The Secret Growth Hormone Hiding in Your Immune System
Long known as an immune metabolite in animals, itaconate has now been identified in plants – where it unexpectedly promotes growth and modulates stress responses.
Researchers at UC San Diego, in collaboration with institutions in the US, China, and Mexico, used mass spectrometry and isotope tracing to detect and track itaconate production in maize and Arabidopsis, revealing its role in primary metabolism and hormonal signaling.
Seedlings watered with itaconate grew taller than untreated controls, and further analysis showed that the molecule alters interactions with proteins involved in oxygen-related stress and energy processing. Despite not being previously linked to plant biology, itaconate appears to be synthesized endogenously in growing tissues.
“Watering maize plants with itaconate made seedlings grow taller,” said senior author Jazz Dickinson. “This discovery could lead to nature-inspired solutions to improve the growth of crops like corn.”
Bead for Speed
Researchers from Stanford University and the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) have developed a high-throughput serology method capable of performing nearly 37,000 antibody tests in a single reaction. The approach uses polystyrene beads barcoded with stable isotopes and analysed via mass cytometry, eliminating the signal overlap that limits fluorescence-based assays.
“Instead of relying on fluorescent signals, which can overlap and limit the number of simultaneous measurements to 500 at most, we use isotopes,” said lead author Xavier Rovira Clavé. “This eliminates the problem of overlap and allows more than 18,000 measurements to be detected simultaneously.”
The double-barcoding system encodes both molecular targets and sample identity, enabling ultra-parallel detection. In tests, the team assessed IgG and IgM responses to 19 SARS-CoV-2 proteins across 924 samples in a single tube. Results matched ELISA benchmarks but used far less time and sample volume. The technique could accelerate diagnostics for infectious disease, autoimmunity, and beyond.
Countering Cancer with Cucumbers
A sugar extracted from the sea cucumber Holothuria floridana has been shown to inhibit Sulf-2, an enzyme implicated in cancer progression, according to a new study led by the University of Mississippi and published in Glycobiology. The compound, fucosylated chondroitin sulfate (HfFucCS), disrupts Sulf-2 activity without affecting blood clotting – a key limitation of existing inhibitors.
“We were able to compare what we generated experimentally with what the simulation predicted, and they were consistent,” said Robert Doerksen, professor of medicinal chemistry. “That gives us more confidence in the results.”
Mass spectrometry and computational modelling revealed that HfFucCS binds Sulf-2 at multiple sites and acts through a non-competitive mechanism. The compound’s potency is linked to a rare 3,4-disulfated fucose motif and a minimum molecular weight of ~7.5 kDa.
“This research took multiple expertise – mass spectrometry, biochemistry, enzyme inhibition, computation,” commented Vitor Pomin. “It’s the effort of the whole team.”
The Very Metabolic Caterpillar
A team at RIKEN has demonstrated that tobacco cutworm larvae can metabolically modify nanocarbon molecules through a process termed “in-insect synthesis.” When fed a belt-shaped nanocarbon, [6]MCPP, the insects produced a new fluorescent derivative, [6]MCPP-oxylene, via oxygen insertion into carbon-carbon bonds – an uncommon and synthetically challenging transformation.
“Insects have evolved enzymatic systems to break down plant toxins. We realized these same enzymes could perform precise molecular transformations,” said lead researcher Kenichiro Itami in the team’s press release.
Mass spectrometry, NMR, and X-ray crystallography confirmed the product’s identity, while simulations and genetic analyses identified cytochrome P450 enzymes CYP X2 and X3 as key actors. The enzymes appear to enable direct oxygen incorporation, bypassing steps that typically limit lab-based synthesis.
The technique offers a new route for modifying nanocarbons and other complex molecules using biological systems, with potential applications in materials chemistry and synthetic biology.
(Mass) Spectacular and Strange
Pocket Science
Zygomaturus trilobus: while sounding like something out of a sci-fi script, it actually refers to a now-extinct marsupial the size of a hippo that once roamed ancient Australia – possibly alongside the first humans to reach Sahul.
Now, using Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS), researchers have identified peptide markers for three long-lost giants: a giant kangaroo, a clawed marsupial with a “protrusible tongue,” and Zygomaturus itself.
By analyzing ancient collagen, the team could distinguish these species from bone fragments alone – even in cases where DNA has long since degraded. “ZooMS could increase the number of identified megafauna fossils,” said lead author Carli Peters, “but only if collagen peptide markers for these species are available.”
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