SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and concern naming scheme conducive for global discourse

A group convened and led by the Virus Evolution Working Group of the World Health Organization reports on its deliberations and announces a naming scheme that will enable clear communication about SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and concern.Molecular basis of virus replication, viral pathogenesis and antiviral strategie

Snail induces epithelial cell extrusion by regulating RhoA contractile signalling and cell–matrix adhesion

Cell extrusion is a morphogenetic process that is implicated in epithelial homeostasis and elicited by stimuli ranging from apoptosis to oncogenic transformation. To explore whether the morphogenetic transcription factor Snail (SNAI1) induces extrusion, we inducibly expressed a stabilized Snail6SA transgene in confluent MCF-7 monolayers. When expressed in small clusters (less than three cells) within otherwise wild-type confluent monolayers, Snail6SA expression induced apical cell extrusion. In contrast, larger clusters or homogenous cultures of Snail6SA cells did not show enhanced apical extrusion, but eventually displayed sporadic basal delamination. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that Snail6SA did not substantively alter the balance of epithelial and mesenchymal genes. However, we identified a transcriptional network that led to upregulated RhoA signalling and cortical contractility in cells expressing Snail6SA. Enhanced contractility was necessary, but not sufficient, to drive extrusion, suggesting that Snail collaborates with other factors. Indeed, we found that the transcriptional downregulation of cell–matrix adhesion cooperates with contractility to mediate basal delamination. This provides a pathway for Snail to influence epithelial morphogenesis independently of classic epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.Kenneth Wee, Soroor Hediyeh-zadeh, Kinga Duszyc, Suzie Verma, Bageshri N. Nanavati, Satyajeet Khare, Amrita Varma, Roger J. Daly, Alpha S. Yap, Melissa J. Davis, and Srikanth Budna

Optical constants of solid methane

Methane is the most abundant simple organic molecule in the outer solar system bodies. In addition to being a gaseous constituent of the atmospheres of the Jovian planets and Titan, it is present in the solid form as a constituent of icy surfaces such as those of Triton and Pluto, and as cloud condensate in the atmospheres of Titan, Uranus, and Neptune. It is expected in the liquid form as a constituent of the ocean of Titan. Cometary ices also contain solid methane. The optical constants for both solid and liquid phases of CH{sub 4} for a wide temperature range are needed for radiative transfer calculations, for studies of reflection from surfaces, and for modeling of emission in the far infrared and microwave regions. The astronomically important visual to near infrared measurements of solid methane optical constants are conspicuously absent from the literature. We present preliminary results of the optical constants of solid methane for the 0.4 {mu}m to 2.6 {mu}m region. We report k for both the amorphous and the crystalline (annealed) states. Using our previously measured values of the real part of the refractive index, n, of liquid methane at 110{degree}K (Bull. Am. Phys. Soc.31, 700 (1986)) we compute n for solid methane using the Lorentz-Lorentz relationship. Work is in progress to extend the measurements of optical constants n and k for liquid and solid to both shorter and longer wavelengths, eventually providing a complete optical constants database for condensed CH{sub 4}. 33 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs