Summary The ability to visualize endogenous proteins in living neurons provides a powerful means to interrogate neuronal structure and function. Here we generate recombinant antibody-like proteins, termed FingRs (Fibronectin intrabodies generated with mRNA display), that bind endogenous neuronal proteins PSD-95 and Gephyrin with high affinity and which, when fused to GFP, allow excitatory and inhibitory synapses to be visualized in living neurons. Design of the FingR incorporates a novel transcriptional regulation system that ties FingR expression to the level of the target and reduces background fluorescence. In dissociated neurons and brain slices FingRs generated against PSD-95 and Gephyrin did not affect the expression patterns of their endogenous target proteins or the number or strength of synapses. Together, our data indicate that PSD-95 and Gephyrin FingRs can report the localization and amount of endogenous synaptic proteins in living neurons and thus may be used to study changes in synaptic strength in vivo.

Anion photoelectron spectroscopy has been employed to obtain vibrationally resolved spectra of the carbon molecules C2–C11. The spectra of C−2–C−9 are dominated by linear anion to linear neutral photodetachment transitions. Linear to linear transitions contribute to the C−11 spectrum, as well. From these spectra, vibrational frequencies and electron affinities are determined for the linear isomers of C2–C9 and C11. The term value is also obtained for the first excited electronic state of linear C4. The spectra of C−10 and C−11 show evidence for transitions involving cyclic anions and/or neutrals. Similar types of transitions are identified in the spectra of other smaller molecules, specifically C−6, C−8, and to a lesser extent C−5.

Several aggregation-prone proteins associated with neurodegenerative diseases can be modified by O-linked N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc) in vivo. One of these proteins, α-synuclein, is a toxic aggregating-protein associated with synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease. However, the effect of O-GlcNAcylation on α-synuclein is not clear. Here, we use synthetic protein chemistry to generate both unmodified α-synuclein and α-synuclein bearing a site-specific O-GlcNAc modification at the physiologically-relevant threonine residue 72. We show that this single modification has a notable and substoichiometric inhibitory-effect on α-synuclein aggregation, whilst not affecting the membrane binding or bending properties of α-synuclein. O-GlcNAcylation is also shown to affect the phosphorylation of α-synuclein in vitro and block the toxicity of α-synuclein that was exogenously added to cells in culture. These results suggest that increasing O-GlcNAcylation may slow the progression of synucleinopathies and further support a general function for O-GlcNAc in preventing protein aggregation.

Shining light on diamond particles makes them MRI-“bright,” opening avenues for room temperature hyperpolarized liquids.

RECEIVED DATE (to be automatically inserted after your manuscript is accepted if required according to the journal that you are submitting your paper to) *beer2@llnl.gov ABSTRACT. The first lab-on-chip system for picoliter droplet generation and RNA isolation, followed by reverse transcription, and PCR amplification with real-time fluorescence detection in the trapped droplets has been developed. The system utilized a shearing T-junction in a fused silica device to generate a stream of monodisperse picoliter-scale droplets that were isolated from the microfluidic channel walls and each other by the oil phase carrier. An off-chip valving system stopped the droplets on-chip, allowing thermal cycling for reverse transcription and subsequent PCR amplification without droplet motion. This combination of the established realtime reverse transcription-PCR assay with digital microfluidics is ideal for isolating single-copy RNA and virions from a complex environment, and will be useful in viral discovery and geneprofiling applications.

The distinct electrical properties of axonal and dendritic membranes are largely a result of specific transport of vesicle-bound membrane proteins to each compartment. How this specificity arises is unclear because kinesin motors that transport vesicles cannot autonomously distinguish dendritically projecting microtubules from those projecting axonally. We hypothesized that interaction with a second motor might enable vesicles containing dendritic proteins to preferentially associate with dendritically projecting microtubules and avoid those that project to the axon. Here we show that in rat cortical neurons, localization of several distinct transmembrane proteins to dendrites is dependent on specific myosin motors and an intact actin network. Moreover, fusion with a myosin-binding domain from Melanophilin targeted Channelrhodopsin-2 specifically to the somatodendritic compartment of neurons in mice in vivo. Together, our results suggest that dendritic transmembrane proteins direct the vesicles in which they are transported to avoid the axonal compartment through interaction with myosin motors.The differential trafficking of proteins synthesized in the secretory pathway allows the establishment and maintenance of membrane domains with distinct functional and morphological properties at opposite ends of polarized cells 1 . A first step in this process has been well defined in epithelial cells and involves the sorting of proteins at the trans-Golgi membrane into vesicles bound for either the apical or basolateral domain through interaction with clathrin adaptor proteins 2 . In neurons proteins bound for either the dendritic or axonal domains are also loaded into specific vesicles 3 . Moreover, this sorting step is likely to proceed by a similar mechanism in the two cell types, as AP4β, a constituent of a clathrin adaptor complex, is necessary for dendritic targeting of AMPA receptors 4 .Subsequent steps in polarized targeting of neuronal proteins are much less well defined. However, their properties can be inferred from the observations that vesicles containing dendritic proteins traffic specifically to dendrites, avoiding axonal processes 3 , and that kinesin motors, which interact with microtubules, are responsible for movement of vesicles within dendrites 5 . Taken together, these results suggest that after sorting at the Golgi membrane, vesicles carrying dendritic proteins preferentially interact with microtubules that project to NIH Public Access RESULTS Myosin Va is necessary for dendritic targetingTo investigate possible roles of myosin in polarized targeting, we examined the contributions of Myosins Va and Vb to dendritic targeting of the AMPA receptor GluR1, to which both myosins bind 11,15 . We used dissociated cultures of cortical neurons taken from embryonic day 18 rat embryos and transfected between 12 and 18 d in vitro with plasmid constructs encoding tagged transmembrane proteins. When transfected into dissociated rat cortical neurons, GluR1 tagged with green fluorescent protein (GFP) (Glu...

The transition state region of the F + H(2) reaction has been studied by photoelectron spectroscopy of FH(2)(-). New para and normal FH(2)(-)photoelectron spectra have been measured in refined experiments and are compared here with exact three-dimensional quantum reactive scattering simulations that use an accurate new ab initio potential energy surface for F + H(2). The detailed agreement that is obtained between this fully ab initio theory and experiment is unprecedented for the F + H(2) reaction and suggests that the transition state region of the F + H(2) potential energy surface has finally been understood quantitatively.

Dissolving PC in Triton-X-100 releases maximum quantities of growth factors from platelets. The release of each growth factor by any sample preparation method should be investigated and interpreted separately. The preanalytical sample-preparation method, as well as the platelet and WBC content, influence the measurable levels of growth factors in PCs. The results implicate the need to correct, considerably upwards, previous estimations of the PDGF content of platelets.