A lattice of protein tetramers

A self-assembling 2D lattice protects replication of a bacterial virus

Some bacterial viruses enclose their replicating DNA in a protein-based ‘phage nucleus’. Nieweglowska et al. show that the structure is a lattice of tetramers linked by flexible loops and tails.

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  • Estrogen controls female fertility in part via restraining or promoting kisspeptin (Kiss1)-neuron activity in the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus and the AVPV hypothalamic nucleus, respectively. Here the authors report that estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) interacts with the genome and the nuclear receptor co-repressor NR0B1 (DAX1) to manifest region-specific actions on Kiss1 expression.

    • Jose M. Ramos-Pittol
    • Isabel Fernandes-Freitas
    • Bryn M. Owen
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Cell type-specific gene expression patterns are outputs of transcriptional gene regulatory networks (GRNs) that connect transcription factors and signaling proteins to target genes. Here, the authors present single-cell Multi-Task Network Inference (scMTNI), a multi-task learning framework to infer cell type-specific GRN dynamics from scRNA-seq and scATAC-seq datasets collected for diverse cell fate specification trajectories.

    • Shilu Zhang
    • Saptarshi Pyne
    • Sushmita Roy
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Self-renewing cells play an important role in initiation, progression, and therapy resistance in glioblastoma. Here, the authors identify histone variant macroH2A2 as a regulator of chromatin organisation resulting in the suppression of transcriptional programs of self-renewal in glioblastoma.

    • Ana Nikolic
    • Francesca Maule
    • Marco Gallo
    ArticleOpen Access

Subjects within Biological sciences

  • Estrogen controls female fertility in part via restraining or promoting kisspeptin (Kiss1)-neuron activity in the arcuate hypothalamic nucleus and the AVPV hypothalamic nucleus, respectively. Here the authors report that estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) interacts with the genome and the nuclear receptor co-repressor NR0B1 (DAX1) to manifest region-specific actions on Kiss1 expression.

    • Jose M. Ramos-Pittol
    • Isabel Fernandes-Freitas
    • Bryn M. Owen
    ArticleOpen Access
  • The mechanisms that drive myocyte orientation and fusion to control muscle directionality are not well understood. Here authors show that the developing skeleton produces mechanical tension that instructs the directional outgrowth of skeletal muscles.

    • Kazunori Sunadome
    • Alek G. Erickson
    • Igor Adameyko
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Binding antibody levels correlate with protection against infection with the ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strain, but it is not clear whether this relationship extends to the Omicron variant. Here, the authors characterise antibody dynamics and their relationship with Omicron infection in a longitudinal cohort from Geneva, Switzerland.

    • Javier Perez-Saez
    • María-Eugenia Zaballa
    • Ania Wisniak
    ArticleOpen Access
  • Maintaining systemic acid-base balance is a central task of the kidneys, but it is still undetermined how acid-base alterations are perceived by the kidney. Here, the authors show that the solute transporter AE4 in β-intercalated cells is an essential part of the renal acid-base sensing mechanism

    • H. Vitzthum
    • M. Koch
    • H. Ehmke
    ArticleOpen Access

Subjects within Health sciences

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  • Identifying topological defects in disordered materials has a profound effect on predicting when and where the material will break. Matteo Baggioli comments a recent publication in Nature Communications, which confirms the existence of defects in glasses and their crucial role for plasticity.

    • Matteo Baggioli
    CommentOpen Access
  • Early detection of immunotherapy-induced tumor response is of major benefit for patients but can be complicated by therapy-induced pseudoprogression. A consensus guideline-iRECIST- was developed as a modification of Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST version 1.1). Here we describe which next steps are required to test its validity and how novel approaches for response criteria might be developed and included.

    • Elena Garralda
    • Scott A. Laurie
    • Elisabeth G. E. de Vries
    CommentOpen Access
  • Issues with data reuse have been recognized in synthetic biology and the broader scientific community. Policies and standards fall short as machine reasoning is not emphasised and enforcement is lacking. We discuss the progress, remaining challenges, and possible solutions.

    • Jeanet Mante
    • Chris J. Myers
    CommentOpen Access
  • Progress to reduce plastic pollution has been painfully slow and the consequent damage to the natural environment and to human health is likely to increase further. This has been because the views and ways of working of four distinct stakeholder communities are not sufficiently well integrated. (1) Scientists, (2) industry, (3) society at large and (4) those making policy and legislation must in future find ways to work together.

    • Richard S. Lampitt
    • Stephen Fletcher
    • Adrian Whyle
    CommentOpen Access
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