Summary The primary cilium acts as a transducer of extracellular stimuli into intracellular signaling [1, 2]. Its regulation, particularly with respect to length, has been defined primarily by genetic experiments and human disease states in which molecular components that are necessary for its proper construction have been mutated or deleted [1]. However, dynamic modulation of cilium length, a phenomenon observed in ciliated protists [3, 4], has not been well-characterized in vertebrates. Here we demonstrate that decreased intracellular calcium (Ca2+) or increased cyclic AMP (cAMP), and subsequent PKA activation, increases primary cilium length in mammalian epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Anterograde intraflagellar transport is sped up in lengthened cilia, potentially increasing delivery flux of cilium components. The cilium length response creates a negative feedback loop whereby fluid shear-mediated deflection of the primary cilium, which decreases intracellular cAMP, leads to cilium shortening and thus decreases mechanotransductive signaling. This adaptive response is blocked when the autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) gene products, polycystin-1 or -2, are reduced. Dynamic regulation of cilium length is thus intertwined with cilium-mediated signaling and provides a natural braking mechanism in response to external stimuli that may be compromised in PKD.

Background-The Ca 2ϩ -activated chloride channel (CaCC) plays an important role in a variety of physiological functions. In vascular smooth muscle cells, CaCC is involved in the regulation of agonist-stimulated contraction and myogenic tone. The physiological functions of CaCC in blood vessels are not fully revealed because of the lack of specific channel blockers and the uncertainty concerning its molecular identity. Methods and Results-Whole-cell patch-clamp studies showed that knockdown of TMEM16A but not bestrophin-3 attenuated CaCC currents in rat basilar smooth muscle cells. The activity of CaCC in basilar smooth muscle cells isolated from 2-kidney, 2-clip renohypertensive rats was decreased, and CaCC activity was negatively correlated with blood pressure (nϭ25; PϽ0.0001) and medial cross-sectional area (nϭ24; PϽ0

Excluding 53BP1 from chromatin is required to attenuate the DNA damage response during mitosis, yet the functional relevance and regulation of this exclusion is unclear. Here we show that 53BP1 is phosphorylated during mitosis on two residues, T1609 and S1618, located in its well-conserved ubiquitination-dependent recruitment (UDR) motif. Phosphorylating these sites blocks the interaction of the UDR motif with mononuclesomes containing ubiquitinated histone H2A and impedes binding of 53BP1 to mitotic chromatin. Ectopic recruitment of 53BP1- T1609A/S1618A to mitotic DNA lesions was associated with significant mitotic defects that could be reversed by inhibiting non-homologous end joining. We also reveal that protein phosphatase complex, PP4C/R3β dephosphorylates T1609 and S1618 to allow the recruitment of 53BP1 to chromatin in G1 phase. Our results identify key sites of 53BP1 phosphorylation during mitosis, identify the counteracting phosphatase complex that restores the potential for DDR during interphase, and establish the physiological importance of this regulation.

Chemical gradients can generate pattern formation in biological systems. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, a cortical gradient of pom1p (a DYRK-type protein kinase) functions to position sites of cytokinesis and cell polarity, and to control cell length. Here, using quantitative imaging, fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and mathematical modelling, we study how its gradient distribution is formed. Pom1p gradients exhibit large cell-to-cell variability as well as dynamic fluctuations in each individual gradient. Our data lead to a two-state model for gradient formation where pom1p molecules associate with the plasma membrane at cell tips, and then diffuse on the membrane while aggregating into and fragmenting from clusters, before disassociating from the membrane. In contrast to a classical one-component gradient, this two-state gradient buffers against cell-to-cell variations in protein concentration. This buffering mechanism, together with time-averaging to reduce intrinsic noise, allows the pom1p gradient to specify positional information in a robust manner.

