Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Vol. 123, Issue 16 Issue 16 2026
83
Articles

Articles in this Issue

Correction for Zhu et al., SETD2-mediated H3K14 trimethylation promotes ATR activation and stalled replication fork restart in response to DNA replication stress

Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2610804123

Uncovering mitochondrial defects in photoreceptors opens therapeutic opportunities for Stargardt disease

Simona Brillante, Mariagrazia Volpe, Anna Diana et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2504764123

Stargardt disease type 1 (STGD1) is the most common hereditary macular degeneration. It is caused by mutations in ABCA4 , which result in the progressive degene...

Constrained evolutionary funnels shape viral immune escape

Marian Huot, Dianzhuo Wang, Eugene Shakhnovich et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2536956123

Understanding how viral proteins adapt under immune pressure while preserving viability is crucial for anticipating antibody-resistant variants. We present a probabilistic framework that predicts vira...

Comparative analysis of naked mole-rat thermogenesis and its potential to maintain euthermia in response to cold

Aleksei Mikhalchenko, June K. Corrigan, Yuchen He et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2600755123

The naked mole-rat (NMR) is a subterranean rodent known for its unique thermal biology, exceptional longevity, and resistance to cancer and hypoxia. However, its thermal biology remains controversial,...

FABP7 controls radial glial scaffold stability during human cortical development

Yuanhao Wang, Xu Zhang, Ru Ba et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2523130123

Radial glial (RG) cells serve as both neural progenitors and structural scaffolds for neuronal migration during cortical development. Although FABP7 has long been recognized as a marker of RG cells, i...

Compositional memory matters for early molecular systems

Barnabe Ledoux, Ryoka Kuwabara, Norikazu Ichihashi et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2537522123

The error catastrophe refers to the proliferation of nonfunctional molecules in conditions where molecular replication has low accuracy, which is likely to correspond to conditions present at the Orig...

Evolutionary-based remodeling of ABA receptors reveals the structural basis of hormone perception and regulation

Maria Rivera-Moreno, Mar Bono, Lourdes Infantes et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2534140123

Drought limits crop productivity, and effective mitigation requires a mechanistic understanding of how abscisic acid (ABA) perception translates hormone levels into physiological responses. In seed pl...

WWOX maintains epidermal identity and suppresses EMT to prevent aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma

Tirza Bidany-Mizrahi, Kian Maroun, Mara Mancini et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2534844123

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC), the second most common skin cancer, remains a major health burden worldwide. The WW domain–containing oxidoreductase (WWOX) is frequently altered in cancer; h...

Phase separation induced by active polymerization makes protocells robust against environmental changes

Xi Chen, Jens-Uwe Sommer, Tyler S. Harmon Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2524346123

The origin of life remains a scientific mystery, particularly the emergence of protocells. One hypothesis proposes that protocells arose as droplets formed via liquid–liquid phase separation of polyme...

Rubisco kinetic acclimation at the holoenzyme level

Bryce Askey, Maddie Ceminsky, Elena Scott et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2519914123

In plants, the CO 2 -fixing enzyme Rubisco is hexadecameric, with each mature holoenzyme containing eight small subunits (SSus). Many plants express multiple SS...

Correction for Brodsky and Farge, How earthquakes organize stress

Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2610805123

Evidence for strong purifying selection of human <i>47S</i> ribosomal RNA genes

Xufan Ma, Fiona Chow, Buz Galbraith et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2529741123

The multicopy 47S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes are among the most highly expressed genes in the human genome, yet to-date essentially no disease-causing sequence...

Selective octopaminergic tuning of mushroom body circuits during memory formation

Ulrike S. Franke, Alexandra Großjohann, Samantha Aurich et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2517403123

The catecholamines octopamine and tyramine undoubtedly have a major impact on the life of an insect. A wide range of physiological processes and behaviors are regulated by these neurotransmitters/horm...

Quantifying and combating zoonotic viruses poised for emergence: Using multiplex receptor screening and decoy engineering technologies

Alex Odoom, Eugene M. Obeng, Christian K. O. Dzuvor Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2516376123

Viral discovery efforts have uncovered millions of zoonotic viruses across multiple continents, listed on the World Health Organization’s pandemic risk register. Over two-thirds of these zoonotic viru...

