In mammals, two isoforms of the peroxisome targeting signal (PTS) type 1 receptor Pex5p, i.e. Pex5pS and Pex5pL with an internal 37-amino acid insertion, have previously been identified. Expression of either type of Pex5p complements the impaired PTS1 import in Chinese hamster ovary pex5 mutants, but only Pex5pL can rescue the PTS2 import defect noted in a subgroup of pex5 mutants such as ZP105. In this work, we found that Pex5pL directly interacts with the PTS2 receptor Pex7p, carrying its cargo PTS2 protein in the cytosol. Pex5pL, but not Pex5pS, mediated the binding of PTS2 protein to Pex14p by translocating Pex7p, demonstrating that Pex5pL plays a pivotal role in peroxisomal PTS2 import. Pex5p was localized mostly in the cytosol in wild-type CHO-K1 and Pex14p-deficient mutant cells, whereas it accumulated in the peroxisomal remnants in cell mutants defective in Pex13p or the RING family peroxins such as Pex2p and Pex12p. Furthermore, overexpression of Pex14p, but not Pex10p, Pex12p, or Pex13p, caused accumulation of Pex5p in peroxisomal membranes, with concomitant interference with PTS1 and PTS2 import. Therefore, Pex5p carrying the cargoes most likely docks with the initial site (Pex14p) in a putative import machinery, subsequently translocating to other components such as Pex13p, Pex2p, Pex10p, and Pex12p.

We performed Hα imaging observations of 22 luminous infrared galaxies to investigate how the distribution of star-forming regions in these galaxies is related to galaxy interactions. Based on correlation diagrams between Hα flux and continuum emission for individual galaxies, a sequence for the distribution of star-forming regions was found: very compact (∼ 100 pc) nuclear starbursts with almost no star-forming activity in the outer regions (type 1), dominant nuclear starbursts 1 kpc in size and a negligible contribution from the outer regions (type 2), nuclear starbursts 1 kpc in size and a significant contribution from the outer regions (type 3), and extended starbursts with relatively faint nuclei (type 4). These classes of star-forming region were found to be strongly related to global star-forming properties such as star-formation efficiency, farinfrared color, and dust extinction. There was a clear tendency for the objects with more compact distributions of star-forming regions to show a higher star-formation efficiency and hotter far-infrared color. An appreciable fraction of the sample objects were dominated by extended starbursts (type 4), which is unexpected in the standard scenario of interaction-induced starburst galaxies. We also found that the distribution of star-forming regions was weakly but clearly related to galaxy morphology: severely disturbed objects had a more concentrated distribution of star-forming regions. This suggests that the properties of galaxy interactions, such as dynamical phase and orbital 1 Visiting Astronomer, Okayama Astrophysical Observatory of National Astronomical Observatory.parameters, play a more important role than the internal properties of progenitor galaxies, such as dynamical structure or gas mass fraction. We also discuss the evolution of the distribution of star-forming regions in interacting galaxies.

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In the initial process of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infects respiratory epithelial cells and then transfers to other organs the blood vessels. It is believed that SARS-CoV-2 can pass the vascular wall by altering the endothelial barrier using an unknown mechanism. In this study, we investigated the effect of SARS-CoV-2 on the endothelial barrier using an airway-on-a-chip that mimics respiratory organs and found that SARS-CoV-2 produced from infected epithelial cells disrupts the barrier by decreasing Claudin-5 (CLDN5), a tight junction protein, and disrupting vascular endothelial cadherin–mediated adherens junctions. Consistently, the gene and protein expression levels of CLDN5 in the lungs of a patient with COVID-19 were decreased. CLDN5 overexpression or Fluvastatin treatment rescued the SARS-CoV-2–induced respiratory endothelial barrier disruption. We concluded that the down-regulation of CLDN5 expression is a pivotal mechanism for SARS-CoV-2–induced endothelial barrier disruption in respiratory organs and that inducing CLDN5 expression is a therapeutic strategy against COVID-19.

We have observed the quadruply lensed quasar 1RXS J1131-1231 with the integral field spectrograph mode of the Kyoto Tridimensional Spectrograph II mounted on the Subaru telescope. Its field of view has covered simultaneously the three brighter lensed images A, B, and C, which are known to exhibit anomalous flux ratios in their continuum emission. We have found that the [OIII] line flux ratios among these lensed images are consistent with those predicted by smoothlens models. The absence of both microlensing and millilensing effects on this [OIII] narrow line region sets important limits on the mass of any substructures along the line of sight, which is expressed as M E < 10 5 M ⊙ for the mass inside an Einstein radius. In contrast, the Hβ line emission, which originates from the broad line region, shows an anomaly in the flux ratio between images B and C, 1 Based on data collected at Subaru Telescope, which is operated by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan.

Cypoviruses are insect viruses that produce a cytoplasmic crystalline particle called the polyhedron in which progeny virions are occluded. The virion structural protein, VP3, is implicated in the occlusion of viral particles into polyhedra. In this study, we determined the amino acid sequence of VP3 required for occlusion of viral particles into polyhedra and proposed that this sequence could be used as an immobilization signal to direct the stable incorporation of foreign proteins into polyhedra. A large-scale survey revealed that the immobilization signal could, in fact, direct the incorporation of a variety of human proteins into polyhedra. Immune reactivity and protein-protein interactions were detected on the surface of polyhedra containing immobilized foreign proteins, and these particles were shown to be highly stabilized against dehydration. We showed that these particles could be arrayed onto a glass slide by standard spotting and laser manipulation methods. Thus, this approach is well suited for protein expression, purification, and the development of protein microarrays.