Essential roles of Tbx3 in embryonic skin development during epidermal stratification
Stepwise differentiation of epidermal cells is essential for development of stratified epithelium, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that Tbx3, a member of the T‐box family of transcription factors, plays a pivotal role in this mechanism. Tbx3 is expressed in both basal and suprabasal cells in the interfollicular epidermis of mouse embryos. Epidermis‐specific Tbx3 conditional knockout (cKO) embryos are small in size and display a thinner epidermis with an impaired barrier function. In the Tbx3 cKO epidermis, keratin 5‐positive undifferentiated cells, which reside in both basal and suprabasal...
Source: Genes to Cells - January 31, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Ryo Ichijo, Yui Iizuka, Hirokazu Kubo, Fumiko Toyoshima Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Codon degeneracy and amino acid abundance influence the measures of codon usage bias: improved Nc (N ̂c) and ENCprime (N̂′c) measures
In this study, a modified formula for and has been developed to measure the CUB more accurately. Online implementations of the modified formula are available in the web portal at http://agnigarh.tezu.ernet.in/~ssankar/cub.php.
Effective number of codons () and it's variant (Effective number of codons prime) are the two widely used methods for measuring codon usage bias (CUB) in coding sequences. The mathematical formula used in calculating and values are giving inappropriate measures of CUB in case of low abundance of amino acids and the magnitude of error varies according to codon degeneracy. In this study modified formu...
Source: Genes to Cells - January 31, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Siddhartha Sankar Satapathy, Ajit Kumar Sahoo, Suvendra Kumar Ray, Tapash Chandra Ghosh Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Octopamine enhances oxidative stress resistance through the fasting ‐responsive transcription factor DAF‐16/FOXO in C. elegans
In this study, we found that OA administration enhanced organismal resistance to oxidative stress. This enhanced resistance was suppressed by a mutation of the OA receptors, SER‐3 and SER‐6. Moreover, we found that OA administration promoted the nuclear translocation of DAF‐16, the key transcription factor in fasting responses, and that the OA‐induced enhancement of stress resistance required DAF‐16. Altogether, our results suggest that OA signaling, which is triggered by the absence of food, shifts the organismal state to a more protective one to prepare for environmental stresses.
In this study, we found that ...
Source: Genes to Cells - January 19, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Haruka Hoshikawa, Masaharu Uno, Sakiko Honjoh, Eisuke Nishida Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Activin A in combination with ERK1/2 MAPK pathway inhibition sustains propagation of mouse embryonic stem cells
The Activin/Nodal/TGF‐β signaling pathway plays a major role in maintaining mouse epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs). The EpiSC‐maintaining medium, which contains Activin A and bFGF, induces differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) to EpiSCs. Here, we show that Activin A also has an ability to efficiently propagate ESCs without differentiation to EpiSCs when combined with a MEK inhibitor PD0325901. ESCs cultured in Activin+PD retained high‐level expression of naive pluripotency‐related transcription factors. Genomewide analysis showed that the gene expression profile of ESCs cultured in Activin+PD resembles ...
Source: Genes to Cells - January 17, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Yuhei Ashida, May Nakajima ‐Koyama, Akira Hirota, Takuya Yamamoto, Eisuke Nishida Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
In situ electrical monitoring of cancer cells invading vascular endothelial cells with semiconductor ‐based biosensor
In this study, we monitored the invasion process of cancer cells into the vascular endothelial layer in real time by a label‐free method using a field‐effect transistor (FET) biosensor. Endothelial cells were cultured on the sensing surface of the FET gate, to form a basement membrane between the endothelial cells and the sensing surface. When invasive cancer cells (HeLa cells) approached the endothelial cell‐coated gate FET biosensor, a change in the surface potential was clearly detected using the FET biosensor. This is because HeLa cells, which invaded the endothelial cell layer, reduced the molecular charge densi...
