Spencer OCAT 2

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Across
  1. 3. The ECM “tether” that stores latent TGFβ like a tool hung on a garage wall. (4)
  2. 4. The chemical “volume knob down” for JAK signaling when interferon noise is too loud. (11)
  3. 7. The enzyme that breaks open stored cholesterol esters, like cashing out savings so you can actually pay for steroid hormones. (3)
  4. 9. A PRR that can sit at the surface or in endosomes, catching microbial patterns like a bouncer checking IDs. (3)
  5. 10. The “mute” button that makes NMDA signaling much quieter. (8)
  6. 12. The “sleeping bag” that keeps TGFβ inactive until the complex is opened. (3)
  7. 16. The manager who “stamps your passport” so the transcription factor can legally enter the nucleus. (3)
  8. 17. The couriers that carry TGFβ’s message inward to change gene expression. (4)
  9. 19. Progesterone’s brain-active “cousin” that boosts GABA-A like an internal chill pill. (16)
  10. 21. A secreted bacterial weapon: the problem is not the microbe itself, it is what it mailed out. (8)
  11. 22. The sensor class that reads PAMPs and decides whether to pull the cytokine fire alarm. (3)
  12. 23. The genes that pop on after interferon signaling, like a whole neighborhood’s porch lights syncing up. (3)
  13. 25. The text message blast that tells nearby cells, “Harden up, a virus is here.” (10)
Down
  1. 1. The built-in “don’t overreact” switch for interferon signaling; when missing, the alarm will not stop. (5)
  2. 2. The assembly line that turns cholesterol into hormones, step by step. (14)
  3. 5. The transporter that trades cystine in for glutamate out, helping build antioxidant power while exporting excitatory signal. (2)
  4. 6. Once phosphorylated, this pairs up, relocates, and starts approving ISG paperwork. (4)
  5. 8. The drug (SSZ) that blocks system XC-, cutting off a cancer-friendly cystine supply line. (13)
  6. 11. Saying clue: *“Loose lips sink ships.”* When this adhesion molecule goes down, cells stop sticking tight and start acting mobile. (9)
  7. 13. The shuttle that gets cholesterol to the mitochondria, because steroidogenesis cannot start if the raw material is stuck outside. (4)
  8. 14. The coincidence detector for glutamate that matters in plasticity and memory. (4)
  9. 15. A Gram-negative “parting gift” released on cell death that can make the whole body feel it. (9)
  10. 18. “Slow and sticky” signal that can push EMT and fibrosis once it gets activated. (4)
  11. 20. The microbial “ID badge” your immune system looks for because self-cells do not wear it. (4)
  12. 24. The ionotropic inhibitory receptor that Allo tunes up, making neurons less likely to fire. (5)