Role of Ribosomal Protein bS1 in Orthogonal mRNA Start Codon Selection.

In many bacteria, the location of the mRNA start codon is determined by a short ribosome binding site sequence that base pairs with the 3'-end of 16S rRNA (rRNA) in the 30S subunit. Many groups have changed these short sequences, termed the Shine-Dalgarno (SD) sequence in the mRNA and the anti-Shine-Dalgarno (ASD) sequence in 16S rRNA, to create "orthogonal" ribosomes to enable the synthesis of orthogonal polymers in the presence of the endogenous translation machinery. However, orthogonal ribosomes are prone to SD-independent translation.

The translation initiation factor eIF3M2 upregulates HEAT SHOCK PROTEIN 70 to maintain pollen tube membrane integrity during heat shock.

Pollen germination and pollen tube (PT) growth are extremely sensitive to high temperatures. During heat stress (HS), global translation shuts down and favors the maintenance of the essential cellular proteome for cell viability and protection against protein misfolding. Here, we demonstrate that under normal conditions, the Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) eukaryotic translation initiation factor subunit eif3m1/eif3m2 double mutant exhibits poor pollen germination, loss of PT integrity and an increased rate of aborted seeds.

LACCASE35 Enhances Lignification and Resistance Against Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae Infection in Kiwifruit.

Kiwifruit bacterial canker, a highly destructive disease caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae (Psa), seriously affects kiwifruit (Actinidia spp.) production.

The ASPARAGINE-RICH PROTEIN-LYST-INTERACTING PROTEIN5 complex regulates non-canonical AUTOPHAGY8 degradation in Arabidopsis.

The endocytic and autophagic pathways play important roles in abiotic stress responses and maintaining cellular homeostasis in plants. Asparagine Rich Proteins (NRPs) are plant-specific stress-responsive proteins that are involved in many abiotic stress-related signaling pathways. We previously demonstrated that NRP promotes PIN FORMED 2 (PIN2) vacuolar degradation to maintain PIN2 homeostasis under abscisic acid (ABA) treatment in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana).

Flamingo participates in multiple models of cell competition.

The growth and survival of cells with different fitness, such as those with a proliferative advantage or a deleterious mutation, is controlled through cell competition. During development, cell competition enables healthy cells to eliminate less fit cells that could jeopardize tissue integrity, and facilitates the elimination of pre-malignant cells by healthy cells as a surveillance mechanism to prevent oncogenesis. Malignant cells also benefit from cell competition to promote their expansion.

Investigating the functional and structural effect of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms in the cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 gene: An in-silico study.

The cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA4) is essential in controlling T cell activity within the immune system. Thus, uncovering the molecular dynamics of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the CTLA4 gene is critical. We identified the non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs), examined their impact on protein stability, and identified the protein sequences associated with them in the human CTLA4 gene.

Preliminary screening of new biomarkers for sepsis using bioinformatics and experimental validation.

Background: The morbidity and mortality of sepsis remain high, and so far specific diagnostic and therapeutic means are lacking.

Objective: To screen novel biomarkers for sepsis.

Methods: Raw sepsis data were downloaded from the Chinese National Genebank (CNGBdb) and screened for differentially expressed RNAs.

Natural exposure to Chikungunya virus in golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas, Kuhl, 1820) from non-protected areas in southern Bahia, Brazil: Implications and significance.

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is primarily associated with non-human-primates (NHPs) in Africa, which also infect humans. Since its introduction to Brazil in 2014, CHIKV has predominantly thrived in urban cycles, involving Aedes aegypti mosquitoes. Limited knowledge exists regarding CHIKV occurrence and implications in rural and sylvatic cycles where neotropical NHPs are potential hosts, from which we highlight Leontopithecus chrysomelas (Kuhl, 1820), the golden-headed lion tamarin (GHLT), an endangered species endemic to the Atlantic Forest (AF) in Southern Bahia State, Brazil.

Ventral hippocampus to nucleus accumbens shell circuit regulates approach decisions during motivational conflict.

