Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chengliang Wang, Sonia Shivcharan, Tian Tian, Skylar Wright, Danyang Ma, JengYih Chang, Kunpeng Li, Kangkang Song, Chen Xu, Vijay A. Rathinam, Jianbin Ruan
Summary: Gasdermins (GSDMs) play important roles in host defense through pyroptosis, and GSDMB is unique due to its distinct lipid-binding profile and unclear pyroptotic potential. This study reveals the molecular mechanisms of Shigella IpaH7.8 recognition and targeting of GSDMs. The cryogenic electron microscopy structures of human GSDMB complexed with Shigella IpaH7.8 and the GSDMB pore provide insights into the structural determinants of GSDMB's pyroptotic activity. The study also highlights the species specificity of IpaH7.8 due to the presence of a conserved motif only in human GSDMD.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anurag Singh, Paul F. Smith, Yiwen Zheng
Summary: Tinnitus is a complex disorder characterized by the perception of sound in the absence of external auditory stimulus. Patients with tinnitus often experience hearing loss, anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption. Current treatments for tinnitus have limited effectiveness due to the heterogeneity of the condition and a lack of understanding of its mechanisms. This review focuses on the role of the limbic system in tinnitus development and provides insights into potential target-specific therapies for tinnitus.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Sara Colomo, David Ros-Pardo, Sara S. Oltra, Paulino Gomez-Puertas, David Sarrio, Gema Moreno-Bueno
Summary: Gasdermins (GSDMs) are proteins that play significant roles in innate immunity, host defense, inflammation, and cancer. While they are best known as key effectors of a type of cell death called pyroptosis, they also participate in other cell death processes and exhibit cell-death independent functions depending on the cellular context. Gasdermin B (GSDMB) has been the subject of conflicting findings in scientific literature regarding its pyroptotic capacity, despite the decoding of its processing and subsequent activation by Granzyme A (GZMA). Recent studies have highlighted the importance of alternative splicing in determining the pyroptotic capacity of GSDMB isoforms, which depends on specific elements derived from exon 6.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Thais Carbinatti, Marion Regnier, Lucia Parlati, Fadila Benhamed, Catherine Postic
Summary: Carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) is a glucose responsive transcription factor that plays a critical role in the transcriptional control of glycolysis and de novo lipogenesis. It modulates inter-organ communication through secretion of peptides and lipid factors, ensuring metabolic homeostasis. Dysregulation of ChREBP-mediated interactions is associated with the development of metabolic diseases like type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
FRONTIERS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Han Pan, Ruifang Guan, Ruixue Zhao, Guangshuo Ou, Zhucheng Chen
Summary: The central spindle in animal cells regulates the formation of the division plane during cytokinesis. The molecular backbone of centralspindlin has the propensity to undergo liquid-liquid phase separation, and the synergy between ZEN-4 and CYK-4 subunits is critical for its function in microtubule bundling and central spindle assembly. Charge-driven macromolecular condensation mediates the assembly of the central spindle by centralspindlin.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhengjing Zhang, Wenjie Zeng, Wenxin Zhang, Jing Li, Dali Kong, Lei Zhang, Rui Wang, Fangnan Peng, Zhe Kong, Yongping Ke, Heng Zhang, Chanhong Kim, Huiming Zhang, Jose Ramon Botella, Jian-Kang Zhu, Daisuke Miki
Summary: The study established a CRISPR/Cas9-mediated technique for heritable gene targeting in Arabidopsis, achieving precise GT using the sequential transformation method and obtaining vector-free GT plants. The research sheds light on the molecular mechanisms of CRISPR/Cas9-mediated GT in Arabidopsis and provides a broadly applicable technology for precise genome manipulation.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rachel Fasiczka, Yahaira Naaldijk, Besma Brahmia, Sabine Hilfiker
Summary: Point mutations in LRRK2 increase its kinase activity, causing Parkinson's disease. Rab GTPases have been identified as substrates of LRRK2 kinase. The phosphorylation of Rab GTPases not only affects their involvement in membrane trafficking but also leads to binding with new effector proteins and significant cellular consequences. This review summarizes the recent findings on LRRK2-mediated phosphorylation of Rab GTPases and its cellular consequences in vitro and in the intact brain, as well as highlights the major outstanding questions in this field.
