Skeletal editing involves making specific point-changes to the core of a molecule through selective insertion, deletion or exchange atoms. It thus represents potentially powerful strategy for step-economic modification complex substrates and is perfect complement methods such as C−H functionalization that target molecular periphery. Given their ubiquity in biologically active compounds, ability...

Abstract Lipophagy, the selective engulfment of lipid droplets (LDs) by autophagosomes for lysosomal degradation, is critical to and energy homeostasis. Here we show that transfer protein ORP8 located on LDs mediates encapsulation autophagosomal membranes. This function independent its transporter activity achieved through direct interaction with phagophore-anchored LC3/GABARAPs. Upon lipophagy...

Mechanisms providing for temporally complex patterns of maternal mRNA translation after fertilization are poorly understood. We employed bioinformatics analysis to compare populations of mRNAs enriched specifically on polysomes at the metaphase II (MII) stage oocyte and late one-cell stages and a detailed deletion/truncation series to identify elements that regulate translation. We used the Bag...

Periosteum provides a major source of mesenchymal progenitor cells for bone fracture repair. Combining cell-specific targeted Cox-2 gene deletion approaches with in vitro analyses of the differentiation of periosteum-derived mesenchymal progenitor cells (PDMPCs), here we demonstrate a spatial and temporal role for Cox-2 function in the modulation of osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation o...

The liver extracellular matrix (ECM) expands with high-fat (HF) feeding. This finding led us to address whether receptors for the ECM, integrins, are key to the development of diet-induced hepatic insulin resistance. Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is a downstream integrin signaling molecule involved in multiple hepatic processes, including those related to differentiation, wound healing, and meta...

Dynamin, a ~100 kDa large GTPase, is known as a key player for membrane traffic. Recent evidence shows that dynamin also regulates the dynamic instability of microtubules by a mechanism independent of membrane traffic. As microtubules are highly dynamic during mitosis, we investigated whether the regulation of microtubules by dynamin is essential for cell cycle progression. Dynamin 2 intensely ...

Asexual development (conidiation) of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans occurs via balanced activities of multiple positive and negative regulators. For instance, FluG (+) and SfgA (-) govern upstream regulation of the developmental switch, and BrlA (+) and VosA (-) control the progression and completion of conidiation. To identify negative regulators of conidiation downstream of FluG-...

Most dissimilatory perchlorate reducing bacteria (DPRB) are also capable of respiratory nitrate reduction, and preferentially utilize nitrate over perchlorate as a terminal electron acceptor. The similar domain architectures and phylogenetic relatedness of the nitrate and perchlorate respiratory complexes suggests a common evolutionary history and a potential for functionally redundant electron...

We implement an encrypted file system that uses a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to securely store file encryption keys. Key management is centralized. We identified the ability of a key server to verify deletion of file encryption keys on clients to reduce the amount of re-encryption necessary on key revocation. We place the TPM on the file-read datapath and encrypt files with RSA. In benchmark...

Objective(s):  Coronary artery disease (CAD) which may lead to myocardial infarction (MI) is a complex one. Great effort has been devoted to identification of genes that increase susceptibility to CAD or provide protection. A 21-bp deletion in the MEF2A gene, which encodes a member of the myocyte enhancer factor 2 family of transcription factors, has been reported in patients of a single pedigr...