Article
Cell Biology
Kana Fujibayashi, Joji Mima
Summary: Arf-family small GTPases play crucial roles in membrane trafficking and tethering processes. Arf6 can act as a membrane tether by physically linking distinct lipid bilayers, while Arf1 exhibits weaker membrane tethering capability under current experimental conditions.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alazne Arrazola Sastre, Miriam Luque Montoro, Hadriano M. Lacerda, Francisco Llavero, Jose L. Zugaza
Summary: Rab and Arf GTPases play crucial roles in the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases, making them potential therapeutic targets.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Cheng Zhang, Theresa Lauster, Wenxin Tang, Anaxi Houbaert, Shanshuo Zhu, Dominique Eeckhout, Ive De Smet, Geert De Jaeger, Thomas B. Jacobs, Tongda Xu, Sabine Mueller, Eugenia Russinova
Summary: In this study, it was found that brassinosteroid (BR) influences Arabidopsis epidermal cell morphogenesis by regulating PLECKSTRIN HOMOLOGY GTPase-ACTIVATING proteins (PHGAPs), thereby connecting the BR and ROP2-GTPase signaling pathways crucial for pavement cell interdigitation.
Review
Cell Biology
Zehui Lei, Jing Wang, Lingqiang Zhang, Cui Hua Liu
Summary: Membrane trafficking relies on the regulation of small GTPases, which can be modulated through post-translational modifications such as ubiquitination. Dysregulation of small GTPase ubiquitination may lead to various human diseases, highlighting the importance of understanding the molecular mechanisms involved.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Elena Fico, Pamela Rosso, Viviana Triaca, Marco Segatto, Alessandro Lambiase, Paola Tirassa
Summary: This study found that administration of eye drops containing NGF can prevent histological and vascular alterations caused by diabetic retinopathy. It also regulates the expression of VEGFR2 and/or VEGFA isoforms to counteract vascular impairment. NGF can also reduce inflammatory and pro-apoptotic signals. These findings suggest the importance of NGF in neuroretinal protection.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Julia Harms, Simona Mareike Luettgenau, Christin Emming, Justine Guske, Katrin Weber, Thomas Wagner, Larissa Schowe, Pavel Nedvetsky, Michael P. P. Krahn
Summary: The downregulation of tight junction adapter protein Pals1 in colorectal cancer cells leads to increased cell migration, invasion, and metastasis. The researchers found a redundancy between Arf6-GAP SMAP1 and Pals1 in regulating the activation of Arf6/Rac1 and controlling cell migration. Furthermore, the downregulation of both SMAP1 and Pals1 results in enhanced cell migration and invasion.
CANCER GENE THERAPY
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Wencan Li, Qichang Xing, Zheng Liu, Renzhu Liu, Yixiang Hu, Qingzi Yan, Xiang Liu, Jiani Zhang
Summary: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication of diabetes that affects the eyes and can cause vision loss in working adults. The current clinical treatments for DR are limited and associated with many complications, highlighting the urgent need for new drugs. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in China to treat DR due to its ability to effectively address the complex pathogenesis of the disease. In this study, the researchers focused on the molecular mechanisms and potential of TCM in targeting key signaling pathways involved in inflammation, angiogenesis, and oxidative stress in DR. The results identified several signaling pathways that could be targeted by specific TCMs, offering insights for the development of new drugs against DR in the future.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Liying Luo, Yuying Cai, Yanyun Jiang, Yingying Gong, Chunyang Cai, Dongwei Lai, Xiao Jin, Zhiqiang Guan, Qinghua Qiu
Summary: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is the leading cause of end-stage eye disease. Pipecolic acid, as a metabolite, may impede the progression of DR by inhibiting the YAP-GPX4 signaling pathway.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2023)
Article
Ophthalmology
Keling Wu, Kesi Zhou, Minglei Zhao, Lijun Xiang, Tingfang Mei, Wenchang Xu, Bizhi Shang, Xinqi Liu, Yuhua Lai, Mingkai Lin, Jingyi Luo, Ling Zhao
Summary: The study revealed the significant role of TCF7L2 in DR, showing its ability to trigger ATF6-related ER stress signaling and promote vein endothelial cell permeability. Manipulation of TCF7L2 expression could impact the permeability of HUVECs, providing important insights into the pathogenesis and potential therapies of DR.