Source: Genes to Cells - January 17, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Toshiya Sakata, Yusuke Matsuse Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Functional mutations in spike glycoprotein of Zaire ebolavirus associated with an increase in infection efficiency
Ebola virus (EBOV) is extremely virulent, and its glycoprotein is necessary for viral entry. EBOV may adapt to its new host humans during outbreaks by acquiring mutations especially in glycoprotein, which allows EBOV to spread more efficiently. To identify these evolutionary selected mutations and examine their effects on viral infectivity, we used experimental–phylogenetic–structural interdisciplinary approaches. In evolutionary analysis of all available Zaire ebolavirus glycoprotein sequences, we detected two codon sites under positive selection, which are located near/within the region critical for the host‐viral ...
Source: Genes to Cells - January 12, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Mahoko Takahashi Ueda, Yohei Kurosaki, Taisuke Izumi, Yusuke Nakano, Olamide K. Oloniniyi, Jiro Yasuda, Yoshio Koyanagi, Kei Sato, So Nakagawa Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Novel tRNA function in amino acid sensing of yeast Tor complex1
In this study, I found that tRNA regulates TORC1. Based on the results, model of tRNA‐mediated TORC1 regulation is proposed. (Source: Genes to Cells)
Source: Genes to Cells - January 12, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Yoshiaki Kamada Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Corrigendum
(Source: Genes to Cells)
Source: Genes to Cells - January 11, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Tags: Corrigendum Source Type: research
Hippo vs. Crab: tissue ‐specific functions of the mammalian Hippo pathway
The Hippo signaling pathway is a vital suppressor of tumorigenesis that is often inactivated in human cancers. In normal cells, the Hippo pathway is triggered by external forces such as cell crowding, or changes to the extracellular matrix or cell polarity. Once activated, Hippo signaling down‐regulates transcription supported by the paralogous cofactors YAP1 and TAZ. The Hippo pathway's functions in normal and cancer biology have been dissected by studies of mutant mice with null or conditional tissue‐specific mutations of Hippo signaling elements. In this review, we attempt to systematically summarize results that ha...
Source: Genes to Cells - January 11, 2017 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Miki Nishio, Tomohiko Maehama, Hiroki Goto, Keisuke Nakatani, Wakako Kato, Hirofumi Omori, Yosuke Miyachi, Hideru Togashi, Yohei Shimono, Akira Suzuki Tags: Review Source Type: research
Mediator cyclin ‐dependent kinases upregulate transcription of inflammatory genes in cooperation with NF‐κB and C/EBPβ on stimulation of Toll‐like receptor 9
In eukaryotes, the Mediator complex has important roles in regulation of transcription by RNA polymerase II. Mediator is a large complex with more than 20 subunits that form head, middle, tail and CDK/cyclin modules. Among them, CDK8 and/or CDK19 (CDK8/19), and their counterpart cyclin C, form the CDK/cyclin module together with Mediator subunits MED12 and MED13. Despite evidences of both activation and repression, the precise functional roles of CDK8/19 in transcription are still elusive. Our previous results indicate that CDK8/19 recruits epigenetic regulators to repress immunoresponse genes. Here, this study focused on ...
Source: Genes to Cells - December 31, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Seiji Yamamoto, Tomoko Hagihara, Yoshiyuki Horiuchi, Akira Okui, Shotaro Wani, Tokuyuki Yoshida, Takao Inoue, Aki Tanaka, Takashi Ito, Yutaka Hirose, Yoshiaki Ohkuma Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Knock ‐in strategy at 3′‐end of Crx gene by CRISPR/Cas9 system shows the gene expression profiles during human photoreceptor differentiation
Fluorescent reporter gene knock‐in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines have been used to evaluate the efficiency of differentiation into specific cell lineages. Here, we report a knock‐in strategy for the generation of human iPSC reporter lines in which a 2A peptide sequence and a red fluorescent protein (E2‐Crimson) gene were inserted at the termination codon of the cone–rod homeobox (Crx) gene, a photoreceptor‐specific transcriptional factor gene. The knock‐in iPSC lines were differentiated into fluorescence‐expressing cells in 3D retinal differentiation culture, and the fluorescent cells also expres...
