Ryefitzgerald1545

Repair after traumatic injury often starts with mitotic activation around the lesion edges. Early midline cells in the Drosophila embryonic CNS can enter into division following the traumatic disruption of microtubules. We demonstrate that microtubule disruption activates non-canonical TNF signaling by phosphorylation of TGF-β activated kinase 1 (Tak1) and its target IkappaB kinase (Ik2), culminating in Dorsal/NfkappaB nuclear translocation and Jra/Jun expression. Tak1 and Ik2 are necessary for the damaged-induced divisions. Microtubule disruption caused by Tau accumulation is also reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Human Tau expression in Drosophila midline cells is sufficient to induce Tak1 phosphorylation, Dorsal and Jra/Jun expression, and entry into mitosis. Interestingly, activation of Tak1 and Tank binding kinase 1 (Tbk1), the human Ik2 ortholog, and NfkappaB upregulation are observed in AD brains.NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-dependent Ca2+ influx underpins multiple forms of synaptic plasticity. Most synaptic NMDAR currents in the adult forebrain are mediated by GluN2A-containing receptors, which are rapidly inserted into synapses during long-term potentiation (LTP); however, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we show that GluN2A is phosphorylated at Ser-1459 by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase IIα (CaMKIIα) in response to glycine stimulation that mimics LTP in primary neurons. Phosphorylation of Ser-1459 promotes GluN2A interaction with the sorting nexin 27 (SNX27)-retromer complex, thereby enhancing the endosomal recycling of NMDARs. Loss of SNX27 or CaMKIIα function blocks the glycine-induced increase in GluN2A-NMDARs on the neuronal membrane. Interestingly, mutations of Ser-1459, including the rare S1459G human epilepsy variant, prolong the decay times of NMDAR-mediated synaptic currents in heterosynapses by increasing the duration of channel opening. These findings not only identify a critical role of Ser-1459 phosphorylation in regulating the function of NMDARs, but they also explain how the S1459G variant dysregulates NMDAR function.Efforts to overcome resistance to immune checkpoint blockade therapy have focused on vaccination strategies using neoepitopes, although they cannot be applied on a large scale due to the "private" nature of cancer mutations. Here, we show that infection of tumor cells with Salmonella induces the opening of membrane hemichannels and the extracellular release of proteasome-generated peptides by the exacerbation of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. ABR238901 Peptides released by cancer cells foster an antitumor response in vivo, both in mice bearing B16F10 melanomas and in dogs suffering from osteosarcoma. Mass spectrometry analysis on the supernatant of human melanoma cells revealed 12 peptides capable of priming healthy-donor CD8+ T cells that recognize and kill human melanoma cells in vitro and when xenotransplanted in vivo. Hence, we identified a class of shared tumor antigens that are generated in ER-stressed cells, such as tumor cells, that do not induce tolerance and are not presented by healthy cells.Perineuronal nets (PNNs), components of the extracellular matrix, preferentially coat parvalbumin-positive interneurons and constrain critical-period plasticity in the adult cerebral cortex. Current strategies to remove PNN are long-lasting, invasive, and trigger neuropsychiatric symptoms. Here, we apply repeated anesthetic ketamine as a method with minimal behavioral effect. We find that this paradigm strongly reduces PNN coating in the healthy adult brain and promotes juvenile-like plasticity. Microglia are critically involved in PNN loss because they engage with parvalbumin-positive neurons in their defined cortical layer. We identify external 60-Hz light-flickering entrainment to recapitulate microglia-mediated PNN removal. Importantly, 40-Hz frequency, which is known to remove amyloid plaques, does not induce PNN loss, suggesting microglia might functionally tune to distinct brain frequencies. Thus, our 60-Hz light-entrainment strategy provides an alternative form of PNN intervention in the healthy adult brain.The meal distribution of proteins throughout the day is usually skewed. However, its physiological implications and the effects of better protein distribution on muscle volume are largely unknown. Here, using the two-meals-per-day feeding model, we find that protein intake at the early active phase promotes overloading-induced muscle hypertrophy, in a manner dependent on the local muscle clock. Mice fed branched-chain amino acid (BCAA)-supplemented diets at the early active phase demonstrate skeletal muscle hypertrophy. However, distribution-dependent effects are not observed in ClockΔ19 or muscle-specific Bmal1 knockout mice. Additionally, we examined the relationship between the distribution of proteins in meals and muscle functions, such as skeletal muscle index and grip strength in humans. Higher muscle functions were observed in subjects who ingested dietary proteins mainly at breakfast than at dinner. These data suggest that protein intake at breakfast may be better for the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass.Virgin females of many species conduct distinctive behaviors, compared with post-mated and/or pregnant individuals. In Drosophila, this post-mating switch is initiated by seminal factors, implying that the default female state is virgin. However, we recently showed that loss of miR-iab-4/8-mediated repression of the transcription factor Homothorax (Hth) within the abdominal ventral nerve cord (VNC) causes virgins to execute mated behaviors. Here, we use genomic analysis of mir-iab-4/8 deletion and hth-microRNA (miRNA) binding site mutants (hth[BSmut]) to elucidate doublesex (dsx) as a critical