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PLoS Pathog 2021 Mar 3;17(3):e1008979. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany.

The rhesus monkey rhadinovirus (RRV), a γ2-herpesvirus of rhesus macaques, shares many biological features with the human pathogenic Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). Both viruses, as well as the more distantly related Epstein-Barr virus, engage cellular receptors from the Eph family of receptor tyrosine kinases (Ephs). However, the importance of the Eph interaction for RRV entry varies between cell types suggesting the existence of Eph-independent entry pathways. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2021 Mar 3;17(3):e1009328. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.

A key step to the SARS-CoV-2 infection is the attachment of its Spike receptor-binding domain (S RBD) to the host receptor ACE2. Considerable research has been devoted to the development of neutralizing antibodies, including llama-derived single-chain nanobodies, to target the receptor-binding motif (RBM) and to block ACE2-RBD binding. Simple and effective strategies to increase potency are desirable for such studies when antibodies are only modestly effective. Read More

J Agric Food Chem 2021 Mar 3. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710021, China.

Recovery of recombinant proteins from the cytoplasm depends on cell disruption by mechanical, chemical, and/or enzymatic methods, which usually cause incomplete cell breakage or protein denaturation. Controllable autolytic strains have been designed to facilitate the purification of recombinant proteins; however, these strains suffer from low recovery yield, slow cell lysis, or extensive strain engineering. Herein, we report an improved, highly efficient programmable autolytic platform, in which cell lysis is initiated upon the induced expression of T4 lysozyme with N-terminal fusion of a cell-penetrating peptide. Read More

J Cell Mol Med 2021 Mar 3. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.

Craniosynostosis refers to the premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures leading to skull shape deformities and brain growth restriction. Among the many factors that contribute to abnormal suture fusion, mechanical forces seem to play a major role. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanobiology-related mechanisms of craniosynostosis still remain unknown. Read More

ACS Nano 2021 Mar 3. Epub 2021 Mar 3.

Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, United States.

Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) potently inhibits entry of diverse enveloped viruses by trapping the viral fusion at a hemifusion stage, but the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we show that recombinant IFITM3 reconstituted into lipid vesicles induces negative membrane curvature and that this effect maps to its small amphipathic helix (AH). We demonstrate that AH (i) partitions into lipid-disordered domains where IAV fusion occurs, (ii) induces negative membrane curvature, and (iii) increases lipid order and membrane stiffness. Read More