ALBERT

Description: B-site atomic column regularity was directly observed in (La 0.3 Sr 0.7 )(Al 0.65 Ta 0.35 )O 3 single crystals by Z-contrast imaging during high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy. Two types of areas with different B-site regularity were found. One of the ordered structures, which was similar to a previously reported structure, was several tens of nanometers in size and had a rock salt-like regularity owing to variation in the B-site Al/Ta ratio. The other structure existed as disordered-like domains in the (La 0.3 Sr 0.7 )(Al 0.65 Ta 0.35 )O 3 crystal. Fourier transform processing revealed that the disordered-like domains consisted of very fine ordered domains of several nanometers in size. These very fine ordered structures had a different B-site Al/Ta ratio variation with a rock salt-like regularity.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg300606g

Description: Braking indices of pulsars present a scientific challenge as their theoretical calculation is still an open problem. In this paper, we report results of a study regarding such calculation which adapts the canonical model (which admits that pulsars are rotating magnetic dipoles) basically by introducing a compensating component in the energy conservation equation of the system. This component would correspond to an effective force that varies with the first power of the tangential velocity of the pulsar's crust. We test the proposed model using data available and predict braking indices values for different stars. We comment on the high braking index recently measured of the pulsar J1640–4631.

Description: 〈p〉Atypical protein kinase C (aPKC) isozymes are unique in the PKC superfamily in that they are not regulated by the lipid second messenger diacylglycerol, which has led to speculation about whether a different second messenger acutely controls their function. Here, using a genetically encoded reporter that we designed, aPKC-specific C kinase activity reporter (aCKAR), we found that the lipid mediator sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) promoted the cellular activity of aPKC. Intracellular S1P directly bound to the purified kinase domain of aPKC and relieved autoinhibitory constraints, thereby activating the kinase. In silico studies identified potential binding sites on the kinase domain, one of which was validated biochemically. In HeLa cells, S1P-dependent activation of aPKC suppressed apoptosis. Together, our findings identify a previously undescribed molecular mechanism of aPKC regulation, a molecular target for S1P in cell survival regulation, and a tool to further explore the biochemical and biological functions of aPKC.〈/p〉

Description: Author(s): E. Matsubara, S. Okada, T. Ichitsubo, T. Kawaguchi, A. Hirata, P. F. Guan, K. Tokuda, K. Tanimura, T. Matsunaga, M. W. Chen, and N. Yamada Despite the fact that phase-change materials are widely used for data storage, no consensus exists on the unique mechanism of their ultrafast phase change and its accompanied large and rapid optical change. By using the pump-probe observation method combining a femtosecond optical laser and an x-ray… [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 135501] Published Wed Sep 21, 2016

Description: Once their safety is confirmed, human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), which do not entail ethical concerns, may become a preferred cell source for regenerative medicine. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of transplanting hiPSC-derived neurospheres (hiPSC-NSs) into nonobese diabetic (NOD)-severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice to treat spinal cord injury (SCI). For this, we used a hiPSC clone (201B7), established by transducing four reprogramming factors (Oct3/4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc) into adult human fibroblasts. Grafted hiPSC-NSs survived, migrated, and differentiated into the three major neural lineages (neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes) within the injured spinal cord. They showed both cell-autonomous and noncell-autonomous (trophic) effects, including synapse formation between hiPSC-NS–derived neurons and host mouse neurons, expression of neurotrophic factors, angiogenesis, axonal regrowth, and increased amounts of myelin in the injured area. These positive effects resulted in significantly better functional recovery compared with vehicle-treated control animals, and the recovery persisted through the end of the observation period, 112 d post-SCI. No tumor formation was observed in the hiPSC-NS–grafted mice. These findings suggest that hiPSCs give rise to neural stem/progenitor cells that support improved function post-SCI and are a promising cell source for its treatment.

Description: A rise in resistance to current antifungals necessitates strategies to identify alternative sources of effective fungicides. We report the discovery of poacic acid, a potent antifungal compound found in lignocellulosic hydrolysates of grasses. Chemical genomics using Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that loss of cell wall synthesis and maintenance genes conferred increased...

