ALBERT

Description: Author(s): B. J. Campbell, S. Rosenkranz, H. J. Kang, H. T. Stokes, P. J. Chupas, S. Komiya, Y. Ando, Shiliang Li, and Pengcheng Dai Utilizing single-crystal synchrotron x-ray scattering, we observe distorted CuO 2 planes in the electron-doped superconductor Pr 1 − x LaCe x CuO 4 + δ ,   x = 0.12. Resolution-limited rods of scattering are indicative of a long-range two-dimensional 2 2 × 2 2 superstructure in the a − b plane, adhering to planar spac… [Phys. Rev. B 92, 014118] Published Wed Jul 29, 2015

Description: The altered activity of the fructose transporter GLUT5, an isoform of the facilitated-diffusion glucose transporter family, has been linked to disorders such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. GLUT5 is also overexpressed in certain tumour cells, and inhibitors are potential drugs for these conditions. Here we describe the crystal structures of GLUT5 from Rattus norvegicus and Bos taurus in open outward- and open inward-facing conformations, respectively. GLUT5 has a major facilitator superfamily fold like other homologous monosaccharide transporters. On the basis of a comparison of the inward-facing structures of GLUT5 and human GLUT1, a ubiquitous glucose transporter, we show that a single point mutation is enough to switch the substrate-binding preference of GLUT5 from fructose to glucose. A comparison of the substrate-free structures of GLUT5 with occluded substrate-bound structures of Escherichia coli XylE suggests that, in addition to global rocker-switch-like re-orientation of the bundles, local asymmetric rearrangements of carboxy-terminal transmembrane bundle helices TM7 and TM10 underlie a 'gated-pore' transport mechanism in such monosaccharide transporters.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4618315/" target="_blank"〉〈img src="https://static.pubmed.gov/portal/portal3rc.fcgi/4089621/img/3977009" border="0"〉〈/a〉   〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4618315/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Nomura, Norimichi -- Verdon, Gregory -- Kang, Hae Joo -- Shimamura, Tatsuro -- Nomura, Yayoi -- Sonoda, Yo -- Hussien, Saba Abdul -- Qureshi, Aziz Abdul -- Coincon, Mathieu -- Sato, Yumi -- Abe, Hitomi -- Nakada-Nakura, Yoshiko -- Hino, Tomoya -- Arakawa, Takatoshi -- Kusano-Arai, Osamu -- Iwanari, Hiroko -- Murata, Takeshi -- Kobayashi, Takuya -- Hamakubo, Takao -- Kasahara, Michihiro -- Iwata, So -- Drew, David -- 062164/Z/00/Z/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom -- BB/G02325/1/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom -- England -- Nature. 2015 Oct 15;526(7573):397-401. doi: 10.1038/nature14909. Epub 2015 Sep 30.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Cell Biology, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Konoe-cho, Yoshida, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency, ERATO, Iwata Human Receptor Crystallography Project, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Japan Science and Technology Agency, Research Acceleration Program, Membrane Protein Crystallography Project, Yoshida-Konoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. ; Division of Molecular Biosciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK. ; Membrane Protein Laboratory, Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Chilton, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE, UK. ; Research Complex at Harwell, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell, Oxford, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0FA, UK. ; Centre for Biomembrane Research, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden. ; Department of Quantitative Biology and Medicine, Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 153-8904, Japan. ; Systems and Structural Biology Center, RIKEN, 1-7-22 Suehiro-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama 230-0045, Japan. ; Laboratory of Biophysics, School of Medicine, Teikyo University, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0395, Japan.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26416735" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: The development of modern biological and medical science highly depends on advanced luminescent probes. Current probes typically have wide emission spectra of 30 to 100 nm, which limits the number of resolvable colors that are simultaneously labeled on samples. Spasers, the abbreviation for surface plasmon lasers, have ultranarrow lasing spectra by stimulated light amplification in the plasmon nanocavity. However, high threshold (〉10 2 mJ cm –2 ) and short lasing lifetime (approximately picoseconds to nanoseconds) still remain obstacles for current two-level spaser systems. We demonstrated a new type of a three-level spaser using triplet-state electrons. By prolonging the upper state lifetime and controlling the energy transfer, high gain compensation was generated. This probe, named delayed spasing dots (dsDs), about 50 to 60 nm in size, exhibited a spectral linewidth of ~3 nm, an ultralow threshold of ~1 mJ cm –2 , and a delayed lasing lifetime of ~10 2 μs. As the first experimental realization of the three-level spaser system, our results suggested a general strategy to tune the spasing threshold and dynamics by engineering the energy level of the gain medium and the energy transfer process. These dsDs have the potential to become new-generation luminescent probes for super-multiplex biological analysis without disturbance from short lifetime background emission.

