The rockefeller university

As members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee that wrote the report on the return of individual research results (1), we reject the allegations in the Policy Forum “Return of results and data to study participants” (S. M. Wolf and B. J. Evans, 12 October, p. 159) that the report is paternalistic, misunderstands the law, burdens Institutional Review Boards (IRBs), and creates barriers to the return of results.

H2B ubiquitylation (H2Bub)-dependent H3K4 methylation is mediated by the multisubunit Set1 complex (Set1C) in yeast, but precisely how Set1C subunits contribute to this histone modification remains unclear. Here, using reconstituted Set1Cs and recombinant H2Bub chromatin, we identified Set1C subunits and domains involved in the H2Bub-dependent H3K4 methylation process, showing that the Spp1 PHDL domain, in conjunction with the Set1 n-SET domain, interacts with Swd1/Swd3 and that this interaction is essential for H2Bub-dependent H3K4 methylation. Importantly, Set1C containing an Spp1-Swd1 fusion bypasses the requirement for H2Bub for H3K4 methylation, suggesting that the role of H2Bub is to induce allosteric rearrangements of the subunit-interaction network within the active site of Set1C that are necessary for methylation activity. Moreover, the interaction between the Set1 N-terminal region and Swd1 renders the Spp1-lacking Set1C competent for H2Bub-dependent H3K4 methylation. Collectively, our results suggest that H2Bub induces conformational changes in Set1C that support H3K4 methylation activity.

Although opioid addiction has risen dramatically, the role of gender in addiction has been difficult to elucidate. We previously found sex-dependent differences in the hippocampal opioid system of Sprague-Dawley rats that may promote associative learning relevant to drug abuse. The present studies show that although female and male rats acquired conditioned place preference (CPP) to the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist oxycodone (3 mg/kg, I.P.), hippocampal opioid circuits were differentially altered. In CA3, Leu-Enkephalin-containing mossy fibers had elevated levels in oxycodone CPP (Oxy) males comparable to those in females and sprouted in Oxy-females, suggesting different mechanisms for enhancing opioid sensitivity. Electron microscopy revealed that in Oxy-males delta opioid receptors (DORs) redistributed to mossy fiber-CA3 synapses in a manner resembling females that we previously showed is important for opioid-mediated long-term potentiation. Moreover, in Oxy-females DORs redistributed to CA3 pyramidal cell spines, suggesting the potential for enhanced plasticity processes. In Saline-injected (Sal) females, dentate hilar parvalbumin-containing basket interneuron dendrites had fewer MORs, however plasmalemmal and total MORs increased in Oxy-females. In dentate hilar GABAergic dendrites that contain neuropeptide Y, Sal-females compared to Sal-males had higher plasmalemmal DORs, and near-plasmalemmal DORs increased in Oxy-females. This redistribution of MORs and DORs within hilar interneurons in Oxy-females would potentially enhance disinhibition of granule cells via two different circuits. Together, these results indicate that oxycodone CPP induces sex-dependent redistributions of opioid receptors in hippocampal circuits in a manner facilitating opioid-associative learning processes and may help explain the increased susceptibility of females to opioid addiction acquisition and relapse. (C) 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The goal of cancer immunotherapy is to stimulate the host immune system to attack malignant cells. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) is a pivotal mechanism of antitumor action of clinically employed antitumor antibodies. IL-15 administered to patients with metastatic malignancy by continuous i.v. infusion at 2 mu g/kg/d for 10 days was associated with a 38-fold increase in the number and activation status of circulating natural killer (NK) cells and activation of macrophages which together are ADCC effectors. We investigated combination therapy of IL-15 with rituximab in a syngeneic mouse model of lymphoma transfected with human CD20 and with alemtuzumab (Campath-1H) in a xenograft model of human adult T cell leukemia (ATL). IL-15 greatly enhanced the therapeutic efficacy of both rituximab and alemtuzumab in tumor models. The additivity/synergy was shown to be associated with augmented ADCC. Both NK cells and macrophages were critical elements in the chain of interacting effectors involved in optimal therapeutic responses mediated by rituximab with IL-15. We provide evidence supporting the hypothesis that NK cells interact with macrophages to augment the NK-cell activation and expression of Fc gamma RIV and the capacity of these cells to become effectors of ADCC. The present study supports clinical trials of IL-15 combined with tumor-directed monoclonal antibodies.

