The ciliary gene RPGRIP1L is mutated in cerebello-oculo-renal syndrome (Joubert syndrome type B) and Meckel syndrome

Cerebello-oculo-renal syndrome (CORS), also called Joubert syndrome type B, and Meckel (MKS) syndrome belong to the group of developmental autosomal recessive disorders that are associated with primary cilium dysfunction. Using SNP mapping, we identified missense and truncating mutations in RPGRIP1L (KIAA1005) in both CORS and MKS, and we show that inactivation of the mouse ortholog Rpgrip1l (Ftm) recapitulates the cerebral, renal and hepatic defects of CORS and MKS. In addition, we show that RPGRIP1L colocalizes at the basal body and centrosomes with the protein products of both NPHP6 and NPHP4, known genes associated with MKS, CORS and nephronophthisis (a related renal disorder and ciliopathy). In addition, the RPGRIP1L missense mutations found in CORS individuals diminishes the interaction between RPGRIP1L and nephrocystin-4. Our findings show that mutations in RPGRIP1L can cause the multiorgan phenotypic abnormalities found in CORS or MKS, which therefore represent a continuum of the same underlying disorder.     

Quantum Mechanics in a New Light

Although the present paper looks upon the formal apparatus of quantum mechanics as a calculus of correlations, it goes beyond a purely operationalist interpretation. Having established the consistency of the correlations with the existence of their correlata (measurement outcomes), and having justified the distinction between a domain in which outcome-indicating events occur and a domain whose properties only exist if their existence is indicated by such events, it explains the difference between the two domains as essentially the difference between the manifested world and its manifestation. A single, intrinsically undifferentiated Being manifests the macroworld by entering into reflexive spatial relations. This atemporal process implies a new kind of causality and sheds new light on the mysterious nonlocality of quantum mechanics. Unlike other realist interpretations, which proceed from an evolving-states formulation, the present interpretation proceeds from Feynman’s formulation of the theory, and it introduces a new interpretive principle, replacing the collapse postulate and the eigenvalue–eigenstate link of evolving-states formulations. Applied to alternatives involving distinctions between regions of space, this principle implies that the spatiotemporal differentiation of the physical world is incomplete. Applied to alternatives involving distinctions between things, it warrants the claim that, intrinsically, all fundamental particles are identical in the strong sense of numerical identical. They are the aforementioned intrinsically undifferentiated Being, which manifests the macroworld by entering into reflexive spatial relations.     

Necroptosis and ferroptosis are alternative cell death pathways that operate in acute kidney failure

Ferroptosis is a recently recognized caspase-independent form of regulated cell death that is characterized by the accumulation of lethal lipid ROS produced through iron-dependent lipid peroxidation. Considering that regulation of fatty acid metabolism is responsible for the membrane-resident pool of oxidizable fatty acids that undergo lipid peroxidation in ferroptotic processes, we examined the contribution of the key fatty acid metabolism enzyme, acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4), in regulating ferroptosis. By using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, we found that knockout of Acsl4 in ferroptosis-sensitive murine and human cells conferred protection from erastin- and RSL3-induced cell death. In the same cell types, deletion of mixed lineage kinase domain-like (Mlkl) blocked susceptibility to necroptosis, as expected. Surprisingly, these studies also revealed ferroptosis and necroptosis are alternative, in that resistance to one pathway sensitized cells to death via the other pathway. These data suggest a mechanism by which one regulated necrosis pathway compensates for another when either ferroptosis or necroptosis is compromised. We verified the synergistic contributions of ferroptosis and necroptosis to tissue damage during acute organ failure in vivo. Interestingly, in the course of pathophysiological acute ischemic kidney injury, ACSL4 was initially upregulated and its expression level correlated with the severity of tissue damage. Together, our findings reveal ACSL4 to be a reliable biomarker of the emerging cell death modality of ferroptosis, which may also serve as a novel therapeutic target in preventing pathological cell death processes.     

Proteolytic control of TGF-β co-receptor activity by BMP-1/tolloid-like proteases revealed by quantitative iTRAQ proteomics

The metalloproteinase BMP-1 (bone morphogenetic protein-1) plays a major role in the control of extracellular matrix (ECM) assembly and growth factor activation. Most of the growth factors activated by BMP-1 are members of the TGF-β superfamily known to regulate multiple biological processes including embryonic development, wound healing, inflammation and tumor progression. In this study, we used an iTRAQ (isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification)-based quantitative proteomic approach to reveal the release of proteolytic fragments from the cell surface or the ECM by BMP-1. Thirty-eight extracellular proteins were found in significantly higher or lower amounts in the conditioned medium of HT1080 cells overexpressing BMP-1 and thus, could be considered as candidate substrates. Strikingly, three of these new candidates (betaglycan, CD109 and neuropilin-1) were TGF-β co-receptors, also acting as antagonists when released from the cell surface, and were chosen for further substrate validation. Betaglycan and CD109 proved to be directly cleaved by BMP-1 and the corresponding cleavage sites were extensively characterized using a new mass spectrometry approach. Furthermore, we could show that the ability of betaglycan and CD109 to interact with TGF-β was altered after cleavage by BMP-1, leading to increased and prolonged SMAD2 phosphorylation in BMP-1-overexpressing cells. Betaglycan processing was also observed in primary corneal keratocytes, indicating a general and novel mechanism by which BMP-1 directly affects signaling by controlling TGF-β co-receptor activity. The proteomic data have been submitted to ProteomeXchange with the identifier PXD000786 and doi: 10.6019/PXD000786.     

