PA domain of RNF43 is not necessary to suppress Wnt signaling in human cells

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "RNF43 is an enzyme frequently mutated in many forms of cancer. Under normal circumstances, the protein is known to inhibit canonical Wnt signaling, which regulates various aspects of cell development and disease. What remains controversial, however, is the function of a part of the protein known as the “protease-associated” (PA) domain. To find out, researchers recorded the effects of RNF43 without this domain in human cells. They discovered that the PA domain is not essential for RNF43 to block Wnt signaling. Rather, the PA domain’s job is to regulate levels of RNF43 on the cell surface, which is achieved through the pro-Wnt protein RSPO1. Understanding how RSPO1 behaves when RNF43 lacks its PA domain could be informative, as it could refine the perceived role of RNF43 mutations in human disease..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Short-chain fatty acids fight inflammatory bowel disease

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an intestinal autoimmune condition that includes both Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It’s becoming increasingly common, but treatment is difficult, in part because the exact mechanism is unclear. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are produced when gut bacteria break down dietary fiber, may help prevent and treat this intractable disease. Reduced gut levels of SCFAs and SFCA-producing bacteria are linked to IBD development, suggesting the importance of these metabolites in IBD prevention, and SCFAs can alleviate IBD processes in multiple ways. For example, they can fight intestinal inflammation by activating G protein-coupled receptor proteins and inhibiting histone deacetylase enzymes, as well as by suppressing innate immune responses. SCFAs can also promote intestinal barrier integrity by regulating networks of cytokine molecules..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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tp53 mutation-induced dysbiosis causes inflammation by impairing sialic acid metabolism

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Mutations in the gene tp53 are often detected in the early stages of colitis-associated colorectal cancer (CAC). The development of CAC is facilitated by gut microbiota disruption (dysbiosis) and chronic intestinal inflammation, but whether tp53 mutations are linked to this dysbiosis and inflammation remains unclear. To learn more, a recent study examined zebrafish larvae with a tp53 mutation. The mutant fish exhibited intestinal inflammation that was due to gut microbiota disruption. confirming the link between tp53 and these pathological changes. Overall, gut microbiome diversity was decreased, while pathogenic Aeromonas bacteria were abnormally abundant, aggressively colonizing the gut. Further investigation revealed that the gut dysbiosis in the mutants induced inflammation by disrupting sialic acid metabolism. Supporting this finding, inhibition of the sialic acid-releasing enzyme sialidase alleviated the pathologies in mutant zebrafish larvae..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Mechanistic strategies of microbial communities regulating lignocellulose deconstruction

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Salt marshes are highly productive intertidal ecosystems. Among the most effective carbon sequestering ecosystems per unit area, they can generate abundant organic carbon, which is produced in the form of lignocellulose, a renewable and sustainable feedstock for fuel production. Once lignocellulose is generated, it is then metabolized by communities of functionally diverse microbes. Unfortunately, the organisms and precise mechanisms regulating this process remain unknown due to the complex and underexplored environment. A new study sought to better understand lignocellulose decomposition. Using proteomics and sequencing, they evaluated the microbes residing in a natural established UK salt marsh. They found that the community was dominated by Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Deltaproteobacteria. 42 families of lignocellulolytic bacteria were identified, which secrete glycoside hydrolase family enzymes to degrade lignocellulose..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Scavenger receptors: Diverse defenders of host homeostasis

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "The scavenger receptors (SRs) are a group of surveillance proteins that play important roles in immune defense. These proteins are divided into 12 classes (A–L) on the basis of their diverse structures and functions. Their differences enable SRs to interact with a vast array of pathogenic factors, such as bacteria, to induce appropriate responses. Multiple SR types can bind to the same pathogenic signals, and an individual SR can bind multiple signal types. Furthermore, SRs can reversibly interact with co-receptor proteins to launch various responses, highlighting the complex and dynamic nature of SR-related defense. In general, SRs control the recruitment and activation of immune cells that eat harmful substances, and they can either induce or suppress inflammation depending on the conditions. Many SRs have both membrane-bound and soluble forms that accomplish their scavenging functions, while one potential SR, ACE-2, appears to scavenge only in its soluble form..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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A new laboratory activity to help students learn about allelopathy and experimental design

