Physiology articles within Nature Communications

Featured

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Recent data suggest that muscle contraction is regulated by thick filament mechano-sensing in addition to the well-known thin filament-mediated calcium signalling pathway. Here the authors provide direct evidence that myosin activation in skeletal muscle is controlled by thick filament stress independently of calcium.

    • L. Fusi
    • , E. Brunello
    •  & M. Irving

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The stroke volume of the heart increases in response to an increase in the blood volume filling the heart. Here the authors reveal that this coordinated process is mediated in part by oxidative activation of the protein kinase G Iα, which phosphorylates phospholamban to enhance diastolic relaxation in mice.

    • Jenna Scotcher
    • , Oleksandra Prysyazhna
    •  & Philip Eaton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Restoring lost excitability of injured tissue is a paramount of regenerative medicine. By using a combined expression of bacterial voltage-gated Na+ channel, Kir2.1, and connexin-43 in non-excitable human fibroblasts, here the authors generate excitable cells that rescue action potential conduction in an in vitromodel of cardiac fibrosis.

    • Hung X. Nguyen
    • , Robert D. Kirkton
    •  & Nenad Bursac

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Raising cellular levels of the metabolic cofactor NAD+ reverses key indicators of aging. Here, Ratajczak et al. show that cellular levels of NAD+ depend on the extracellular catalytic activity of NRK1, which processes two NAD+precursors, nicotinamide mononucleotide and nicotinamide riboside, in mice.

    • Joanna Ratajczak
    • , Magali Joffraud
    •  & Carles Cantó

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bmal1 is a key transcription factor that controls rhythmicity of diverse biological functions. Here, Pan et al. show that Bmal1 deficiency in mice increases lipoprotein secretion and reduces cholesterol excretion to bile, and decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying hyperlipidaemia and atherosclerosis promoted by the lack of Bmal1.

    • Xiaoyue Pan
    • , Christopher A. Bradfield
    •  & M. Mahmood Hussain

  • Article
    | Open Access

    NAD+ is an important coenzyme that mediates cellular metabolism and defends against stresses due to age and overnutrition. Here the authors demonstrate unique bioavailability of the NAD+ precursor vitamin nicotinamide riboside (NR) in mice and humans, and show that NR safely elevates human NAD+.

    • Samuel A. J. Trammell
    • , Mark S. Schmidt
    •  & Charles Brenner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    How both BMP and Wnt signalling pathways regulate lineage specification early in development is unclear. Here, the authors show that endoglin via Jdp2, an AP-1 family member, modulates BMP and Wnt signalling to commit mesodermal progenitors to a haematopoietic fate at the expense of the cardiac lineage.

    • June Baik
    • , Alessandro Magli
    •  & Rita C. R. Perlingeiro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Obesity is associated with higher breast cancer risk and poor prognosis. Here, the authors show that obesity promotes breast cancer through the recruitment of macrophages with activated NLRC4 inflammasome, which activate IL-1β production, resulting in VEGFA expression in adipocytes and angiogenesis.

    • Ryan Kolb
    • , Liem Phan
    •  & Weizhou Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Type 2 diabetes and obesity are associated with increased hepatic gluconeogenesis and lipogenesis, known as selective insulin resistance. Here Kubota et al. explain selective insulin resistance in the liver with the zonal distribution and selective insulin-mediated regulation of Irs1 and Irs2.

    • Naoto Kubota
    • , Tetsuya Kubota
    •  & Takashi Kadowaki

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Identification of non-coding variants has outstripped our ability to annotate and interpret them. Dickel et al. present a compendium of over 80,000 putative human heart enhancers and demonstrate that two conserved enhancers are required for proper cardiac function in mice.

    • Diane E. Dickel
    • , Iros Barozzi
    •  & Len A. Pennacchio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hypothalamic melanocortin-4-receptors (MC4R) regulate food preference in rodents, but their role in humans is unclear. Here, the authors perform food preference and liking tests in humans with MC4R mutations and find that they prefer fatty food more, but sweet food less, than people without MC4R mutations.

    • Agatha A. van der Klaauw
    • , Julia M. Keogh
    •  & I. Sadaf Farooqi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Fever is a defence mechanism against infection, but it may also cause abnormal heart rhythm viaunknown mechanism. Here the authors identify FHF2 protein as a key regulator of myocardial excitability that protects the heart against conduction failure in response to an increase in body temperature.

    • David S. Park
    • , Akshay Shekhar
    •  & Glenn I. Fishman

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Immune system participates in the development of high blood pressure. Here the authors show that cholinergic-sympathetic pathway mediated by the α7nAChR receptor and the activation of splenic T cells prime immunity during hypertension and that selective splenic denervation protects against the onset of hypertension in mice.

    • Daniela Carnevale
    • , Marialuisa Perrotta
    •  & Giuseppe Lembo

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The platelets detect and respond to shear stress generated by blood flow. Here the authors show that the binding of the soluble von Willebrand factor to its receptor GPIba under physiological shear stress induces receptor's domain unfolding on the platelet and signalling into the platelet, leading to platelets clearance.

