Genistein regulates adipogenesis by blocking the function of adenine nucleotide translocase-2 in the mitochondria

Genistein exerts antiadipogenic effects, but its target molecules remain unclear. Here, we delineated the molecular mechanism underlying the antiadipogenic effect of genistein. A pulldown assay using genistein-immobilized beads identified adenine nucleotide translocase-2 as a genistein-binding protein in adipocytes. Adenine nucleotide translocase-2 exchanges ADP/ATP through the mitochondrial inner membrane. Similar to the knockdown of adenine nucleotide translocase-2, genistein treatment decreased ADP uptake into the mitochondria and ATP synthesis. Genistein treatment and adenine nucleotide translocase-2 knockdown suppressed adipogenesis and increased phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase. Adenine nucleotide translocase-2 knockdown reduced the transcriptional activity of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β, whereas AMP-activated protein kinase inhibition restored the suppression of adipogenesis by adenine nucleotide translocase-2 knockdown. These results indicate that genistein interacts directly with adenine nucleotide translocase-2 to suppress its function. The downregulation of adenine nucleotide translocase-2 reduces the transcriptional activity of CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein β via activation of AMP-activated protein kinase, which consequently represses adipogenesis.ArticleBioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry. 86(2): 260-272 (2022)journal articl

Photocurrent induced by a bicircular light drive in centrosymmetric systems

A bicircular light (BCL) consists of left and right circularly polarized lights with different frequencies, and draws a rose-like pattern with a rotational symmetry determined by the ratio of the two frequencies. Here we show that an application of a BCL to centrosymmetric systems allows a photocurrent generation through introduction of an effective polarity to the system. We derive formulas for the BCL-induced photocurrent from a standard perturbation theory, which is then applied to a simple 1D model and 3D Dirac/Weyl semimetals. A nonperturbative effect with strong light intensity is also discussed with the Floquet technique.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Giant Magnetochiral Anisotropy in Weyl-semimetal WTe2 Induced by Diverging Berry Curvature

The concept of Berry curvature is essential for various transport phenomena. However, an effect of the Berry curvature on magnetochiral anisotropy, i.e. nonreciprocal magneto-transport, is still elusive. Here, we report the Berry curvature originates the large magnetochiral anisotropy. In Weyl-semimetal WTe2, we observed the strong enhancement of the magnetochiral anisotropy when the Fermi level is located near the Weyl points. Notably, the maximal figure of merit $\bar{\gamma}$ reaches $1.2\,{\times}10^{-6} \rm{m^2T^{-1}A^{-1}}$, which is the largest ever reported in bulk materials. Our semiclassical calculation shows that the diverging Berry curvature at the Weyl points strongly enhances the magnetochiral anisotropy.Comment: 26 page

Stress relaxation above and below the jamming transition

We numerically investigate stress relaxation in soft athermal disks to reveal critical slowing down when the system approaches the jamming point. The exponents describing the divergence of the relaxation time differ dramatically depending on whether the transition is approached from the jammed or unjammed phase. This contrasts sharply with conventional dynamic critical scaling scenarios, where a single exponent characterizes both sides. We explain this surprising difference in terms of the vibrational density of states (vDOS), which is a key ingredient of linear viscoelastic theory. The vDOS exhibits an extra slow mode that emerges below jamming, which we utilize to demonstrate the anomalous exponent below jamming.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Methods for Estimating Effective Diffusivity of Substrate and Kinetic Parameters of Immobilized Enzyme

Two methods were presented for estimating simultaneously the kinetic parameters in the Michaelis-Menten equation, Kₘ and Vₘₐₓ, and the intraparticle effective diffusivity of substrate, Dₑᴀ, from the results of the transient changes in a batch reactor. The methods were applied to the estimation of the Kₘ and Vₘₐₓ values of α-chymotrypsin immobilized into firebrick particles or acrylamide gel, and the Dₑᴀ values of substrate through the supports. The experimental data of conversions both in the batch and tubular reactors were found to be calculated successfully by using the kinetic and transport parameters estimated by the proposed methods