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Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) factors have long been known in some wild plants, and also in some domesticated species, where they are used to produce plants to be used as maternal parents, for example to breed hybrids that display hybrid vigor. Their origins have been mystifying, and now a study recently published in Cell Research helps understand how one widely-used rice CMS factor evolved.
A recent study makes the surprising observation that autophagosomes can still form in the absence of the core conjugation machinery. Furthermore, while such autophagosomes can fuse with lysosomes, their degradation is delayed, and this is associated with delayed destruction of the inner autophagosomal double membrane, highlighting a new role for proteins thought to act exclusively in the formation of autophagosomes in late stages of the autophagic itinerary within autolysosomes.
Cells and organisms adapt to mitochondrial dysfunction by activating the mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt), which is regulated by mitochondrial-to-nuclear communication; and UPRmt activation can also be transmitted between different cell types suggesting a role in tissue coordination. Shao and colleagues now identify a neuronal circuit and a secreted neuropeptide required for cell non-autonomous UPRmt regulation.
Studying the immune response against infection with hepatitis viruses is hampered by the lack of suitable preclinical model systems. A recent publication in Science identifies the cytosolic adapter molecule MAVS as being responsible for species restriction of infection with hepatitis A virus as well as linking cytosolic immune sensing in infected hepatocytes with innate effector functions and protective adaptive immunity.
A recent paper published in Nature reports that the immunosuppressive activity of tumor-associated macrophages is regulated via PI3Kγ signaling. Small-molecule inhibitors targeting PI3Kγ stimulate T cell activity against tumor alone and add additional effects for clinically proven PD1 immunotherapy.
Despite major advances in understanding the genetics and epigenetics of acute myelogenous leukemia, there is still a great need to develop more specific and effective therapies. High throughput approaches involving either genetic approaches or small molecule inhibitor screens are beginning to identify promising new therapeutic targets.
Recent evidence indicates that codon optimality is a broad determinant of mRNA stability. A study by Radhakrishnan et al. in Cell raises the possibility that the conserved DEAD-box protein Dhh1 underlies the phenomenon.
A near-atomic resolution structure of a mammalian voltage-gated calcium channel (Cav) has been determined. This first fully-assembled Cav structure illuminates mechanisms of Cav properties and functions and ushers in a new era in Cav research and beyond.
Two recent studies reveal a crucial role for the cation channel TRPM2 in sensing warm temperatures, both in the thermoregulatory center of the brain and in the somatosensory system.