Anatomy articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    In patients with diabetes, insulin release from pancreatic β-cells is reduced due to altered islet structure and function. Here, Brereton et al. show that elevated blood glucose underlies these changes and is sufficient to reversibly alter β-cell identity in a mouse model of β-cell dysfunction.

    • Melissa F. Brereton
    • , Michaela Iberl
    •  & Frances M. Ashcroft

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The liver is an important regulator of glucose homeostasis. Here, the authors provide insight into the molecular signalling pathways controlling hepatic gluconeogenesis by showing that SIK protein kinases suppress gluconeogenesis, and that glucagon—but not insulin—regulates phosphorylation of SIK2.

    • Kashyap Patel
    • , Marc Foretz
    •  & Kei Sakamoto

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Diet variations can alter gut microbial composition, but the potential influence of host genetic factors on these effects is unclear. Here, the authors show, in humans and in natural and laboratory fish populations, that such effects are dependent on the host’s sex, a genetically determined factor.

    • Daniel I. Bolnick
    • , Lisa K. Snowberg
    •  & Richard Svanbäck

  • Article |

    Understanding how developmental, functional and geometric factors determine brain evolution is challenging. Here, the authors show that chimpanzee and human brains have a modular structure and find that local spatial interactions pose stronger constrains to evolution than developmental and functional patterns.

    • Aida Gómez-Robles
    • , William D. Hopkins
    •  & Chet C. Sherwood

  • Article |

    The transcription factor Wilms’ tumour 1 (WT1) regulates kidney development, and Wt1 mutations are associated with renal cancer. Here the authors identify WT1 target genes in renal progenitors during early kidney development in mouse embryos and show that loss of Wt1suppresses FGF and induces BMP signalling.

    • Fariba Jian Motamedi
    • , Danielle A. Badro
    •  & Andreas Schedl

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Intestinal microbes can have important effects on our health. Here, the authors analyse the gut microbiota composition in 1,000 western adults and find that certain bacteria are either abundant or nearly absent, and that these alternative states are associated with ageing and overweight.

    • Leo Lahti
    • , Jarkko Salojärvi
    •  & Willem M. de Vos

  • Article |

    Brown adipocytes are rich in mitochondria and influence whole-body energy balance. Here, Duteil et al. show that the lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) controls mitochondrial biogenesis and the formation of brown-like adipocytes, and that LSD1 overexpression in white fat reduces weight gain of mice on a high-fat diet.

    • Delphine Duteil
    • , Eric Metzger
    •  & Roland Schüle

  • Article |

    The age-related decline in the regenerative capacity of muscle can be reversed in mice by exposure to young circulation. Elabd et al.identify the hormone, oxytocin, as a potential mediator of this effect, showing that its plasma levels decline with age and that administration of oxytocin to aged mice improves muscle regeneration.

    • Christian Elabd
    • , Wendy Cousin
    •  & Irina M. Conboy

  • Article |

    The specificity in myogenic transcription is poorly defined. Here, Jin et al. describe Ebf3 as a regulator of terminal muscle differentiation in the diaphragm and show that Ebf factors cooperate with the myogenic regulatory factor MyoD in the induction of muscle-specific genes.

    • Saihong Jin
    • , Jeehee Kim
    •  & Matthias Kieslinger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Osteoclasts are bone-resorbing cells responsible for the loss of bone mass in diseases such as osteoporosis. Here the authors show that osteoclast proliferation and survival is regulated by FoxO family transcription factors, which control levels of the signalling molecule hydrogen peroxide.

    • Shoshana M. Bartell
    • , Ha-Neui Kim
    •  & Maria Almeida

  • Article |

    The resting zone of the growth plate of mammalian long bones contains stem-like chondrocytes. Here, the authors show that G-protein stimulatory alpha subunit, Gsα, and the Gq/11α G-proteins together protect stem-like chondrocytes from apoptosis and preserve chondrocyte quiescence in mouse growth plates.

    • Andrei S. Chagin
    • , Karuna K. Vuppalapati
    •  & Henry M. Kronenberg

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Gut microbes influence our health and may contribute to human adaptation to different lifestyles. Here, the authors describe the gut microbiome of a community of hunter-gatherers and identify unique features that could be linked to a foraging lifestyle.

