Elucidating the relationships among in vivo activity, brain-wide projection, and gene expression is critical for understanding neuronal functions, but…

Emerald Perlas, Head of the Histology Facility, talks about his experience in supporting multidisciplinary research at EMBL Rome and keeping up with technological advances

Whether metabolites enriched at early developmental stages affect cellular and organismal aging remains unclear. In this study, we comprehensively profiled the metabolic landscape of mouse oocytes in comparison to cleavage-stage embryos. Our analysis revealed that oocytes display accumulation of reductive metabolites that diminish following fertilization. Notably, we identified serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) as an oocyte-enriched metabolite with protective roles in aging. The underlying mechanisms operate through dual pathways: (i) in a canonical pathway serotonin acts via its receptor 5HTR1B to modulate mitochondrial function, and (ii) in a non-canonical pathway serotonin promotes serotonylation of HSP90β, which effectively reduces endoplasmic reticulum stress. Overall, our study demonstrates that oocyte-enriched metabolites including serotonin can alleviate aging-related cellular and systemic phenotypes, suggesting new avenues for anti-aging strategies.

To elucidate disease mechanisms, it is essential to develop analytical techniques capable of visualizing cellular heterogeneity in biological tissues. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) allows simultaneous visualization of multiple biomolecules in tissue sections in a single measurement. However, achieving single-cell (SC)-MSI requires high ion detection sensitivity and long-term ionization stability. Tapping-mode scanning probe electrospray ionization (t-SPESI) delivers a tiny amount of solvent from an oscillating fused silica capillary probe to the sample surface, enabling rapid extraction and ionization of analytes. In this study, we developed a t-SPESI measurement system and a chemical modification method for the probe surface to enable SC-MSI of biological tissues. Introducing a compact sample stage shortened the ion transfer tube to the mass spectrometer, thereby increasing ion detection sensitivity. Furthermore, forming a fluorine-containing molecular layer on the probe surface suppressed biomolecule adsorption at the probe tip and increased the long-term stability of solvent delivery. SC-MSI of mouse brain sections was performed at pixel sizes of 10 and 5 μm and visualized lipid distributions corresponding to fine tissue structures. These results demonstrate that the combination of system miniaturization and probe surface modification is an effective strategy for achieving high-sensitivity and long-term stable SC-MSI via t-SPESI, providing a robust platform for investigating cellular heterogeneity in biological tissues.

Chemical labeling of nucleic acids is essential to pinpoint the structure, localization, and function of RNA and DNA. Yet, reversible sequence-inde...

The discovery that hormonal triggers cause “ruptoblast” cells in flatworms to detonate and destroy surrounding cells within minutes could inspire new ideas in medical science.

Hormones act across tissues and organs to coordinate physiological functions. Drawing inspiration from the Human Cell Atlas, we analyzed expression of 379 hormone and receptor genes in a transcriptomi...

CSF-draining nerves have a dynamic perineural immune response during neuroinflammation with connections to skull bone marrow.

Pregnancy is an immunological marvel allowing intimate approximation between genetically discordant tissues of maternal and fetal origin. Shared immun…

On 2 June 1946, millions of Italian women made history by entering polling stations to cast their first votes at a national level in a landmark referendum.

Summary: This Review highlights developmental roles for RNA localization in cell polarity, fate and function across model organisms.

Tertiary lymphoid structures (TLSs) are critical regulators of antitumor immunity, yet their spatial organization, maturation, and clinical relevance remain incompletely defined across cancers. We ana...

Spermatogenesis features the seminiferous epithelial cycle, a periodic progression of germ-cell differentiation along the seminiferous tubules. Using …

Nature - A fungal long non-coding RNA from Magnaporthe oryzae translocates into rice cells to sequester a host microRNA that normally represses PKR1, a negative immunity regulator, thereby...