Centriolar cap proteins CP110 and CPAP control slow elongation of microtubule plus ends.

Centrioles are microtubule-based organelles required for the formation of centrosomes and cilia. Centriolar microtubules, unlike their cytosolic counterparts, are stable and grow very slowly, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we reconstituted in vitro the interplay between the proteins that cap distal centriole ends and control their elongation: CP110, CEP97, and CPAP/SAS-4.

Physico-chemical properties and substrate specificity of α-(1→3)-d-glucan degrading recombinant mutanase from expressed in .

Unlabelled: The gene encoding fungus mutanase (MutA, GH71 family, α-1,3-glucanase, EC 3.2.1.

Nanosecond Molecular Motion in pHP1α Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation Captured by Solid-State NMR.

The relationship among protein structure, function, and dynamics is fundamental to biological activity, particularly in more complex biomolecular systems. Solid-state and solution-state NMR techniques offer powerful means to probe these dynamics across various time scales. However, standard assumptions about molecular motion are often challenged in phase-separated systems like phosphorylated heterochromatin protein 1 alpha (pHP1α), which exhibit both solid- and solution-like characteristics.

Convergent pairs of highly transcribed genes restrict chromatin looping in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Dictyostelium discoideum is a unicellular slime mold, developing into a multicellular fruiting body upon starvation. Development is accompanied by large-scale shifts in gene expression program, but underlying features of chromatin spatial organization remain unknown. Here, we report that the Dictyostelium 3D genome is organized into positionally conserved, largely consecutive, non-hierarchical and weakly insulated loops at the onset of multicellular development.

Unraveling the role of E. coli and calf intestinal alkaline phosphatase in calcium phosphate synthesis.

The enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of calcium phosphate is a promising method for producing calcium-based nanomaterials for biomedical applications. The purpose of this work was to determine the type of phosphate that forms when alkaline phosphatase catalyzes the reaction, and to identify the role of natural biopolymers in calcium phosphate formation. In this research, we analyzed calcium phosphates that were synthesized in the presence of alkaline phosphatase from either E.

Bottlebrush Pastes as a Platform for Solvent-Free, Injectable, and Shape-Persistent Materials with Tissue-Mimetic Viscoelasticity.

Architecturally hindered crystallization of bottlebrush graft copolymers offers a reaction- and solvent-free pathway for creating injectable elastomers with tissue-mimetic softness. Currently, injectable materials involve solvents and chemical reactions, leading to uncontrolled swelling, leaching of unreacted moieties, and side reactions with tissue. To address this issue, bottlebrush copolymers with a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) amorphous block and crystallizable poly(lactic acid) (PLA) grafted chains (A--B) were synthesized, with grafted chains of controlled length arranged along the backbone at controlled spacing.

Comparative evaluation of ACetic - MEthanol high salt dissociation approach for single-cell transcriptomics of frozen human tissues.

Current dissociation methods for solid tissues in scRNA-seq studies do not guarantee intact single-cell isolation, especially for sensitive and complex human endocrine tissues. Most studies rely on enzymatic dissociation of fresh samples or nuclei isolation from frozen samples. Dissociating whole intact cells from fresh-frozen samples, commonly collected by biobanks, remains a challenge.

The freeze-thaw cycle effect on blood serum autofluorescence, Raman spectroscopy and SERS: implications for sample classification and disease diagnostics.

The issue of variability introduced into blood plasma and serum analysis by preanalytical procedures is the major obstacle to obtaining accurate and reproducible results. While the question of how to overcome this issue has been discussed in biochemical detection of analytes and omics technologies, its relevance to the field of optical spectroscopy remains mostly unexplored. In this work, we evaluated the freeze-thaw cycle (FTC)-induced alternations in blood serum optical properties by means of autofluorescence and Raman spectroscopy, including surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).

Bacteria Flagella-Mimicking Polymer Multilayer Magnetic Microrobots.

