CTCF mutation at R567 causes developmental disorders via 3D genome rearrangement and abnormal neurodevelopment.

The three-dimensional genome structure organized by CTCF is required for development. Clinically identified mutations in CTCF have been linked to adverse developmental outcomes. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. In this investigation, we explore the regulatory roles of a clinically relevant R567W point mutation, located within the 11th zinc finger of CTCF, by introducing this mutation into both murine models and human embryonic stem cell-derived cortical organoid models. Mice with homozygous CTCFR567W mutation exhibit growth impediments, resulting in postnatal mortality, and deviations in brain, heart, and lung development at the pathological and single-cell transcriptome levels. This mutation induces premature stem-like cell exhaustion, accelerates the maturation of GABAergic neurons, and disrupts neurodevelopmental and synaptic pathways. Additionally, it specifically hinders CTCF binding to peripheral motifs upstream to the core consensus site, causing alterations in local chromatin structure and gene expression, particularly at the clustered protocadherin locus. Comparative analysis using human cortical organoids mirrors the consequences induced by this mutation. In summary, this study elucidates the influence of the CTCFR567W mutation on human neurodevelopmental disorders, paving the way for potential therapeutic interventions.

Clinical genomics expands the link between erroneous cell division, primary microcephaly and intellectual disability.

Primary microcephaly is a rare neurogenic and genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by significant brain size reduction that results in numerous neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) problems, including mild to severe intellectual disability (ID), global developmental delay (GDD), seizures and other congenital malformations. This disorder can arise from a mutation in genes involved in various biological pathways, including those within the brain. We characterized a recessive neurological disorder observed in nine young adults from five independent consanguineous Pakistani families. The disorder is characterized by microcephaly, ID, developmental delay (DD), early-onset epilepsy, recurrent infection, hearing loss, growth retardation, skeletal and limb defects. Through exome sequencing, we identified novel homozygous variants in five genes that were previously associated with brain diseases, namely CENPJ (NM_018451.5: c.1856A > G; p.Lys619Arg), STIL (NM_001048166.1: c.1235C > A; p.(Pro412Gln), CDK5RAP2 (NM_018249.6 c.3935 T > G; p.Leu1312Trp), RBBP8 (NM_203291.2 c.1843C > T; p.Gln615*) and CEP135 (NM_025009.5 c.1469A > G; p.Glu490Gly). These variants were validated by Sanger sequencing across all family members, and in silico structural analysis. Protein 3D homology modeling of wild-type and mutated proteins revealed substantial changes in the structure, suggesting a potential impact on function. Importantly, all identified genes play crucial roles in maintaining genomic integrity during cell division, with CENPJ, STIL, CDK5RAP2, and CEP135 being involved in centrosomal function. Collectively, our findings underscore the link between erroneous cell division, particularly centrosomal function, primary microcephaly and ID.

CATD: a reproducible pipeline for selecting cell-type deconvolution methods across tissues.

Motivation: Cell-type deconvolution methods aim to infer cell composition from bulk transcriptomic data. The proliferation of developed methods coupled with inconsistent results obtained in many cases, highlights the pressing need for guidance in the selection of appropriate methods. Additionally, the growing accessibility of single-cell RNA sequencing datasets, often accompanied by bulk expression from related samples enable the benchmark of existing methods. Results: In this study, we conduct a comprehensive assessment of 31 methods, utilizing single-cell RNA-sequencing data from diverse human and mouse tissues. Employing various simulation scenarios, we reveal the efficacy of regression-based deconvolution methods, highlighting their sensitivity to reference choices. We investigate the impact of bulk-reference differences, incorporating variables such as sample, study and technology. We provide validation using a gold standard dataset from mononuclear cells and suggest a consensus prediction of proportions when ground truth is not available. We validated the consensus method on data from the stomach and studied its spillover effect. Importantly, we propose the use of the critical assessment of transcriptomic deconvolution (CATD) pipeline which encompasses functionalities for generating references and pseudo-bulks and running implemented deconvolution methods. CATD streamlines simultaneous deconvolution of numerous bulk samples, providing a practical solution for speeding up the evaluation of newly developed methods. Availability and implementation: https://github.com/Papatheodorou-Group/CATD_snakemake.

Interface-Engineered 3D porous MoS2-ReS2 in-plane heterojunction as efficient hydrogen evolution reaction electrocatalysts.

