06/10/2019
Research Article
Adrien Antkowiak, Alphée Michelot and co-workers use a biomimetic assay involving polystyrene beads to compare the rates of actin assembly on linear and branched networks, revealing how the size of rival actin networks in cells is regulated by their relative capacity to assemble in a common environment.
Image credit: pbio.3000317
Current Issue May 2019
06/11/2019
Research Article
Rana Abdelnabi, James Geraets, Sarah Butcher, Johan Neyts and colleagues identify a novel druggable pocket present in most enterovirus and rhinovirus particles, using this to develop broader-spectrum antivirals that inhibit enteroviruses from different groups, probably by interfering with viral RNA release.
Image credit: pbio.3000281
06/10/2019
Research Article
The current animal model for HIV, the macaque, encodes a CD4 receptor that is non-permissive for HIV entry. Cody Warren, Sara Sawyer and co-authors reveal that six primate species encode CD4 receptors compatible with HIV infection, potentially making them powerful tools for the study of HIV biology. Furthermore, weak CD4 binding is a nearly constant, and apparently selected, property of HIV circulating in the human bloodstream.
Image credit: Flickr NIAID
06/10/2019
Research Article
Placental sequestration of malaria-infected erythrocytes is mediated by the interaction between parasite VAR2CSA and the placental receptor chondroitin sulfate A; Dominique Dorin-Semblat, Benoît Gamain and co-workers show that phosphorylation of VAR2CSA plays a major role in this process, with implications for protecting pregnant women and their babies against placental malaria.
Image credit: Pixabay
06/11/2019
Research Article
Blood-brain barrier breakdown and cerebrovascular dysfunction contribute to the pathology and cognitive deficits of Alzheimer’s disease. Yongliang Cao, Haochen Xu, Yuanbo Zhu, Kai Zhong, Bing-Qiao Zhao, Wenying Fan and colleagues show that ADAMTS13 is an important regulator of cerebrovascular integrity, and can play a role in mitigating Alzheimer-like vascular dysfunction, vascular amyloid pathology and cognitive decline.
Image credit: pbio.3000313
06/13/2019
Research Article
Hypervariable T-cell receptors (TCRs) recognise a vast diversity of pathogen-derived antigens; Mikhail Pogorelyy, Anastasia Minervina, Thierry Mora, Aleksandra Walczak and co-workers show that TCRs responding to ongoing immune challenges can be identified using a statistical null model based on sequence similarity.
Image credit: pbio.3000314
06/13/2019
Research Article
The incorporation of an IgG1 hinge as an antibody lock generates a pro-Infliximab whose activation is specific to the disease region, enabling safer RA therapy.
Image credit: pbio.3000286
06/10/2019
Research Article
The antimicrobial properties of silver are poorly understood. Tracking the silver(I) proteome in E. coli, in combination with metabolomics, bioinformatics and bioassays, delineates the dynamic antimicrobial actions of silver at a molecular level.
Image credit: pbio.3000292
06/10/2019
Research Article
Pyruvate kinase M2, a major glycolytic enzyme thought to play a role in cancer progression, can actively inhibit apoptotic cell death by upregulating Mitofusin-1, a protein involved in the fusion of mitochondria.
Image credit: pbio.2004413
06/12/2019
Research Article
FUS is an RNA-binding protein that is mutated and/or aggregated in several neurodegenerative diseases; this study shows that both ATP and nucleic acids modulate liquid-liquid phase separation of FUS in the same manner by specific binding.
Image credit: pbio.3000327
Raquel Lieberman discusses her work on the protein myocilin, implicated in glaucoma, but whose normal function remains unclear after over 20 years.
Susanna Bidgood explores the future of using poxviruses as versatile tools for cell biology research.
Rachel Harding proposes that open notebooks present an opportunity for researchers to showcase their work and rapidly advance science in their field
On the eve of the UN General Assembly meeting on TB, Christoph Grundner urged the need to consider basic research as an essential component of any future anti-TB strategy.
Norman Pace remembers the early days of what became known as "metagenomics," as experienced by the author during his development as a scientist.
Meet Senior Editor Ines Alvarez-Garcia in Krakow, Poland.
June 11-16, 2019
Meet Senior Editor Lauren Richardson in Princeton, NJ.
June 11-13, 2019
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