Structural basis of broad-spectrum β-lactam resistance in Staphylococcus aureus. Alexander JAN, Worrall LJ, Hu J, Vuckovic M, Satishkumar N, Poon R, Sobhanifar S, Rosell FI, Jenkins J, Chiang D, Mosimann WA, Chambers HF, Paetzel M, Chatterjee SS, Strynadka NCJ. Nature. 2023 Jan;613(7943):375–82.
Chemoproteomic identification of CO2-dependent lysine carboxylation in proteins. King DT, Zhu S, Hardie DB, Serrano-Negrón JE, Madden Z, Kolappan S, Vocadlo DJ. Nat Chem Biol. 2022 Jul;18(7):782–91.
Biochemical and structural characterization of Rab3GAP reveals insights into Rab18 nucleotide exchange activity. Fairlie GMJ, Nguyen KM, Nam SE, Shaw AL, Parson MAH, Shariati HR, Wang X, Jenkins ML, Gong M, Burke JE, Yip CK. Nat Commun. 2025 Jan 8;16(1):479.
A heme-dependent enzyme forms the hydrazine in the antibiotic negamycin. Wang M, Wei ZW, Ryan KS. Nat Chem Biol. 2025 Jul;21(7):1012–20.
The 60-year evolution of lipid nanoparticles for nucleic acid delivery. Cullis PR, Felgner PL. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2024 Sep;23(9):709–22.
Cryo-EM structures of ryanodine receptors and diamide insecticides reveal the mechanisms of selectivity and resistance. Lin L, Wang C, Wang W, Jiang H, Murayama T, Kobayashi T, Hadiatullah H, Chen YS, Wu S, Wang Y, Korza H, Gu Y, Zhang Y, Du J, Van Petegem F, Yuchi Z. Nat Commun. 2024 Oct 20;15(1):9056.
Delivery vehicle and route of administration influences self-amplifying RNA biodistribution, expression kinetics, and reactogenicity. Bathula NV, Friesen JJ, Casmil IC, Wayne CJ, Liao S, Soriano SKV, Ho CH, Strumpel A, Blakney AK. J Control Release Off J Control Release Soc. 2024 Oct;374:28–38.
Cell envelope diversity and evolution across the bacterial tree of life. Hashimi A, Tocheva EI. Nat Microbiol. 2024 Oct;9(10):2475–87.
A TMPRSS2 inhibitor acts as a pan-SARS-CoV-2 prophylactic and therapeutic. Shapira T, Monreal IA, Dion SP, Buchholz DW, Imbiakha B, Olmstead AD, Jager M, Désilets A, Gao G, Martins M, Vandal T, Thompson CAH, Chin A, Rees WD, Steiner T, Nabi IR, Marsault E, Sahler J, Diel DG, Van de Walle GR, August A, Whittaker GR, Boudreault PL, Leduc R, Aguilar HC, Jean F. Nature. 2022 May;605(7909):340–8.
Extended List of Recent Work from ASTRID
- CONCLUSIONS: CVD risk in females with OA is underestimated by the FRS, an algorithm often used in clinical settings. While increased systemic inflammation, a potential intervention target, contributes to the OA-CVD link in females, there remains still unexplained increased CVD risk in OA.
- Bacteriocin peptides are weapons of inter-bacterial warfare and belong to the larger group of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are frequently proposed as alternatives to antibiotics. Many AMPs kill by destroying the target's cytoplasmic membrane using short-lived membrane perturbations. Contrastingly, protein toxins form large pores by stably assembling in the target membrane. Here we describe an […]
- [This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299894.].
