Zhang Y

Dengue and Zika RNA-RNA interactomes reveal pro- and anti-viral RNA in human cells

Dengue (DENV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses are important human pathogens belonging to the Flaviviridae family of RNA viruses. DENV is known to infect around 390 million people around the world annually [1], while ZIKV causes numerous diseases including microcephaly in infants [2]. Currently, limited treatments and vaccines are available and novel strategies and targets are urgently needed to develop therapeutics to treat these diseases. To achieve this, it is important to understand host factors and how they interact with DENV and ZIKV genomes during the viral life cycle.

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Integrative multiomics enhancer activity profiling identifies therapeutic vulnerabilities in cholangiocarcinoma of different etiologies

Objectives: Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a heterogeneous malignancy with high mortality and dismal prognosis, and an urgent clinical need for new therapies. Knowledge of the CCA epigenome is largely limited to aberrant DNA methylation. Dysregulation of enhancer activities has been identified to affect carcinogenesis and leveraged for new therapies but is uninvestigated in CCA. Our aim is to identify potential therapeutic targets in different subtypes of CCA through enhancer profiling.

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Metabolism of glucose activates TORC1 through multiple mechanisms in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Alfatah et al. interrogate the relationship between glucose metabolism and TORC1 activation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. They identify three distinct pathways for glucose-induced TORC1 activation, with each pathway requiring a different extent of glucose metabolism via the glycolytic pathway.

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Hepatic mitochondrial NAD+ transporter SLC25A47 activates AMPKα mediating lipid metabolism and tumorigenesis

SLC25A47 was initially identified as a mitochondrial HCC-downregulated carrier protein, but its physiological functions and transport substrates are unknown. We aimed to investigate the physiological role of SLC25A47 in hepatic metabolism.

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Comprehensive mapping of SARS-CoV-2 interactions in vivo reveals functional virus-host interactions

SARS-CoV-2 is a major threat to global health. Here, we investigate the RNA structure and RNA-RNA interactions of wildtype (WT) and a mutant (Δ382) SARS-CoV-2 in cells using Illumina and Nanopore platforms. We identify twelve potentially functional structural elements within the SARS-CoV-2 genome, observe that subgenomic RNAs can form different structures, and that WT and Δ382 virus genomes fold differently.

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Hybrid AI assistive diagnostic model permits rapid TBS classification of cervical liquid-based thin-layer cell smears

Technical advancements significantly improve earlier diagnosis of cervical cancer, but accurate diagnosis is still difficult due to various factors. We develop an artificial intelligence assistive diagnostic solution, AIATBS, to improve cervical liquid-based thin-layer cell smear diagnosis according to clinical TBS criteria.

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Organic cation transporter 3 (Oct3) is a distinct catecholamines clearance route in adipocytes mediating the beiging of white adipose tissue

Beiging of white adipose tissue (WAT) is a particularly appealing target for therapeutics in the treatment of metabolic diseases through norepinephrine (NE)-mediated signaling pathways. Although previous studies report NE clearance mechanisms via SLC6A2 on sympathetic neurons or proinflammatory macrophages in adipose tissues (ATs), the low catecholamine clearance capacity of SLC6A2 may limit the cleaning efficiency.

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