Molecules and Cells最新文献

Updated guide to RNA quantification by RNA sequencing and reverse transcription-qPCR. 通过RNA测序和逆转录- qpcr更新RNA定量指南。

IF 8.2 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-09-04 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100397

Dajeong Bong, Kyungjin C Lee, Gee-Yoon Lee, Seung-Jae V Lee

引用次数: 0

Photoreceptors as Central Hubs of Developmental Plasticity and Environmental Adaptation. 光感受器：发育可塑性和环境适应的中心枢纽。

IF 8.2 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-08-19 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100390

Hyeona Hwang, Soeun Han, Hyunwoo Cho

{"title":"Photoreceptors as Central Hubs of Developmental Plasticity and Environmental Adaptation.","authors":"Hyeona Hwang, Soeun Han, Hyunwoo Cho","doi":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100390","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100390","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Plant photoreceptors are well known for their roles in light-dependent developmental processes such as photomorphogenesis, shade avoidance, and circadian regulation. These canonical functions involve light perception through specific receptors, including phytochromes and cryptochromes, and downstream transcriptional reprogramming mainly in the context of early seedling growth. Beyond their classical roles, recent studies have revealed that photoreceptors also act as integrators of diverse environmental signals, contributing to abiotic stress adaptation, root development, and vascular differentiation. Notably, these non-canonical functions involve direct protein-protein interactions, post-translational modifications, and hormonal crosstalk, enabling photoreceptors to respond to environmental cues beyond light. Moreover, photoreceptor activity has been detected in tissues with limited or no light exposure, such as roots and adult vascular tissues, where they contribute to developmental and stress-responsive processes. In selected cases, particularly for phyB, non-light stress-related signals have been reported to modulate photoreceptor stability or subnuclear organization, suggesting that the functional repertoire of photoreceptors may extend beyond traditional photoperception. This review summarizes emerging insights into the non-canonical functions of photoreceptors in abiotic stress adaptation, root and vascular development, with particular focus on light-independent signaling, root-local photoreceptor activity and non-cell autonomous light signaling. By integrating recent findings, we aim to provide a broader perspective on how photoreceptors serve as central regulators of plant plasticity in response to both light and non-light environmental factors, spanning from early to adult developmental programs.</p>","PeriodicalId":18795,"journal":{"name":"Molecules and Cells","volume":" ","pages":"100390"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148795639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Epigenetic priming and locus-specific demethylation enhance cell-death susceptibility in liver cancer. 表观遗传启动和位点特异性去甲基化增强肝癌细胞死亡易感性。

IF 8.2 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-08-19 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100391

Wonjin Woo, Seolhee Jeong, Ayoung Hwang, Su Min Kim, Minjeong Cho, So Hee Dho, Jungmin Choi, Lark Kyun Kim

{"title":"Epigenetic priming and locus-specific demethylation enhance cell-death susceptibility in liver cancer.","authors":"Wonjin Woo, Seolhee Jeong, Ayoung Hwang, Su Min Kim, Minjeong Cho, So Hee Dho, Jungmin Choi, Lark Kyun Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100391","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100391","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Liver cancer treatment with epigenetic drugs remains challenging because demethylating agents such as 5-azacytidine (5-AZA) induce genome-wide toxicity and may activate oncogenes. We hypothesized that a low, nontoxic dose of 5-AZA could prime liver cancer cells by partially relaxing chromatin at selected loci to restore silenced cell-death regulators. HepG2 cells treated with 2 μM 5-AZA underwent ATAC-seq and RNA-seq to identify genes with promoter opening and increased expression. Among ten candidates, BFL-1 and SQOR were prioritized for roles in cell death and redox control. Forced expression of either gene increased sensitivity to TNF-α/cycloheximide (CHX) and sorafenib, both of which elevated mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. To establish causality in a physiological context, we used CRISPR-dCas9-TET1 to demethylate CpG-rich promoter regions of BFL-1 or SQOR. Locus-specific editing sensitized cells to TNF-α/CHX more rapidly than conventional overexpression and reproduced the heightened death response elicited by low-dose 5-AZA without baseline toxicity. Analysis of the cancer cell line encyclopedia and The Cancer Genome Atlas datasets showed consistent BFL-1 downregulation in liver cancer, variable SQOR expression across cancers, and positive correlations of both genes with tumor-suppression markers and immune-cell infiltration. These results indicate that targeted reactivation of BFL-1 and SQOR increases cell-death susceptibility in liver cancer cells. Integrating low-dose pharmacologic priming with precise epigenetic editing may preserve genome-wide methylation while restoring cell-death competence, providing proof-of-concept for locus-specific epigenetic therapy in liver cancer.</p>","PeriodicalId":18795,"journal":{"name":"Molecules and Cells","volume":" ","pages":"100391"},"PeriodicalIF":8.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148795643","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Amygdala-hippocampus circuit regulates stress coping via mGluR5-dependent BDNF signaling 杏仁核-海马回路通过mglur5依赖性BDNF信号传导调节应激应对。