Successful resolution of approach-avoidance conflict (AAC) is fundamentally important for survival, and its dysregulation is a hallmark of many neuropsychiatric disorders, and yet the underlying neural circuit mechanisms are not well elucidated. Converging human and animal research has implicated the anterior/ventral hippocampus (vHPC) as a key node in arbitrating AAC in a region-specific manner. In this study, we sought to target the vHPC CA1 projection pathway to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) to delineate its contribution to AAC decision-making, particularly in the arbitration of learned reward and punishment signals, as well as innate signals.

Coordinated immune networks in leukemia bone marrow microenvironments distinguish response to cellular therapy.

Understanding how intratumoral immune populations coordinate antitumor responses after therapy can guide treatment prioritization. We systematically analyzed an established immunotherapy, donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI), by assessing 348,905 single-cell transcriptomes from 74 longitudinal bone marrow samples of 25 patients with relapsed leukemia; a subset was evaluated by both protein- and transcriptome-based spatial analysis. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML) DLI responders, we identified clonally expanded CD8 cytotoxic T lymphocytes with in vitro specificity for patient-matched AML.

Synthesis and preclinical evaluation of tigilanol tiglate analogs as latency-reversing agents for the eradication of HIV.

Tigilanol tiglate (EBC-46) is a selective modulator of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms that is Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for the treatment of mast cell tumors in canines with up to an 88% cure rate. Recently, it has been FDA approved for the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas in humans. The role of EBC-46 and, especially, its analogs in efforts to eradicate HIV, treat neurological and cardiovascular disorders, or enhance antigen density in antigen-targeted chimeric antigen receptor-T cell and chimeric antigen receptor-natural killer cell immunotherapies has not been reported.

Secondary metabolites of Alternaria alternate appraisal of their SARS-CoV-2 inhibitory and anti-inflammatory potentials.

This study identifies the secondary metabolites from Alternaria alternate and evaluates their ACE-2: Spike RBD (SARS-CoV-2) inhibitory activity confirmed via immunoblotting in human lung microvascular endothelial cells. In addition, their in vitro anti-inflammatory potential was assessed using a cell-based assay in LPS-treated RAW 264.7 macrophage cells.

Trace elements in fish species from the Punjnad headworks: Bioaccumulation and human health risk assessment.

Aquatic toxicology, as a result of industrial and agrieqcultural effluences, has become a global concern impacting not only the well-being of aquatic organisms but human health as well. The current study evaluated the impact of four toxic trace elements (TTEs) Cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and nickel (Ni) in three organs (liver, gills, and muscles) of five fish species viz, Rita rita, Sperata sarwari, Wallago attu, Mastacembelus armatus, and Cirrhinus mrigala collected from right and left banks of Punjnad headworks during winter, spring, and summer. We investigated the accumulation (mg/kg) of these TTEs in fish in addition to the human health risk assessment.

Computational design of multi-epitope vaccine against Hepatitis C Virus infection using immunoinformatics techniques.

Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) is a blood borne pathogen that affects around 200 million individuals worldwide. Immunizations against the Hepatitis C Virus are intended to enhance T-cell responses and have been identified as a crucial component of successful antiviral therapy. Nevertheless, attempts to mediate clinically relevant anti-HCV activity in people have mainly failed, despite the vaccines present satisfactory progress.

Mutant KRAS and CK2 Cooperatively Stimulate SLC16A3 Activity to Drive Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma Progression.

Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) is a lethal malignancy affecting the liver and biliary system. Enhanced understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms underlying iCCA tumorigenesis and the discovery of appropriate therapeutic targets are imperative to improve patient outcomes. Here, we investigated the functions and regulations of solute carrier family 16 member 3 (SLC16A3), which has been reported to be a biomarker of poor prognosis in iCCA.

Detection and analysis of Serpin and RP26 specific antibodies for monitoring Schistosoma haematobium transmission.

Background: Schistosoma haematobium is the causative pathogen for urogenital schistosomiasis. To achieve progress towards schistosomiasis elimination, there is a critical need for developing highly sensitive and specific tools to monitor transmission in near-elimination settings. Although antibody detection is a promising approach, it is usually unable to discriminate active infections from past ones.