    • Stephanie L. Schnorr
    • , Marco Candela
    •  & Alyssa N. Crittenden

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Patients with oesophageal diseases may require surgical removal and replacement of the oesophagus. Here the authors seed mesenchymal stromal cells on a decellularized rat oesophagus and show that this bioengineered tissue construct restores swallowing function after transplantation into rats.

    • Sebastian Sjöqvist
    • , Philipp Jungebluth
    •  & Paolo Macchiarini

  • Article |

    Gut-associated Peyer’s patches are lymphoid tissues that generate IgA-secreting cells, however less is known about related caecal patches. Here, Masahata et al.show that caecal patches produce IgA-positive B cells that migrate to the intestines to maintain faecal microbiota homeostasis.

    • Kazunori Masahata
    • , Eiji Umemoto
    •  & Kiyoshi Takeda

  • Article |

    The peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ co-activator 1α (PGC-1α) is implicated in regulating the morphology and function of the neuromuscular junction. Here, Arnold et al.show that PGC-1α promotes the remodeling of pre- and postsynaptic neuromuscular junction sites, even in the absence of physical activity.

    • Anne-Sophie Arnold
    • , Jonathan Gill
    •  & Christoph Handschin

  • Article |

    It remains unclear whether colorectal cancer metastases in the liver arise from intermediate metastases in the lymph nodes or directly from the primary tumour. Enquist et al.demonstrate lymph node-independent metastasis using a mouse model in which tumours are transplanted directly onto the luminal surface of the colon.

    • Ida B. Enquist
    • , Zinaida Good
    •  & Kevin G. Leong

  • Article |

    Adipocyte differentiation is accompanied by large scale changes in the actin cytoskeleton. Here, Nobusue et al.show that binding to G-actin sequesters the transcriptional coactivator MKL1 in the cytoplasm, and triggers differentiation by inducing the expression of pro-adipogenic transcription factor PPARγ.

    • Hiroyuki Nobusue
    • , Nobuyuki Onishi
    •  & Koichiro Kano

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ornamental twin-tail goldfish has a bifurcated caudal skeleton that arose during domestication, but the developmental mechanisms that generate this tail are unknown. Here, Abe et al. show that a mutation in the chordingene affects embryonic dorsal–ventral patterning causing the bifurcated tail skeleton.

    • Gembu Abe
    • , Shu-Hua Lee
    •  & Kinya G. Ota

  • Article |

    The segmentation motor activity of the small intestine is believed to be a result of alternating inhibitory and excitatory neural activity. Huizinga et al.show that the segmentation motor pattern is in fact a result of phase–amplitude interactions of slow-wave activities generated by two networks of interstitial cells of Cajal.

    • Jan D. Huizinga
    • , Ji-Hong Chen
    •  & David Chen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Studies on Patient H.M. showed that bilateral resection of the hippocampus results in impaired consolidation of long-term memory. Annese et al.create a digital map of Henry Molaison’s brain and find that a significant portion of the posterior hippocampus is actually histologically intact.

    • Jacopo Annese
    • , Natalie M. Schenker-Ahmed
    •  & Suzanne Corkin

  • Article |

    Antibiotics alter the intestinal microbiota and facilitate colonization of pathogens such as Clostridium difficile. Here, the authors show that antibiotic-induced shifts in the mouse gut microbiome are correlated with changes in levels of certain metabolites that C. difficilecan use for germination and growth.

    • Casey M. Theriot
    • , Mark J. Koenigsknecht
    •  & Vincent B. Young

  • Article |

    Findings from ex vivo studies suggest that gap junctional coupling contributes to hormone release in neuroendocrine/endocrine tissues. Here, the authors provide in vivo evidence that direct communication between adrenal chromaffin cells viagap junctions contributes to catecholamine secretion.

    • Michel G. Desarménien
    • , Carole Jourdan
    •  & Nathalie C. Guérineau

  • Article |

    The calcium-selective Orai1 channel regulates cytosolic calcium levels in a variety of cells. Here the authors use transgenic mice with muscle-specific expression of dysfunctional Orai1 to show that Orai1-mediated store-operated calcium entry promotes growth and limits fatigue of adult skeletal muscle.

