T cell migration requires ion and water influx to regulate actin polymerization.

Migration of T cells is essential for their ability to mount immune responses. Chemokine-induced T cell migration requires WNK1, a kinase that regulates ion influx into the cell. However, it is not known why ion entry is necessary for T cell movement. Here we show that signaling from the chemokine receptor CCR7 leads to activation of WNK1 and its downstream pathway at the leading edge of migrating CD4+ T cells, resulting in ion influx and water entry by osmosis. We propose that WNK1-induced water entry is required to swell the membrane at the leading edge, generating space into which actin filaments can polymerize, thereby facilitating forward movement of the cell. Given the broad expression of WNK1 pathway proteins, our study suggests that ion and water influx are likely to be essential for migration in many cell types, including leukocytes and metastatic tumor cells.

Multi-element analysis of tyre rubber for metal tracers.

The purpose of this study was to identify a characteristic elemental tyre fingerprint that can be utilised in atmospheric source apportionment calculations. Currently zinc is widely used as a single element tracer to quantify tyre wear, however several authors have highlighted issues with this approach. To overcome this, tyre rubber tread was digested and has been analysed for 25 elements by ICP-MS to generate a multielement profile. Additionally, to estimate the percentage of the tyre made up of inert fillers, thermogravimetric analysis was performed on a subset. Comparisons were made between passenger car and heavy goods vehicle tyre composition, and a subset of tyres had both tread and sidewall sampled for further comparison. 19 of the 25 elements were detected in the analysis. The mean mass fraction of zinc detected was 11.17 g/kg, consistent with previous estimates of 1% of the tyre mass. Aluminium, iron, and magnesium were found to be the next most abundant elements. Only one source profile for tyre wear exists in both the US and EU air pollution species profile databases, highlighting the need for more recent data with better coverage of tyre makes and models. This study provides data on new tyres which are currently operating on-road in Europe and is therefore relevant for ongoing atmospheric studies assessing the levels of tyre wear particles in urban areas.

Controlled In-Cell Generation of Active Palladium(0) Species for Bioorthogonal Decaging.

Owing to their bioorthogonality, transition metals have become very popular in the development of biocompatible bond-cleavage reactions. However, many approaches require design and synthesis of complex ligands or formulation of nanoparticles which often perform poorly in living cells. This work reports on a method for the generation of an active palladium species that triggers bond-cleaving reactions inside living cells. We utilized the water-soluble Na2 PdCl4 as a simple source of PdII which can be intracellularly reduced by sodium ascorbate to the active Pd0 species. Once generated, Pd0 triggers the cleavage of allyl ether and carbamate caging groups leading to the release of biologically active molecules. These findings do not only expand the toolbox of available bioorthogonal dissociative reactions but also provide an additional strategy for controlling the reactivity of Pd species involved in Pd-mediated bioorthogonal reactions.

CRYPTOCHROMES promote daily protein homeostasis.

The daily organisation of most mammalian cellular functions is attributed to circadian regulation of clock-controlled protein expression, driven by daily cycles of CRYPTOCHROME-dependent transcriptional feedback repression. To test this, we used quantitative mass spectrometry to compare wild-type and CRY-deficient fibroblasts under constant conditions. In CRY-deficient cells, we found that temporal variation in protein, phosphopeptide, and K+ abundance was at least as great as wild-type controls. Most strikingly, the extent of temporal variation within either genotype was much smaller than overall differences in proteome composition between WT and CRY-deficient cells. This proteome imbalance in CRY-deficient cells and tissues was associated with increased susceptibility to proteotoxic stress, which impairs circadian robustness, and may contribute to the wide-ranging phenotypes of CRY-deficient mice. Rather than generating large-scale daily variation in proteome composition, we suggest it is plausible that the various transcriptional and post-translational functions of CRY proteins ultimately act to maintain protein and osmotic homeostasis against daily perturbation.

The metabolic growth limitations of petite cells lacking the mitochondrial genome.

Eukaryotic cells can survive the loss of their mitochondrial genome, but consequently suffer from severe growth defects. 'Petite yeasts', characterized by mitochondrial genome loss, are instrumental for studying mitochondrial function and physiology. However, the molecular cause of their reduced growth rate remains an open question. Here we show that petite cells suffer from an insufficient capacity to synthesize glutamate, glutamine, leucine and arginine, negatively impacting their growth. Using a combination of molecular genetics and omics approaches, we demonstrate the evolution of fast growth overcomes these amino acid deficiencies, by alleviating a perturbation in mitochondrial iron metabolism and by restoring a defect in the mitochondrial tricarboxylic acid cycle, caused by aconitase inhibition. Our results hence explain the slow growth of mitochondrial genome-deficient cells with a partial auxotrophy in four amino acids that results from distorted iron metabolism and an inhibited tricarboxylic acid cycle.

Compensatory ion transport buffers daily protein rhythms to regulate osmotic balance and cellular physiology.

Between 6-20% of the cellular proteome is under circadian control and tunes mammalian cell function with daily environmental cycles. For cell viability, and to maintain volume within narrow limits, the daily variation in osmotic potential exerted by changes in the soluble proteome must be counterbalanced. The mechanisms and consequences of this osmotic compensation have not been investigated before. In cultured cells and in tissue we find that compensation involves electroneutral active transport of Na+, K+, and Cl- through differential activity of SLC12A family cotransporters. In cardiomyocytes ex vivo and in vivo, compensatory ion fluxes confer daily variation in electrical activity. Perturbation of soluble protein abundance has commensurate effects on ion composition and cellular function across the circadian cycle. Thus, circadian regulation of the proteome impacts ion homeostasis with substantial consequences for the physiology of electrically active cells such as cardiomyocytes.

Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry for Elemental Analysis in Circadian Biology.

Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is a sensitive instrumental analysis technique used for multielemental and isotopic determination. Here we provide a sample preparation and circadian ICP-MS analysis protocol for use with mammalian tissues and cells, using mouse fibroblasts as a case study.

Eukaryotic cell biology is temporally coordinated to support the energetic demands of protein homeostasis.

Yeast physiology is temporally regulated, this becomes apparent under nutrient-limited conditions and results in respiratory oscillations (YROs). YROs share features with circadian rhythms and interact with, but are independent of, the cell division cycle. Here, we show that YROs minimise energy expenditure by restricting protein synthesis until sufficient resources are stored, while maintaining osmotic homeostasis and protein quality control. Although nutrient supply is constant, cells sequester and store metabolic resources via increased transport, autophagy and biomolecular condensation. Replete stores trigger increased H+ export which stimulates TORC1 and liberates proteasomes, ribosomes, chaperones and metabolic enzymes from non-membrane bound compartments. This facilitates translational bursting, liquidation of storage carbohydrates, increased ATP turnover, and the export of osmolytes. We propose that dynamic regulation of ion transport and metabolic plasticity are required to maintain osmotic and protein homeostasis during remodelling of eukaryotic proteomes, and that bioenergetic constraints selected for temporal organisation that promotes oscillatory behaviour.