Article
Neurosciences
Adam Davison, Uwe Thorsten Lux, Johann Helmut Brandstaetter, Norbert Babai
Summary: It has been found that the Ca2+ currents in cone photoreceptor terminals consist of low-voltage-activated (T-type) and high-voltage-activated (L-type) channels. The T-type Ca2+ channels are located close to the release machinery and generate self-generated spikes in response to light/dark transitions. These findings expand the functional repertoire of cone photoreceptors and enhance synaptic transmission.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Evan Lloyd, Brittnee McDole, Martin Privat, James B. Jaggard, Erik R. Duboue, German Sumbre, Alex C. Keene
Summary: The Mexican cavefish Astyanax mexicanus provides an opportunity to study the evolutionary changes in sensory circuits in response to environmental perturbation. The study shows that the functional connectivity of the optic tectum in cavefish remains largely unchanged except for the loss of negatively correlated activity, indicating the resistance of positively correlated neural activity to the loss of input from the retina. Additionally, the changes in the tectum are found to be genetically distinct from the encoding of eye loss.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fan Yang, Hongwei Ma, Michael R. Butler, Xi-Qin Ding
Summary: This study investigated how preserving ER Ca2+ stores leads to cone protection through cone-specific deletion of IP(3)R1, demonstrating that the absence of IP(3)R1 improves protein localization and reduces ER stress and cone death. The findings highlight the importance of ER Ca2+ stores in ER proteostasis and protein trafficking in photoreceptors, supporting the potential of IP(3)R1 as a critical mediator in cone protection.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ping Zhu, Frank Dyka, Xiaojie Ma, Ling Yin, Heather Yu, Wolfgang Baehr, William W. Hauswirth, Wen-Tao Deng
Summary: The missense mutations in red/green cone opsin genes have been shown to impact the structure, function, and localization of M-opsin, potentially resulting in damage and loss within cone cells.
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Tiffany M. Richardson, Diane C. Saunders, Rachana Haliyur, Shristi Shrestha, Jean-Philippe Cartailler, Rachel B. Reinert, Jenna Petronglo, Rita Bottino, Radhika Aramandla, Amber M. Bradley, Regina Jenkins, Sharon Phillips, Hakmook Kang, Alejandro Caicedo, Alvin C. Powers, Marcela Brissova
Summary: The autonomic nervous system regulates pancreatic function. Islet capillaries and nerve fibers in islets play important roles in islet hormone secretion. In type 1 diabetes, beta cell loss results in a decline in intraislet capillaries and reduction of islet innervation, possibly contributing to abnormal glucagon secretion.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaotian Jiang, Rabab Rashwan, Valentina Voigt, Jeanne Nerbonne, David M. Hunt, Livia S. Carvalho
Summary: Loss of Kv8.2 subunits in murine retina contributes to early cellular and physiological changes leading to retinal dysfunction.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Tobias B. Alter, Lars M. Blank, Birgitta E. Ebert
Summary: Proteins play a crucial role in shaping microbial phenotypes, and optimal protein allocation is important for maximizing proliferation rates and adaptive responses to environmental changes. A protein allocation model (PAM) improves the predictability of metabolic responses to genetic perturbations and correctly reflects metabolic responses to changes in protein burden, advancing the accuracy of simulated phenotypes and intracellular flux distributions of E. coli. By integrating protein allocation constraints into classical constraint-based models, it enhances predictive capabilities and enables applications for strain analysis and metabolic engineering purposes.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hui Xu, Nange Jin, Jen-Zen Chuang, Zhao Zhang, Xiaoyue Zhong, Zhijing Zhang, Ching-Hwa Sung, Christophe P. Ribelayga, Yingbin Fu
Summary: This study investigates the physiological roles of cone opsins in mice using a loss-of-function approach. It finds that mice with cone opsin deficiency are unable to form normal outer segments but can survive for an extended period of time. Although these mutant cones do not respond to light directly, they continue to mediate visual signaling by relaying the rod signals through rod-cone gap junctions.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Cell Biology
Ivana Herrera, Jose Alex Lourenco Fernandes, Khatereh Shir-Mohammadi, Jasmine Levesque, Pierre Mattar
