Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Vol. 123, Issue 13 Issue 13 2026
106
Articles

Articles in this Issue

DIRAS2 modulates MAPK pathway–mediated ferroptosis to regulate excitation/inhibition balance and seizure susceptibility

Chenlu Zhang, Liqin Hu, Hui Zhang et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2516011123

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that is widely believed to be associated with an imbalance between neuronal excitation and inhibition (E/I). DIRAS2, a Ras-related GTPase, has not been well...

DNA methylation site loss for plasticity-led novel trait genetic fixation

Takafumi Katsumura, Suguru Sato, Kana Yamashita et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2534817123

Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to adapt traits in response to environmental changes, yet the molecular basis by which such plastic traits become genetically fixed remains unclear. Here, we inv...

Structural insight of a photosystem I-CpcL-phycobilisome supercomplex from a cyanobacterium <i>Anabaena</i> sp. PCC 7120

Zhiyuan Mao, Zhenhua Li, Xingyue Li et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2530459123

Phycobilisomes (PBSs) are supramolecular pigment–protein complexes composed of phycobiliproteins and linker proteins, serving as the major light-harvesting complexes that capture and transfer light en...

The power of leadership in changing social norms in heterogeneous societies

Fabio Galeotti, Jona Krutaj, Marie Claire Villeval Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2526916123

Abandoning detrimental social norms is complex due to the strong pressure to conform. We examine how leaders can guide norm change in heterogeneous societies where individual preferences evolve at dif...

Endogenous ATP–powered nanomotors directing neural stem cell differentiation for Parkinson’s disease treatment

Miaomiao Ding, Bin Chen, Jing Xiao et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2520119123

Transplantation-free neuron regeneration remains attractive yet unsolved for reversing Parkinson’s disease (PD). Here, we present enzyme-driven mesoporous gold nanomotors (Apyrase@Au) that leverage en...

HairTime: A noninvasive assay for estimating circadian phase from a single hair sample

Bert Maier, Luísa K. Pilz, Selin Özcakir et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2514928123

Circadian clocks govern daily physiological and behavioral processes and are crucial for health; disruptions can lead to various diseases. The circadian phase of entrainment—the phase of the internal...

Dynamic translocation of Inside-Out proteins to the cell surface underlies cellular adaptation to cancer-induced stress

Tomasz Slezak, Kelly M. O’Leary, Tanya Guevara Avella et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2529493123

Inside-Out (I-O) protein display, the noncanonical surface localization of intracellular proteins, represents an underexplored feature of tumor cell biology. Here, we map the molecular landscape and t...

Unique structural and ligand-binding properties of the <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> serine hydrolase FphE

Jeyun Jo, Tulsi Upadhyay, Xiangyan You et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2532683123

Staphylococcus aureus is a human pathogen capable of forming biofilms that complicate treatment and facilitate chronic infections. A family of S. aureus...

NLRP1B is an integrated decoy that subverts <i> <i>Shigella</i> flexneri </i> E3 ligase activity to promote effector-triggered immunity

Siwon Chung, Hannah Hudson, Kaitlin A. Stromberg et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2514645123

Inflammasomes are cytosolic immune complexes that recognize pathogen-associated stimuli to initiate a potent inflammatory response. While some inflammasomes directly recognize pathogen-associated mole...

Inorganic phosphate and the rapid mobilization of metabolic energy in neurons

Paul C. Rosen, Shivang Sullere, Panhui Fu et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2602529123

Neurons experience brief, intense periods of energy demand when they are excited, but how they rapidly coordinate energy expenditure with production is incompletely understood. Part of the difficulty...

Convergent motifs of early olfactory processing are recapitulated by layer-wise efficient coding

Juan Carlos Fernández del Castillo, Farhad Pashakhanloo, Venkatesh N. Murthy et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2524661123

The architecture of early olfactory processing is a striking example of convergent evolution. Typically, a panel of broadly tuned receptors is selectively expressed in sensory neurons (each neuron exp...

The psychology of offensive and defensive intergroup violence: Preregistered insights from 58 countries

Jonas R. Kunst, Tomasz Besta, Michał Jaśkiewicz et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2535665123

Evolutionary theory and historical evidence suggest humans possess distinct psychological tendencies for defensive and offensive violence, which have insufficiently been considered in research. In a l...