Homo-oligomerization is found in many biological systems and has been extensively studied in vitro. However, our ability to quantify and understand oligomerization processes in cells is still limited. We used fluorescence correlation spectroscopy and mathematical modeling to measure the dynamics of the tetramers formed by the tumor suppressor protein p53 in single living cells. Previous in vitro studies suggested that in basal conditions all p53 molecules are bound in dimers. We found that in resting cells p53 is present in a mix of oligomeric states with a large cell-to-cell variation. After DNA damage, p53 molecules in all cells rapidly assemble into tetramers before p53 protein levels increase. We developed a model to understand the connection between p53 accumulation and tetramerization. We found that the rapid increase in p53 tetramers requires a combination of active tetramerization and protein stabilization, however tetramerization alone is sufficient to activate p53 transcriptional targets. This suggests triggering tetramerization as a mechanism for activating the p53 pathway in cancer cells. Many other transcription factors homo-oligomerize, and our approach provides a unique way for probing the dynamics and functional consequences of oligomerization.H omo-oligomerization, the formation of a protein complex out of identical components, is extremely common in nature; in Escherichia coli it is estimated that 35% of proteins form homo-oligomers (1), with an average of four subunits per complex. In yeast and human cells many transcription factors undergo homo-oligomerization, which has been shown to be crucial for their function (2). The molecular dynamics of oligomerization have been studied for some proteins in vitro, but no study has quantified a discrete number of oligomers in a dynamic oligomerization process in live single cells. Here we focus on the homo-tetramers formed by the tumor suppressor p53 and quantify the fraction, dynamics, and function of homo-oligomers in single living cells in response to DNA damage.p53 is a stress-response transcription factor that orchestrates cell fate decisions such as cell-cycle arrest, senescence, and apoptosis. Tetramerization of p53 is required for its direct binding to DNA (3,4). Mutations in the p53 tetramerization domain (326-356 aa) lead to a reduction in, or loss of, its transcriptional activity in cells (5) and were shown to cause early cancer onset, known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome (6, 7).In in vitro studies, p53 first assembles into homo-dimers with a K d of ∼1 nM (8), and these dimers then come together in tetramers with a K d of ∼100 nM-1 μM (8-11). The K d of tetramerization in vitro can be lowered by specific posttranslational modifications (10-12). Based on these measurements and the estimated p53 concentration in cells of 140 nM (13), it has been proposed that p53 should be primarily dimeric in basal conditions and that it forms tetramers in stressed conditions (14). However, there is currently no direct experimental evidence for this in cells.We used...

Background and Purpose—Total homocysteine (tHcy) levels are associated with secondary vascular events and mortality after stroke. The aim of this study was to investigate whether tHcy levels in the acute phase of a stroke contribute to the recurrence of cerebro-cardiovascular events and mortality.Methods—A total of 3799 patients were recruited after hospital admission for acute ischemic stroke. Levels of tHcy were measured within 24 hours after primary admission. Patients were followed for a median of 48 months.Results—During the follow-up period, 233 (6.1%) patients died. After adjustment for age, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, and other cardiovascular risk factors, patients in the highest tHcy quartile (>18.6 μmol/L) had a 1.61-fold increased risk of death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.61; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03–2.53) compared with patients in the lowest quartile (≤10 μmol/L). Further subgroup analysis showed that this correlation was only significant in the large-artery atherosclerosis stroke subtype (adjusted HR, 1.80; 95% CI, 1.05–3.07); this correlation was not significant in the small-vessel occlusion subtype (adjusted HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.30–2.12). The risk of stroke-related mortality was 2.27-fold higher for patients in the third tHcy quartile (adjusted HR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.06–4.86) and 2.15-fold more likely for patients in the fourth quartile (adjusted HR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.01–4.63) than for patients in the lowest tHcy quartile. The risk of cardiovascular-related mortality and the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke were not associated with tHcy levels.Conclusions—Our findings suggest that elevated tHcy levels in the acute phase of an ischemic stroke can predict mortality, especially in stroke patients with the large-vessel atherosclerosis subtype.

BPSD was highly correlated with emotional burden in caregivers of FTD, DLB, and AD patients. The highest burden was observed in bvFTD caregivers.

Small molecule fluorophores are indispensable tools for modern biomedical imaging techniques. In this report, we present the development of a new class of BODIPY dyes based on an alkoxy-fluoro-boron-dipyrromethene core. These novel fluorescent dyes, which we term MayaFluors, are characterized by good aqueous solubility and favorable in vitro physicochemical properties. MayaFluors are readily accessible in good yields in a one-pot, two-step approach starting from well-established BODIPY dyes, and allow for facile modification with functional groups of relevance to bioconjugate chemistry and bioorthogonal labeling. Biological profiling in living cells demonstrates excellent membrane permeability, low nonspecific binding, and lack of cytotoxicity.