Article
Immunology
Jialing Bao, Biying Mo, Guozhen An, Jian Luo, Mortimer Poncz, Guoqing Pan, Tian Li, Zeyang Zhou
Summary: VWF has been shown to bind microsporidia in circulation and modulate its pathogenicity, including promoting infection and germination. VWF facilitates the intravascular spreading and systemic infection of microsporidia.
FRONTIERS IN CELLULAR AND INFECTION MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ophthalmology
Kevin K. Ma, Benyam Kinde, Thuy Doan, Deborah S. Jacobs, Stephan Ong Tone
Summary: This case report describes a case of microsporidia keratoconjunctivitis in an immunocompetent adult acquired through avian transmission, diagnosed using metagenomic deep sequencing (MDS) and confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. The patient showed clinical improvement after a 6-week course of topical azithromycin and no evidence of persistent infection after a 3-week course of topical voriconazole. Topical azithromycin may be effective against E. hellem, and MDS can be useful in diagnosing atypical keratoconjunctivitis.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carmen Mannella
Summary: VDAC is the main metabolite pore in the mitochondrial outer membrane with open and partially closed states. By predicting structures, we found that modified VDAC sequences can exhibit different conformational states, providing clues for understanding alternative structures of VDAC.
Article
Neurosciences
Xiaofan Ning, Xinyue Li, Kai Ma, Huan Pang, Tiantian Tian, Huifang Hao, Qiaohong Hou, Meng Li, Tianxiang Liu, Shanshan Hou, Haiying Du, Xiuling Song, Zhiwei Sun, Chao Zhao, Minghua Jin
Summary: Silica nanoparticles are widely used in industry, electronics, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as medicine, tumor treatment and diagnosis, and other biomedical and biotechnology fields. The increasing exposure to silica nanoparticles through iatrogenic, occupational, and environmental sources has raised concerns about their potential damage and effects on the nervous system.
MOLECULAR NEUROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Filomena Broeskamp, Elizabeth S. M. Edrich, Oskar Knittelfelder, Lisa Neuhaus, Thorsten Meyer, Jonas Heyden, Lukas Habernig, Florian Kreppel, Campbell W. Gourlay, Patrick Rockenfeller
Summary: This study investigated the impact of mitochondrial outer membrane protein Por1 on yeast autophagy, showing that POR1 deficiency reduces autophagic capacity and alters organelle and lipid homeostasis. It was found that the reduced autophagy caused by POR1 deficiency could be circumvented by overexpression of Psd1, suggesting a role for Por1 in Psd1-mediated autophagy regulation.
Article
Microbiology
Federica Piro, Riccardo Focaia, Zhicheng Dou, Silvia Masci, David Smith, Manlio Di Cristina
Summary: Obligate intracellular parasites have developed strategies such as forming a parasitophorous vacuole and secreting proteins to scavenge nutrients from host cells. They overcome barriers in nutrient transport by modifying host cell membrane transporters, remodeling the PV membrane, and selectively taking up substrates at the parasite plasma membrane.
Review
Cell Biology
Joyce T. Varughese, Susan K. Buchanan, Ashley S. Pitt
Summary: Voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) is a beta-barrel membrane protein located in the outer mitochondrial membrane, playing major roles in regulating various physiological processes and contributing to the development of diseases.
Article
Mycology
Naoyuki Itoh, Satoshi Kameshima, Yuya Kimura
Summary: The study found a low prevalence of E. hellem infection in companion birds from pet shops, with zoonotic genotype 1A being the predominant type, suggesting a low risk of zoonotic transmission from companion birds to humans in Japan.
MEDICAL MYCOLOGY JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Biology
Christian Hacker, Kacper Sendra, Priyanka Keisham, Teodora Filipescu, James Lucocq, Fatemeh Salimi, Sophie Ferguson, David Bhella, Stuart A. MacNeill, Martin Embley, John Lucocq
Summary: During the reductive evolution of microsporidia, the mitosomes undergo incremental growth and dynamin-mediated division, and are closely associated with a microsporidian spindle pole body (mSPB) equivalent to the fungal microtubule-organising centre.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2023)
Review
Physiology
Kareem A. Heslop, Veronica Milesi, Eduardo N. Maldonado
Summary: The text discusses the biological consequences of changes in the conformational state of VDAC for cancer metabolism, the mechanisms by which VDAC-openers promote cancer cell death, and emphasizes the relevance of VDAC regulation in tumor progression for cancer biology and developing novel cancer chemotherapies.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Virology
Ahmed H. Saadawy, Aya M. Khalil, Lydia R. Sidarous, Mostafa S. Ibrahim, Tamer Z. Salem
Summary: Viruses control host cells by exploiting the molecular machinery to aid in viral replication and spread. Understanding viral mechanisms and biochemical pathways is essential for developing effective therapeutics against viral infections. The mitochondrion, particularly the voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) in the outer mitochondrial membrane, is targeted by many viruses. VDAC regulates metabolite flux, reactive oxygen species production, and apoptosis by releasing pro-apoptotic proteins. This review explores the role of VDAC in viral pathogenesis and its potential as an antiviral target through its interaction with viral proteins.
