Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
John Oloche Onuh, Hongyu Qiu
Summary: SRF, a member of the MADS box transcription factor family, is widely expressed in all cell types and regulates downstream genes by interacting with various cofactors. Recent studies on the molecular mechanisms of SRF activation have highlighted its importance in physiological and pathological conditions. This knowledge may provide new opportunities for understanding disease pathogenesis and identifying potential therapeutic targets.
Article
Cell Biology
Longbiao Yao, Bharath H. Rathnakar, Hae Ryong Kwon, Hiromi Sakashita, Jang H. Kim, Alex Rackley, James J. Tomasek, William L. Berry, Lorin E. Olson
Summary: This study investigates the role of PDGF receptor a (PDGFRa) signaling in the differentiation of fibroblasts into myofibroblasts during skin wound healing. The results show that elevated PDGFRa signaling increases fibroblast proliferation but delays the fibroblast-to-myofibroblast transition. On the other hand, deletion of PDGFRa decreases cell proliferation and myofibroblast differentiation. Additionally, the coactivators MRTFA and MRTFB are found to be crucial for myofibroblast formation.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fiona Reed, Shannon T. Larsuel, Madeline Y. Mayday, Vanessa Scanlon, Diane S. Krause
Summary: Myocardin-related transcription factor A (MRTFA) acts as a coactivator of serum response factor, playing a role in cell growth and apoptosis. It promotes differentiation in various cell types, yet its specific function in malignant hematopoiesis remains unclear.
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Xiaoyan Wu, Wenhui Dong, Tianyi Zhang, Haozhen Ren, Jinglin Wang, Longcheng Shang, Zhengyi Zhu, Wei Zhu, Xiaolei Shi, Yong Xu
Summary: The study revealed that EREG expression was significantly up-regulated during HSC activation, and deficiency of MRTF-A attenuated this up-regulation. Further analysis demonstrated that MRTF-A interacted with SRF to directly activate EREG transcription, influencing HSC activation. This data suggests an EREG-MRTF-A feedforward loop that contributes to HSC activation and could be a target for therapeutic solutions against liver fibrosis.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Guizhen Zhao, Yang Zhao, Haocheng Lu, Ziyi Chang, Hongyu Liu, Huilun Wang, Wenying Liang, Yuhao Liu, Tianqing Zhu, Oren Rom, Yanhong Guo, Lin Chang, Bo Yang, Minerva T. Garcia-Barrio, Jiandie D. Lin, Y. Eugene Chen, Jifeng Zhang
Summary: The study demonstrates that BAF60c plays a crucial role in preventing and treating abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). It maintains the contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), suppresses inflammation, and prevents apoptosis to maintain VSMC homeostasis.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Harish K. Datta, Marianne K. Kringen, Stephen P. Tuck, Georgia Salpingidou, Ole K. Olstad, Kaare M. Gautvik, Simon J. Cockell, Vigdis T. Gautvik, Michael Prediger, Jun Jie Wu, Mark A. Birch, Sjur Reppe
Summary: Mechanical loading plays a significant role in bone density and architecture. The study demonstrates that the transcriptional factor ZIC1 is strongly associated with genes characteristically associated with bone cells. The findings also suggest a link between mechanical stress and epigenetic control of gene expression, with implications for bone pathophysiology.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biology
Colin J. Dinsmore, Philippe Soriano
Summary: Serum response factor (SRF) is a crucial transcription factor that regulates various cellular processes. It controls the expression of immediate early genes and actin cytoskeleton-related genes, which are involved in cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. SRF coordinates these processes through the interaction with its cofactors, ternary complex factors (TCFs) and myocardin-related transcription factors (MRTFs). This study demonstrates the important role of MRTFs in mediating SRF function during cardiac neural crest development, providing new insights into the transcriptional regulation mechanism of SRF during development.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jiaxin Hu, Prachi Singh, Jingrui Li, Jing Zhang, Fei Li, Hehe Zhang, Jiang Xie
