Cytoplasmic fluidization contributes to breaking spore dormancy in fission yeast.

The cytoplasm is a complex, crowded environment that influences myriad cellular processes including protein folding and metabolic reactions. Recent studies have suggested that changes in the biophysical properties of the cytoplasm play a key role in cellular homeostasis and adaptation. However, it still remains unclear how cells control their cytoplasmic properties in response to environmental cues.

Supersulfide catabolism participates in maladaptive remodeling of cardiac cells.

The atrophic myocardium resulting from mechanical unloading and nutritional deprivation is considered crucial as maladaptive remodeling directly associated with heart failure, as well as interstitial fibrosis. Conversely, myocardial hypertrophy resulting from hemodynamic loading is perceived as compensatory stress adaptation. We previously reported the abundant presence of highly redox-active polysulfide molecules, termed supersulfide, with two or more sulfur atoms catenated in normal hearts, and the supersulfide catabolism in pathologic hearts after myocardial infarction correlated with worsened prognosis of heart failure.

Multielectron Reduction of Esters by a Diazabenzacenaphthenium Photoredox Catalyst.

A novel diazabenzacenaphthenium photocatalyst, , with high photoredox abilities and visible-light absorption was designed and prepared in one step. Under visible-light irradiation, promoted the four-electron reduction of esters in the presence of ammonium oxalate as a "traceless reductant" to generate carbinol anion intermediates that underwent protonation with water to give the corresponding alcohols. The resulting carbinol anions also exhibited nucleophilic reactivity under the photocatalytic conditions to undergo a 1,2-addition to a second carbonyl compound, affording unsymmetric 1,2-diols.

ORP9-PH domain-based fluorescent reporters for visualizing phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate dynamics in living cells.

Fluorescent reporters that visualize phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI4P) in living cells are indispensable to elucidate the roles of this fundamental lipid in cell physiology. However, currently available PI4P reporters have limitations, such as Golgi-biased localization and low detection sensitivity. Here, we present a series of fluorescent PI4P reporters based on the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of oxysterol-binding protein-related protein 9 (ORP9).

Celebrating the Birthday of AMPA Receptor Nanodomains: Illuminating the Nanoscale Organization of Excitatory Synapses with 10 Nanocandles.

A decade ago, in 2013, and over the course of 4 summer months, three separate observations were reported that each shed light independently on a new molecular organization that fundamentally reshaped our perception of excitatory synaptic transmission (Fukata et al., 2013; MacGillavry et al., 2013; Nair et al.

Alternative localization of HEME OXYGENASE 1 in plant cells regulates cytosolic heme catabolism.

Heme, an organometallic tetrapyrrole, is widely engaged in oxygen transport, electron delivery, enzymatic reactions, and signal transduction. In plants, it is also involved in photomorphogenesis and photosynthesis. HEME OXYGENASE 1 (HO1) initiates the first committed step in heme catabolism, and it has generally been thought that this reaction takes place in chloroplasts.

Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) Measurements on Alkali Metal Superatoms of Ta-Atom-Encapsulated Si Cage.

The silicon cage nanoclusters encapsulating a tantalum atom, termed Ta@Si, exhibit characteristics of alkali metal "superatoms (SAs)". Despite this conceptual framework, the precise structures of Ta@Si and Ta@Si remain unclear in quantum calculations due to three energetically close structural isomers: , , and structures. To identify the geometrical structure of Ta@Si SAs, structural analysis was conducted using extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) with a high-intensity monochromatic X-ray source, keeping anaerobic conditions.

The Role of Momentum Partitioning in Covariance Ion Imaging Analysis.

We present results from a covariance ion imaging study, which employs extensive filtering, on the relationship between fragment momenta to gain deeper insight into photofragmentation dynamics. A new data analysis approach is introduced that considers the momentum partitioning between the fragments of the breakup of a molecular polycation to disentangle concurrent fragmentation channels, which yield the same ion species. We exploit this approach to examine the momentum exchange relationship between the products, which provides direct insight into the dynamics of molecular fragmentation.

Synchronized Expansion and Contraction of Olfactory, Vomeronasal, and Taste Receptor Gene Families in Hystricomorph Rodents.

Chemical senses, including olfaction, pheromones, and taste, are crucial for the survival of most animals. There has long been a debate about whether different types of senses might influence each other. For instance, primates with a strong sense of vision are thought to have weakened olfactory abilities, although the oversimplified trade-off theory is now being questioned.

Transition condition between memories of vibration and flow in the memory effect of paste.

Because of its plasticity, a densely packed colloidal suspension, called a paste, remembers directions of its motion, such as vibration and flow. When it dries, primary desiccation cracks propagate in a direction perpendicular to the direction of its vibrational motion and parallel to the direction of its flow motion, which are memory effects of paste. Application of an oscillatory shear strain to a paste using a rheometer reveals that the transition from memory of vibration to that of flow is induced when the amplitude of the oscillatory shear strain exceeds a threshold value.

Live-cell fluorescence imaging and optogenetic control of PKA kinase activity in fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe.

The cAMP-PKA signaling pathway plays a crucial role in sensing and responding to nutrient availability in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. This pathway monitors external glucose levels to control cell growth and sexual differentiation. However, the temporal dynamics of the cAMP-PKA pathway in response to external stimuli remains unclear mainly due to the lack of tools to quantitatively visualize the activity of the pathway.