Description: Intracellular ISG15 is an interferon (IFN)-alpha/beta-inducible ubiquitin-like modifier which can covalently bind other proteins in a process called ISGylation; it is an effector of IFN-alpha/beta-dependent antiviral immunity in mice. We previously published a study describing humans with inherited ISG15 deficiency but without unusually severe viral diseases. We showed that these patients were prone to mycobacterial disease and that human ISG15 was non-redundant as an extracellular IFN-gamma-inducing molecule. We show here that ISG15-deficient patients also display unanticipated cellular, immunological and clinical signs of enhanced IFN-alpha/beta immunity, reminiscent of the Mendelian autoinflammatory interferonopathies Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome and spondyloenchondrodysplasia. We further show that an absence of intracellular ISG15 in the patients' cells prevents the accumulation of USP18, a potent negative regulator of IFN-alpha/beta signalling, resulting in the enhancement and amplification of IFN-alpha/beta responses. Human ISG15, therefore, is not only redundant for antiviral immunity, but is a key negative regulator of IFN-alpha/beta immunity. In humans, intracellular ISG15 is IFN-alpha/beta-inducible not to serve as a substrate for ISGylation-dependent antiviral immunity, but to ensure USP18-dependent regulation of IFN-alpha/beta and prevention of IFN-alpha/beta-dependent autoinflammation.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4303590/" 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/PMC4303590/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Zhang, Xianqin -- Bogunovic, Dusan -- Payelle-Brogard, Beatrice -- Francois-Newton, Veronique -- Speer, Scott D -- Yuan, Chao -- Volpi, Stefano -- Li, Zhi -- Sanal, Ozden -- Mansouri, Davood -- Tezcan, Ilhan -- Rice, Gillian I -- Chen, Chunyuan -- Mansouri, Nahal -- Mahdaviani, Seyed Alireza -- Itan, Yuval -- Boisson, Bertrand -- Okada, Satoshi -- Zeng, Lu -- Wang, Xing -- Jiang, Hui -- Liu, Wenqiang -- Han, Tiantian -- Liu, Delin -- Ma, Tao -- Wang, Bo -- Liu, Mugen -- Liu, Jing-Yu -- Wang, Qing K -- Yalnizoglu, Dilek -- Radoshevich, Lilliana -- Uze, Gilles -- Gros, Philippe -- Rozenberg, Flore -- Zhang, Shen-Ying -- Jouanguy, Emmanuelle -- Bustamante, Jacinta -- Garcia-Sastre, Adolfo -- Abel, Laurent -- Lebon, Pierre -- Notarangelo, Luigi D -- Crow, Yanick J -- Boisson-Dupuis, Stephanie -- Casanova, Jean-Laurent -- Pellegrini, Sandra -- 1P01AI076210-01A1/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- 309449/European Research Council/International -- 8UL1TR000043/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- P01 AI076210/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- P01 AI090935/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- P01AI090935/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R00 AI106942/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R00AI106942-02/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI035237/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R37 AI095983/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R37AI095983/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U19 AI083025/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- U19AI083025/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- UL1 TR000043/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- Howard Hughes Medical Institute/ -- England -- Nature. 2015 Jan 1;517(7532):89-93. doi: 10.1038/nature13801. Epub 2014 Oct 12.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China. ; 1] St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller Branch, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA [2] Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA. ; Institut Pasteur, Cytokine Signaling Unit, CNRS URA 1961, 75724 Paris, France. ; 1] Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA [2] Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA [3] Microbiology Training Area, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA. ; 1] Division of Immunology, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA [2] Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy. ; Immunology Division and Pediatric Neurology Department, Hacettepe University Children's Hospital, 06100 Ankara, Turkey. ; Division of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Immunology, Pediatric Respiratory Diseases Research Center, National Research Institute of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, 4739 Teheran, Iran. ; Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Genetic Medicine, Manchester, M13 9NT, UK. ; Department of Pediatrics, Third Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China. ; St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller Branch, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA. ; BGI-Shenzhen, Shenzhen 518083, China. ; Sangzhi County People's Hospital, Sangzhi 427100, China. ; Genetics Laboratory, Hubei Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, China. ; 1] Key Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics of the Ministry of Education, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China [2] Center for Cardiovascular Genetics, Department of Molecular Cardiology, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA. ; Institut Pasteur, Bacteria-Cell Interactions Unit, 75724 Paris, France. ; CNRS UMR5235, Montpellier II University, Place Eugene Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier, France. ; Department of Biochemistry, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0G4, Canada. ; Paris Descartes University, 75006 Paris, France. ; 1] Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Necker Branch, INSERM U1163, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, 75015 Paris, France [2] Paris Descartes University, Imagine Institute, 75015 Paris, France. ; 1] Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Necker Branch, INSERM U1163, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, 75015 Paris, France [2] Paris Descartes University, Imagine Institute, 75015 Paris, France [3] Center for the Study of Primary Immunodeficiencies, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, 75015 Paris, France. ; 1] Department of Microbiology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA [2] Global Health and Emerging Pathogens Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA [3] Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA. ; 1] St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller Branch, The Rockefeller University, New York, New York 10065, USA [2] Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Necker Branch, INSERM U1163, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, 75015 Paris, France [3] Paris Descartes University, Imagine Institute, 75015 Paris, France. ; Division of Immunology, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. ; 1] Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, University of Manchester, Genetic Medicine, Manchester, M13 9NT, UK [2] Paris Descartes University, Imagine Institute, 75015 Paris, France [3] INSERM UMR 1163, Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Neuroinflammation, Imagine Institute, 75006 Paris, France. ; 1] Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Necker Branch, INSERM U1163, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, 75015 Paris, France [2] Paris Descartes University, Imagine Institute, 75015 Paris, France [3] Howard Hughes Medical Institute, New York, New York 10065, USA [4] Pediatric Hematology-Immunology Unit, Necker Hospital for Sick Children, 75015 Paris, France [5]. ; 1] Institut Pasteur, Cytokine Signaling Unit, CNRS URA 1961, 75724 Paris, France [2].〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25307056" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉

