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Normal view

Metabolite-gated vascular contractility switch: OXGR1 activation mechanism enables agonist therapy for rosacea erythema

Xiao et al. identify α-KG as a rosacea-associated metabolite that activates the OXGR1-Gq-MYL9 axis in the vascular smooth muscle cells to boost contractility and suppress pathological vasodilation underlying erythema. Cryo-EM reveals a bipartite-acid pocket of OXGR1 that enables structure-guided development of A-1, a selective agonist that alleviates erythema in rosacea-like models.

Ectopic NMDAR expression in cancer unmasks germline-encoded autoimmunity

Nature, Published online: 25 March 2026; doi:10.1038/s41586-026-10278-0

NMDAR expression is sufficient to induce B cell recruitment and affinity maturation, resulting in receptor-modulating antibodies that connect anti-cancer immunity and autoimmunity.

Tuning the sensitivity of mechanosensory receptors through histidine scanning

Histidine scanning represents a broadly applicable technique for the identification of critical interaction sites within TCRs and other mechanosensory receptors to enhance receptor signaling strength and augment therapeutic efficacy via the catch bond mechanism.
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