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "A new report in the journal Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education describes a laboratory activity meant to help students understand allelopathy – a type of chemical warfare used by plants to secure the resources needed to grow. In this process, plants release biochemicals that affect the growth or development of neighboring plants. It is a common tactic of invasive plant species. The mechanism has also been used in agricultural production systems as a sustainable and organic way to manage weeds and soil fertility. For example, horseradish produces the molecule sinigrin, which is hydrolyzed in the presence of the enzyme myrosinase to generate allyl isothiocyanate, or AITC. AITC has been shown to have allelopathic effects on lettuce, including reduced and delayed seed germination rates, decreased root hair growth, and decreased root length. Mustard green also contains AITC and is widely utilized to control weed growth in current agriculture production..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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You shall not pass [gas]: How blocking methane production affects the cow rumen microbiome

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Dairy cows emit large amounts of the greenhouse gas methane due to microbial fermentation in their stomachs, which poses an environmental problem. It also decreases the cows’ growth efficiency, as some energy from feed is lost as methane. The supplement 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) can help reduce methane emission by inhibiting a methane-forming enzyme, but 3-NOP’s effects on the microbiome in the rumen (the stomach compartment where fermentation occurs) haven’t been investigated. It’s also unclear why hydrogen gas (H₂) accumulates less than expected when methane production is blocked by 3-NOP. To learn more, researchers recently characterized the rumen microbes in 3-NOP-supplemented dairy cows. 3-NOP reduced the abundance of Methanobrevibacter species, which make methane from carbon dioxide. To a lesser extent, it also reduced the abundance of Methanosphaera species, which make methane from methanol..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Xylitol Enhances Synthesis of Propionate in Colon via Cross-feeding of Gut Microbiota

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Xylitol is a popular sugar substitute that exists in small amounts in fruits, vegetables, and brans. In addition to its use as a sweetener, xylitol has also gained notoriety for its prebiotic-like activity. Xylitol is digestible by gut microbes and promotes the proliferation of beneficial bacteria and the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which are essential for gut health. To better understand the mechanisms behind these effects, researchers studied the effects of xylitol both in mice and in an in vitro colon simulation system (CDMN). Sequencing revealed that in vivo and in vitro, xylitol did not significantly influence the structure of the gut microbiome. It did, however, increase the amount of SCFAs in the gut mucosa. Cross-feeding – a relationship in which one organism consumes metabolites excreted by another – was observed among bacterial species for xylitol, and key enzymes in xylitol metabolism were found in two bacterial species, Bacteroides and Lachnospiraceae..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Mapping the cell’s internal postal code

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "The inside of a cell is abuzz with activity… including constant shipments of proteins in membrane-bounded vesicles. Antibodies headed out to the bloodstream to fight disease; enzymes destined for lysosomes to break down and recycle cellular material . But how do all these vesicular parcels get to the right place? It’s already known that long proteins called golgins serve as addresses for and help capture vesicles heading to the Golgi apparatus, the cell’s central sorting station. But little is known about how they do it. Now, researchers at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in the UK have tracked down the parts of the golgins that act as postal codes. To find out which parts of the golgins provide this critical address function, the team relocated the proteins to the mitochondria, then deleted or mutated different sections to see which sequences were critical for capturing vesicles..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Metagenomics offers insight into marine sponge microbiomes

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Marine sponges and the microbial communities they host are critical to carbon and nutrient cycling in global reefs, and they often share unique, but poorly understood, symbiotic relationships. Lamellodysidea herbacea sponges, for example, obtain energy from photosynthetic Hormoscilla bacteria that live inside their bodies. These bacteria naturally produce compounds found in flame-retardant pollutants derived from consumer products. A new study describes how researchers are using metagenomics to understand how these creatures maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with sea sponges. Researchers obtained genetic material describing the relative abundance and metabolic capacities of 21 previously uncharacterized microbial populations associated with Lamellodysidea sponges. Analyses revealed genes coding for enzymes that break down halogenated aromatics, which could enable microbes to use pollutant-like compounds as carbon and energy sources..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Protective mechanism of the neurotransmitter NAAG against hypoxic ischemic injury