IF 6.5 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-21 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100320

Tae-Eun Kim , Tae-Yong Choi , Ja Wook Koo , Jeongseop Kim

{"title":"Amygdala-hippocampus circuit regulates stress coping via mGluR5-dependent BDNF signaling","authors":"Tae-Eun Kim , Tae-Yong Choi , Ja Wook Koo , Jeongseop Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100320","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100320","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Stress-related psychiatric disorders are underpinned by dysfunction in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus; however, the underlying circuit-specific mechanisms remain ill-defined. Here, we identified the basolateral amygdala (BLA)-to-ventral hippocampus (vHPC) circuit as a critical regulator of stress-coping behaviors. Although chronic social defeat stress reduced the mGluR5 expression in both the vHPC and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), our circuit-specific behavioral analysis revealed that the activation of the BLA-vHPC circuit produced a significantly greater improvement in coping behavior compared with the activation of the BLA-mPFC circuit. Subsequently, we mechanistically demonstrated that reduced mGluR5 in the vHPC directly impairs CREB-mediated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) transcription, a molecular cascade tightly linked to passive coping. These findings reveal a novel circuit-specific molecular mechanism governing stress recovery, positioning the mGluR5-BDNF pathway as a highly specific and promising therapeutic target for future gene therapy interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18795,"journal":{"name":"Molecules and Cells","volume":"49 3","pages":"Article 100320"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146041384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Cover and caption 封面及标题

IF 6.5 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-26 DOI: 10.1016/S1016-8478(26)00027-0

引用次数: 0

HAP1 interaction with KCNQ4 attenuates channel surface expression and function HAP1与KCNQ4的相互作用减弱了通道表面的表达和功能。

IF 6.5 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-29 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100322

Jung Ah Kim , Kyung Seok Oh , Jae Won Roh , Young Ik Koh , Haiyue Lin , Jinsei Jung , Heon Yung Gee

{"title":"HAP1 interaction with KCNQ4 attenuates channel surface expression and function","authors":"Jung Ah Kim , Kyung Seok Oh , Jae Won Roh , Young Ik Koh , Haiyue Lin , Jinsei Jung , Heon Yung Gee","doi":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100322","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100322","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The voltage–gated channel subfamily Q member 4 (KCNQ4), a K+ channel, is one of the most frequently mutated genes in autosomal dominant nonsyndromic hearing loss. KCNQ4, which contains 6 transmembrane domains and a long cytoplasmic C-terminal tail, plays a crucial role in K+ recycling in the inner ear. Although KCNQ4 binds to various interactors, specific binding sites of the interactors remain elusive, and the biological significance of these interactions remains unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to discover a novel interactor of KCNQ4 and delineate its functional role in KCNQ4 regulation. We discovered a novel interactor of KCNQ4, huntingtin-associated protein 1 (HAP1), in addition to calmodulin, which interacts with the C-terminus of KCNQ4 using a yeast 2-hybrid assay. This interaction requires the B-segment of KCNQ4 as demonstrated by protein domain analysis. A thorough investigation of the biochemical and physiological consequences of this association revealed that HAP1 overexpression reduced surface expression and attenuated the potassium current mediated by KCNQ4. This suggests that HAP1 acts as a negative regulator of KCNQ4, potentially through the disruption of normal endocytic trafficking. These findings enhance the understanding of KCNQ4 regulation at the molecular level and highlight the potential of the HAP1-KCNQ4 axis as a target for interventions aimed at maintaining channel surface stability.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18795,"journal":{"name":"Molecules and Cells","volume":"49 3","pages":"Article 100322"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146097243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Tankyrase-1-mediated PARsylation directs TFEB partner switching to regulate selective Wnt target gene expression tankyase -1介导的PARsylation指导TFEB伴侣转换以调节选择性Wnt靶基因的表达。

