YAP (yes-associated protein) and TAZ are oncogenic transcriptional co-activators downstream of the Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway. However, whether YAP and/or TAZ (YAP/TAZ) engage in transcriptional co-repression remains relatively unexplored. Here, we directly demonstrated that YAP/TAZ represses numerous target genes, including tumor-suppressor genes such as DDIT4 (DNA-damage-inducible transcript 4) and Trail (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand). Mechanistically, the repressor function of YAP/TAZ requires TEAD (TEA domain) transcription factors. A YAP/TAZ-TEAD complex recruits the NuRD complex to deacetylate histones and alters nucleosome occupancy at target genes. Functionally, repression of DDIT4 and Trail by YAP/TAZ is required for mTORC1 (mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1) activation and cell survival, respectively. Our demonstration of the transcriptional co-repressor activity of YAP/TAZ opens a new avenue for understanding the Hippo signaling pathway.

Hydrolysis of In(O-iPr)3 by 10 molar excess of water at 90 degrees C in a surfactant/solvent mixture of oleylamine/oleic acid/trioctylamine provides very small nanoparticles (<5 nm in diameter) of In(O)(OH). Subsequent in situ thermolysis of the formed In(O)(OH) nanoparticles at 350 degrees C and ambient pressure produces monodisperse h-In2O3 nanocubes, which can form an extended two-dimensional array on a flat surface. The size of the In2O3 nanocubes (8, 10, and 12 nm) could be easily controlled by the simple change in the amounts of employed surfactants. The h-In2O3 nanocube samples show blue PL emissions at room temperature due to, presumably, systematic oxygen vacancy.

The ultrasensitive detection of cancer in its earliest stage would greatly help the ensuing treatment process, and therefore various imaging modalities and image-enhancing methods are being developed.[1] In particular, metal oxide nanoparticles prove to be promising contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the ultrasensitive detection of cancer, and the principles for enhancing MRI contrast have been deciphered recently.[2] For example, it is advantageous to employ superparamagnetic metal oxide nanoparticles with high magnetization values (emu g À1 ) for improved T 2 image contrast.[3] In addition, clusters of superparamagnetic nanoparticles exhibit greater T 2 contrast abilities than individual nanoparticles.[4] Therefore, the clustering of magnetic nanoparticles with high magnetization values is advantageous because of both improved T 2 contrast and the frugal usage of targeting moieties. For enhanced T 1 contrast, nanoparticles should have numerous high-spin metal ions exposed on the surface for facilitated interactions with the surrounding water molecules. [5,6] This calls for the use of smaller nanoparticles with a high surface-to-volume ratio, but simply using a high number of small nanoparticles is not compatible with the frugal usage of targeting moieties. In the case of large nanoparticles, the non-exposed metal ions in the core cannot contribute to the MRI T 1 contrast; the T 1 -weighted image obtained with metal ions is much poorer than that from conventional ion-based contrast agents.We reasoned that the highest surface area for a nanoparticle of a given diameter would be provided by an urchinlike morphology as shown in Figure 1. As a model system to prove our concept, manganese oxides were investigated that had been previously used as an MRI T 1 contrast agent. This system is particularly interesting because of the easy conversion of MnO to Mn 3 O 4 and the different stabilities of these two manganese oxide phases under physiological conditions. It is envisaged that the MnO nanoparticle trapped in the thin shell of an urchin-shaped stable Mn 3 O 4 phase can be unloaded in the form of Mn II ions to the low-pH sites (< pH 7) in the tumor. While the low pH of tumor cells has been exploited for the fabrication of numerous activatable drug-delivery systems, [7] a nanoparticle-based pH-activatible MRI agent is unprecedented to our knowledge. The combination of the T 1 contrast effect from the empty Mn 3 O 4 urchin shell with a high surface area and the released Mn II ions should make the MnO@Mn 3 O 4 nanourchin a powerful MRI T 1 contrast agent. Herein we report the synthesis of the MnO@Mn 3 O 4 nanourchin through facet-selective etching as well as its successful application as a pH-responsive activatable T 1 contrast agent,

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Hollow Mn-doped iron oxide nanocontainers, formed by a novel one-pot synthetic process, fulfill the dual requirements of delivering an effective dose of an anticancer drug to tumor tissue and enabling image-contrast monitoring of the nanocontainer fate through T2 -weighted magnetic resonance imaging, thereby determining the optimal balance between diagnostic and therapeutic moieties in an all-in-one theranostic nanoplatform.

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For the application of gadolinium oxide (Gd 2 O 3 ) nanoparticles as terahertz contrast agents, their optical properties in a solvent were studied using terahertz timedomain spectroscopy. The power absorption and refractive index of the samples were measured with various concentrations of nanoparticles. The power absorption was extremely large, as much as three orders of magnitude higher than that of water, so that a few ppms of Gd 2 O 3 nanoparticles were distinguished in terms of their power absorption capacity. The results show that the interaction between the terahertz electromagnetic waves and the Gd 2 O 3 nanoparticles is strong enough to allow their exploitation as contrast agents for terahertz medical imaging.