A study on the highlights of cell journals in January 2020

January 31, 2020 / BIOON / -- January 2020 is coming to an end What are the highlights of cell journal research in January worth learning? Xiaobian has sorted this out and shared it with you 1 Cell: a new study found 102 genes related to autism doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.036 in one of the largest genetic studies on ASD so far, researchers from more than 50 centers around the world reported 102 genes related to the disease, including dozens of genes not previously found Some genes are also associated with mental retardation and stunting But some of the other genes are specific to the disease and seem to be related to the social difficulties that characterize it Understanding these genes associated with the disease will help people better understand its causes and may lead to new drug therapies for children with severe ASD The related research results were published online in the cell Journal on January 23, 2020, and the title of the paper is "large scale exome sequencing students implicit both developmental and functional changes in the neurology of austism" The corresponding authors are Stephan J Sanders, Kathryn Roeder, mark J Daly and Joseph D Buxbaum Picture from cell, 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.036 More research is needed to accurately understand the role of all these genes However, these researchers found that most risk genes are active early in brain development and play a role in regulating the activity of other genes or the communication between brain cells These risk genes are also active in "excitatory" and "inhibitory" neurons This suggests that autism is not only related to a major type of brain cells, but also involves "a lot of damage" to brain cell function 2 Cell: challenge the routine! In a new study, researchers from the Netherlands Institute of neuroscience and the Max Planck Institute of experimental medicine in Germany used a new technology to show how electrical pulses spread at high speed in the brain It seems to suggest that the myelin sheath surrounding the neurons forms a coaxial cable that generates a variety of potential waves, which travel in a much more complex way than previously thought These findings enable us to develop better theories and tools for understanding demyelinating diseases, including the most common neurological disease, multiple sclerosis The relevant research results were published in the cell Journal on January 23, 2020, and the title of the paper is "saltatory production along myeliminated axons involves a permanent nanocircuit" Using an electron microscope, the researchers measured the distance between the nerve cell membrane and the insulating myelin sheath, which turned out to be 12 nanometers, about 10000 times thinner than a hair In addition, the researchers used a new technology to make electrical signals visible and supercomputers to calculate the specific properties of myelin sheath "All of these findings together suggest that myelin is not insulated, but rather forms an extra layer like a coaxial cable, producing a variety of potential waves that travel in more complex ways than previously thought," KOLE explained 3 Cell: new research reveals that bfd1 is the main regulator of Toxoplasma gondii differentiation doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.013 In a new study, researchers from Whitehead biomedical research institute and MIT identified the myb like transcription factor (bfd1) necessary for this differentiation in cell cultures and mice through cas9 mediated screening and single cell analysis The relevant research results are published in the cell Journal on January 23, 2020, and the paper title is "identification of a master regulator of differentiation in Toxoplasma" Bfd1 was accumulated in Toxoplasma gondii under stress, and its synthetic expression was enough to promote the differentiation of tachyzoites into retarders Bfd1 is the main regulator of chronic differentiation of Toxoplasma gondii Toxoplasma gondii without bfd1 could not induce differentiation in cell culture, and could not form intracellular vesicles in mice In addition, the conditional expression of bfd1 was sufficient to induce differentiation It can be seen that bfd1 provides a gene switch to study and control the differentiation of Toxoplasma gondii, which will help people to develop methods to prevent and treat chronic infection of Toxoplasma gondii 4 Cell: reveal the extensive transcription scanning mechanism of spermatocytes doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.015 In a new study, researchers from research institutions such as New York University found that sperm cells (i.e sperm) open most of their genes during maturation, instead of following their genetic instructions as usual, they repair DNA before it is passed on to the next generation The relevant research results were published in the cell Journal on January 23, 2020, under the title of "widespread transcription scanning in the testis modules gene evolution rates" Picture from cell, 2020, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.015 The study focuses on one of the mysteries of biology: the number of genes activated by human sperm cells is the largest (90%) so far, and this pattern is also observed in other species such as mice, birds and fruit flies Cells in most organs express about 60% of the genetic code, or only a part of the genes needed for a certain cell type to complete its specific tasks Surprisingly, the researchers found that even genes that were activated several times during spermatogenesis contained between 15% and 20% less DNA coding errors than genes that were not expressed, and