Constructing in-plane heterojunctions with high interfacial density using two-dimensional materials represents a promising yet challenging avenue for enhancing the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water electrolysis. In this work, we report that three-dimensional porous MoS2-ReS2 in-plane heterojunctions, fabricated via chemical vapor deposition, exhibit robust electrocatalytic activity for the water splitting reaction. The optimized MoS2-ReS2 in-plane heterojunction achieves superior HER performance across a wide pH range, requiring an overpotential of only 200 mV to reach a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in alkaline seawater. Thus, it outperforms standalone MoS2 and ReS2. Furthermore, the catalyst exhibits remarkable stability, enduring up to 200 h in alkaline seawater. Experimental results coupled with density functional theory calculations confirm that electron redistribution at the MoS2-ReS2 heterointerface is likely driven by disparities in in-plane work functions between the two phases. This leads to charge accumulation at the interface, thereby enhancing the adsorptive activity of S atoms toward H* intermediates and facilitating the dissociation of water molecules at the interface. This discovery offers valuable insights into the electrocatalytic mechanisms at the interface and provides a roadmap for designing high-performance, earth-abundant HER electrocatalysts suitable for practical applications.

A N-doped carbon-supported In2O3 catalyst for highly efficient CO2 electroreduction to HCOOH.

A novel In2O3@NC catalyst has been prepared and employed in CO2 electroreduction to HCOOH. The C and N species successfully improve the electronic structure of In2O3 and enhance the adsorption ability of CO2. The In2O3@NC catalyst exhibits a remarkably high FEHCOOH of 97.1%, jtotal of 190 mA cm-2, and stability for 60 h.

Exome sequencing identifies homozygous variants in MBOAT7 associated with neurodevelopmental disorder.

Intellectual disability (ID) is a large group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by a congenital limitation in intellectual functioning (reasoning, learning, and problem solving), adaptive behavior (conceptual, social, and practical skills), originated at birth and manifested before the age of 18. By whole exome sequencing of five consanguineous Pakistani families presenting hallmark features of ID, global developmental delay, aggressive and self-injurious behaviors, microcephaly, febrile seizures and facial dysmorphic features, we identified three novel homozygous missense variants (NM_024298.5: c.588G > T; p.Trp196Cys, c.736 T > C; p.Tyr246His and c.524A > C; p. Asp175Ala) and one rare homozygous in-frame deletion variant (c.758_778del;p.Glu253_Ala259del) in membrane-bound O-acyltransferase family member 7 (MBOAT7) gene previously associated with autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder. The segregation of the variants was validated by Sanger sequencing in all family members. In silico homology modeling of wild-type and mutated proteins revealed substantial changes in the structure of both proteins, indicating a possible effect on function. The identification and validation of new pathogenic MBOAT7 variants in five cases of autosomal recessive ID further highlight the importance of this genes in proper brain function and development.

Confined Ni nanoparticles in N-doped carbon nanotubes for excellent pH-universal industrial-level electrocatalytic CO2 reduction and Zn-CO2 battery.

Electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 (ECR) offers a promising approach to curbed carbon emissions and complete carbon cycles. However, the inevitable creation of carbonates and limited CO2 utilization efficiency in neutral or alkaline electrolytes result in low energy efficiency, carbon losses and its widespread commercial utilization. The advancement of CO2 reduction under acidic conditions offers a promising approach for their commercial utilization, but the inhibition of hydrogen evolution reaction and the corrosion of catalysts are still challenging. Herein, Ni nanoparticles (NPs) wrapped in N-doped carbon nanotubes (NixNC-a) are successfully prepared by a facile mixed-heating and freeze-drying method. Ni100NC-a achieves a high Faraday efficiency (FE) of near 100 % for CO under pH-universal conditions, coupled with a promising current density of CO (>100 mA cm-2). Especially in acidic conditions, Ni100NC-a exhibits an exceptional ECR performance with the high FECO of 97.4 % at -1.44 V and the turnover frequency (TOF) of 11 k h-1 at -1.74 V with a current density of 288.24 mA cm-2. This excellent performance is attributed to the synergistic effect of Ni NPs and N-doped carbon shells, which protects Ni NPs from etching, promotes CO2 adsorption and regulates local pH. Moreover, Ni100NC-a could drive the reversible Zn-CO2 battery with a high power-density of 4.68 mW cm-2 and a superior stability (98 h). This study presents a promising candidate for efficient pH-universal CO2 electroreduction and Zn-CO2 battery.

Ribocentre-switch: a database of riboswitches.