Prescription opioid abuse, for example of oxycodone, is a pressing public health issue. This study focuses on how chronic oxycodone self-administration (SA) affects the reward pathways in the mouse brain. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the expression of reward-related genes in the ventral and dorsal striatum, areas involved in different aspects of opioid addiction models, was altered within 1 h after chronic oxycodone SA, using transcriptome-wide sequencing (RNA-seq). Based on results from earlier human genetic and rodent preclinical studies, we focused on a set of genes that may be associated with the development of addictive diseases and the rewarding effect of drugs of abuse, primarily in the opioid, stress response and classical neurotransmitter systems. We found that 32 transcripts in the ventral striatum, and 7 in the dorsal striatum, were altered significantly in adult mice that had self-administered oxycodone (n = 5) for 14 consecutive days (4 hiday) compared with yoked saline controls (n = 5). The following 5 genes in the ventral striatum showed experiment-wise significant changes: proopiomelanocortin (Pomc) and serotonin 5-HT-2A receptor (Htr2a) were upregulated; serotonin receptor 7 (Htr7), galanin receptor1 (Galr1) and glycine receptor 1 (Glra1) were downregulated. Some genes detected by RNA-seq were confirmed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Conclusion: A RNA-seq study shows that chronic oxycodone SA alters the expression of several reward-related genes in the dorsal and ventral striatum. These results suggest potential mechanisms underlying neuronal adaptation to chronic oxycodone self-exposure, of relevance to our mechanistic understanding of prescription opioid abuse. (C) 2018 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stem cells regenerate tissues in homeostasis and under stress. By taking cues from their microenvironment or "niche,'' they smoothly transition between these states. Immune cells have surfaced as prominent members of stem cell niches across the body. Here, we draw parallels between different stem cell niches to explore the context-specific interactions that stem cells have with tissue-resident and recruited immune cells. We also highlight stem cells' innate ability to sense and respond to stress and the enduring memory that forms from such encounters. This fascinating crosstalk holds great promise for novel therapies in inflammatory diseases and regenerative medicine.

Most patients with chronic lower back pain (CLBP) exhibit degenerative disc disease. Disc specimens obtained during initial therapeutic discectomies are often infected/colonized with Propionibacterium acnes, a Gram-positive commensal of the human skin. Although pain associated with infection is typically ascribed to the body's inflammatory response, the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus was recently observed to directly activate nociceptors by secreting pore-forming alpha-hemolysins that disrupt neuronal cell membranes. The hemolytic activity of P. acnes in cultured disc specimens obtained during routine therapeutic discectomies was assessed through incubation on sheep-blood agar. The beta-hemolysis pattern displayed by P. acnes on sheep-blood agar was variable and phylogroup-dependent. Their molecular phylogroups were correlated with their hemolytic patterns. Our findings raise the possibility that pore-forming proteins contribute to the pathogenesis and/or symptomology of chronic P. acnes disc infections and CLBP, at least in a subset of cases.

Taylor's law (TL) is an empirical rule describing the approximate relationship between the variance and the mean of population density: log(10)(variance) approximate to log(10)(a) + b x log(10)(mean). Although TL has been verified in various ecological systems, essential questions remain unanswered. Why is TL so widely observed? What mechanisms or processes generate it? Why do most observed slopes b fall in the limited range 1 < b < 2? Density dependent movement of individuals among populations has been proposed as a mechanism that leads to TL with slopes 1 < b < 2. We used the Gompertz model (a second-order autoregressive model of the logarithm of population density) to analyze the temporal it of gray-sided vole populations. Our extensive simulations using various combinations of model parameters for environmental variability and density dependence demonstrated that sustainable populations could obey it in the absence of density-dependent movement among populations, and identified the parameter combinations that produced slopes 1 < b < 2. When environmental variability was low and density dependence was intermediate, simulated data sets showed higher probabilities for 1 < b < 2, but the probability was not very high. In general, slopes became steeper (b increased) as environmental variability increased and as density dependence coefficients decreased. In the Gompertz model, both environmental variability and density dependence cause population density to vary, and on the logarithmic scale of population density, those effects are symmetric above and below the equilibrium density. However, effects of the variability are higher above the equilibrium density on the natural scale of population density, and thus the mean of population density increases with increasing population variability. Therefore, the temporal TL can be formed when population density is measured in the natural scale. In sustainable populations well described by the Gompertz model, the slope b can be determined by the interplay of environmental variability and density dependence.

The biogenesis of 60S ribosomal subunits is initiated in the nucleus where rRNAs and proteins form pre-60S particles. These pre-60S particles mature by transiently interacting with various assembly factors. The similar to 5000 amino-acid AAA+ ATPase Real (or Midasin) generates force to mechanically remove assembly factors from pre-60S particles, which promotes their export to the cytosol. Here we present three Real cryoEM structures. We visualise the Rea1 engine, a hexameric ring of AAA+ domains, and identify an alpha-helical bundle of AAA2 as a major ATPase activity regulator. The alpha-helical bundle interferes with nucleotide-induced conformational changes that create a docking site for the substrate binding MIDAS domain on the AAA+ring. Furthermore, we reveal the architecture of the Real linker, which is involved in force generation and extends from the AAA+ ring. The data presented here provide insights into the mechanism of one of the most complex ribosome maturation factors.