Source: Genes to Cells - December 31, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Kohei Homma, Sumiko Usui, Makoto Kaneda Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Severe damage to the placental fetal capillary network causes mid ‐ to late fetal lethality and reduction in placental size in Peg11/Rtl1 KO mice
In this study, we re‐examined KO fetuses and placentas and confirmed that the severe clogging of fetal capillaries was associated with KO fetuses showing mid‐fetal lethality with internal bleeding. Importantly, the basal region of the fetal capillary network was specifically damaged, also leading to poor expansion of the labyrinth layer and placental size reduction in the later stage. An apparent down‐regulation of transmembrane protein 100 (Tmem100), mesenchyme homeobox 2 (Meox2) and lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor 1 (Lyve1) expression were observed in earlier stage placentas even before apparent si...
Source: Genes to Cells - December 31, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Moe Kitazawa, Masaru Tamura, Tomoko Kaneko ‐Ishino, Fumitoshi Ishino Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Yeasts for Global Happiness: report of the 14th International Congress on Yeasts (ICY14) held in Awaji Island
The 14th International Congress on Yeasts (ICY14) was held at Awaji Yumebutai International Conference Center (Awaji, Hyogo) in Japan from 11 to 15 September 2016. The main slogan of ICY14 was ‘Yeasts for Global Happiness’, which enabled us to acknowledge the high‐potential usefulness of yeasts contributing to the global happiness in terms of food/beverage, health/medicine and energy/environment industries, as well as to basic biosciences. In addition, two more concepts were introduced: ‘from Japan to the world’ and ‘from senior to junior’. As it was the first ICY meeting held in Japan or other Asian countrie...
Source: Genes to Cells - December 31, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Daisuke Watanabe, Hiroshi Takagi Tags: Meeting Report Source Type: research
PKN2 is essential for mouse embryonic development and proliferation of mouse fibroblasts
PKN2, a member of the protein kinase N (PKN) family, has been suggested by in vitro culture cell experiments to bind to Rho/Rac GTPases and contributes to cell–cell contact and cell migration. To unravel the in vivo physiological function of PKN2, we targeted the PKN2 gene. Constitutive disruption of the mouse PKN2 gene resulted in growth retardation and lethality before embryonic day (E) 10.5. PKN2−/− embryo did not undergo axial turning and showed insufficient closure of the neural tube. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) derived from PKN2−/− embryos at E9.5 failed to grow. Cre‐mediated ablation of PKN2 in ...
Source: Genes to Cells - December 31, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Sally Danno, Koji Kubouchi, Mona Mehruba, Manabu Abe, Rie Natsume, Kenji Sakimura, Satoshi Eguchi, Masahiro Oka, Masanori Hirashima, Hiroki Yasuda, Hideyuki Mukai Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
Immature Core protein of hepatitis C virus induces an unfolded protein response through inhibition of ERAD ‐L in a yeast model system
The structural protein Core of hepatitis C virus (HCV), a cytosolic protein, induces endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR) in hepatocytes, and is responsible for the pathogenesis of persistent HCV infection. Using yeast as a model system, we evaluated mechanisms underlying Core‐induced interference of ER homeostasis and UPR, and found that UPR is induced by the immature Core (aa 1–191, Core191) but not by the mature Core (aa 1–177, Core177). Interestingly, Core191 inhibits both ERAD‐L, a degradation system responsible for misfolded/unfolded proteins in the ER lumen, and ERAD‐M, a d...
Source: Genes to Cells - December 31, 2016 Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Authors: Shota Takahashi, Naoko Sato, Junichi Kikuchi, Hideaki Kakinuma, Jun Okawa, Yukiko Masuyama, Singo Iwasa, Hayato Irokawa, Gi ‐Wook Hwang, Akira Naganuma, Michinori Kohara, Shusuke Kuge Tags: Original Article Source Type: research