Riboswitches are regulatory elements found in the untranslated regions (UTRs) of certain mRNA molecules. They typically comprise two distinct domains: an aptamer domain that can bind to specific small molecules, and an expression platform that controls gene expression. Riboswitches work by undergoing a conformational change upon binding to their specific ligand, thus activating or repressing the genes downstream. This mechanism allows gene expression regulation in response to metabolites or small molecules. To systematically summarise riboswitch structures and their related ligand binding functions, we present Ribocentre-switch, a comprehensive database of riboswitches, including the information as follows: sequences, structures, functions, ligand binding pockets and biological applications. It encompasses 56 riboswitches and 26 orphan riboswitches from over 430 references, with a total of 89 591 sequences. It serves as a good resource for comparing different riboswitches and facilitating the identification of potential riboswitch candidates. Therefore, it may facilitate the understanding of RNA structural conformational changes in response to ligand signaling. The database is publicly available at https://riboswitch.ribocentre.org.

Regulatory circular RNAs in viral diseases: applications in diagnosis and therapy.

Circular RNA (circRNA) forms closed loops via back-splicing in precursor mRNA, resisting exonuclease degradation. In higher eukaryotes, protein-coding genes create circRNAs through exon back-splicing. Unlike mRNAs, circRNAs possess unique production and structural traits, bestowing distinct cellular functions and biomedical potential. In this review, we explore the pivotal roles of viral circRNAs and associated RNA in various biological processes. Analysing the interactions between viral circRNA and host cellular machinery yields fresh insights into antiviral immunity, catalysing the development of potential therapeutics. Furthermore, circRNAs serve as enduring biomarkers in viral diseases due to their stable translation within specific tissues. Additionally, a deeper understanding of translational circRNA could expedite the establishment of circRNA-based expression platforms, meeting the rising demand for broad-spectrum viral vaccines. We also highlight the applications of circular RNA in biomarker studies as well as circRNA-based therapeutics. Prospectively, we expect a technological revolution in combating viral infections using circRNA.

Assessment of three-dimensional RNA structure prediction in CASP15.

The prediction of RNA three-dimensional structures remains an unsolved problem. Here, we report assessments of RNA structure predictions in CASP15, the first CASP exercise that involved RNA structure modeling. Forty-two predictor groups submitted models for at least one of twelve RNA-containing targets. These models were evaluated by the RNA-Puzzles organizers and, separately, by a CASP-recruited team using metrics (GDT, lDDT) and approaches (Z-score rankings) initially developed for assessment of proteins and generalized here for RNA assessment. The two assessments independently ranked the same predictor groups as first (AIchemy_RNA2), second (Chen), and third (RNAPolis and GeneSilico, tied); predictions from deep learning approaches were significantly worse than these top ranked groups, which did not use deep learning. Further analyses based on direct comparison of predicted models to cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps and x-ray diffraction data support these rankings. With the exception of two RNA-protein complexes, models submitted by CASP15 groups correctly predicted the global fold of the RNA targets. Comparisons of CASP15 submissions to designed RNA nanostructures as well as molecular replacement trials highlight the potential utility of current RNA modeling approaches for RNA nanotechnology and structural biology, respectively. Nevertheless, challenges remain in modeling fine details such as noncanonical pairs, in ranking among submitted models, and in prediction of multiple structures resolved by cryo-EM or crystallography.

Benchmarking strategies for cross-species integration of single-cell RNA sequencing data.

The growing number of available single-cell gene expression datasets from different species creates opportunities to explore evolutionary relationships between cell types across species. Cross-species integration of single-cell RNA-sequencing data has been particularly informative in this context. However, in order to do so robustly it is essential to have rigorous benchmarking and appropriate guidelines to ensure that integration results truly reflect biology. Here, we benchmark 28 combinations of gene homology mapping methods and data integration algorithms in a variety of biological settings. We examine the capability of each strategy to perform species-mixing of known homologous cell types and to preserve biological heterogeneity using 9 established metrics. We also develop a new biology conservation metric to address the maintenance of cell type distinguishability. Overall, scANVI, scVI and SeuratV4 methods achieve a balance between species-mixing and biology conservation. For evolutionarily distant species, including in-paralogs is beneficial. SAMap outperforms when integrating whole-body atlases between species with challenging gene homology annotation. We provide our freely available cross-species integration and assessment pipeline to help analyse new data and develop new algorithms.

Nr4a1 marks a distinctive ILC2 activation subset in the mouse inflammatory lung.