Description: ISG15 is an interferon (IFN)-alpha/beta-inducible, ubiquitin-like intracellular protein. Its conjugation to various proteins (ISGylation) contributes to antiviral immunity in mice. Here, we describe human patients with inherited ISG15 deficiency and mycobacterial, but not viral, diseases. The lack of intracellular ISG15 production and protein ISGylation was not associated with cellular susceptibility to any viruses that we tested, consistent with the lack of viral diseases in these patients. By contrast, the lack of mycobacterium-induced ISG15 secretion by leukocytes-granulocyte, in particular-reduced the production of IFN-gamma by lymphocytes, including natural killer cells, probably accounting for the enhanced susceptibility to mycobacterial disease. This experiment of nature shows that human ISGylation is largely redundant for antiviral immunity, but that ISG15 plays an essential role as an IFN-gamma-inducing secreted molecule for optimal antimycobacterial immunity.〈br /〉〈br /〉〈a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3507439/" 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/PMC3507439/" target="_blank"〉This paper as free author manuscript - peer-reviewed and accepted for publication〈/a〉〈br /〉〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Bogunovic, Dusan -- Byun, Minji -- Durfee, Larissa A -- Abhyankar, Avinash -- Sanal, Ozden -- Mansouri, Davood -- Salem, Sandra -- Radovanovic, Irena -- Grant, Audrey V -- Adimi, Parisa -- Mansouri, Nahal -- Okada, Satoshi -- Bryant, Vanessa L -- Kong, Xiao-Fei -- Kreins, Alexandra -- Velez, Marcela Moncada -- Boisson, Bertrand -- Khalilzadeh, Soheila -- Ozcelik, Ugur -- Darazam, Ilad Alavi -- Schoggins, John W -- Rice, Charles M -- Al-Muhsen, Saleh -- Behr, Marcel -- Vogt, Guillaume -- Puel, Anne -- Bustamante, Jacinta -- Gros, Philippe -- Huibregtse, Jon M -- Abel, Laurent -- Boisson-Dupuis, Stephanie -- Casanova, Jean-Laurent -- 1R37AI095983-01/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- 5R01AI035237-15/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- 8UL1TR000043/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- AI096090/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- CA072943/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI035237/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI091707/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 AI096090/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- R01 CA072943/CA/NCI NIH HHS/ -- R37 AI095983/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ -- UL1 TR000043/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/ -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2012 Sep 28;337(6102):1684-8. Epub 2012 Aug 2.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, Rockefeller Branch, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22859821" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