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Insufficient blood supply to the brain and a resulting oxygen shortage are collectively referred to as hypoxic ischemia (HI). During HI, accumulation of the neurotransmitter glutamate (Glu) in synapses can lead to neuron damage. Another neurotransmitter, NAAG, can help protect brain cells during HI by binding to the Glu receptor mGluR3 and preventing excess Glu signaling, but exactly how NAAG helps maintain synaptic networks isn’t clear. To learn more, researchers recently examined NAAG/Glu signaling and synaptic plasticity in the brains of newborn pigs subjected to HI via carotid artery clamping. The levels of NAAG and mGluR3 increased during HI, especially after 12–24 h, and then decreased, consistent with an initial anti-Glu defense mechanism. Next, the researchers inhibited the NAAG-degrading enzyme in piglets to increase brain NAAG levels..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Diet and gut microbiome interactions in irritable bowel syndrome

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common gastrointestinal disorders worldwide. IBS can have profound effects on quality of life, and treatment options are limited. While several studies have found associations between dietary habits and the gut microbiome in healthy individuals, studies in patients with IBS are limited. To better understand this relationship in IBS, researchers studied food diary data and sequenced gut microbiota in 149 individuals with IBS and 52 healthy controls. They found that individuals with IBS tended to show a higher intake of poorer quality food during main meals. Covariation between gut microbiota and diet corresponded with IBS symptom severity, exhaled gas, glycan metabolism, and meat/plant ratio, and IBS severity was associated with altered gut microbiota hydrogen production, with changes seen in enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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New study points to target of future bladder cancer therapy

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Sialic acids are a family of sugars found throughout the body. They facilitate a variety of cellular functions such as interactions between cells and the detection of foreign bodies. But sialic acids are also linked to the progression of cancer, including bladder cancer. In a new study, researchers examined how bladder cancer cells rich in sialic acids respond to NEU1, one of several enzymes responsible for removing sialic acids from lipids and proteins. The team found that low NEU1 expression was linked to abnormally large amounts of sialic acids in cancer cells. In fact, low expression of NEU1 correlated with bladder cancer progression. High NEU1 expression, on the other hand, enhanced cancer cell death and decreased cancer proliferation. These findings were obtained for both cancer cells grown in the lab and cells extracted from mice with bladder cancer..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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The CDK7 inhibitor THZ1 fights gastrointestinal tumors by suppressing the oncogene c-KIT

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) are the most common malignant tumors in a type of gut tissue called mesenchyme. They’re caused by mutations that activate receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) enzymes, and treatment with RTK inhibitors is initially successful, but over half of patients develop resistance, indicating a need for better treatments. Researchers recently investigated whether the drug THZ1, an inhibitor of the protein CDK7 that’s effective in other cancers, could help. They first confirmed that CDK7, which helps regulate the cell life cycle and gene transcription, was overexpressed in high-risk human GISTs. They also found that CDK7 overexpression predicted a poor outcome. However, low-dose THZ1 exerted pronounced anticancer effects in GIST cells both in vitro and in a mouse model. THZ1 also synergized with the RTK inhibitor imatinib to increase its efficacy..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Lactobacillus improves prednisone efficacy against autoimmune hepatitis

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic immune-mediated liver disease that’s often treated with the steroid prednisone. Gut microbiome disruption and immune follicular T helper (Tfh) cells play important roles in AIH pathogenesis and progression but how microbes and Tfh cells interact in the context of AIH and prednisone treatment remains unclear. A recent study investigated the effects of both probiotic and prednisone treatment on Tfh cells and AIH indicators. In both human patients and mice, the probiotic Lactobacillus significantly increased the abundance of beneficial gut bacteria and in humans, Lactobacillus enhanced prednisone’s ameliorative effects on clinical AIH indices, such as the serum levels of liver damage–related enzymes. In mice with experimental AIH (EAH), Lactobacillus and prednisone both exerted similar effects, decreasing intestine and liver injury and Lactobacillus again improved prednisone efficacy, reducing the circulating levels of liver damage markers..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Estradiol increases risk of Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma–related DNA breaks

