns. Chemoproteomic compound screens, which use a mass spectrometry-based proteomic readout, can interrogate the structure activity relationship (SAR) for thousands of proteins in parallel across the proteome. The versatility of chemoproteomic screens has been demonstrated across electrophilic, nucleophilic, and reversible classes of molecules.

Functional Neurological Disorder and Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Complex and Potentially Significant Relationship.

Introduction: Functional neurological disorder (FND) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are two complex neuropsychiatric conditions that have been historically classified within psychiatric domains, resulting in a lack of extensive research, insufficient clinical recognition, and persistent societal stigma. In recent years, there has been an increasing recognition among professionals and affected individuals of their possible overlap. This review explores the potential clinical and mechanistic overlap between FND and ASD, with particular attention to shared symptoms across sensory, motor, and psychiatric domains.

A role for the kinetochore protein, NUF2, in ribosome biogenesis.

Ribosome biogenesis (RB) is an intricate and evolutionarily conserved process that takes place mainly in the nucleolus and is required for eukaryotic cells to maintain homeostasis, grow in size, and divide. Our laboratory has identified the NUF2 protein, part of the mitotic kinetochore, in a genome-wide siRNA screen for proteins required for making ribosomes in MCF10A human breast epithelial cells (Farley-Barnes, 2018). After rigorous validation and using several biochemical and cell-based assays, we find a role for NUF2 in pre-rRNA transcription, the primary and rate-limiting step of RB.

Electrophoretic Analysis of DNA Supercoiling Activities.

DNA supercoiling in biological systems can occur via three mechanisms. The first is by the activity of DNA topoisomerases, such as DNA gyrases, that can increase or reduce the linking number of relaxed DNA (Lk). The second is via DNA translocation motors, such as RNA and DNA polymerases, that produce twin supercoiled DNA domains: one positively supercoiled in front and one negatively supercoiled behind.

Analysis of immune cell activation in patients with diabetes foot ulcer from the perspective of single cell.

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) can cause severe complications, including diabetic foot ulcers (DFU). There is a significant gap in understanding the single-cell ecological atlas of DM and DFU tissues.

Methods: Single-cell RNA sequencing data were used to create a detailed single-cell ecological landscape of DM and DFU.

Celebrating a milestone and looking at the future of Theriogenology.

In 2024, Theriogenology turned 50! The purpose of this special issue is to emphasize the pivotal role of reproduction and fertility in improving the efficacy and sustainability of animal production in a range of environments (different production systems, different climates, or different consumer-related expectations). A first series of articles summarizes the possibilities and constraints linked to embryo production (in vivo and in vitro) as well as the potential of novel embryo technologies. A second series provides an overview of the future of production and reproduction for the next 20 years in different species and geographical areas.

Microscopic phage adsorption assay: High-throughput quantification of virus particle attachment to host bacterial cells.

Phages, viruses of bacteria, play a pivotal role in Earth's biosphere and hold great promise as therapeutic and diagnostic tools in combating infectious diseases. Attachment of phages to bacterial cells is a crucial initial step of the interaction. The classic assay to quantify the dynamics of phage attachment involves coculturing and enumeration of bacteria and phages, which is laborious, lengthy, hence low-throughput, and only provides ensemble estimates of model-based adsorption rate constants.

Thermosensory behaviors of the free-living life stages of Strongyloides species support parasitism in tropical environments.

Soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes infect over 1 billion people worldwide and are a common source of neglected disease. Strongyloides stercoralis is a potentially fatal skin-penetrating human parasite that is endemic to tropical and subtropical regions around the world. The complex life cycle of Strongyloides species is unique among human-parasitic nematodes in that it includes a single free-living generation featuring soil-dwelling, bacterivorous adults whose progeny all develop into infective larvae.

Correction: Fabrication of yeast β-glucan/sodium alginate/γ-polyglutamic acid composite particles for hemostasis and wound healing.

Correction for 'Fabrication of yeast β-glucan/sodium alginate/γ-polyglutamic acid composite particles for hemostasis and wound healing' by Qinglin Zou , , 2024, , 2394-2407, https://doi.org/10.1039/d3bm02068a.

Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Pseudocereals with C3 and C4 Photosynthetic Metabolism in an Environment with Elevated CO.

The present work aimed to investigate the effect of increasing CO concentration on the growth, productivity, grain quality, and biochemical changes in quinoa and amaranth plants. An experiment was conducted in open chambers (OTCs) to evaluate the responses of these species to different levels of CO {[CO] = 400 ± 50 μmol mol CO for ambient CO concentration, [CO] = 700 ± 50 μmol mol CO for the elevated CO concentration}. Growth parameters and photosynthetic pigments reflected changes in gas exchange, saccharolytic enzymes, and carbohydrate metabolism when plants were grown under [CO].

Long-Term Variations in Habitat Use of Humpback Dolphins Due to Anthropogenic Activities in Western Pearl River Estuary.