BACKGROUND: Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) are critical sources of type 2 cytokines and represent one of the major tissue-resident lymphoid cells in the mouse lung. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying ILC2 activation under challenges are not fully understood. RESULTS: Here, using single-cell transcriptomics, genetic reporters, and gene knockouts, we identify four ILC2 subsets, including two non-activation subsets and two activation subsets, in the mouse acute inflammatory lung. Of note, a distinct activation subset, marked by the transcription factor Nr4a1, paradoxically expresses both tissue-resident memory T cell (Trm), and effector/central memory T cell (Tem/Tcm) signature genes, as well as higher scores of proliferation, activation, and wound healing, all driven by its particular regulons. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the Nr4a1+ILC2s are restrained from activating by the programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1), which negatively modulates their activation-related regulons. PD-1 deficiency places the non-activation ILC2s in a state that is prone to activation, resulting in Nr4a1+ILC2 differentiation through different activation trajectories. Loss of PD-1 also leads to the expansion of Nr4a1+ILC2s by the increase of their proliferation ability. CONCLUSIONS: The findings show that activated ILC2s are a heterogenous population encompassing distinct subsets that have different propensities, and therefore provide an opportunity to explore PD-1's role in modulating the activity of ILC2s for disease prevention and therapy.

Assessment of three-dimensional RNA structure prediction in CASP15.

The prediction of RNA three-dimensional structures remains an unsolved problem. Here, we report assessments of RNA structure predictions in CASP15, the first CASP exercise that involved RNA structure modeling. Forty two predictor groups submitted models for at least one of twelve RNA-containing targets. These models were evaluated by the RNA-Puzzles organizers and, separately, by a CASP-recruited team using metrics (GDT, lDDT) and approaches (Z-score rankings) initially developed for assessment of proteins and generalized here for RNA assessment. The two assessments independently ranked the same predictor groups as first (AIchemy_RNA2), second (Chen), and third (RNAPolis and GeneSilico, tied); predictions from deep learning approaches were significantly worse than these top ranked groups, which did not use deep learning. Further analyses based on direct comparison of predicted models to cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) maps and X-ray diffraction data support these rankings. With the exception of two RNA-protein complexes, models submitted by CASP15 groups correctly predicted the global fold of the RNA targets. Comparisons of CASP15 submissions to designed RNA nanostructures as well as molecular replacement trials highlight the potential utility of current RNA modeling approaches for RNA nanotechnology and structural biology, respectively. Nevertheless, challenges remain in modeling fine details such as non-canonical pairs, in ranking among submitted models, and in prediction of multiple structures resolved by cryo-EM or crystallography.

NaCl sealing Strategy-Assisted synthesis CoO-Co heterojunctions as efficient oxygen electrocatalysts for Zn air batteries.

Developing highly efficient, low-cost, and stable bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts is essential for the wide popularization of rechargeable Zn-air batteries. Combining zero-dimensional metal nanoparticles with two-dimensional metal oxide nanosheets is an appealing strategy to balance performance and cost. However, the precise construction of these composites remains a great challenge, and their interaction mechanisms lack thorough study. Herein, a cobalt-oxide-based bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst comprising a rich Co-CoO heterointerface (CoO/Co@NG) was synthesized via a NaCl sealing-assisted pyrolysis strategy. The NaCl crystals played the role of a closed nanoreactor, which facilitated the formation of a CoO-Co heterojunction. Experimental results and theoretical calculations confirmed that the ingeniously constructed heterojunction expedited the oxygen reduction reaction and oxygen evolution reaction kinetics, which is superior to Pt/C. When serving as the air electrode in an assembled liquid-state Zn-air battery, the battery shows high power density (215 mW cm-2), specific capacity (710 mAh gzn-1), and outstanding durability (720 h at 10 mA cm-2). This work provides an innovative avenue to design high-performance heterojunction electrocatalysts for perdurable Zn-air batteries.

Single Cell Analysis of the Fate of Injected Oncogenic RasV12 Cells in Adult Wild Type Drosophila.

We have injected dish-cultured oncogenic RasV12 cells into adult male flies and analyzed by single cell transcriptomics their destiny within the host after 11 days. We identified in the preinjection samples and in the 11-day postinjection samples in all 16 clusters of cells, of which 5 disappeared during the experiment in the host. The other cell clusters expanded and expressed genes involved in the regulation of cell cycle, metabolism, and development. In addition, three clusters expressed genes related to inflammation and defense. Predominant among these were genes coding for phagocytosis and/or characteristic for plasmatocytes (the fly equivalent of macrophages). A pilot experiment indicated that the injection into flies of oncogenic cells, in which two of most strongly expressed genes had been previously silenced by RNA interference, into flies resulted in a dramatic reduction of their proliferation in the host flies as compared to controls. As we have shown earlier, the proliferation of the injected oncogenic cells in the adult flies is a hallmark of the disease and induces a wave of transcriptions in the experimental flies. We hypothesize that this results from a bitter dialogue between the injected cells and the host, while the experiments presented here should contribute to deciphering this dialogue.