Mass production of biomedical microrobots demands expensive and complex preparation techniques and versatile biocompatible materials. Learning from natural bacteria flagella, the study demonstrates a magnetic polymer multilayer cylindrical microrobot that bestows the controllable propulsion upon an external rotating magnetic field with uniform intensity. The magnetic microrobots are constructed by template-assisted layer-by-layer technique and subsequent functionalization of magnetic particles onto the large opening of the microrobots.

Engineering hydrogen bonding at tyrosine-201 in the orange carotenoid protein using halogenated analogues.

The Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) is a unique water-soluble photoactive protein that plays a critical role in regulating the balance between light harvesting and photoprotective responses in cyanobacteria. The challenge in understanding OCP´s photoactivation mechanism stems from the heterogeneity of the initial configurations of its embedded ketocarotenoid, which in the dark-adapted state can form up to two hydrogen bonds to critical amino acids in the protein's C-terminal domain, and the extremely low quantum yield of primary photoproduct formation. While a series of experiments involving point mutations within these contacts helped us to identify these challenges, they did not resolve them.

Systematic evaluation of intratumoral and peripheral BCR repertoires in three cancers.

The current understanding of humoral immune response in cancer patients suggests that tumors may be infiltrated with diffuse B cells of extra-tumoral origin or may develop organized lymphoid structures, where somatic hypermutation and antigen-driven selection occur locally. These processes are believed to be significantly influenced by the tumor microenvironment through secretory factors and biased cell-cell interactions. To explore the manifestation of this influence, we used deep unbiased immunoglobulin profiling and systematically characterized the relationships between B cells in circulation, draining lymph nodes (draining LNs), and tumors in 14 patients with three human cancers.

Pallidal Spike-Train Variability and Randomness Are the Most Important Signatures to Classify Parkinson's Disease and Cervical Dystonia.

Movement disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and cervical dystonia (CD) are associated with abnormal neuronal activity in the globus pallidus internus (GPi). Reduced firing rate and presence of spiking bursts are typical for CD, whereas PD is characterized by high frequency tonic activity. This research aims to identify the most important pallidal spiking parameters to classify these conditions.

Machine learning recognition of hybrid lead halide perovskites and perovskite-related structures from X-ray diffraction patterns.

Identification of crystal structures is a crucial stage in the exploration of novel functional materials. This procedure is usually time-consuming and can be false-positive or false-negative. This necessitates a significant level of expert proficiency in the field of crystallography and, especially, requires deep experience in perovskite-related structures of hybrid perovskites.

Hormonal Implications of SARS-CoV-2: A Review of Endocrine Disruptions.

To improve medical care and rehabilitation algorithms for patients affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is important to evaluate and summarize the available data on the effect of coronavirus infection (COVID-19) on the endocrine system. The purpose of this review was to study the effect of COVID-19 on the endocrine system. The scientific novelty of this study is the evaluation of the effect of coronavirus infection on the endocrine system and the potential effect of hormones on susceptibility to COVID-19.

Chlorination-Supported Shrinkage of C60 Fullerene to Non-classical C58 Cages.

We provide important novel insights into skeletal transformations of fullerene by reporting new cases of cage shrinkage in the most abundant C60 fullerene via a C2 loss. High-temperature (400-500 oC) chlorination of IPR C60 with SbCl5 or SbCl5/SbCl3 mixtures predominantly gives non-IPR C60Cln compounds via Stone-Wales rearrangements, but the present study further reveals non-classical C58Cln chlorofullerenes as by-products. The new C58(NC1)Cl20 and C58(NC1)Cl24 chlorides have been isolated by air-free HPLC and structurally characterized by X-ray crystallography.

Macrolactin A Is an Inhibitor of Protein Biosynthesis in Bacteria.

Macrolactin A (McA) is a secondary metabolite produced by Bacillus species. It has been known for its antimicrobial properties since the late 1980s, although the exact mechanism of its antibacterial activity remains unknown. In this study, we have found that McA is an inhibitor of protein synthesis in bacteria.

Preclinical evaluation of Ga-labeled folic acid conjugates for visualization of inflammatory foci.

