In a paper published online in advance in Cell this week, a team led by investigators at Cancer Research UK shows that "CTCF-binding locations are highly conserved across mammals." The team identified more than 5,000 robust and tissue-independent locations conserved when comparing ChIP-seq data from six mammals.
In the current issue of Cell Metabolism, researchers at the Chiba University School of Medicine and their collaborators show that the disruption of p53 activation in adipose tissue improves insulin resistance in patients with heart failure, while the inhibition of p53 activation in the same tissue "ameliorates cardiac dysfunction" in people with the same condition. "These results indicate that chronic pressure overload upregulates adipose tissue p53 by promoting lipolysis via the sympathetic nervous system, leading to an inflammatory response of adipose tissue and insulin resistance," the authors write.
Also in Cell Metabolism this week, an international team led by investigators at the University of Helsinki shows that "somatic stem cells are vulnerable to increased mitochondrial DNA mutagenesis," and that mtDNA mutagenesis in those cells in mice contributes to premature aging.