Summary: The imbalance between Smad3 and MRTF is associated with cellular senescence and pulmonary arterial remodeling induced by PI hypoxia, providing a potential therapeutic target for patients with sleep apnea and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ekaterina Sidorenko, Maria Sokolova, Antti P. Pennanen, Salla Kyheroinen, Guido Posern, Roland Foisner, Maria K. Vartiainen
Summary: This study reveals a novel mechanism for regulating MRTF-A activity. It shows that lamina-associated polypeptide 2 alpha (Lap2 alpha) is a direct binding partner of MRTF-A and is required for efficient expression of MRTF-A/SRF target genes.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuta Ishibashi, Shizuku Shoji, Daisuke Ihara, Yukimi Kubo, Takuro Tanaka, Hiroki Tanabe, Tomoyuki Hakamata, Tomoaki Miyata, Natsumi Satou, Hiroyuki Sakagami, Mineyuki Mizuguchi, Keietsu Kikuchi, Mamoru Fukuchi, Masaaki Tsuda, Ichiro Takasaki, Akiko Tabuchi
Summary: The MRTFB isoforms play unique roles in gene expression and dendritic complexity regulation, with different expression patterns and effects on shaping neuronal circuits.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Kaela M. Varberg, Esteban M. Dominguez, Boryana Koseva, Joseph M. Varberg, Ross P. McNally, Ayelen Moreno-Irusta, Emily R. Wesley, Khursheed Iqbal, Warren A. Cheung, Carl Schwendinger-Schreck, Craig Smail, Hiroaki Okae, Takahiro Arima, Michael Lydic, Kristin Holoch, Courtney Marsh, Michael J. Soares, Elin Grundberg
Summary: The authors identify transcription factors and regulatory mechanisms critical for the development of invasive extravillous trophoblast cells, which are essential for successful pregnancy and placentation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Physiology
Ksenija Bernau, Jonathan Paul Leet, Ellen Marie Bruhn, Austin James Tubbs, Terry Zhu, Nathan Sandbo
Summary: The study demonstrates the critical role of SRF in myofibroblast expansion in lung mesenchyme during bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis. This sets the stage for pharmacological strategies that specifically target SRF in the lung mesenchyme as a potential means of treating pulmonary fibrosis.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LUNG CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Kai Ling Liang, Juliette Roels, Marieke Lavaert, Tom Putteman, Lena Boehme, Laurentijn Tilleman, Imke Velghe, Valentina Pegoretti, Inge van de Walle, Stephanie Sontag, Jolien Vandewalle, Bart Vandekerckhove, Georges Leclercq, Pieter Van Vlierberghe, Claude Libert, Filip Van Nieuwerburgh, Roman Fischer, Roland E. Kontermann, Klaus Pfizenmaier, Gina Doody, Martin Zenke, Tom Taghon
Summary: The interaction between thymocytes and thymic stromal cells is crucial for T cell development. This study demonstrates that intrathymic development of dendritic cells (DCs) plays a role in supporting early stages of human T cell development. The transcription factor IRF8 and transmembrane TNF are involved in this process. Selective targeting of TNFR2 has the potential to enhance the generation of T cell precursors for clinical applications.
Article
Oncology
Kamen P. Simeonov, China N. Byrns, Megan L. Clark, Robert J. Norgard, Beth Martin, Ben Z. Stanger, Jay Shendure, Aaron McKenna, Christopher J. Lengner
Summary: This study introduces a new inducible CRISPR-Cas9-based lineage recorder, macsGESTALT, and reveals that the metastatic potential of cells peaks in rare, late-hybrid EMT states, which are relevant to clinical disease progression.
Review
Immunology
Kalina T. Belcheva, Jayanta Chaudhuri
Summary: The maintenance of B cell identity relies on active transcriptional control, and disruptions to this regulatory network can compromise cell function and induce cell fate plasticity. B lymphocytes serve as an insightful case study for understanding cellular plasticity and the role of master regulators in maintaining cell lineage stability.
