Lifeboat Foundation: Safeguarding Humanity
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Blog – Page 731

Adrenergic receptors (ARs) are preferentially expressed by innate lymphocytes such as natural killer (NK) cells.

Here, we study the effect of epinephrine-mediated stimulation of the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) on the function of human NK cells.

β2-Adrenergic receptor stimulation inhibits NK cell activation. (A) β2-Adrenergic receptor expression analysis of PBMCs by flow cytometry (n = 8). Subsets were assigned according to the following markers: B cells (CD19+), NK cells (CD56+, CD3−), CD56 dim (CD56dim, CD3−), CD56 bright (CD56bright, CD3−), NK-T cells (CD56+, CD3+), T cells (CD3+), and monocytes (FSC/SSC). (B) Representative β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) expression histograms of freshly isolated or cultured NK cells. © IFNγ secretion of fresh NK cells (top) or cultured NK cells (bottom). NK cells were pretreated with epinephrine ± propranolol (each 1 µM) and stimulated for 5 h by plate-bound antibodies as indicated. Supernatant was analyzed by IFNγ ELISA (mean, n = 3). (D) Degranulation of fresh NK cells (top) or cultured NK cells (bottom) was analyzed by CD107a expression. NK cells were pretreated and stimulated (3 h) like in ©, (mean, n = 3). Statistical analysis in © and (D) was performed using two-way ANOVA test, **** p < 0.0001; *** p < 0.001; ** p < 0.01; control set to 100%).

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Inside every cell, inside every nucleus, your continued existence depends on an incredibly complicated dance. Proteins are constantly wrapping and unwrapping DNA, and even minor missteps can lead to cancer. A new study from the University of Chicago reveals a previously unknown part of this dance—one with significant implications for human health.

In the study, published Oct. 2 in Nature, a team of scientists led by UChicago Prof. Chuan He, in collaboration with University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Prof. Mingjiang Xu, found that RNA plays a significant role in how DNA is packaged and stored in your cells, via a gene known as TET2. The paper is titled “RNA m5C oxidation by TET2 regulates chromatin state and leukaemogenesis.”

This pathway also appears to explain a long-standing puzzle about why so many cancers and other disorders involve TET2-related mutations—and suggests a set of new targets for treatments.

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Unlocking the complexities of the fruit fly brain is a crucial step toward understanding the human brain. Fruit flies share many genetic similarities with humans, making them a valuable model organism for studying brain functions as well as diseases.

“An estimated 75% of human genes related to diseases have homologs in the fly genome,” Sebastian Seung, co-leader of the research team, told Interesting Engineering (IE).

“We’ve long known about the molecular similarities between fly and human brains. We have been slower to realize that there are also similarities at the circuit level, revealed by examining patterns of connectivity. We now know that fly circuits for olfaction, vision, and navigation have architectural similarities with mammalian circuits for the same functions,” Seung added.

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The team says that DNA — known for its stability and density — could be an ideal candidate for MRI data storage.

Brain MRI scans provide invaluable insights into our bodies.

Interestingly, the team successfully encoded 11.28 megabytes of brain MRI data into roughly 250,000 DNA sequences. This translates to a data density of 2.39 bits per base.

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