Summary: The study reveals that the nuclear lamina plays a role in genome organization during the degeneration of rod photoreceptors. The tethering of heterochromatin by proteins like LBR and LA affects genome accessibility, with a particular impact on stress-responsive genes.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Nazanin Mohammadzadeh, Weston Roda, William G. Branton, Julien Clain, Henintsoa Rabezanahary, Ouafa Zghidi-Abouzid, Benjamin B. Gelman, Jonathan B. Angel, Eric A. Cohen, M. John Gill, Michael Li, Jerome Estaquier, Christopher Power
Summary: Despite modern antiretroviral therapy (ART) suppressing HIV-1 in plasma to undetectable levels, its impact on HIV-1 brain reservoirs remains uncertain. Studies show that contemporary ART did not suppress viral burden in the brain, regardless of ART component regimen, duration of therapy, and interruption, highlighting the need for new strategies to effectively suppress HIV-1 in the brain for sustained HIV suppression.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Xun Chen, Mingchen Chen, Peter G. Wolynes, Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, Harry B. Gray
Summary: This study investigates long-range electron tunneling through metalloproteins. The findings reveal that the rapid electron flow in wild-type azurin is facilitated by a pattern of minimally frustrated local and distant interactions, while sluggish electron transfer reactions in active-site azurin variants are attributed to increased frustration near and distant from the copper site.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Raghavi Sudharsan, Leonardo Murgiano, Hsin-Yao Tang, Timothy W. Olsen, Venkata R. M. Chavali, Gustavo D. Aguirre, William A. Beltran
Summary: A novel short PRL isoform lacking exon 1 was identified in the retinas of dogs with advanced photoreceptor disease, showing expression in photoreceptors of degenerating retinas and localization to the outer nuclear layer shortly after disease onset. Further investigations are needed to understand the role of this isoform in retinal degeneration.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Genevieve E. Martin, Debattama R. Sen, Matthew Pace, Nicola Robinson, Jodi Meyerowitz, Emily Adland, John P. Thornhill, Mathew Jones, Ane Ogbe, Lucia Parolini, Natalia Olejniczak, Panagiota Zacharopoulou, Helen Brown, Christian B. Willberg, Nneka Nwokolo, Julie Fox, Sarah Fidler, W. Nicholas Haining, John Frater
Summary: Early T cell dysfunction in HIV infection can be partially reversed by ART initiated during primary HIV infection, leading to improvements in immune reconstitution but only partial resolution of HIV-related phenotypic and epigenetic changes.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Manuela Voelkner, Felix Wagner, Lisa Maria Steinheuer, Madalena Carido, Thomas Kurth, Ali Yazbeck, Jana Schor, Stephanie Wieneke, Lynn J. A. Ebner, Claudia Del Toro Runzer, David Taborsky, Katja Zoschke, Marlen Vogt, Sebastian Canzler, Andreas Hermann, Shahryar Khattak, Joerg Hackermueller, Mike O. Karl
Summary: Human organoids can provide valuable insights into complex and incurable neuropathologies. In this study, researchers successfully established a human retinal organoid system that replicates various aspects of the human retina, including those within the macula. By combining TNF and HBEGF, the researchers induced the degeneration of photoreceptors, glial pathologies, dyslamination, and scar formation, uncovering a previously unknown pathomechanism. This research could have significant implications for age-related macular degeneration and other related diseases, offering potential therapeutic approaches.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Hwee Goon Tay, Helder Andre, Vicki Chrysostomou, Swarnaseetha Adusumalli, Jing Guo, Xiaoyuan Ren, Wei Sheng Tan, Jia En Tor, Aida Moreno-Moral, Flavia Plastino, Hammurabi Bartuma, Zuhua Cai, Sai Bo Bo Tun, Veluchamy Amutha Barathi, Gavin Tan Siew Wei, Gianluca Grenci, Li Yen Chong, Arne Holmgren, Anders Kvanta, Crowston Jonathan Guy, Enrico Petretto, Karl Tryggvason
Summary: We generated a human recombinant retina-specific laminin isoform, LN523, and discovered its role in promoting the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into photoreceptor progenitors. The transplantation of these cells into mice resulted in the protection and replacement of the host photoreceptor layer, as well as visual improvement in the transplanted animals. This study demonstrates the potential of stem cell-based therapeutics for the treatment of retinal degeneration.