Sterile 20-like kinase 3 promotes tick-borne encephalitis virus assembly by interacting with NS2A and prM and enhancing the NS2A-NS4A association.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the causative agent of a potentially fatal neurological infection in humans. Investigating virus-host interaction is important for understanding the pathogenesis of TBEV and developing effective antiviral drugs against this virus. Here, we report that mammalian ste20-like kinase 3 (MST3) is involved in the regulation of TBEV infection. The knockdown or knockout of MST3, but not other mammalian ste20-like kinase family members, inhibited TBEV replication. The knockdown of MST3 also significantly reduced TBEV replication in mouse primary astrocytes. Life cycle analysis indicated that MST3 remarkably impaired virion assembly efficiency and specific infectivity by respectively 59% and 95% in MST3-knockout cells. We further found that MST3 interacts with the viral proteins NS2A and prM; and MST3 enhances the interaction of NS2A-NS4A. Thus, MST3-NS2A complex plays a major role in recruiting prM-E heterodimers and NS4A and mediates the virion assembly. Additionally, we found that MST3 was biotinylated and combined with other proteins (e.g., ATG5, Sec24A, and SNX4) that are associated with the cellular membrane required for TBEV infection. Overall, our study revealed a novel function for MST3 in TBEV infection and identified as a novel host factor supporting TBEV assembly.

RNA 3D Structure Comparison Using RNA-Puzzles Toolkit.

Computational modeling of RNA three-dimensional (3D) structure may help in unrevealing the molecular mechanisms of RNA molecules and in designing molecules with novel functions. An unbiased blind assessment to benchmark the computational modeling is required to understand the achievements and bottlenecks of the prediction, while a standard structure comparison protocol is necessary. RNA-Puzzles is a community-wide effort on the assessment of blind prediction of RNA tertiary structures. And RNA-Puzzles toolkit is a computational resource derived from RNA-Puzzles, which includes (i) decoy sets generated by different RNA 3D structure prediction methods; (ii) 3D structure normalization, analysis, manipulation, and visualization tools; and (iii) 3D structure comparison metric tools. In this chapter, we illustrate a standard RNA 3D structure prediction assessment protocol using the selected tools from RNA-Puzzles toolkit: rna-tools and RNA_assessment.

Defects and asymmetries in the visual pathway of non-human primates with natural strabismus and amblyopia.

Strabismus and amblyopia are common ophthalmologic developmental diseases caused by abnormal visual experiences. However, the underlying pathogenesis and visual defects are still not fully understood. Most studies have used experimental interference to establish disease-associated animal models, while ignoring the natural pathophysiological mechanisms. This study was designed to investigate whether natural strabismus and amblyopia are associated with abnormal neurological defects. We screened one natural strabismic monkey ( Macaca fascicularis) and one natural amblyopic monkey from hundreds of monkeys, and retrospectively analyzed one human strabismus case. Neuroimaging, behavioral, neurophysiological, neurostructural, and genovariation features were systematically evaluated using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), behavioral tasks, flash visual evoked potentials (FVEP), electroretinogram (ERG), optical coherence tomography (OCT), and whole-genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Results showed that the strabismic patient and natural strabismic and amblyopic monkeys exhibited similar abnormal asymmetries in brain structure, i.e., ipsilateral impaired right hemisphere. Visual behavior, visual function, retinal structure, and fundus of the monkeys were impaired. Aberrant asymmetry in binocular visual function and structure between the strabismic and amblyopic monkeys was closely related, with greater impairment of the left visual pathway. Several similar known mutant genes for strabismus and amblyopia were also identified. In conclusion, natural strabismus and amblyopia are accompanied by abnormal asymmetries of the visual system, especially visual neurophysiological and neurostructural defects. Our results suggest that future therapeutic and mechanistic studies should consider defects and asymmetries throughout the entire visual system.

Ribocentre: a database of ribozymes.

Ribozymes are excellent systems in which to study 'sequence - structure - function' relationships in RNA molecules. Understanding these relationships may greatly help structural modeling and design of functional RNA structures and some functional structural modules could be repurposed in molecular design. At present, there is no comprehensive database summarising all the natural ribozyme families. We have therefore created Ribocentre, a database that collects together sequence, structure and mechanistic data on 21 ribozyme families. This includes available information on timelines, sequence families, secondary and tertiary structures, catalytic mechanisms, applications of the ribozymes together with key publications. The database is publicly available at https://www.ribocentre.org.