Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
Reengineering of the lac operon in E. coli from a ligand-inducible to a blue-light-regulated gene expression system facilitates optogenetic control of biotechnological applications including metabolic engineering and protein expression.
Pyruvate-responsive circuits based on an orthologous transcription factor and adaptation of an antisense transcriptional circuit were developed to sense pyruvate in Bacillus subtilis and redirect metabolism for optimized glucaric acid production.
An irreversible small-molecule inhibitor of histone methyltransferase NSD1 is developed, which binds covalently to the C2062 residue in the catalytic SET domain and represses H3K36 dimethylation and target gene expression in leukemia cells.
Bariatric surgery causes high rates of remission of type 2 diabetes; however, the mechanisms remain unresolved. A new study identifies cholic-acid-7-sulfate as a novel contributor to the metabolic benefits of bariatric surgery and an attractive target for treatment of type 2 diabetes.
A cell-free system for cannabinoid production uses only low-cost inputs with 12 enzymes and can operate either aerobically or anaerobically, in addition to reducing ATP requirements by use of an engineered system for malonate-CoA biosynthesis.
Structural and biochemical analysis of E. coli transketolase with 2′-methoxy-thiamine shows that this antivitamin selectively inhibits the bacterial enzyme via a steric clash with a critical glutamate residue, preventing cofactor activation.
It is generally believed that large protein complexes provide a catalytic advantage due to substrate channeling between enzymatic domains. However, the structure and function of the pentafunctional AROM complex suggests a noteworthy exception.
Reprogramming requires resetting the epigenome toward a pluripotent chromatin state. A new chemical screen identifies epigenetic and signaling roadblocks for reprogramming of human somatic cells, with the inhibition of these roadblocks resulting in a more permissive epigenome for reprogramming.
Altered glycosylation helps cancer cells evade immune destruction, and targeted remodeling of glycans in vivo offers the ability to reprogram immune responses. A stable chemical linkage between an antibody and neuraminidase enables the targeted destruction of self-associated sialic acids to enhance antitumor immunity.
Cryo-EM structural work defines binding of the insecticide CHL in the pseudo-voltage-sensor domain of ryanodine receptor RyR that triggers conformational changes leading to channel opening and explains the resistance to CHL by some insects.
A chemical screen targeting major epigenetic pathways identifies permissive epigenetic states that enable reprogramming with a broad range of transcriptional regulators and almost all octamer-binding (OCT) family members.
The interaction between E1 and E2 is targeted by a stapled peptide that mimics the alpha-1 helix of E2, resulting in blockade of ubiquitin transfer from E1 to E2.
Structural and biophysical approaches suggest that structural preorganization is important for triggering endogenous CD8+ T cells and escape from immune tolerance, as demonstrated by a single nonsynonymous mutation in an ovarian cancer neoepitope
Application of an electrical field to Geobacter sulfurreducens biofilms stimulates production of OmcZ nanowires, which undergo a pH-induced conformational switch that causes increased stiffness and conductivity due to enhanced heme group π-stacking.
An αHER2 antibody–neuraminidase conjugate, which selectively targets the removal of sialic acids from glycans on breast cancer cells, bypasses a glycoimmune checkpoint and enhances tumor cell killing by the host immune system.