BIOCHEMICAL SOCIETY TRANSACTIONS
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Yasmin Begum, Anuradha Pandit, Snehasikta Swarnakar
Summary: Gynecological illnesses contribute a significant portion to the global disease burden, particularly affecting women of reproductive age. Metalloproteinases play crucial roles in the development of gynecological disorders, offering potential targets for therapeutic interventions.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Erica A. Steen, Kim E. Nichols, Lauren K. Meyer
Summary: Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (fHLH) is a group of rare inherited immune dysregulation disorders characterized by mutations in genes involved in cytotoxic granules in CD8+ T cells and NK cells. This defect leads to sustained lymphocyte activation and excessive secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in tissue damage and multi-organ failure. Studies in murine models have provided insights into the mechanisms underlying hyperinflammation in fHLH.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Madhura N. Paranjpe, Valeria Marina, Aleksandr A. Grachev, Tinashe P. Maviza, Olga A. Tolicheva, Alena Paleskava, Ilya A. Osterman, Petr Sergiev, Andrey L. Konevega, Yury S. Polikanov, Matthieu G. Gagnon
Summary: Thermorubin (THR) is an antibiotic that can inhibit translation initiation and disrupt tRNA accommodation in the ribosomal A site, causing ribosome stalling at internal and termination codons. Our findings reveal that THR affects multiple steps of translation elongation and can coexist with P- and A-site tRNAs, allowing ribosomes to continue elongation in the presence of the drug.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Declan A. Gray, Joshua B. R. White, Abraham O. Oluwole, Parthasarathi Rath, Amy J. Glenwright, Adam Mazur, Michael Zahn, Arnaud Basle, Carl Morland, Sasha L. Evans, Alan Cartmell, Carol Robinson, Sebastian Hiller, Neil A. Ranson, David N. Bolam, Bert van den Berg
Summary: This study characterized the role of the SusCD protein complex in glycan uptake in Bacteroidetes, shedding light on its function. The findings revealed key structural features and provided insights into substrate transport mechanisms.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Juliana A. Martinez Fiesco, David E. Durrant, Deborah K. Morrison, Ping Zhang
Summary: In this study, cryo-electron microscopy structures were used to investigate the mechanism of RAS-mediated monomer-to-dimer transition of full-length BRAF.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhiheng Deng, Huasong Ai, Maoshen Sun, Zebin Tong, Yunxiang Du, Qian Qu, Liying Zhang, Ziyu Xu, Shixian Tao, Qiang Shi, Jia-Bin Li, Man Pan, Lei Liu
Summary: This study elucidates the mechanism of H2B monoubiquitylation and highlights the critical role of nucleosomal DNA in mediating E3 ligase recognition.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ying Hua Su, Li Ping Tang, Xiang Yu Zhao, Xian Sheng Zhang
Summary: Plant cells have a strong capacity for reproduction, as a single plant cell can give rise to a whole plant via somatic embryogenesis without fertilization. Reprogramming somatic cells into totipotent cells is a critical step in somatic embryogenesis, inducible by stimuli such as plant hormones, transcriptional regulators and stress. Key molecular regulators and associated networks that control cell fate transition from somatic to totipotent cells are highlighted, with several outstanding questions proposed for further understanding of plant cell totipotency mechanisms.
JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Man Pan, Qingyun Zheng, Tian Wang, Lujun Liang, Junxiong Mao, Chong Zuo, Ruichao Ding, Huasong Ai, Yuan Xie, Dong Si, Yuanyuan Yu, Lei Liu, Minglei Zhao
Summary: This study reveals the mechanism of the N-degron pathway mediated by Ubr1, including key structural elements involved in the initiation and elongation steps of ubiquitination.