the difference was due to transcription coupled repair (TCR) During transcription, this process replaces instructions contained in defective DNA fragments before they are converted to RNA RNA transcripts are then expressed to produce proteins that make up cell structures and signals 5 Cell: in a new study, researchers from hublezhi Research Institute and other research institutions in the Netherlands used snake stem cells to culture the miniature tissue of snake venom that can secrete functional toxins The relevant research results were published in the cell Journal on January 23, 2020, and the paper title is "snake stem cells used to create room producing organizations" Scientists have previously used mouse and human stem cells to grow such tiny tissues called organoids, including the "mini brain" that mimics neural networks, but the study is the first to show that the same technology can also be used in snake tissue Hans Clevers, Ph.D., co-author of the paper, and his team used human growth factors to culture snake venomous organs, but there was a key difference between them and mammalian organs: temperature Given that reptiles are cold-blooded, it takes several degrees less than human and mouse organs to preserve snake organs, Clevers said The experiment began with three graduate students at Clevers lab who wanted to know if they could grow other species' organs They received the eggs of the coral Cobra (Aspidelaps lubricus) from their keepers, and used the method of laboratory cultivation of mammal like organs to produce snake venom organs, which produce the same toxins as the real snake Clevers lab continues to grow organoids from eight other species 6 Cell: to reveal the mechanism of intestinal myometrial macrophages limiting neuronal death induced by intestinal infection doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.002 sometimes, the end of intestinal infection is just the beginning of more pain For example, among those with traveler's diarrhea, a small number of unfortunate people suffer from a chronic inflammation of the intestine called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) Scientists are not sure how the disease occurs, but some believe that intestinal infection may cause irritable bowel syndrome by damaging the gut nervous system In a new study, researchers from Rockefeller University in the United States studied how neurons in the gut die and how the immune system usually protects them The study, based on mice, provides new insights into irritable bowel syndrome and may help people develop new treatments The related research results were recently published in the journal Cell, and the title of the paper was "adaptive signaling in muscularis macrophases limits infection induced neurological loss" 7 Cell: nervous system or plays a key role in resisting intestinal infection doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2019.12.016 The peaceful and delicate coexistence of friendly intestinal flora and immune system depends on the exchange of highly coordinated information between immune cells and intestinal inner wall cells Recently, a research report published in the international journal Cell showed that the production of two special cell types or antibacterial compounds against the body's dangerous infection is not Always important Professor Richard Flavell, researcher, said that we believe that cells of the immune system and gut barrier cells can coordinate with each other to mobilize the production of antibacterial proteins to resist foreign invaders However, this story is not true The nervous system of the body will tell the barrier cells what to do It turns out that in the fight against intestinal pathogens, "infantry" is the interleukin-18 molecule (IL-18) in the immune system, and IL-18 is part of the immune system When the researchers removed IL-18 from immune cells and intestinal barrier cells, they found that mice could effectively resist intestinal infection caused by Salmonella The researchers pointed out that this may exclude the factors that induce the immune response of the body, but mice that do not carry the IL-18 produced by neural system cells are more vulnerable to infection, which revealed that they play a role in the process of anti infection The key role of 8 Cell: new research shows that a new generation of immunosuppressant is coming out Doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.10.014 In a new study, researchers from research institutions such as the French National Center for scientific research found that as a new immunosuppressant, nkg2a antibody can potentially promote the anti-tumor ability of T cells and natural killer cells (NK cells), and it can better treat cancer patients when combined with existing cancer immunotherapy The relevant research results were recently published in the journal Cell, and the title of the paper is "anti nkg2a mAb is a checkpoint inhibitor that promotes anti tumor immunity by leaving both T and NK cells" Picture from cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2018.10.014 The key to this study is a receptor molecule called nkg2a The researchers found that blocking the receptor enhanced the immune activity of NK cells and T cells in mice, thus enhancing the anti-tumor immune response They developed an antibody to nkg2a called monalizumab It is a humanized monoclonal antibody In the experiment, the researchers divided the mice into four groups, the first group of mice only gave monalizumab monoclonal antibody, the second group of mice only gave PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, the third group of mice gave monalizumab monoclonal antibody and PD-L1 monoclonal antibody, the fourth group of mice did