Purinergic signaling in embryonic and stem cell development

Nucleotides are of crucial importance as carriers of energy in all organisms. However, the concept that in addition to their intracellular roles, nucleotides act as extracellular ligands specifically on receptors of the plasma membrane took longer to be accepted. Purinergic signaling exerted by purines and pyrimidines, principally ATP and adenosine, occurs throughout embryologic development in a wide variety of organisms, including amphibians, birds, and mammals. Cellular signaling, mediated by ATP, is present in development at very early stages, e.g., gastrulation of Xenopus and germ layer definition of chick embryo cells. Purinergic receptor expression and functions have been studied in the development of many organs, including the heart, eye, skeletal muscle and the nervous system. In vitro studies with stem cells revealed that purinergic receptors are involved in the processes of proliferation, differentiation, and phenotype determination of differentiated cells. Thus, nucleotides are able to induce various intracellular signaling pathways via crosstalk with other bioactive molecules acting on growth factor and neurotransmitter receptors. Since normal development is disturbed by dysfunction of purinergic signaling in animal models, further studies are needed to elucidate the functions of purinoceptor subtypes in developmental processes.     

Nitrogen pretreatment period required for complete elimination of the oxygen effect in X-rayedDrosophila embryos

Zusammenfassung Zur vollständigen Ausschaltung des Sauerstoff-Effektes bei der Bestrahlung vonDrosophila-Embryonen genügt eine 15 Sekunden dauernde Vorbehandlung mit Stickstoff.     

An amorphous solid state of biogenic secondary organic aerosol particles

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) particles are formed in the atmosphere from condensable oxidation products of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). On a global scale, biogenic VOCs account for about 90% of VOC emissions and of SOA formation (90?billion kilograms of carbon per year). SOA particles can scatter radiation and act as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, and thereby influence the Earth's radiation balance and climate. They consist of a myriad of different compounds with varying physicochemical properties, and little information is available on the phase state of SOA particles. Gas-particle partitioning models usually assume that SOA particles are liquid, but here we present experimental evidence that they can be solid under ambient conditions. We investigated biogenic SOA particles formed from oxidation products of VOCs in plant chamber experiments and in boreal forests within a few hours after atmospheric nucleation events. On the basis of observed particle bouncing in an aerosol impactor and of electron microscopy we conclude that biogenic SOA particles can adopt an amorphous solid-most probably glassy-state. This amorphous solid state should provoke a rethinking of SOA processes because it may influence the partitioning of semi-volatile compounds, reduce the rate of heterogeneous chemical reactions, affect the particles' ability to accommodate water and act as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, and change the atmospheric lifetime of the particles. Thus, the results of this study challenge traditional views of the kinetics and thermodynamics of SOA formation and transformation in the atmosphere and their implications for air quality and climate.     

A comprehensive linkage analysis for myocardial infarction and its related risk factors

Coronary artery disease and myocardial infarction (MI) are leading causes of death in the western world. Numerous studies have shown that risk factors such as diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and hypercholesterolemia contribute to the development of the disease. Although each risk factor by itself is partly under genetic control, a positive family history is an independent predictor, which suggests that there are additional susceptibility genes. We have scanned the whole genome in 513 families to identify chromosomal regions linked to myocardial infarction and related risk factors that are known to be under genetic control. Here we show, by using variance component analysis and incorporating risk factors, that risk of myocardial infarction maps to a single region on chromosome 14 with a significant lod score of 3.9 (pointwise P=0.00015, genome-wide P<0.05), providing evidence of a principal MI locus. To characterize this locus we analyzed each risk factor by itself. Serum concentrations of lipoprotein (a) show linkage to both the apolipoprotein (a) locus (lod score 26.99) and a new locus on chromosome 1 (lod score 3.8). There is suggestive linkage for diabetes mellitus on chromosome 6 (lod score 2.96), for hypertension on chromosomes 1 and 6, for high-density and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on chromosomes 1 and 17, and for triglyceride concentrations on chromosome 9. Although some of these risk factors overlap with previously identified loci, none overlaps with the newly identified susceptibility locus for myocardial infarction and coronary artery disease.