IF 6.5 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-08 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100313

Gahyeon Song , Chanhyeok Park , Eek-hoon Jho

{"title":"Tankyrase-1-mediated PARsylation directs TFEB partner switching to regulate selective Wnt target gene expression","authors":"Gahyeon Song , Chanhyeok Park , Eek-hoon Jho","doi":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100313","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100313","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Wnt/β-catenin signaling coordinates developmental and oncogenic programs by modulating transcriptional networks. In addition to β-catenin, we previously identified transcription factor EB (TFEB)—a master regulator of lysosomal biogenesis and autophagy—as a Wnt-inducible co-regulator for a subset of Wnt target genes. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this selective transcriptional engagement remained unknown. Here, we show that Wnt3a stimulation promotes TFEB’s interaction with TCF-1/LEF-1 without altering lysosomal or autophagy-related gene regulation. This Wnt-specific association requires TFEB’s basic helix-loop-helix and leucine zipper domains and coincides with a marked reduction in TFEB-TFEB interaction. Mechanistically, Wnt activation triggers Tankyrase-1-mediated PARsylation of TFEB at K237 and K274 within the basic helix-loop-helix domain, switching its binding preference from homodimers to TCF-1/LEF-1 complexes. PARsylation-deficient TFEB mutants fail to associate with TCF-1/LEF-1 and cannot induce Wnt-TFEB target gene expression. These findings uncover a PARsylation-dependent partner-switching mechanism that reprograms TFEB’s transcriptional output under Wnt signaling.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18795,"journal":{"name":"Molecules and Cells","volume":"49 3","pages":"Article 100313"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145948827","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Practical NicE-seq workflow for chromatin accessibility analysis in plants 植物染色质接近性分析的实用NicE-seq工作流程。

IF 6.5 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-06 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100312

Zein Eddin Bader , Nassem Albakri , Dae-Jin Yun , Young Hun Song , Junghoon Park

{"title":"Practical NicE-seq workflow for chromatin accessibility analysis in plants","authors":"Zein Eddin Bader , Nassem Albakri , Dae-Jin Yun , Young Hun Song , Junghoon Park","doi":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100312","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100312","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Open chromatin profiling identifies regulatory DNA regions that are accessible to transcription factors and other proteins, offering insights into gene regulation. Although ATAC-seq is commonly used for mapping open chromatin, standard techniques such as DNase-seq and ATAC-seq have limitations, including the need for large cell numbers or fresh (unfixed) samples. NicE-seq offers an alternative approach by using nicking endonucleases combined with polymerase–mediated biotin labeling. Here, we present a detailed analysis framework for NicE-seq data in plants using <em>Arabidopsis thaliana</em> as our reference species, adapted from the nf-core/atacseq pipeline with specific modifications. We emphasize the analytical differences between NicE-seq and ATAC-seq, describe data processing workflows, and illustrate methods for peak calling, annotation, and integration with transcriptomic data. This computational resource aims to guide researchers in applying NicE-seq, providing a basis for selecting between NicE-seq and ATAC-seq in plant epigenomic research, especially when working with challenging samples such as archived tissues or small cell populations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":18795,"journal":{"name":"Molecules and Cells","volume":"49 3","pages":"Article 100312"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145934343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

A decade of progress in understanding LRRTM and Slitrk synaptic cell-adhesion molecules 了解LRRTM和Slitrk突触细胞粘附分子的十年进展。

IF 6.5 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-01-29 DOI: 10.1016/j.mocell.2026.100323

Dongwook Kim , Byeongchan Kim , Ji Won Um , Jaewon Ko

引用次数: 0

Editorial Board Members/Copyright 编辑委员会成员/版权

IF 6.5 3区生物学

Molecules and Cells Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-26 DOI: 10.1016/S1016-8478(26)00029-4

引用次数: 0