Different Host-Endogenous Retrovirus Relationships between Mammals and Birds Reflected in Genome-Wide Evolutionary Interaction Patterns.

Mammals and birds differ largely in their average endogenous retrovirus loads, namely the proportion of endogenous retrovirus in the genome. The host-endogenous retrovirus relationships, including conflict and co-option, have been hypothesized among the causes of this difference. However, there has not been studies about the genomic evolutionary signal of constant host-endogenous retrovirus interactions in a long-term scale and how such interactions could lead to the endogenous retrovirus load difference.

Structural determinants of the direct inhibition of GIRK channels by Sigma-1 receptor antagonist.

G-protein-gated inward rectifier K (GIRK) channels play a critical role in the regulation of the excitability of cardiomyocytes and neurons and include GIRK1, GIRK2, GIRK3 and GIRK4 subfamily members. BD1047 dihydrobromide (BD1047) is one of the representative antagonists of the multifunctional Sigma-1 receptor (S1R). In the analysis of the effect of BD1047 on the regulation of Gi-coupled receptors by S1R using GIRK channel as an effector, we observed that BD1047, as well as BD1063, directly inhibited GIRK currents even in the absence of S1R and in a voltage-independent manner.

LOV2-based photoactivatable CaMKII and its application to single synapses: Local Optogenetics.

Optogenetic techniques offer a high spatiotemporal resolution to manipulate cellular activity. For instance, Channelrhodopsin-2 with global light illumination is the most widely used to control neuronal activity at the cellular level. However, the cellular scale is much larger than the diffraction limit of light (<1 μm) and does not fully exploit the features of the "high spatial resolution" of optogenetics.

Structure-based engineering of Tor complexes reveals that two types of yeast TORC1 produce distinct phenotypes.

Certain proteins assemble into diverse complex states, each having a distinct and unique function in the cell. Target of rapamycin (Tor) complex 1 (TORC1) plays a central role in signalling pathways that allow cells to respond to the environment, including nutritional status signalling. TORC1 is widely recognised for its association with various diseases.

Japanese wolves are most closely related to dogs and share DNA with East Eurasian dogs.

Although the domestic dog's origin is still unclear, this lineage is believed to have been domesticated from an extinct population of gray wolves, which is expected to be more closely related to dogs than to other populations of gray wolves. Here, we sequence the whole genomes of nine Japanese wolves (7.5-100x: Edo to Meiji periods) and 11 modern Japanese dogs and analyze them together with those from other populations of dogs and wolves.

Generation of chimpanzee induced pluripotent stem cell lines for cross-species comparisons.

As humans' closest living relatives, chimpanzees offer valuable insights into human evolution. However, technical and ethical limitations hinder investigations into the molecular and cellular foundations that distinguish chimpanzee and human traits. Recently, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as a novel model for functional comparative studies and provided a non-invasive alternative for studying embryonic phenomena.

Inhibition of amyloid-β(16-22) aggregation by polyphenols using replica permutation with solute tempering molecular dynamics simulation.

Aggregates of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides are thought to cause Alzheimer's disease. Polyphenolic compounds are known to inhibit Aβ aggregation. We applied replica permutation with solute tempering (RPST) to the system of Aβ fragments, Aβ(16-22), and polyphenols to elucidate the mechanism of inhibition of Aβ aggregation.

Rapid and reversible dissolution of biomolecular condensates using light-controlled recruitment of a solubility tag.

Biomolecular condensates are broadly implicated in both normal cellular regulation and disease. Consequently, several chemical biology and optogenetic approaches have been developed to induce phase separation of a protein of interest. However, few tools are available to perform the converse function-dissolving a condensate of interest on demand.

Subthalamic Activity for Motor Execution and Cancelation in Monkeys.

The subthalamic nucleus (STN) receives cortical inputs via the and pathways, projects to the output nuclei of the basal ganglia, and plays a critical role in the control of voluntary movements and movement disorders. STN neurons change their activity during execution of movements, while recent studies emphasize STN activity specific to cancelation of movements. To address the relationship between execution and cancelation functions, we examined STN activity in two Japanese monkeys (, both sexes) who performed a goal-directed reaching task with a delay that included Go, Cancel, and NoGo trials.

Supersulfide prevents cigarette smoke extract-induced mitochondria hyperfission and cardiomyocyte early senescence by inhibiting Drp1-filamin complex formation.

Smoking is one of the most serious risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Although cigarette mainstream and sidestream smoke are significant contributors to increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, the underlying mechanism is still unclear. Here, we report that exposure of rat neonatal cardiomyocytes to cigarette smoke extract (CSE) induces mitochondrial hyperfission-mediated myocardial senescence.

Experimental and Theoretical Study for Core Excitation of Firefly Luciferin in Carbon K-Edge Spectra.

Carbon (C) K-edge X-ray absorption spectra for firefly luciferin were measured and assigned using time-dependent density functional theoretical calculations for luciferin anion and dianion to elucidate the effect of hydroxy-group deprotonation. It was found that the C K-edge spectra for luciferin had four characteristic peaks. The effect of deprotonation of the hydroxy group appears in the energy difference of the first and second peaks of these spectra.