EXPERIMENTAL EYE RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Ming Wang, Kang-Jia Sheng, Jia-Cheng Fang, Hui Zhao, Si-Min Lu, Zi-Yi Liu, Bi-Tao Chen
Summary: This review primarily revisits the role of redox signaling and its mediators in diabetic retinopathy, and evaluates the potential of using natural products to regulate these signaling pathways.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Yanqiu Liu, Zifan Xu, Haohan Zheng, Jiahui Yang, Meili Wu, Qian Yang, Yan Wang, Tianyi Zong, Xusheng Yang, Tianhua Xie, Jiping Cai, Yong Yao, Xiaolu Wang
Summary: Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a common complication of diabetes mellitus and a major cause of visual impairment and blindness in industrialized countries. The miRNA miR-423-5p has been identified as a critical factor in promoting microvascular dysfunction in DR.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Weiwei Zheng, Cheng Qian, Fangming Xu, Peng Cheng, Chunmei Yang, Xiaoman Li, Yin Lu, Aiyun Wang
Summary: The study revealed that Fuxin Granules have therapeutic effects on diabetic nephropathy by improving kidney structure and function through regulating the TGF-β1/Smad and VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling pathways.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Ariane Schleinitz, Lara-Alina Poettgen, Tal Keren-Kaplan, Jing Pu, Paul Saftig, Juan S. Bonifacino, Albert Haas, Andreas Jeschke
Summary: This study biochemically characterized endosomes purified from untreated or experimentally manipulated cells to establish the functional interdependence of HOPS and interacting proteins. The results showed that Rab2a and Rab7 are present in late endosomes, while Arl8 and BORC are present in lysosomes, and HOPS drives LE-LYS fusion by bridging late endosomal Rab2a with lysosomal BORC-anchored Arl8. Additionally, Rab7 promotes fusion by moving LEs towards LYSs via dynein.
Article
Cell Biology
Meng-Yuan Zhang, Lingpeng Zhu, Xinhua Zheng, Tian-Hua Xie, Wenjuan Wang, Jian Zou, Yan Li, Hong-Ying Li, Jiping Cai, Shun Gu, Yong Yao, Ting-Ting Wei
Summary: This study found that TGR5 regulates the PKC delta/Drp1-HK2 signaling pathway, inhibits mitochondrial fission, and enhances mitophagy, thereby alleviating high glucose-induced endothelial cell apoptosis. Activation of TGR5 might be a potential therapeutic strategy for diabetic retinopathy.
FRONTIERS IN CELL AND DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qingchun Lu, Po-Shun Wang, Ling Yang
Summary: This review focuses on highlighting Golgi-associated Rab GTPases as master regulators of autophagic flux, discussing the future research prospects in elucidating their role and mechanism in autophagy and autophagy-related diseases.
CELL AND BIOSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Oncology
Tasha Wilkie, Ajeet K. Verma, Helong Zhao, Manish Charan, Dinesh K. Ahirwar, Sashi Kant, Vijay Pancholi, Sanjay Mishra, Ramesh K. Ganju
Summary: Recent studies suggest that human breast tissue may contain a bacterial microbiota, with a unique microbiota mainly enriched with Gram-negative bacteria in breast tumors. A signaling axis involving LPS/S100A7/TLR4/RAGE in breast cancer cells may exacerbate breast tumor burden.
MOLECULAR ONCOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Integrative & Complementary Medicine
Pei Zhang, Nan Wu, Zhi-Jun Song, Zheng-Fu Tai
Summary: Paeoniflorin enhances the sensitivity of ER-positive breast cancer cells to tamoxifen by suppressing STAT3 activation through promoting SIRT4 expression.
EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Biology
Jake A. Bergquist, Jaume Coll-Font, Brian Zenger, Lindsay C. Rupp, Wilson W. Good, Dana H. Brooks, Rob S. MacLeod
Summary: Electrocardiographic imaging is a noninvasive technique to assess the bioelectric activity of the heart. This study presents a novel method for reconstructing cardiac geometry using noninvasively acquired body surface potential measurements. The geometric correction method reduces geometric error and improves the accuracy of ECGI.
COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Steffen Schuler, Matthias Schaufelberger, Laura R. Bear, Jake A. Bergquist, Matthijs J. M. Cluitmans, Jaume Coll-Font, Onder N. Onak, Brian Zenger, Axel Loewe, Rob S. MacLeod, Dana H. Brooks, Olaf Dossel
Summary: This study investigated cardiac activation maps using electrocardiographic imaging and found methods to reduce line-of-block (LoB) artifacts while preserving real LoBs. The results showed that using spatiotemporal derivatives performed better than using temporal derivatives for estimating activation times. Correlation-based methods were less prone to LoB artifacts but performed worse in identifying real LoBs compared to deflection-based methods. Temporal smoothing could eliminate artifacts for transmembrane voltages but not for extracellular potentials. The study highlights the importance of addressing LoB artifacts in non-invasive activation time estimation.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2022)
Review
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Samuel Bloom, Md Torikul Islam, Lisa A. Lesniewski, Anthony J. Donato
Summary: This review discusses the consequences of endothelial cell exposure to damaging stimuli and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that induce endothelial cell senescence. It also explores how endothelial cell senescence contributes to arterial dysfunction and clinical cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders.