Description: Through phase transition-induced band edge engineering by dual doping with In and Mo, a new greenish BiVO4 (Bi1-XInXV1-XMoXO4) is developed that has a larger band gap energy than the usual yellow scheelite monoclinic BiVO4 as well as a higher (more negative) conduction band than H+/H2 potential [0 VRHE (reversible hydrogen...

Description: 〈p〉Ferroptosis is a form of nonapoptotic regulated cell death driven by iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Autophagy involves a lysosomal degradation pathway that can either promote or impede cell death. A high level of autophagy has been associated with ferroptosis, but the mechanisms underpinning this relationship are largely elusive. We characterize the contribution of autophagy to ferroptosis in human cancer cell lines and mouse tumor models. We show that "clockophagy," the selective degradation of the core circadian clock protein ARNTL by autophagy, is critical for ferroptosis. We identify SQSTM1 as a cargo receptor responsible for autophagic ARNTL degradation. ARNTL inhibits ferroptosis by repressing the transcription of 〈i〉Egln2〈/i〉, thus activating the prosurvival transcription factor HIF1A. Genetic or pharmacological interventions blocking ARNTL degradation or inhibiting EGLN2 activation diminished, whereas destabilizing HIF1A facilitated, ferroptotic tumor cell death. Thus, our findings reveal a new pathway, initiated by the autophagic removal of ARNTL, that facilitates ferroptosis induction.〈/p〉

Description: AlgR is a key transcriptional regulator required for the expression of multiple virulence factors, including type IV pili and alginate in Pseudomonas aeruginosa . However, the regulon and molecular regulatory mechanism of AlgR have yet to be fully elucidated. Here, among 157 loci that were identified by a ChIP-seq assay, we characterized a gene, mucR , which encodes an enzyme that synthesizes the intracellular second messenger cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP). A algR strain produced lesser biofilm than did the wild-type strain, which is consistent with a phenotype controlled by c-di-GMP. AlgR positively regulates mucR via direct binding to its promoter. A algR mucR double mutant produced lesser biofilm than did the single algR mutant, demonstrating that c-di-GMP is a positive regulator of biofilm formation. AlgR controls the levels of c-di-GMP synthesis via direct regulation of mucR . In addition, the cognate sensor of AlgR, FimS/AlgZ, also plays an important role in P. aeruginosa virulence. Taken together, this study provides new insights into the AlgR regulon and reveals the involvement of c-di-GMP in the mechanism underlying AlgR regulation.

Description: EWS (Ewing sarcoma) encodes an RNA/ssDNA binding protein that is frequently rearranged in a number of different cancers by chromosomal translocations. Physiologically, EWS has diverse and essential roles in various organ development and cellular processes. In this study, we uncovered a new role of EWS in mitochondrial homeostasis and energy...

Description: We report the development of a CaMoO4 crystal low temperature detector for the AMoRE neutrinoless double beta decay search experiment. The prototype detector cell was composed of a 216 g CaMoO4 crystal and a metallic magnetic calorimeter. An overground measurement demonstrated FWHM resolution of 6–11 keV for full absorption gamma peaks. Pulse shape discrimination was clearly demonstrated in the phonon signals, and 7.6  of discrimination power was found for the and separation. The phonon signals showed rise-times of about 1 ms. It is expected that the relatively fast rise-time will increase the rejection efficiency of two-neutrino double beta decay pile-up events which can be one of the major background sources in searches.