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The aggresome is a perinuclear structure that sequesters misfolded proteins. It is implicated in various neurodegenerative diseases. The perinuclear structure enriched with protein interacting with C kinase 1 (PICK1) was found to be inducible by cellular stressors, colocalizing with microtubule-organizing center markers and ubiquitin, hence classifying it as an aggresome. Sodium arsenite but not arsenate was found to potently induce aggresome formation through an integrated stress response–independent pathway. In HEK293T cells, under arsenite stress, PICK1 localization to the aggresome was prioritized, and formation of PICK1 homodimers was favored. Additionally, PICK1 could enhance protein entry into aggresomes. This study shows that arsenite can induce the formation of both RNA stress granules and aggresomes at the same time, and that PICK1 shows conditional localization to aggresomes, suggesting a possible involvement of PICK1 in neurodegenerative diseases.

Normal brain functions depend on the balanced development of excitatory and inhibitory synapses. Our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying inhibitory synapse formation is limited. Neuroligin-2 (NL2), a transmembrane protein at inhibitory postsynaptic sites, is capable of initiating inhibitory synapse formation. In an effort to search for NL2 binding proteins and the downstream mechanisms responsible for inhibitory synapse development, we identify LHFPL4/GARLH4 as a major NL2 binding partner that is specifically enriched at inhibitory postsynaptic sites. LHFPL4/GARLH4 and NL2 regulate the protein levels and synaptic clustering of each other in the cerebellum. Lhfpl4/Garlh4−/−mice display profound impairment of inhibitory synapse formation as well as prominent motor behavioral deficits and premature death. Our findings highlight the essential role of LHFPL4/GARLH4 in brain functions by regulating inhibitory synapse formation as a major NL2 binding partner.

Exocyst-positive organelle (EXPO) is a double-membrane organelle mediating unconventional protein secretion in plants. The Arabidopsis exocystsubunit AtExo70E2 is essential for the recruitment of other exocyst subunits to EXPO and plays a key role in EXPO formation in both plant and animal cells.

Presents readers' letters in response to June and July 1999 articles in `Newsweek.' Coverage of the death of John F. Kennedy Jr.; The United States-China finale of the Women's World Cup soccer tournament; Holocaust memorial in Berlin, Germany; Aftermath of the ethnic conflict in the Serbian province of Kosovo.

The article offers guidelines on how to implement safe deductions in the salaries of employees in New York. Section 193 of the New York Labor Law is highlighted which governs the deductions from employee wages. Opinion letters from the New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) about the interpretation of Section 193 are outlined.