Ribosome assembly in eukaryotes requires approximately 200 essential assembly factors (AFs), and occurs via ordered events that initiate in the nucleolus and culminate in the cytoplasm. Here we present the cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of a late cytoplasmic 40S ribosome assembly intermediate from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The positions of bound AFs were defined using cryo-EM reconstructions of pre-ribosomal complexes lacking individual components. All seven AFs are positioned to prevent each step in the translation initiation pathway by obstructing the binding sites for initiation factors, by preventing the opening of the mRNA channel, by blocking 60S subunit joining, and by disrupting the decoding site. We suggest that these highly redundant mechanisms ensure that pre-40S particles do not enter the translation pathway, which would result in their rapid degradation. Implications for the regulation of 40S maturation are also discussed.

β-adrenergic receptors (βARs) are critical regulators of acute cardiovascular physiology. In response to elevated catecholamine stimulation during development of congestive heart failure (CHF), chronic activation of G s -dependent β 1 AR and G i -dependent β 2 AR pathways leads to enhanced cardiomyocyte death, reduced β 1 AR expression, and decreased inotropic reserve. β-blockers act to block excessive catecholamine stimulation of βARs to decrease cellular apoptotic signaling and normalize β 1 AR expression and inotropy. Whereas these actions reduce cardiac remodeling and mortality outcomes, the effects are not sustained. Converse to G-protein-dependent signaling, β-arrestin-dependent signaling promotes cardiomyocyte survival. Given that β 2 AR expression is unaltered in CHF, a β-arrestin-biased agonist that operates through the β 2 AR represents a potentially useful therapeutic approach. Carvedilol, a currently prescribed nonselective β-blocker, has been classified as a β-arrestin-biased agonist that can inhibit basal signaling from βARs and also stimulate cell survival signaling pathways. To understand the relative contribution of β-arrestin bias to the efficacy of select β-blockers, a specific β-arrestin-biased pepducin for the β 2 AR, intracellular loop (ICL)1-9, was used to decouple β-arrestin-biased signaling from occupation of the orthosteric ligand-binding pocket. With similar efficacy to carvedilol, ICL1-9 was able to promote β 2 AR phosphorylation, β-arrestin recruitment, β 2 AR internalization, and β-arrestin-biased signaling. Interestingly, ICL1-9 was also able to induce β 2 AR-and β-arrestin-dependent and Ca 2+ -independent contractility in primary adult murine cardiomyocytes, whereas carvedilol had no efficacy. Thus, ICL1-9 is an effective tool to access a pharmacological profile stimulating cardioprotective signaling and inotropic effects through the β 2 AR and serves as a model for the next generation of cardiovascular drug development.B eta-antagonists, also known as β-blockers, have been indicated for the treatment of pathological cardiac diseases, including congestive heart failure (CHF) and high blood pressure, for decades (1, 2). A select number of these agents, including the clinically used carvedilol, have been identified as β-arrestinbiased agonists of β-adrenergic receptors based on their ability to promote β-arrestin-dependent signaling over G-protein activation (3, 4). It is believed that the β-arrestin activation may provide additional cardioprotection based on its ability to mediate antiapoptotic signaling. As these are orthosteric ligands, there have been no means to decouple the activation of receptor-dependent β-arrestin signaling from the occupation of the orthosteric ligandbinding pocket to study their independent contribution to its efficacy as these properties appear inherently linked.Recently, we described the characterization of a library of modulators of the β 2 -adrenergic receptor (β 2 AR) known as pepducins (5). Pepducins are lipidated peptides derived from the intracel...

SUMMARY Despite the crucial impact of leptin signaling on metabolism and body weight, little is known about the structure of the liganded leptin receptor (LEP-R) complex. Here we applied single-particle electron microscopy (EM) to characterize the architecture of the extracellular region of LEP-R alone and in complex with leptin. We show that unliganded LEP-R displays significant flexibility in a hinge region within the cytokine homology region 2 (CHR2) that is connected to rigid membrane-proximal FnIII domains. Leptin binds to CHR2 in order to restrict the flexible hinge and the disposition of the FnIII ‘legs’. Through a separate interaction, leptin engages the Ig-like domain of a second liganded LEP-R, resulting in the formation of a quaternary signaling complex. We propose that the membrane proximal domain rigidification in the context of a liganded cytokine receptor dimer is a key mechanism for the transactivation of Janus kinases (Jaks) bound at the intracellular receptor region.

Fish egg yolk is largely derived from vitellogenins, which are synthesized in the liver, taken up from the maternal circulation by growing oocytes via receptor-mediated endocytosis and enzymatically processed into yolk proteins that are stored in the ooplasm. Lipid droplets are another major component of fish egg yolk, and these are mainly composed of neutral lipids that may originate from maternal plasma lipoproteins. This review aims to briefly summarize our current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying yolk formation in fishes. A hypothetical model of oocyte growth is proposed based on recent advances in our knowledge of fish yolk formation.