downstream factor. Dsx and Hth proteins are highly complementary in CNS, and Dsx is downregulated in miRNA/hth[BSmut] mutants. Moreover, virgin behavior is highly dose sensitive to developmental dsx function. Strikingly, depletion of Dsx from very restricted abdominal neurons (SAG-1 cells) abrogates female virgin conducts, in favor of mated behaviors. Thus, a double-negative regulatory pathway in the VNC (miR-iab-4/8 ˧ Hth ˧ Dsx) specifies the virgin behavioral state.Competitive cell interactions play a crucial role in quality control during development and homeostasis. Here, we show that cancer cells use such interactions to actively eliminate wild-type intestine cells in enteroid monolayers and organoids. This apoptosis-dependent process boosts proliferation of intestinal cancer cells. The remaining wild-type population activates markers of primitive epithelia and transits to a fetal-like state. Prevention of this cell-state transition avoids elimination of wild-type cells and, importantly, limits the proliferation of cancer cells. Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling is activated in competing cells and is required for cell-state change and elimination of wild-type cells. Thus, cell competition drives growth of cancer cells by active out-competition of wild-type cells through forced cell death and cell-state change in a JNK-dependent manner.During early development, before the eyes open, synaptic refinement of sensory networks depends on activity generated by developing neurons themselves. In the mouse visual system, retinal cells spontaneously depolarize and recruit downstream neurons to bursts of activity, where the number of recruited cells determines the resolution of synaptic retinotopic refinement. Here we show that during the second post-natal week in mouse visual cortex, somatostatin (SST)-expressing interneurons control the recruitment of cells to retinally driven spontaneous activity. Suppressing SST interneurons increases cell participation and allows events to spread farther along the cortex. During the same developmental period, a second type of high-participation, retina-independent event occurs. During these events, cells receive such large excitatory charge that inhibition is overwhelmed and large parts of the cortex participate in each burst. These results reveal a role of SST interneurons in restricting retinally driven activity in the visual cortex, which may contribute to the refinement of retinotopy.Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) treatment of animals or ocular lenses in culture recapitulates many molecular changes observed in human age-related nuclear cataract. The guinea pig HBO model has been one of the best examples of such treatment leading to dose-dependent development of lens nuclear opacities. In this study, complimentary mass spectrometry methods were employed to examine protein truncation after HBO treatment of aged guinea pigs. Quantitative liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis of the membrane fraction of guinea pig lenses showed statistically significant increases in aquaporin-0 (AQP0) C-terminal truncation, consistent with previous reports of accelerated loss of membrane and cytoskeletal proteins. In addition, imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) analysis spatially mapped the acceleration of age-related αA-crystallin truncation in the lens nucleus. The truncation sites in αA-crystallin closely match those observed in human lenses with age. Taken together, our results suggest that HBO accelerates the normal lens aging process and leads to nuclear cataract.Widespread Plasmodium falciparum resistance to first-line antimalarials underscores the vital need to develop compounds with novel modes of action and identify new druggable targets. Here, we profile five compounds that potently inhibit P. falciparum asexual blood stages. Resistance selection studies with three carboxamide-containing compounds, confirmed by gene editing and conditional knockdowns, identify point mutations in the parasite transporter ABCI3 as the primary mediator of resistance. Selection studies with imidazopyridine or quinoline-carboxamide compounds also yield changes in ABCI3, this time through gene amplification. Imidazopyridine mode of action is attributed to inhibition of heme detoxification, as evidenced by cellular accumulation and heme fractionation assays. For the copy-number variation-selecting imidazopyridine and quinoline-carboxamide compounds, we find that resistance, manifesting as a biphasic concentration-response curve, can independently be mediated by mutations in the chloroquine resistance transporter PfCRT. These studies reveal the interconnectedness of P. falciparum transporters in overcoming drug pressure in different parasite strains.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause of dementia and a major global health issue. Currently, only limited treatment options are available to patients. One possibility to expand the treatment repertoire is repurposing of existing drugs such as dimethyl fumarate (DMF). DMF is approved for treatment of multiple sclerosis and previous animal studies have suggested that DMF may also have a beneficial effect for the treatment of AD.

We used an APPPS1 transgenic model of senile β-amyloidosis and treated female mice orally with DMF in two treatment paradigms (pre and post onset). We quantified learning and memory parameters, β-amyloidosis, and neuroinflammation to determine the potential of DMF as AD therapeutics.

Treatment with DMF had no influence on water maze performance, β-amyloid accumulation, plaque formation, microglia activation, and recruitment of immune cells to the brain. Compared to vehicle-treated animals, oral DMF treatment could not halt or retard disease progression in the mice.

Our results do not favour the use of DMF as treatment for AD.