- Detailed characterization of the size, mass, payload, and structure of suspended mRNA-lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) is necessary to improve our understanding of how these heterogeneous properties influence therapeutic efficacy and potency. Methods currently in use face limitations in reporting ensemble-average particle properties or requiring dedicated home-built microscopes that are beyond the reach of nanoparticle developers. In […]
- The nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) of influenza A virus performs a broad variety of proviral activities in the infected cell, primarily mediating evasion from the host innate immune response by being the main viral interferon antagonist. However, there are several interactions whose biological relevance remains obscure, such as the ability of NS1 to bind and […]
- Disulfiram, traditionally used as an alcohol-aversion drug, has demonstrated anticancer properties attributed to its metabolism into diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), a potent copper-binding agent. Previously, we developed a liposomal formulation of copper diethyldithiocarbamate (Cu(DDC)(2)) by incorporating DDC into copper-containing liposomes. In this study, we present an improved formulation achieved by directly mixing DDC and copper in a […]
- Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology is increasingly enabling RNA-based gene therapies that can potentially be used to treat most diseases. Further, these LNP RNA therapeutics can be designed and manufactured in a matter of weeks, allowing personalized medicines that can be produced in a time frame relevant to individuals suffering from terminal diseases. Here, we focus […]
- Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a severe monogenic disease characterized by debilitating lung dysfunction caused by loss-of-function mutations in the CFTR gene. While CRISPR-based gene editing holds promise for correcting these mutations and potentially curing CF, efficient delivery of gene editors to the lung epithelium through the mucosal barrier remains a major challenge. In this study, […]
- Messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA)-based therapies, including conventional linear mRNA (linRNA), circular RNA (circRNA), and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA), are being developed not only for vaccination but also for protein replacement, gene editing, and regenerative medicine. However, these mRNA modalities differ in structure and function, and their interactions with current non-viral delivery systems influence their therapeutic efficacy. […]
- RohQ from the azomycin biosynthetic pathway catalyzes a spontaneous cyclodehydration to form 2-aminoimidazole. Here we report the structure and mechanism of RohQ and use a serendipitously bound imidazole to pinpoint active site residues. We propose that catalysis occurs at the dimeric interface using two key aspartic acid residues for proton transfer steps to accelerate 3 […]
- Efficient transdermal delivery of the genetic material remains a key challenge for noninvasive gene therapy due to skin's barrier properties. While lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) effectively encapsulate and protect mRNA, they cannot freely penetrate the skin. Hydrogel-forming microneedle (HFMN) patches, which swell upon skin insertion, offer a promising strategy to overcome this limitation. However, integrating fragile […]
- Protein kinases are master regulators of myriad processes in eukaryotic cells playing critical roles in growth, metabolism, cellular differentiation, and motility. A subclass of protein kinases is regulated by their ability to be localized and activated by the phosphoinositide phosphatidylinositol (3,4,5)-trisphosphate (PIP3). This includes multiple members of the AGC and TEC family kinases, which contain […]
- PpzF, a sulfotransferase encoded in the PPZ biosynthetic gene cluster from the fungal insect pathogen Metarhizium majus, was shown to catalyze the formation of peramine-8-O-sulfate from 8-hydroxyperamine. Both the substrate and the product were detected in Penicillium paxilli expressing ppzA-ppzG, supporting their roles as pathway intermediates. Gene ppzF is the second fungal sulfotransferase gene to […]
- Terminal alkyne-containing natural products can undergo the bio-orthogonal 'click' reaction of Cu(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. Recently, an enzymatic mechanism for terminal alkyne formation was discovered in the biosynthesis of L-β-ethynylserine where the pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme BesB forms a rare terminal alkyne-containing amino acid, L-propargylglycine, from a vinyl halide precursor, 4-chloro-L-allylglycine. Here we present the 1.3-Å-resolution crystal […]
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), continues to circulate globally despite the widespread vaccination and therapeutics like Paxlovid, remdesivir, and molnupiravir. COVID-19 is associated with both respiratory and gastrointestinal manifestations, with persistent intestinal pathology contributing to the post-COVID-19 condition. We have previously demonstrated the antiviral activity […]
- Following reports of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 infections of dairy cattle in the United States in March 2024, we established a Pan-Canadian Milk network to monitor retail milk in Canada. Milk samples from across Canada that had previously tested negative for influenza A virus (IAV) RNA were tested for the presence of anti-IAV nucleoprotein […]
- The Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory (NCL) is a US federally funded resource providing characterization and expertise to the cancer nanomedicine research community. Founded as a formal partnership among the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the NCL has spent two […]
- CONCLUSIONS: Our new Mpro clinical mutations that confer complete resistance to NIR were not identified during previous cell-culture-based studies. More research is needed to explore resistance mechanisms, providing insights into strategies that mitigate resistance and protect therapeutic efficacy.
- Na(V)1.9 is a voltage-gated Na^(+) channel subtype with unique gating properties that are poorly understood, partly due to the lack of reliable heterologous expression systems. Here, we present a transient expression protocol that produces robust mouse Na(V)1.9 currents, enabling direct electrophysiological comparisons with native dorsal root ganglion neurons. To further understand the low current density […]
- Laminar fluid ejection device enables high yield and preservation of mRNA and SaRNA LNP formulationsThe development of messenger RNA (mRNA) and self-amplifying RNA (saRNA) vaccines has revolutionized modern vaccinology, particularly with the success of lipid nanoparticle (LNP)-based SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Intranasal administration offers a promising approach for respiratory vaccines, providing mucosal immunity at the primary entry site of pathogens. However, the impact of different aerosolization delivery systems on RNA-LNP stability, […]