The nucleotides diadenosine triphosphate (Ap3A) and diadenosine tetraphosphate (Ap4A) are formed in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Since their concentrations increase significantly upon cellular stress, they are considered to be alarmones triggering stress adaptive processes. However, their cellular roles remain elusive. To elucidate the proteome-wide interactome of Ap3A and Ap4A and thereby gain insights into their cellular roles, we herein report the development of photoaffinity-labeling probes … Continue reading Chemical proteomic profiling reveals protein interactors

Salicylic acid is a phenolic phytohormone which controls plant growth and development. A methyl ester (MSA) derivative thereof is volatile and involved in plant-insect or plant-plant communication. Here we show that the nematode-trapping fungus Duddingtonia flagrans uses a methyl-salicylic acid isomer, 6-MSA as morphogen for spatiotemporal control of trap formation and as chemoattractant to lure Caenorhabditis elegans into fungal colonies. 6-MSA is the product of a polyketide synthase and … Continue reading Fatal attraction of Caenorhabditis elegans to predatory fungi

Cells communicate with each other via receptor proteins expressed on the cell membranes. Many drugs targetthese receptor proteins to alter the cell’s functioning and physiology. However, a recent study from Prof. AmitabhaChattopadhyay’s lab at CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, makes a case accounting for the lipid environment that surrounds the receptor proteins, while designing drugs acting on the latter. The lab had … Continue reading Molecular Sensor on Serotonin Receptor to Detect Cholesterol

Despite the emerging importance of reactive electrophilic drugs, deconvolution of their principal targets remains difficult. The lack of genetic tractability/interventions and reliance on secondary validation using other non-specific compounds frequently complicate the earmarking of individual binders as functionally- or phenotypically-sufficient pathway regulators. Using a redox-targeting approach to interrogate how on-target binding of pleiotropic electrophiles translates to a phenotypic output in vivo, we here systematically track … Continue reading Wdr1 and cofilin are necessary mediators of immune-cell-specific apoptosis

The new approach locates and isolates individual organelles using light microscopy, then chemically analyzes them via MALDI MS, or matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry. The entire process takes an hour—a task that could take human analysts years to complete. Cells are not just little sacks full of chemicals. They contain organelles that perform specific functions. The ability to characterize the chemical composition of individual organelles should … Continue reading New analytical technique helps researchers spot subtle

The 80th CSIR Foundation Day was celebrated at the CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL), New Delhi, auditorium on 26 September 2021. Shri Venkaiah Naidu, the Hon’ble Vice President of India, was the chief guest of the occasion, and Dr Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister (S&T, ES, PMO, DOPT), graced the occasion with his august presence.  Congratulating the CSIR on its 80th Foundation Day, Shri Venkaiah Naidu, the Hon’ble Vice … Continue reading CSIR Celebrates 80th Foundation Day

Because of their long lifespan, matrix proteins of the vascular wall, such as elastin, are subjected to molecular aging characterized by non-enzymatic post-translational modifications, like carbamylation which results from the binding of cyanate (mainly derived from the dissociation of urea) to protein amino groups. While several studies have demonstrated a relationship between increased plasma concentrations of carbamylated proteins and the development of cardiovascular diseases, molecular … Continue reading Carbamylation of elastic fibers is a molecular substratum of aortic stiffness

Animal models have expanded our understanding of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). However, translating these to cell-specific druggable hypotheses is not explored. Herein, we conducted an integrative insilico-analysis of an available transcriptomics dataset obtained from animals with pilocarpine-induced-TLE. A set of 119 genes with subtle-to-moderate impact predicted most forms of epilepsy with ~ 97% accuracy and characteristically mapped to upregulated homeostatic and downregulated synaptic pathways. The deconvolution of … Continue reading Cellular, molecular, and therapeutic characterization of pilocarpine

Starch synthesis via artificial starch anabolic pathway (ASAP) from carbon dioxide The new route makes it possible to shift the mode of starch production from traditional agricultural plant industrial manufacturing, and opens up a new technical route for synthesizing complex molecules from CO2. Starch is the major component of grain as well as an important industrial raw material. At present, it is mainly produced by crops … Continue reading Chinese scientists report starch synthesis from carbon dioxide