JOURNAL OF IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Meghan E. McDonald, Chendi Li, Hejiao Bian, Barbara D. Smith, Matthew D. Layne, Stephen R. Farmer
Article
Cell Biology
Hong Wang, Libin Liu, Jean Z. Lin, Tamar R. Aprahamian, Stephen R. Farmer
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Jean Z. Lin, Stephen R. Farmer
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2016)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Jean Z. Lin, Stephen R. Farmer
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mike Jager, Mi-Jeong Lee, Chendi Li, Stephen R. Farmer, Susan K. Fried, Matthew D. Layne
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaoli Hou, Yongzhao Zhang, Wei Li, Alexander J. Hu, Chi Luo, Wenhui Zhou, Jamie K. Hu, Stefano G. Daniele, Jinfeng Wang, Jinghao Sheng, Yongsheng Fan, Andrew S. Greenberg, Stephen R. Farmer, Miaofen G. Hu
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2018)
Article
Cell Biology
Jean Z. Lin, Nabil Rabhi, Stephen R. Farmer
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chong Wee Liew, Jeremie Boucher, Jit Kong Cheong, Cecile Vernochet, Ho-Jin Koh, Cristina Mallol, Kristy Townsend, Dominique Langin, Dan Kawamori, Jiang Hu, Yu-Hua Tseng, Marc K. Hellerstein, Stephen R. Farmer, Laurie Goodyear, Alessandro Doria, Matthias Blueher, Stephen I-Hong Hsu, Rohit N. Kulkarni
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Mercia Beluzi, Sidney B. Peres, Felipe S. Henriques, Rogerio A. L. Sertie, Felipe O. Franco, Kaltinaitis B. Santos, Pamela Knobl, Sandra Andreotti, Claudio S. Shida, Rodrigo X. Neves, Stephen R. Farmer, Marilia Seelaender, Fabio B. Lima, Miguel L. Batista
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Felipe Henriques, Magno A. Lopes, Felipe O. Franco, Pamela Knobl, Kaltinaitis B. Santos, Luana L. Bueno, Victor A. Correa, Alexander H. Bedard, Adilson Guilherme, Alexander Birbrair, Sidney B. Peres, Stephen R. Farmer, Miguel L. Batista
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2018)
Editorial Material
Medicine, General & Internal
Stephen R. Farmer
NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE
(2019)
Editorial Material
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Nabil Rabhi, Stephen R. Farmer
TRENDS IN ENDOCRINOLOGY AND METABOLISM
(2019)
Editorial Material
Cell Biology
Nabil Rabhi, Stephen R. Farmer
Summary: Adipose tissue shows remarkable adaptability to environmental and dietary cues by changing its morphology and metabolic capacity. Researchers have made progress in understanding the cellular interactions and molecular mechanisms within adipose tissue, which may lead to potential therapeutic strategies for obesity-associated diseases.
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sukanta Jash, Sayani Banerjee, Mi-Jeong Lee, Stephen R. Farmer, Vishwajeet Puri
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Liujun Chen, Lisha Li, Donghong Cui, Yiheng Huang, Haibin Tong, Haleh Zabihi, Shuxia Wang, Yadan Qi, Ted Lakowski, Lin Leng, Suixin Liu, Hong Wu, Lawrence H. Young, Richard Bucala, Dake Qi
Summary: Attenuation of adipose hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) may impair lipolysis and exacerbate obesity. Cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) plays a role in regulating adipose HSL and adipocyte hypertrophy. Both intracellular and extracellular MIF have opposing effects on HSL, but extracellular action predominates to downregulate HSL and exacerbate obesity development during high-fat diet (HFD).
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2024)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Mengyang Tang, Yi Zhang, Rong Zhang, Yuemei Zhang, Jiangfei Zheng, Daixi Wang, Xinyu Wang, Jing Yan, Cheng Hu
Summary: This study aimed to explore the role of GPSM1 in POMC neurons and the underlying mechanisms in metabolic homeostasis. Through various molecular, biochemical, immunofluorescent, immunohistochemical analyses, and cell culture studies, the study revealed the pathophysiological role of GPSM1 in POMC neurons and its regulation of POMC neuron activity.
MOLECULAR METABOLISM
(2024)