    • Wei Deng
    • , Yan Xu
    •  & Renhao Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    FHFs are known to regulate voltage-gated sodium channels (NaVs). Here, the authors compare the role of FHFs in cerebellar granule cell propagation, and find NaVs in the distal axon function independently of FHFs, allowing for faster inactivation rates and reducing energy demands during repetitive spiking.

    • Katarzyna Dover
    • , Christopher Marra
    •  & Mitchell Goldfarb

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Atherosclerosis progression is linked to inflammatory processes in the blood vessel wall. Here, the authors show that, with the progression of atherosclerosis, the resolution of inflammation is impaired as the result of an imbalance between specialized pro-resolving lipid mediators and leukotrienes.

    • Gabrielle Fredman
    • , Jason Hellmann
    •  & Ira Tabas

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Behavioural adaptations in response to stress are thought to be regulated by rapid neurotransmitter action, followed by slower hormonal signalling. Here, using optogenetic approaches, the authors find corticotroph cell populations are capable of rapidly modulating avoidance behaviours immediately after the onset of stress.

    • Rodrigo J. De Marco
    • , Theresa Thiemann
    •  & Soojin Ryu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Oncogenic mutations of isocitrate dehydrogenases 1 and 2 result in the production of the oncometabolite R-2-hydroxyglutarate. Here the authors show that the oncometabolite promotes mTOR activation in a PTEN/PI3K-independent manner by regulating DEPTOR stability via inhibition of KDM4A activity.

    • Mélissa Carbonneau
    • , Laurence M. Gagné
    •  & Frédérick A. Mallette

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Commensal bacteria, the vast majority of which reside in the gut, are involved in development of many diseases, including atherosclerotic vascular disease. Here the authors show that these bacteria remotely increase expression of vascular microRNA-204, which targets Sirt1 in the endothelium to impair endothelial function.

    • Ajit Vikram
    • , Young-Rae Kim
    •  & Kaikobad Irani

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bone marrow cells producing the intermediate filament nestin guide monocyte egress to the bloodstream in response to infection. Here, the authors show that nestin-producing stromal cells direct inflammatory cell migration in atherosclerosis, and that stromal Mcp1 is crucial in this process.

    • Raquel del Toro
    • , Raphael Chèvre
    •  & Simón Méndez-Ferrer

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lymphocytic leukaemia cells are characterized by high respiratory rates. Here, the authors report that the oxysterol-binding protein ORPL4 sustains mitochondrial respiration in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells by regulating Ca2+release from the endoplasmic reticulum.

    • Wenbin Zhong
    • , Qing Yi
    •  & Daoguang Yan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Insulin receptor levels at the cell surface are reduced in insulin resistance, for reasons that are not fully understood. Here, the authors identify the E3 ubiquitin ligase MARCH1 as a direct regulator of basal insulin receptor surface levels and, therefore, insulin signalling.

    • Arvindhan Nagarajan
    • , Max C. Petersen
    •  & Narendra Wajapeyee

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Epithelia are barriers against environmental insults and express the transcription factor aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Here the authors show that AhR regulates multiciliogenesis via cyclin O and Multicilin in a Notch-dependent manner and that this is blocked by toxic ligands.

    • Matteo Villa
    • , Stefania Crotta
    •  & Andreas Wack

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MURC protein regulates the function of caveolae, the small invaginations of the plasma membrane in muscle cells. Here the authors show that by interacting with caveolin proteins, MURC affects RhoA/ROCK signalling and regulates proliferation and migration of pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells, suggesting a new target in therapy of pulmonary hypertension.

    • Naohiko Nakanishi
    • , Takehiro Ogata
    •  & Tomomi Ueyama

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells are crucial for functional blood vessels, but the developmental sources of these cells are incompletely understood. Here, the authors show that endocardial endothelial cells give rise to cardiac mural cells, which are controlled by Wnt signalling.

    • Qi Chen
    • , Hui Zhang
    •  & Ralf H. Adams

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mitochondrial complex I deficiency is the most common respiratory chain defect in mitochondrial disease in children and currently there is no effective treatment. In this study, the authors show that succinate prodrugs can alleviate metabolic decompensation in Leigh syndrome patient fibroblasts.

    • Johannes K. Ehinger
    • , Sarah Piel
    •  & Eskil Elmér

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Branching morphogenesis is essential for the formation of most epithelial organs. Here, the authors show that Neurofibromatosis 2 (NF2), the Hippo pathway kinases LATS1 and LATS2, and the transcriptional co-activators YAP and TAZ control tip identity, RET signalling and branching morphogenesis in the mouse kidney.

    • Antoine Reginensi
    • , Leonie Enderle
    •  & Helen McNeill

  • Article
    | Open Access

    GRIP1 cooperates with the glucocorticoid receptor to repress inflammatory genes. Here the authors show that GRIP1 also controls macrophage polarization, by promoting KLF4-driven activation in response to IL-4, and that mice lacking GRIP1 in macrophages develop severe metabolic dysfunction on a high-fat diet.