Introduction: Folate receptors (FR) have been considered a convenient target for different radiopharmaceuticals in recent years. Multifarious Ga-labeled folate conjugates have been proposed as promising agents for the PET imaging of FR-overexpressing malignant neoplasms. In addition, radiolabeled folate-based conjugates can be effective for imaging non-tumor pathological foci characterized by a pronounced cluster of activated macrophages.

Whisker-free lithium electrodeposition by tuning electrode microstructure.

Growth of lithium whiskers or dendrites is the major obstacle towards safe and stable utilization of lithium metal anodes in rechargeable batteries. In this study, we look deeper into the mechanism of lithium electrodeposition. We find that before lithium whisker or dendrite nucleation occurs, lithium is deposited into the grain boundaries of the metal electrode, which we directly observed in the focused ion beam cross-sections of the lithium electrode.

Challenges and insights of transferring animal maze studies principles to human spatial learning research.

Maze tasks, originally developed in animal research, have become a popular method for studying human cognition, particularly with the advent of virtual reality. However, these experiments frequently rely on simplified environments and tasks, which may not accurately reflect the complexity of real-world situations. Our pilot study aims to transfer a multi-alternative maze with a complex task structure, previously demonstrated to be useful in studying animal cognition, to studying human spatial cognition.

Mutational interference with oligomerization properties of OCP-related apo- and holoproteins studied by analytical ultracentrifugation.

In this study, the oligomerization pattern of apo- and holoforms of the Orange Carotenoid Protein (OCP) was examined under different conditions such as photoactivation state, concentration, and carotenoid embedment using analytical ultracentrifugation. Furthermore, studies were conducted on OCP constructs carrying point mutations of amino acid residues affecting OCP oligomerization. Our findings reveal that the concentration-dependent dimerization of dark-adapted OCP holoprotein from Synechocystis sp.

Interaction of small heat shock proteins with BAG3.

BAG3 is a universal adapter protein involved in various cellular processes, including the regulation of apoptosis, chaperone-assisted selective autophagy, and heat shock protein function. The interaction between small heat shock proteins (sHsps) and their α-crystallin domains (Acds) with full-length BAG3 protein and its IPV domain was analyzed using size-exclusion chromatography, native gel electrophoresis, and chemical cross-linking. HspB7 and the 3D mutant of HspB1 (which mimics phosphorylation) showed no interaction, HspB6 weakly interacted, and HspB8 strongly interacted with full-length BAG3.

The Impact of Ligand Structure and Reaction Temperature on Ethenolysis of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters Catalyzed by Spirocyclic Alkyl Amino Carbene Ru Complexes.

Spirocyclic alkyl amino carbene (SCAAC) Ru complexes demonstrate outstanding activity and selectivity in ethenolysis of methyl oleate (MO) or fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs), and 5,6-dimethoxyindane derivative was the most active catalyst to date. For the further catalyst design, we proposed modifying the spirocyclic fragment by fusion of saturated carbo- or heterocycle, linked to the 5,6-positions of indane or 6,7- positions of tetralin. Another suggested way of the modification of SCAAC complex was the insertion of chromane fragment to the carbene ligand.

Diversity of (Symplocaceae, Ericales) at low latitudes in Asia during late Oligocene and Miocene.

•Three types of from the late Oligocene and Miocene of Guangxi showcase the diversity of during this time.•Earliest Asian megafossils of are from the late Oligocene of Nanning Basin, Guangxi, China.•Fossils and modeling reveal was quite diverse and has persisted at low latitudes within Asia since late Oligocene.

Entanglement and quantum discord in the cavity QED models.

We investigate the quantum correlation between light and matter in bipartite quantum systems, drawing on the Jaynes-Cummings model and the Tavis-Cummings model, which are well-established in cavity quantum electrodynamics. Through the resolution of the quantum master equation, we can derive the dissipative dynamics in open systems. To assess the extent of quantum correlation, several measures are introduced: von Neumann entropy, concurrence and quantum discord.