    • Lan Wei-LaPierre
    • , Ellie M. Carrell
    •  & Robert T. Dirksen

  • Article |

    Loss-of-function mutations in PKD1, the gene encoding the plasma membrane receptor Polycystin-1, lead to renal cyst formation in polycystic kidney disease. Here, Castelli et al. show that Polycystin-1 interacts with the Par3 polarity complex and has a role in the morphogenesis of kidney tubules during mouse development.

    • Maddalena Castelli
    • , Manila Boca
    •  & Alessandra Boletta

  • Article |

    Current methods to image brown adipose tissue rely on radioactive tracers and specialized imaging equipment. Here Azhdarinia et al.report a peptide-based probe that selectively binds to the vascular endothelium of brown adipose tissue and allows the near-infrared imaging of brown fat in mice.

    • Ali Azhdarinia
    • , Alexes C. Daquinag
    •  & Mikhail G. Kolonin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The structure of the human gut microbiota has been shown to vary between populations. Tyakht et al.analyse the gut microbiota assembly from Russian individuals living in urban and rural areas, and compare these with previously studied populations.

    • Alexander V. Tyakht
    • , Elena S. Kostryukova
    •  & Vadim M. Govorun

  • Article |

    The nuclear protein HMGB1 is involved in muscle fibre formation. Here, Dormoy-Raclet et al. show that during muscle cell differentiation, the RNA-binding protein HuR promotes HMGB1mRNA translation by preventing its repression by miR-1192.

    • Virginie Dormoy-Raclet
    • , Anne Cammas
    •  & Imed-Eddine Gallouzi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Surface area features of developing visual cortices are implicated in visual perception. Songet al.measure visual discrimination sensitivity in humans and find that an increase in visual cortical surface area activity is associated with improved discrimination sensitivity and degraded contextual illusions.

    • Chen Song
    • , Dietrich S. Schwarzkopf
    •  & Geraint Rees

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Calorie restriction has been shown to extend lifespan in diverse model systems, however, the mechanisms underlying this effect remain unclear. Zhang et al.show that calorie restriction changes the structure of the gut microbiota in mice, enriching for phylotypes positively correlated with lifespan.

    • Chenhong Zhang
    • , Shoufeng Li
    •  & Liping Zhao

  • Article |

    Energy demand in muscle is largely due to maintaining the membrane potential of muscle fibres. Jimenez et al.study the metabolic cost of maintaining the membrane potential of muscle fibres across different species of crustaceans and fishes, and find that larger fibres are metabolically cheaper to maintain.

    • Ana Gabriela Jimenez
    • , Richard M. Dillaman
    •  & Stephen T. Kinsey

  • Article |

    Satellite cells have important roles in homeostasis and regeneration of skeletal muscles. Urciuolo et al. show that the extracellular matrix protein collagen VI is required for preserving satellite cell self-renewal and muscle regeneration in vitro and in vivoby modulating muscle mechanical properties.

    • Anna Urciuolo
    • , Marco Quarta
    •  & Paolo Bonaldo

  • Article |

    The number of primordial follicles, which constitute the ovarian reserve, decreases with age. By overexpressing a constitutively active version of the transcription factor FOXO3, the authors increase the ovarian reserve and fertility in aging female mice.

    • Emanuele Pelosi
    • , Shakib Omari
    •  & Chris Ottolenghi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The gut microbiota produces metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which can influence the development of obesity. Here Kimura et al.show that SCFAs act via the receptor GPR43, which acts as a sensor for excessive dietary energy and controls body energy utilization as well as metabolic homoeostasis.

    • Ikuo Kimura
    • , Kentaro Ozawa
    •  & Gozoh Tsujimoto

  • Article |

    The brains of rock- and sand-dwelling Lake Malawi cichlid fishes differ in telencephalon partitioning. Sylvester et al. show that these differences can be attributed to divergence in Hedgehog and Wingless signalling during development.

    • J B. Sylvester
    • , C A. Rich
    •  & J T. Streelman

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