REVIEWS IN MEDICAL VIROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Juan Flores, Peter M. Takvorian, Louis M. Weiss, Ann Cali, Nan Gao
Summary: Researchers infected human colonic Caco2 cells with Encephalitozoon intestinalis to recapitulate the lifecycle of microsporidia, revealing nuclear, mitochondrial, and microvillar alterations in infected cells. Transcriptome analysis exposed changes in host cell signaling pathways upon infection. High-resolution imaging and transcriptional profiling shed light on the impact of microsporidial infection on its primary human target cell type.
JOURNAL OF CELL SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Karla J. Rojas-Mendez, Lino Sanchez Segura, Alicia Chagolla, Barbara Lino, Luis E. Gonzalez de la Vara
Summary: Programmed cell death (PCD) in plants plays a role in both development and response to aggressions. Flooding stress was found to induce PCD in Beta vulgaris roots, with mitochondrial protein complexes involving VDAC potentially being the key players in this process.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Parasitology
Jeanine Gezelle, Gagandeep Saggu, Sanjay A. Desai
Summary: Protozoan parasites acquire essential ions, nutrients, and other solutes from their hosts through transmembrane uptake, with ion channels and transporters mediating the process. Patch-clamp is the best method to isolate and study these transport proteins, but access is limited to a few due to specialized instrumentation and training requirements. This overview aims to help non-experts understand and critically assess patch-clamp data in basic research studies.
TRENDS IN PARASITOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Physiology
Hirohito Shimizu, Simon Huber, Adam D. Langenbacher, Lauren Crisman, Jie Huang, Kevin Wang, Fabiola Wilting, Thomas Gudermann, Johann Schredelseker, Jau-Nian Chen
Summary: Mitochondrial VDAC proteins play a crucial role in regulating cardiac rhythmicity, with overexpression of VDAC1 and VDAC2 suppressing arrhythmia. The presence of glutamate at position 73 in VDAC1 and VDAC2, and glutamine in VDAC3, determines their isoform-specific functions in controlling Ca2+ transport. Mutation of E73 or Q73 affects the anti-arrhythmic effect of VDAC isoforms by modulating Ca2+ cross-talk between the sarcoplasmic reticulum and mitochondria in cardiomyocytes.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Bing Han, Kang Zhou, Zhihong Li, Bin Sun, Qi Ni, Xianzhi Meng, Guoqing Pan, Chunfeng Li, Mengxian Long, Tian Li, Congzhao Zhou, Weifang Li, Zeyang Zhou
JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY
(2016)
Article
Microbiology
Bing Han, Valerie Polonais, Tatsuki Sugi, Rama Yakubu, Peter M. Takvorian, Ann Cali, Keith Maier, Mengxian Long, Matthew Levy, Herbert B. Tanowitz, Guoqing Pan, Frederic Delbac, Zeyang Zhou, Louis M. Weiss
Article
Microbiology
Peter M. Takvorian, Bing Han, Ann Cali, William J. Rice, Leslie Gunther, Frank Macaluso, Louis M. Weiss
JOURNAL OF EUKARYOTIC MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Microbiology
Bing Han, Peter M. Takvorian, Louis M. Weiss
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Review
Microbiology
Bing Han, Guoqing Pan, Louis M. Weiss
Summary: Microsporidia are obligate intracellular pathogens that infect a wide range of invertebrate and vertebrate hosts, causing infections in various organ systems. Treatment typically involves albendazole and fumagillin, with immune restoration aiding in infection resolution. While the prevalence of microsporidiosis in AIDS patients has decreased in the United States due to cART, infections continue globally and can still occur in the US with low CD4 counts despite cART.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Tadakimi Tomita, Debanjan Mukhopadhyay, Bing Han, Rama Yakubu, Vincent Tu, Joshua Mayoral, Tatsuki Sugi, Yanfen Ma, Jeroen P. J. Saeij, Louis M. Weiss
Summary: The study reveals that the cyst matrix protein MAG1 functions as a secreted immunomodulatory effector, regulating parasite virulence and dissemination by suppressing inflammasome activation. The balance between GRA15-induced inflammasome activation and MAG1-mediated suppression plays a crucial role in host-parasite interactions and the establishment of chronic infection.
Article
Immunology
Chun-Xue Zhou, Min Gao, Bing Han, Hua Cong, Xing-Quan Zhu, Huai-Yu Zhou
Summary: Our study utilized a label-free peptidomics approach to identify over 2,700 endogenous peptides in the brains of hosts infected with Toxoplasma gondii. Quantitative analysis revealed hundreds of differentially expressed peptides during acute and chronic infection stages. Functional analysis suggested these peptides play roles in cellular processes and come from cell parts.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Bing Han, Louis M. Weiss
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2017)