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Recently, the first crystal structure of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel known as GLIC was published, which represented a closed state of the channel. In two papers in this issue, presumptive open states of a related channel — ELIC — have been crystallized and show significant tilting of the M2 and M3 α-helices from the closed state.
Recently, the first crystal structure of a pentameric ligand-gated ion channel known as GLIC was published, which represented a closed state of the channel. In two papers in this issue, presumptive open states of a related channel — ELIC — have been crystallized and show significant tilting of the M2 and M3 α-helices from the closed state.
Whether G proteins have a role in hedgehog (Hh) signal transduction has been controversial. In this study, Smoothened (Smo) is shown to activate a G protein, Gαi, to modulate intracellular cyclic AMP levels in response to Hh.
The NS1 protein of the influenza virus is a critical virulence factor that antagonizes the host antiviral response by multiple mechanisms, including the binding and sequestration of double-stranded RNA. This paper describes the structure of full-length NS1 protein and shows that individual domains interact in such a way as to form tubules, which may sequester dsRNA, allowing the virus to evade the innate immune response.
This paper shows that during early myogenesis, Wnt11 plays an essential role in the oriented elongation of the myocytes. In addition, Wnt11 mediates this effect through the evolutionary conserved planar cell polarity pathway (PCP), which is downstream of the Wnt/β-catenin-dependent pathway. It is also shown that localized ectopic source of Wnt11 can change the orientation of myocytes, indicating that Wnt11 acts as a directional cue in this process.
The generation of isolated lymphoid follicles is shown to depend on NOD1-induced responses to bacterial components. Isolated lymphoid follicles are in turn are shown to affect the composition of the host microbiota.
This study identifies a subset of natural killer (NK) cells in the gut that produce interleukin-22, rather than mediate target cell killing. It is suggested that these NK cells, referred to as NK-22 cells, may help constrain inflammation and contribute to the maintenance of mucosal integrity.
Growing neuronal processes such as axons and dendrites must reach and stop within specific target areas in the developing brain. But most cell surface molecules critical for such targeting are too broadly expressed to allow for regional specificity. It is now shown that distinct axons stop in different Cadherin-N expressing layers on the basis of when and how long they express the transcription factor sequoia.
Recent studies have indicated that a cell's proteome is significantly larger than the number of protein-coding genes due to extensive alternative splicing. This study describes an unbiased, genome-wide method to characterize RNA-protein binding interactions in vivo. The binding sites of the neuron-specific splicing factor Nova are characterized with the unexpected result that Nova may have an additional function in regulating alternative polyadenylation as well.