    • Maddalena Coppo
    • , Yurii Chinenov
    •  & Inez Rogatsky

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Angiopoietin-like 4 protein (ANGPTL4) is a regulator of lipoprotein metabolism whose role in atherosclerosis has been controversial. Here the authors show that ANGPTL4 deficiency in haematopoietic cells increases atherogenesis by promoting myeloid progenitor cell expansion and differentiation, foam cell formation and vascular inflammation.

    • Binod Aryal
    • , Noemi Rotllan
    •  & Carlos Fernández-Hernando

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Since the birth of the first cloned animal, Dolly the sheep, concerns have been raised about potential long-term health consequences of cloning. Here the authors report on a cohort of 13 aged cloned sheep, including four created from the same cells as Dolly, and find they are healthy and seem to age normally.

    • K. D. Sinclair
    • , S. A. Corr
    •  & D. S. Gardner

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The origin and fate of myofibroblasts, the cells responsible for cardiac remodelling and fibrosis, is controversial. Here the authors show that cardiac myofibroblasts express periostin, derive exclusively from tissue-resident fibroblasts, are necessary for scar formation after injury, and can revert back to a less-activated state upon injury resolution.

    • Onur Kanisicak
    • , Hadi Khalil
    •  & Jeffery D. Molkentin

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glycolytic regulator PFKFB3 is a key player in vessel sprouting. Here the authors develop a computational model predicting that PFKFB3 drives endothelial cell rearrangement during vessel sprouting by promoting filopodia formation and reducing intercellular adhesion, and empirically validate this prediction.

    • Bert Cruys
    • , Brian W. Wong
    •  & Peter Carmeliet

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Lysine hydroxylation of procollagen precursors by LH3 is required for collagen fibril crosslinking and stabilization. Here the authors show that the trafficking protein VIPAR is required for correct sorting of LH3 into post-Golgi collagen carriers and for correct collagen modification and structure.

    • Blerida Banushi
    • , Federico Forneris
    •  & Paul Gissen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The accumulation of lipid droplets is often observed in hepatitis C virus infection, but the mechanism of their formation is not known. Here the authors show that septin 9 expression is increased in infected livers, and a septin 9/phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate signalling pathway regulates the growth of lipid droplets.

    • Abdellah Akil
    • , Juan Peng
    •  & Ama Gassama-Diagne

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The identity of mechanosensors within aortic baroreceptors that sense fluctuations in blood pressure is unclear. Here, Lau et al.show that a cation channel TRPC5 acts as a transducer of mechanical stimuli in aortic baroreceptor neurons in rodents.

    • On-Chai Lau
    • , Bing Shen
    •  & Xiaoqiang Yao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Heart function after injury improves upon formation of new blood vessels. Here, the authors show that ablating a transcription factor RBPJ in the murine heart increases vascularization and maintains cardiac function after injury by increasing responsiveness to hypoxia, suggesting a new approach to treat heart injury.

    • Ramón Díaz-Trelles
    • , Maria Cecilia Scimia
    •  & Mark Mercola

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Semaphorin ligands and cognate receptors are important in patterning the vasculature. Here, Aghajanian et al.report an unexpected role for ErbB2 in endothelial cells where it partners with Nrp1 to form a novel semaphoring holoreceptor required for embryonic vascular patterning.

    • Haig Aghajanian
    • , Young Kuk Cho
    •  & Jonathan A. Epstein

  • Article
    | Open Access

    More than 90% of genetic variants associated with type 2 diabetes occur in non-coding regions. Scott et al. report genomes, epigenomes and transcriptomes of skeletal muscle from 271 participants with a range of glucose tolerances, revealing a genetic regulatory architecture enriched in muscle stretch/super enhancers.

    • Laura J. Scott
    • , Michael R. Erdos
    •  & Stephen C. J. Parker

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Altered function of the muscle LIM protein (MLP) causes dilated cardiomyopathy in mice and humans. Lange et al. explain the molecular role of MLP in the heart by showing that it affects the signalling complex at the intercalated discs of failing hearts that consists of PKCα, PLCβ1 and CARP by inhibiting PKCα auto-phosphorylation and function.

    • Stephan Lange
    • , Katja Gehmlich
    •  & Elisabeth Ehler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Ceruloplasmin has an important role in the stabilization and nuclear transport of HIF-1α, thus regulating VEGF expression. Here the authors show that the transcription factor SARI reduces colorectal cancer growth and angiogenesis in vivoby inducing the degradation of ceruloplasmin, thereby inhibiting the HIFα/VEGF axis.

    • Lei Dai
    • , Xueliang Cui
    •  & Hongxin Deng

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Cardiac voltage-gated sodium channels (Nav1.5) are crucial regulators of heart electric activity. Here the authors show that palmitoylation, a process of lipid modification of cysteine residues, modulates Nav1.5 function and affects cardiomyocyte excitability, representing a potential target in treating cardiac diseases.

    • Zifan Pei
    • , Yucheng Xiao
    •  & Theodore R. Cummins

Browse broader subjects

Browse narrower subjects

Browse Physiology across other nature.com journals