Here you will find a regularly updated collection of articles published in physiological journals.
The Physiological Society of Japan
celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. On this occasion the Journal of Physiology compiled a collection of some of the most influential research published by Japanese authors in this journal. Have a closer look here
Plügers Archiv: a selection:
made by Armin Kurtz, the former editor in chief of Pflügers Archiv – Eur J Physiol:
Selected Publication:
Pflügers Arch – Eur J Physiol. Volume 475, issue 1, January 2023 Special Issue: Body and mind: how somatic feedback signals shape brain activity and cognition.
From Pflügers Archiv we highlight a thematic collection of papers. These are in a Special Issue entitled “Body and mind: how somatic feedback signals shape brain activity and cognition”.
During recent years, body-to-brain signaling is gaining increasing attention. Understanding interactions between the brain and “peripheral” functions (cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, hormonal and others) bears great potential for basic neurosciences as well as for pathophysiology and clinical innovations. A major focus of the Special Issue is on respiration as a fundamental rhythm which has astonishing impact on brain function and cognition. However, this example can and should be generalized to a modern understanding of embodiment – after all, the brain is an organ, and as such is embedded into the entire organism and its environment.
APSselectA January 2026 selection from APS Journals
AJP Cell: Daniel G Sindola et al: Endothelial cells retain inflammatory memory through chromatin remodeling in a two-hit model of infection-induced inflammation
From the abstract: Sepsis survivors face a heightened risk of secondary infections following discharge, yet the underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined. This study identifies a novel mechanism of endothelial inflammatory memory, wherein inflammatory exposure induces durable chromatin remodeling in endothelial cells (ECs), priming them for exaggerated responses to a subsequent infection. This study provides an explanation why sepsis survivors face a heightened risk of secondary infections following discharge. Genome-wide ATAC-seq revealed that a subset of inflammatory gene loci in mouse endothelial cells retained increased chromatin accessibility even after cytokine withdrawal, demonstrating stable epigenetic remodeling consistent with transcriptional priming and inflammatory memory. In vitro, a critical role for the activator protein-1 transcription factor JunB in mediating this epigenetic remodeling was found. This discovery reveals a new mechanism of chronic endothelial dysfunction and identifies JunB as a potential therapeutic target in postsepsis care.
AJP GI and Liver Physiology: Suliana M Paula et al.: Ubiquitin-proteasome pathway activation in the diaphragm of humans with reflux esophagitis
From the abstract: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is defined as an effortless movement of stomach contents toward the esophagus. It may cause esophageal (recurrent and troublesome heartburn and regurgitation), supraesophageal symptoms, or complications (as peptic strictures and Barrett esophagus. Some forms of GERD are associated with crural diaphragm dysfunction, suggesting that GERD may be influenced by skeletal muscle deficiencies. Skeletal muscle atrophy has been strongly linked to alterations in the ubiquitin-proteasome system, the primary pathway for protein degradation. This study demonstrated, for the first time, an increased activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway and elevated MuRF-1 expression in the crural diaphragm of humans with moderate reflux esophagitis. It showed a positive correlation between the supine reflux time and MuRF-1 expression, suggesting a molecular mechanism associated with diaphragm fiber atrophy and weakness. These findings highlight a potential link between diaphragm degradation and reflux esophagitis, which may modulate gastroesophageal reflux and symptoms.
AJP Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology: Nathan T. Romberger et al.: Sex differences in central salt sensing in the human brain
From the abstract: In preclinical models, the organum vasculosum of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) and subfornical organ (SFO) sense changes in serum sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration and mediate NaCl-induced changes in sympathetic nerve activity, vasopressin (AVP), thirst, and blood pressure (BP). In humans, brain imaging studies have shown that acute hypernatremia alters the activity or functional connectivity of the SFO and OVLT. However, no studies have investigated whether there are sex differences in central NaCl sensing in humans, which could underlie sex differences in neurohumoral responses to hypernatremia. e used resting-state fMRI to assess whether there are sex differences in the functional connectivity of salt sensing brain regions during acute hypernatremia in young healthy adults. Despite having similar increases in serum sodium, thirst, systolic BP, and plasma AVP, functional connectivity between the SFO and OVLT increased with acute hypernatremia in men but decreased in women when studied using resting-state fMRI . This suggests there may be sex differences in salt sensing in brain regions that regulate sympathoexcitation and BP.
Much more can be found in this month’s selection of articles from APS journals!
The German Physiological Society (DPG) selects regularly a “Paper of the Month“.
DPG’s latest paper of the month (Constantin CE et al) was recently published in Nature communications.
The publication sheds a new light on the role of calcium ATPases in rapid clearing of intracellular calcium by extruding it from the cell. It is demonstrated that calcium ATPases consisting of PMCA2-NPTN complexes act as transporters with unanticipated high cycling rates which under cellular conditions may operate in the kHz-range.
The Physiological Society of Japan publishes regularly Science Topics related of a recently published paper.
The latest topic relates to an article published by Shigetoshi Oiki et al. in Cell Reports Physical Science
From the abstract: Single-molecule measurements of protein dynamics reveal discrete transitions between conformational states, providing critical kinetic information. However, recording signals often elicit flickering because rapid conformational transitions exceed the temporal recording resolution, making time-domain kinetic analysis challenging. We developed an amplitude-domain method to decipher the underlying rate of channel flickering. Experimental single-channel currents, when passed through a first-order filter, often yield two beta distributions (double-beta distributions) in the amplitude histogram. We revealed that these two components were projected from current traces comprising two aggregated Markov processes emerging alternatively (double-flicker gating). The underlying gating model of double flickering is related to the model topology, which exhibits mode switching. To estimate the underlying double-flickering rates, multiple amplitude histograms drawn from the filtered current data at different cut-off frequencies were simultaneously fitted with double-beta distributions. The simulated data for various models and rates verified the capability of the method for robust rate estimation.
Don’t miss Physiology Shorts
These new and engaging video feature from The Journal of Physiology aims to deliver short and informative research snapshots directly from the authors of research papers selected by the Editors of the journal!