A plasma-based DNA test for quantification of disease burden in acute myeloid leukemia patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation

Yuxuan Wang, Jiajun Xie, Sergiu Pasca et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2537987123

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation is the only curative option for many patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In the current study, we designed and implemented a personalized assay, c...

Distinct evolutionary patterns of endemic and emerging parvoviruses and the origin of a new pandemic virus

Robert A. López-Astacio, Brian R. Wasik, Hyunwook Lee et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2515274123

Emergence of epidemic viruses in new hosts threatens both human and other animal populations, and often involves virus evolution to overcome barriers that normally prevent efficient infection and spre...

Podocin oligomers regulate the ordering of nephrin chains, providing the molecular basis of <i>NPHS2</i> interallelic interactions

Violetta Antal-Kónya, Gusztáv Schay, Máté Kétszeri et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2524893123

The most frequent causative genes in podocytopathies are NPHS1 and NPHS2 that encode the main slit diaphragm components...

Structural basis of transcription-coupled RNA damage by incorporation of oxidized ribonucleotides

Peini Hou, Chanjoo Lee, Jenny Chong et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2602266123

Oxidative stress induces damage to DNA, RNA, and nucleotide pools. Unlike well-studied DNA damage, the formation of RNA damage and the impact of an oxidized ribonucleotide pool on transcription fideli...

CHK2-USP37 axis stabilizes FOXO4 to sustain senescence and evade apoptosis

Jiahui Sun, Anke Geng, Zhiwei Song et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2526252123

Cellular senescence, a state of permanent cell cycle arrest, contributes to tissue dysfunction and aging through the accumulation of apoptosis-resistant senescent cells. Although the transcription fac...

Medial temporal lobe encodes cognitive maps of real-world social networks

Yi Yang Teoh, Jae-Young Son, Alice Xia et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2523345123

Humans routinely solve social problems by navigating densely interconnected networks—gossiping strategically, brokering across cliques, and coordinating with allies. Yet, the neural representations su...

Southern Ocean seabird population shifts over the Holocene revealed by peat sequestration of mercury from guano

Chuxian Li, Stephen J. Roberts, Martin Grosjean et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2533681123

Monitored seabird populations have declined by up to 70% worldwide since the 1950s. Yet, data on long-term seabird population dynamics prior to the anthropogenic era are largely unknown. This limits o...

Epigenetic constraints and enhancer innovation link neuronal plasticity to evolutionary adaptation

Andrea Millán-Trejo, Carlos Mora-Martínez, Adrián Tarazona-Sánchez et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2524709123

How nervous systems balance the generation of robust neuron types with gene expression plasticity mechanisms and how these processes impact cell-type evolution are unknown. Here, we use...

Trem2 exacerbates ischemic brain injury through Gpnmb in a photothrombotic stroke model

Xuezhen Chen, Kunyu Li, Siyu Liu et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2523148123

Ischemic stroke is a major public health challenge, with microglia-mediated neuroinflammation exerting both protective and detrimental effects on neuronal survival. The Triggering receptor expressed o...

Immune modulation promotes heart regeneration through macrophage and Granulin functions in medaka

Kaushik Chowdhury, Chia-Lin Huang, I-Ting Lin et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2524705123

Myocardial infarction results in irreversible cardiomyocyte loss and fibrotic remodeling in adult mammals, whereas some vertebrates retain the ability to regenerate cardiac tissue. Comparative studies...

YTHDC1 recognizes METTL16-dependent m <sup>6</sup> A on caRNAs and coordinates cotranscriptional splicing

Zhong Zhang, Qi Yin, Weimin Lin et al. Apr 21, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2524579123

N 6 -methyladenosine (m 6 A) RNA modification regulates diverse biological process. The m...

All Issues

Journal Info

Publisher National Academy of Sciences
ISSN 0027-8424
E-ISSN 1091-6490
Subject Life Sciences
Language English
View Full Journal Page