Marine mammals near coastlines are highly vulnerable to human activities like rapid industrialisation, port construction, and sea reclamation, which can alter their habitat use. This study examines changes in the habitat use of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins in the western Pearl River Estuary (WPRE) by employing a kernel density estimation model that considers physical barriers. Sighting records from systematic surveys in 2007-2008 and 2019-2020, along with remote sensing data, were used to analyse changes in shorelines and areas affected by maritime projects since 1973.

Increased mitochondrial mutation heteroplasmy induces aging phenotypes in pluripotent stem cells and their differentiated progeny.

The mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) is an important source of inherited extranuclear variation. Clonal increases in mtDNA mutation heteroplasmy have been implicated in aging and disease, although the impact of this shift on cell function is challenging to assess. Reprogramming to pluripotency affects mtDNA mutation heteroplasmy.

Crosslink among cyclin-dependent kinase 9, ATP binding cassette transporter G2 and Beclin 1 in colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks third in the number of cancers mainly because of the inability to diagnose it at an early stage. The pathogenesis of CRC is complicated, which is the result of the complex interaction of multiple genetic and environmental factors. Currently, one of the main treatments for CRC is chemotherapy.

Current status of serum metabolites biomarkers for polyps and colorectal cancer: a systematic review.

Background: Early detection of colorectal cancer (CRC) is crucial to enhance the disease treatment and prognosis of patients. Colonoscopy remains the gold standard for CRC detection; however, it requires trained personnel with expensive tools. Currently, serum metabolites have been discovered to be used to discriminate patients with polyps and CRC.

Injectable and self-healing carboxymethyl chitosan/carboxymethyl cellulose/marine snail peptide hydrogel for infected wound healing.

Treatment of bacterial infected full-thickness wounds remains a great challenge in clinic. Herein, a HYP hydrogel was prepared using carboxymethyl chitosan, dialdehyde carboxymethyl cellulose, and marine snail peptide (Tyr-Ile-Ala-Glu-Asp-Ala-Glu-Arg) as starting materials. The marine snail peptide with good antioxidant activity could remove the reactive oxygen species in wound sites, thereby alleviating the excessive inflammatory response.

Numb family proteins play roles in Desmin and Vimentin localization at the Z-disc.

Desmin and Vimentin are major intermediate filaments at the Z-disc and play significant roles in sarcomere architecture and signaling transduction. Abnormal expression of sarcomeric Desmin and Vimentin (SDV) results in severe dysfunctions of striated muscles. In this study, it was found that paired Numb family proteins (NFPs), including Numb and its homolog Numblike, determined the range for the recruitment of SDV to the primitive Z-disc.

Genetic architecture of RNA editing, splicing and gene expression in schizophrenia.

Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have been conducted over the past decades to investigate the underlying genetic origin of neuropsychiatric diseases, such as schizophrenia (SCZ). While these studies demonstrated the significance of disease-phenotype associations, there is a pressing need to fully characterize the functional relevance of disease-associated genetic variants. Functional genetic loci can affect transcriptional and post-transcriptional phenotypes that may contribute to disease pathology.

Breaking the mold: Unconventional T cells in cancer therapy.

Unconventional T cells, including invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, gamma delta (γδ) T cells, and mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, play important roles in both innate and adaptive immunity. These cells respond to tumors rapidly and influence the tumor microenvironment (TME). Recent advances in understanding their biology, as well as the development of novel therapeutic approaches, have underscored their potential in cancer immunotherapy.

An injury-induced mesenchymal-epithelial cell niche coordinates regenerative responses in the lung.

Severe lung injury causes airway basal stem cells to migrate and outcompete alveolar stem cells, resulting in dysplastic repair. We found that this "stem cell collision" generates an injury-induced tissue niche containing keratin 5 epithelial cells and plastic Pdgfra mesenchymal cells. Single-cell analysis revealed that the injury-induced niche is governed by mesenchymal proliferation and Notch signaling, which suppressed Wnt/Fgf signaling in the injured niche.

Diverse phage communities are maintained stably on a clonal bacterial host.

Bacteriophages are the most abundant and phylogenetically diverse biological entities on Earth, yet the ecological mechanisms that sustain this extraordinary diversity remain unclear. In this study, we discovered that phage diversity consistently outstripped the diversity of their bacterial hosts under simple experimental conditions. We assembled and passaged dozens of diverse phage communities on a single, nonevolving strain of until the phage communities reached equilibrium.

Infarctive encephalopathy in zoo-housed gibbons in North America.

Progressive neurologic signs without a known underlying etiology have been observed in managed gibbon populations housed at institutions in North America. In 2018, the Gibbon Species Survival Plan initiated a veterinary survey to evaluate clinical histories among gibbons displaying neurologic signs. The clinical results of this survey as well as the results of a centralized histologic review of brain samples from 5 species of managed gibbons displaying neurologic signs are outlined here.