Phages drive the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes by facilitating host adaptation to heavy metal stress

Luo-Qin Shen, Lu Wang, Zhiyuan Yao et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2535653123

Heavy metals are increasingly recognized as major drivers of antibiotic resistance gene (ARG) dissemination in soil ecosystems. However, the role of phages in heavy metal–driven ARG dissemination and...

Cell type diversification and phenotype convergence underlying white fin-ornamentation of cyprinid fishes

Delai Huang, Tiffany Liu, August A. Carr et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2537571123

Neural crest–derived cells offer valuable opportunities to dissect mechanisms of cell fate specification and differentiation and the underpinnings of cell type diversification over evolutionary time....

Biologically grounded on-chip model identifies selective topographic reorganization within hyperexcitable corticostriatal networks

Maxime Poinsot, Marine Dos Santos, Baptiste Marthy et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2513459123

The mammalian cerebral cortex projects to the striatum in a precise, hierarchical topography, forming parallel loops that underlie sensorimotor, associative, and limbic processing. Despite the striatu...

Adipose Dicer-1 modulates systemic insulin signaling and longevity via a miR-8–Aop–Dilp6 axis

María C. Ingaramo, Francisco Ramello, Silvano J. Santander et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2525327123

Interorgan communication is essential for metabolic homeostasis and healthy aging, with adipose tissue acting as a central hub that coordinates systemic metabolism, stress responses, and longevity. He...

Small molecule–constrained paratope mimetic bicyclic peptides as potent inhibitors of group 1 and 2 influenza A virus hemagglutinins

Rameshwar U. Kadam, Jarek Juraszek, Boerries Brandenburg et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2537533123

Influenza continues to be a major threat to global health and a substantial economic burden. Innovative strategies are needed to tackle the growing resistance to established influenza therapeutics and...

The phospholipid profile of T cells shapes ACSL4 dependency and ferroptosis sensitivity of naive, effector, and memory T cells

Gariné Magarditchian, Ivan Berest, Aikaterini Ziogou et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2528153123

Iron-dependent phospholipid (PL) peroxidation, which is reduced by glutathione peroxidase 4, is recognized as the hallmark of cells undergoing ferroptosis. Although studies have attempted to elucidate...

Self-regulated dual-mode solar energy harvesting

Raphael Kay, Rafiq Omair, Joanna Aizenberg Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2534717123

Traditional solar energy harvesters are single-mode—typically designed to convert available sunlight either into heat or electricity. However, neither energy form is continuously useful, and an optima...

Correction for Goyette et al., Targeting Axl favors an antitumorigenic microenvironment that enhances immunotherapy responses by decreasing Hif-1α levels

Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2608616123

Mechanism of 30S subunit recognition and modification by the conserved bacterial ribosomal RNA methyltransferase RsmI

Mohamed I. Barmada, Erin N. McGinity, Suparno Nandi et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2523453123

Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) modifications are important for ribosome function and can influence bacterial susceptibility to ribosome-targeting antibiotics. The universally conserved 16S rRNA nucleotide C1402...

GFAP <sup>+</sup> FOXF2 <sup>+</sup> ependymal cells promote blood–brain barrier repair via DLL4–NOTCH signaling after neural injury

Qi Xie, Hui Lu, Xiaoman Wang et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2520352123

Ependymal cells in the adult ventricular-subventricular zone are increasingly recognized for functions extending beyond cerebrospinal fluid dynamics; however, their identity and functional specializat...

Depth of nutrient uptake by deep-rooted plants is regulated by water availability

Langlang Li, John N. Christensen, Markus Bill et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2528407123

The capacity of some plants to access water and nutrients at depths greater than one meter is a critical functional trait that confers resistance to drought and impacts both belowground and shallow so...

Fab–Fc and Fab–Fab interactions of variable strength and valency contribute to the high concentration viscosity of IgG <sub>1</sub> antibodies

Joel Heisler, Jennifer L. Hofmann, Zhenyu Tan et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2526550123

The variable domains in Fab regions are well-established contributors to high concentration viscosity of IgG, primarily through charge and hydrophobic interactions. In contrast, the roles of the Fc an...

The m5C orchestrator NSUN7 drives SPARC/HMGB1 axis–mediated inflammation to exacerbate kidney injury

Yu-hang Dong, Shuai-shuai Xie, Shuai Sun et al. Mar 31, 2026 10.1073/pnas.2511296123

Growing evidence indicates that kidney inflammation is a major contributor to the pathogenesis of various renal diseases, including acute kidney injury (AKI). Although RNA modifications have been impl...

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