Haastrupregan3093

Parallel processing circuits are thought to dramatically expand the network capabilities of the nervous system. Magnocellular and parvocellular oxytocin neurons have been proposed to subserve two parallel streams of social information processing, which allow a single molecule to encode a diverse array of ethologically distinct behaviors. Here we provide the first comprehensive characterization of magnocellular and parvocellular oxytocin neurons in male mice, validated across anatomical, projection target, electrophysiological, and transcriptional criteria. We next use novel multiple feature selection tools in Fmr1-KO mice to provide direct evidence that normal functioning of the parvocellular but not magnocellular oxytocin pathway is required for autism-relevant social reward behavior. Finally, we demonstrate that autism risk genes are enriched in parvocellular compared with magnocellular oxytocin neurons. Taken together, these results provide the first evidence that oxytocin-pathway-specific pathogenic mechanisms account for social impairments across a broad range of autism etiologies.How cellular checkpoints couple the orderly assembly of macromolecular machines with cell-cycle progression is poorly understood. The alpha-proteobacterium Caulobacter crescentus assembles a single polar flagellum during each cell cycle. We discovered that the expression of multiple flagellin transcripts is licensed by a translational checkpoint responsive to a dual input signal a secretion-competent hook-basal-body (HBB) structure and a surge in the FlaF secretion chaperone during cytokinesis, instructed by the cell-cycle program. We find that the unorthodox FljJ flagellin, one of the six flagellin paralogs, acts as a checkpoint linchpin, binding both FlaF and the FlbT translational regulator. FljJ recruits FlbT to inhibit translation at the 5' untranslated region in other flagellin transcripts before HBB assembly. Once FlaF is synthesized and stabilized, it directs FljJ secretion through the HBB, thereby separating FlbT from its co-activator and relieving translational inhibition. The FlbT/FlaF pair is wide spread and its functional properties are conserved in alpha-proteobacteria, including pathogens.Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is constantly evolving. Prior studies focused on high-case-density locations, such as the northern and western metropolitan areas of the United States. This study demonstrates continued SARS-CoV-2 evolution in a suburban southern region of the United States by high-density amplicon sequencing of symptomatic cases. 57% of strains carry the spike D614G variant, which is associated with higher genome copy numbers, and its prevalence expands with time. Four strains carry a deletion in a predicted stem loop of the 3' UTR. The data are consistent with community spread within local populations and the larger continental United States. The data instill confidence in current testing sensitivity and validate "testing by sequencing" as an option to uncover cases, particularly nonstandard coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) clinical presentations. This study contributes to the understanding of COVID-19 through an extensive set of genomes from a non-urban setting and informs vaccine design by defining D614G as a dominant and emergent SARS-CoV-2 isolate in the United States.Aberrant mitophagy has been implicated in a broad spectrum of disorders. PINK1, Parkin, and ubiquitin have pivotal roles in priming mitophagy. However, the entire regulatory landscape and the precise control mechanisms of mitophagy remain to be elucidated. Here, we uncover fundamental mitophagy regulation involving PINK1 and a non-canonical role of the mitochondrial Tu translation elongation factor (TUFm). The mitochondrion-cytosol dual-localized TUFm interacts with PINK1 biochemically and genetically, which is an evolutionarily conserved Parkin-independent route toward mitophagy. A PINK1-dependent TUFm phosphoswitch at Ser222 determines conversion from activating to suppressing mitophagy. PINK1 modulates differential translocation of TUFm because p-S222-TUFm is restricted predominantly to the cytosol, where it inhibits mitophagy by impeding Atg5-Atg12 formation. The self-antagonizing feature of PINK1/TUFm is critical for the robustness of mitophagy regulation, achieved by the unique kinetic parameters of p-S222-TUFm, p-S65-ubiquitin, and their common kinase PINK1. Our findings provide new mechanistic insights into mitophagy and mitophagy-associated disorders.The microbiome plays an important role in human health and disease. Our current understanding of the human microbiome is limited. A significant amount of progress has been made in this area of research in the last two decades. The human microbiome plays an important role in host metabolism and physiology. Recent studies suggest a critical relationship between the human microbiome and host metabolism. The interactions between the microbiome and host metabolism affect human health and disease. However, this review of the literature indicates that more studies are required using new technologies to have a greater understanding of the role the human microbiome plays in human health and disease.Sestrins are a family of proteins that respond to a variety of environmental stresses, including genotoxic, oxidative, and nutritional stresses. Sestrins affect multiple signaling pathways AMP-activated protein kinase, mammalian target of rapamycin complexes, insulin-AKT, and redox signaling pathways. By regulating these pathways, Sestrins are thought to help adapt to stressful environments and subsequently restore cell and tissue homeostasis. In this review, we describe how Sestrins mediate physiological stress responses in the context of nutritional and chemical stresses (liver), physical movement and exercise (skeletal muscle), and chemical, physical, and inflammatory injuries (heart). These findings also support the idea that Sestrins are a molecular mediator of hormesis, a paradoxical beneficial effect of low- or moderate-level stresses in living organisms.

BET (bromodomain and extraterminal) epigenetic reader proteins, in particular BRD4 (bromodomain-containing protein 4), have emerged as potential therapeutic targets in a number of pathological conditions, including cancer and cardiovascular disease. Small-molecule BET protein inhibitors such as JQ1 have demonstrated efficacy in reversing cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in preclinical models. Yet, genetic studies elucidating the biology of BET proteins in the heart have not been conducted to validate pharmacological findings and to unveil potential pharmacological side effects.

By engineering a cardiomyocyte-specific BRD4 knockout mouse, we investigated the role of BRD4 in cardiac pathophysiology. We performed functional, transcriptomic, and mitochondrial analyses to evaluate BRD4 function in developing and mature hearts.

Unlike pharmacological inhibition, loss of BRD4 protein triggered progressive declines in myocardial function, culminating in dilated cardiomyopathy. Verubecestat cost Transcriptome analysis of BRD4 knockout mouse heart tissue identified early and specific disruption of genes essential to mitochondrial energy production and homeostasis.