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Xp11.2 translocation renal cell carcinoma (tRCC) is characterized by translocation of the gene TFE3 on chromosome Xp11.2. Xp11.2 tRCC is much more common in women than men, suggesting that estrogen may be involved. In addition, the enzyme TOP2 is known to mediate translocation-enabling DNA breakage in some cancers, and TOP2-promoting drugs increase Xp11.2 tRCC risk, but whether and how estrogen, the estrogen receptor (ER), and TOP2 participate in the development of this cancer remain unclear. To learn more, researchers recently analyzed DNA breaks and protein binding in a kidney cell line. They found that TOP2β created DNA breaks and that estrogen signaling through ERα promoted this activity. Further analyses revealed that TOP2β and ERα both bound to TFE3 translocation sites in Xp11.2 tRCC cell lines and patients to mediate estrogen-dependent DNA breakage. However, TOP2β and ERα didn’t bind to each other..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Targeting AMPK to overcome resistance to anti-colorectal cancer drugs

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Antibody treatments such as cetuximab are powerful against colorectal cancer, but colorectal cancer cells are known to develop resistance to these drugs in large part due to to overactivation or mutation of the gene KRAS. To understand how KRAS might give rise to cetuximab resistance, researchers treated two types of lab-grown cells with the antibody, normal cancer cells and cancer cells containing a mutated KRAS gene. They then monitored the effects on AMPK, an enzyme that is toxic to various cancer cells. KRAS mutation impaired this AMPK-based defense, enabling mutant cancer cells to outlive normal cancer. Exposing cells with drugs known to activate AMPK, such as metformin, recovered the anti-cancer defense, overcoming the centuximab resistance induced by a mutated KRAS gene. That same mechanism was observed in colorectal tumors grafted onto mice. The results indicate that targeting AMPK could be a powerful therapeutic strategy, possibly boosting anti-cancer defenses in patients with colorectal cancer..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Protein acetylation controls the epithelial-mesenchymal transition in cancer progression

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Epithelial cells form continuous coverings over all surfaces in the human body and have distinct top and bottom sides, but they can sometimes transform to function more like mesenchymal cells, losing their tight connections to adjacent cells and gaining mobility. This process, known as epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT), can be beneficial for wound healing and embryonic development but can also promote the progression of cancer. Research suggests that acetylation, or the addition of an acetyl group to another molecule, may play an important role in EMT and that this process is controlled by the activity of lysine acetyltransferase enzymes. In particular, the acetylation of specific histones, proteins that provide structural support to chromosomes and can regulate gene activity, could promote EMT. But recent studies have also shown that the acetylation of non-histone proteins could also be involved. For example, the acetylation of the protein E-cadherin has been found to accelerate EMT in cancer cells..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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Identifying new Helicobacter pylori HtrA targets in epithelial cells

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Gastric cancer is one of the highest mortality cancer types, and the leading cause of gastric cancer is persistent Helicobacter pylori infection. H. pylori secretes the enzyme HtrA, which cleaves adhesion proteins like E-cadherin and allows H. pylori to cross the epithelium. Recently, researchers used proteomics to find novel targets of HtrA associated with H. pylori. They confirmed E-cadherin as a target and identified human desmoglein-2 (hDsg2), neuropilin-1, ephrin-B2, and semaphorin-4D as potential targets. hDsg2 is a component of the desmosome junctions, which play important roles in epithelial cell-to-cell adhesion. Given the importance of cell-to-cell adhesion to epithelial health, the researchers focused on hDsg2. In vitro tests confirmed that HtrA secreted by H. pylori, and not other host cell proteases, cleaved hDsg2. This study is the first to demonstrate that HtrA secreted by H. pylori directly breaks down hDsg2 and suggests that HtrA is a ‘master key’ that allows H..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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The digestive tract as the origin of systemic inflammation

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This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview: "Could an imbalanced gut cause liver failure, lung injury, or pancreatitis in patients in intensive care? Though such events have historically been viewed in isolation, the importance of a properly functioning gut to overall well-being is becoming clearer. In a recent literature review, an international research team concluded that gastrointestinal failure is a potential cause of death in the critically ill – even in those without diseases originating from the gut. The gut’s crucial role in well-being hinges on its ability to absorb nutrients from food while also preventing harmful agents from entering the bloodstream. The specialized cells that line the gut and the community of microorganisms living therein are key to maintaining this harmony. Major trauma, surgery, or critical illness can weaken the gut barrier and disturb the delicate balance of microbes, leaking gut contents into other parts of the body and allowing pathogens to take hold..." The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

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