Diffusive topology preserving manifold distances for single-cell data analysis.

Manifold learning techniques have emerged as crucial tools for uncovering latent patterns in high-dimensional single-cell data. However, most existing dimensionality reduction methods primarily rely on 2D visualization, which can distort true data relationships and fail to extract reliable biological information. Here, we present DTNE (diffusive topology neighbor embedding), a dimensionality reduction framework that faithfully approximates manifold distance to enhance cellular relationships and dynamics.

Life sets off a cascade of machines.

Life is invasive, occupying all physically accessible scales, stretching between almost nothing (protons, electrons, and photons) and almost everything (the whole biosphere). Motivated by seventeenth-century insights into this infinity, this paper proposes a language to discuss life as an infinite double cascade of machines making machines. Using this simplified language, we first discuss the micro-cascade proposed by Leibniz, which describes how the self-reproducing machine of the cell is built of smaller submachines down to the atomic scale.

The ligninolytic catalytic network reveals the importance of auxiliary enzymes in lignin biocatalysts.

Lignin degradation by biocatalysts is a key strategy to develop a plant-based sustainable carbon economy and thus alleviate global climate change. This process involves synergy between ligninases and auxiliary enzymes. However, auxiliary enzymes within secretomes, which are composed of thousands of enzymes, remain enigmatic, although several ligninolytic enzymes have been well characterized.

Variants in the SOX9 transactivation middle domain induce axial skeleton dysplasia and scoliosis.

SOX9 is a crucial transcriptional regulator of cartilage development and homeostasis. Dysregulation of is associated with a wide spectrum of skeletal disorders, including campomelic dysplasia, acampomelic campomelic dysplasia, and scoliosis. Yet how variants contribute to the spectrum of axial skeletal disorders is not well understood.

Macromolecular interactions and geometrical confinement determine the 3D diffusion of ribosome-sized particles in live cells.

The crowded bacterial cytoplasm is composed of biomolecules that span several orders of magnitude in size and electrical charge. This complexity has been proposed as the source of the rich spatial organization and apparent anomalous diffusion of intracellular components, although this has not been tested directly. Here, we use biplane microscopy to track the 3D motion of self-assembled bacterial genetically encoded multimeric nanoparticles (bGEMs) with tunable size (20 to 50 nm) and charge (-3,240 to +2,700 e) in live cells.

A split-GAL4 driver line resource for neuron types.

Techniques that enable precise manipulations of subsets of neurons in the fly central nervous system (CNS) have greatly facilitated our understanding of the neural basis of behavior. Split-GAL4 driver lines allow specific targeting of cell types in and other species. We describe here a collection of 3060 lines targeting a range of cell types in the adult CNS and 1373 lines characterized in third-instar larvae.

ERBB4 selectively amplifies TGF-β pro-metastatic responses.

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) is well known to play paradoxical roles in tumorigenesis as it has both growth-inhibitory and pro-metastatic effects. However, the underlying mechanisms of how TGF-β drives the opposing responses remain largely unknown. Here, we report that ERBB4, a member of the ERBB receptor tyrosine kinase family, specifically promotes TGF-β's metastatic response but not its anti-growth response.

Aurora B controls microtubule stability to regulate abscission dynamics in stem cells.

Abscission is the last step of cell division. It separates the two sister cells and consists of cutting the cytoplasmic bridge. Abscission is mediated by the ESCRT membrane remodeling machinery, which also triggers the severing of a thick bundle of microtubules.

Protocol for real-time assessment of energy metabolism in dissociated mouse retinal photoreceptors using a SeahorseXFe24 analyzer.

Defects in retinal metabolism have been linked to the onset and progression of various retinal diseases. Herein, we provide a protocol for measuring bioenergetics in dissociated mouse retinal photoreceptors. We outline detailed instructions for obtaining morphologically intact and viable photoreceptor cells from adult mice and preparing the cells for metabolic analysis using a SeahorseXFe24 analyzer.