The staff of the Laboratory of structural biology of ion channels and the Science–Educational center for the first time studied the thermodynamics of the dimerization process of a β-hairpin peptide in the membrane-mimicking environment of detergent micelles using the example of the antimicrobial peptide (AMP) capitellacin of the marine polychaete Capitella teleta. The study also describes the mechanism of capitellacin action on bacterial membranes. The results of the work were published in the journal Biomolecules.

Ribosome biogenesis is a sophisticated time-ordered process, which adjusts the protein synthesis rate to consumption of nutrients and external stimuli. It begins with transcription of the ribosomal primary RNA precursor. 13.3 kB 47S (fig.) pre-rRNA processing is coupled with the sequential recruitment of ribosome biogenesis factors and non-coding RNAs as well as ordered coating of rRNA with ~80 ribosomal proteins during formation of the functional 60S and 40S ribosomal subunits.

The antiviral T-1105 and T-705 (Favipiravir) compounds are inactive prodrugs that undergo metabolic transformation into the active form through phosphoribosylation in vivo. The efficiency of this process in human cells is very low, making the production of the phosphoribosylated pyrazine-2-carboxamide derivatives in vitro is a worthy challenge.

A significant proportion of modern ideas about the molecular mechanisms of body axis induction and differentiation of vertebrate embryos are based on studies of classical laboratory model objects - fishes, amphibians and mammals - that belong to only one of the two major clades of extant vertebrates - gnathostomes. In these animals, genes of Noggin family have been described as key embryonic inducers of the main body axis.

The discovery of the neural inducer Noggin1 in 1992 was one of the most important events in the history of molecular developmental biology. Subsequently, several genes of the Noggin family were discovered and described in vertebrates, which appeared as a result of genomic duplications in ancestral vertebrates and differed in their expression patterns and functional properties. A series of studies carried out at the Laboratory of Molecular Bases of Embryogenesis of the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, in 2006-2020, was devoted to the study of Noggins in vertebrates. The key roles of Noggins in the regulation of intracellular signaling cascades and a wide range of developmental processes, including the development of the telencephalon unique to vertebrates, have been demonstrated.

This research, performed by the members of the Laboratory of Expression Systems and Plant Genome Modification (BIOTRON), Department of Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, together with colleagues from the All-Russia Research Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology, reports the first time production of edited hexaploid triticale (× Triticosecale) through CRISPR/Cas9-mediated multiplexed induction of multilocular mutations in genes associated with starch biosynthesis.

In response to cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, a pool of specialized “adaptive” NK cells with immunological memory traits develops in humans. This process is based on the recognition of HCMV peptides presented in the context of the HLA-E molecule by the activating receptor NKG2C. Using retroviral transduction, members of the Laboratory of Cell Interactions of the Immunology Department, IBCH RAS, together with colleagues from the European Medical Center, obtained K562-21E feeder cells expressing HLA-E and identified a subpopulation, whose size is associated with the magnitude of NK cell proliferative response to the presentation of the HCMV peptide. The K562-21E cells can be applied both for the accumulation of HCMV-specific NK cells and for studying the adaptive cells maturation.  

The forebrain of vertebrates, including its unique rostral section, the telencephalon, provides the highest forms of nervous activity in animals and humans. The foxg1 gene has been described as one of the leading regulators of early forebrain development. It has been shown that disturbances in the expression of foxg1 lead to developmental abnormalities and a decrease in the size of the forebrain, called FOXG1 syndrome in humans.  

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are considered a primary source of damage during an ischemic stroke. Studies on this subject are usually performed on either cell culture or animal models, which can make it difficult to translate the results to humans. Currently, 3D neurospheroids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are proposed as an optimal alternative for modeling disease conditions.

In this groundbreaking study researchers have delved into the intricate cellular changes occurring in the brains of aging adults. The study, conducted on neocortical tissue from individuals aged 22 to 72 years, provides unprecedented insights into the impact of aging on astrocytes and neurons.