Biology subjects

Yokoi, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Yokoi, S..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Oxytocin regulates TN-GnRH3 circuit maturation and mate preference through C1q-dependent synaptic mechanisms

Oxytocin is a key regulator of social behavior, yet how it shapes the neural circuits underlying these behaviors remains unclear. Here, we show that oxytocin signaling is required for the proper maturation of terminal nerve gonadotropin-releasing hormone 3 (TN-GnRH3) circuits that regulate female mate preference in medaka. Disruption of oxytocin signaling reduced expression of the complement component C1q, altered microglial properties, and increased TN-GnRH3 innervation in the optic tectum and dorsolateral telencephalon, suggesting impaired synaptic refinement. In addition, TN-GnRH3 neurons in mutants exhibited disrupted clustering and failed to increase firing frequency in response to visual stimulation, indicating functional deficits. Furthermore, c1qb mutants phenocopied the behavioral and neuronal abnormalities observed in oxytocin signaling-deficient mutants. Together, our findings suggest that oxytocin signaling links microglia-associated synaptic refinement to neural circuit maturation, thereby revealing a previously unrecognized role for oxytocin in shaping social behavior.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2025

Crystal Structure of 3-Hydroxypropionyl-CoA Synthetase (ADP-forming) from Nitrosopumilus maritimus

The 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate (3HP/4HB) cycle in thaumarchaeota contributes significantly to global organic carbon fixation as the most energetically efficient aerobic carbon fixation pathway. The thaumarchaeal 3-Hydroxypropionyl-CoA Synthetase (ADP-forming; Nmar_1309) is crucial to this efficiency, utilizing ATP to ADP catalysis. This first reported structure of Nmar_1309 reveals a homodimer with a unique subdomain organization ([3-4-1-2-5]) and a distinct linker between subdomains 4 and 1. The presence of bound substrates including 3-hydroxypropionate, non-hydrolyzable ATP (ADPNP), and a phosphate suggests an intermediate state mimicking a reaction step immediately preceding the formation of a 3-hydroxypropionyl-phosphohistidine. Conformational differences were observed between the two chains of the homodimer, likely influenced by the binding of a single ADPNP molecule in one chain. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that while 4HB synthetases may have evolved earlier in the evolutionary timeline, 3HP synthetases in Thaumarchaeota may have occurred after the Great Oxygenation Event. These structural data provide further characterization of the 3HP/4HB cycle and, in conjunction with the structure of 4-hydroxybutyryl-CoA synthetase, Nmar_0206, provide baseline structures of the key ADP-forming Acyl-CoA synthetases within this pathway.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2023

Unique Hmgn2 Orthologous Variant Modulates Shape Preference Behavior in Medaka Fish

Diversification of protein sequences contributes to the variation of physiological traits. In this study, using medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) as a model, we identified a novel protein variant influencing shape preference behavior. Re-analysis of sequencing data revealed that LOC101156433, previously annotated as a non-protein- coding gene, encodes a divergent Hmgn2 variant undetectable by standard homology searches. This unique Hmgn2 in medaka shows non-standard subnuclear localization, and mutants exhibited a reduction in certain regions of the telencephalon and a loss of shape preference. These results not only establish a direct association between amino acid sequence variation and the development of new molecular properties and behavioral adaptations but also highlight new clues toward understanding the visual shape perception system in fish.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2023

4D Crystallography Captures Transient IF1-Ribosome Dynamics in Translation Initiation

Initiation factor 1 (IF1) is one of multiple key ligands involved in the initiation of mRNA translation, a highly dynamic and carefully-orchestrated process. However, details surrounding IF1 transient interactions with the small 30S ribosomal subunit remain incompletely understood despite characterization of unbound and fully-bound 30S states. Improvements in X-ray light sources and crystallographic techniques are now enabling time-resolved structural studies at near-physiological temperature and near-atomic resolution and thus the structural investigation of such dynamic processes. Here, we employed time-resolved serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography (TR-SFX) to probe the binding of IF1 to the small 30S ribosomal subunit in real time. Our time-resolved structural data demonstrates transient cryptic short-, mid-, and long-range allostery among different regions of the small 30 ribosomal subunit during IF1 binding, revealing small- and large-scale protein-target interactions and dynamics within intermediate macromolecular states at unprecedented temporal and spatial resolution. These data represent one of the first such 4D crystallographic studies assessing protein-protein and protein-RNA interactions and could serve as the basis for subsequent studies of the ribosome and of the multitudinous dynamic processes which underpin biology, and therefore, of life.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2021

Identification of the cell-type-specific ER membrane protein Tanmp expressed in hypothalamic tanycytes and subsets of neurons

Genomes of higher eukaryotes encode many uncharacterized proteins, and the functions of these proteins cannot be predicted from the primary sequences due to a lack of conserved functional domains. During a screening of novel noncoding RNAs abundantly expressed in mouse brains, we incidentally identified a gene termed Tanmp, which encoded an endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein without known functional domains. Tanmp is specifically expressed in the nervous system, and the highest expression was observed in a specialized cell type called tanycyte that aligns the ventral wall of the third ventricle in the hypothalamus. Immunostaining of Tanmp revealed the fine morphology of tanycytes with highly branched apical ER membranes. Immunoprecipitation revealed that Tanmp associates with mitochondrial ATPase at least in vitro, and ER and mitochondrial signals occasionally overlapped in tanycytes. Mutant mice lacking Tanmp did not exhibit overt phenotypes, suggesting that Tanmp is not essential in mice reared under normal laboratory conditions. We also found that RNA probes that are predicted to uniquely detect Tanmp mRNA cross-reacted with uncharacterized RNAs, highlighting the importance of experimental validation of the specificity of probes during the hybridization-based study of RNA localization.

cell biology↗