NATURE REVIEWS CARDIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Jialiang Yang, Yuhong Chen, Tongdan Zou, Bai Xue, Fang Yang, Xiangzhou Wang, Yibo Huo, Boyun Yan, Yuxia Xu, Shiyu He, Yi Yin, Jing Wang, Xiong Zhu, Lin Zhang, Yu Zhou, Zhengfu Tai, Ping Shuai, Man Yu, Qian Luo, Yilian Cheng, Bo Gong, Xianjun Zhu, Jing Zhang, Xinghuai Sun, Ying Lin, Houbin Zhang, Zhenglin Yang
Summary: This study reveals that lower ABCA1 expression and lower HDL are risk factors for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). Ablation of Abca1 in mice leads to elevated cholesterol levels in the retina, causing a POAG-like phenotype. Treatment with atorvastatin reduces cholesterol levels in the retina, improving metabolism and protecting retinal ganglion cells.
SCIENCE CHINA-LIFE SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Akil Narayan, Zexin Liu, Jake A. Bergquist, Chantel Charlebois, Sumientra Rampersad, Lindsay Rupp, Dana Brooks, Dan White, Jess Tate, Rob S. MacLeod
Summary: A software tool called 'UncertainSCI' was developed to quantify uncertainty due to parametric variability in biomedical simulations. It utilizes advanced parameter sampling techniques to build polynomial chaos emulators for predicting model outputs. UncertainSCI enables estimation of variability, statistics, and sensitivities associated with multiple parameters in different models, such as bioelectric potentials in the heart and electric stimulation in the brain.
COMPUTERS IN BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
Xiajun Jiang, Maryam Toloubidokhti, Jake Bergquist, Brian Zenger, Wilson W. Good, Rob S. MacLeod, Linwei Wang
Summary: This paper presents a new approach to efficiently learn from a relatively small dataset in electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) by exploiting the geometry and physics. The proposed non-Euclidean encoding-decoding network and bipartite graph model effectively reconstruct electrical activity on the heart surface from body-surface potentials.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MEDICAL IMAGING
(2023)
Article
Cell Biology
Samuel I. Bloom, Yu Liu, Jordan R. Tucker, Md Torikul Islam, Daniel R. Machin, Hossein Abdeahad, Tyler G. Thomas, R. Colton Bramwell, Lisa A. Lesniewski, Anthony J. Donato
Summary: In advanced age, oxidative stress and inflammation increase and impair endothelial function, leading to cardiovascular disease (CVD). Senescent endothelial cells are a possible source of this oxidative stress and inflammation. In this study, reducing the telomere shelterin protein Trf2 in young mice resulted in endothelial cell telomere dysfunction, cellular senescence, increased inflammatory signaling, oxidative stress, and impairments in endothelial function. These findings suggest that age-related telomere dysfunction leads to endothelial cell senescence, contributing to age-related increases in oxidative stress, inflammation, and cardiovascular dysfunction.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Venkateswara R. Gogulamudi, Md Torikul Islam, Jessica R. Durrant, Adelola O. Adeyemo, Daniel W. Trott, Mi Ho Hyuhn, Weiquan Zhu, Anthony J. Donato, Ashley E. Walker, Lisa A. Lesniewski
Summary: This study investigated the impact of ADP-ribosylation factor 6 (Arf6) on atherosclerosis using ApoE(-/-) mice. The results showed that reducing Arf6 could alleviate the severity and burden of atherosclerotic plaque. The plaque burden in the descending aorta was significantly lower in heterozygous Arf6 mice compared to wildtype mice (p<0.001) after consuming an atherogenic diet for 5 weeks. Similarly, the atheroma area, plaque grade, and other factors were significantly lower in the carotid artery of heterozygous Arf6 mice compared to wildtype mice (all p≤0.04).
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Daniel R. Machin, Daniel W. Trott, Venkateswara R. Gogulamudi, Md. Torikul Islam, Samuel I. Bloom, Hans Vink, Lisa A. Lesniewski, Anthony J. Donato
Summary: Advanced age is associated with arterial dysfunction and a decrease in glycocalyx, which may be linked to reduced synthesis of high molecular weight-hyaluronan (HMW-HA). Manipulation of glycocalyx properties can alter arterial function. The study demonstrates that reducing hyaluronan synthase 2 (Has2) leads to a decrease in glycocalyx thickness and induces arterial dysfunction. However, glycocalyx-targeted therapy can enhance glycocalyx properties and improve arterial function in old mice.
Article
Oncology
Nicole A. Traphagen, Gary N. Schwartz, Steven Tau, Alyssa M. Roberts, Amanda Jiang, Sarah R. Hosford, Jonathan D. Marotti, Abigail E. Goen, Bianca A. Romo, Anneka L. Johnson, Emily-Claire K. Duffy, Eugene Demidenko, Paul Heverly, Yaron Mosesson, Shannon M. Soucy, Fred Kolling, Todd W. Miller
Summary: Treatment with estrogens can have anticancer effects in some patients with endocrine-resistant ER+ breast cancer. This study found that E2 treatment induced DNA damage and growth inhibition in these cancer cells, and that suppressing the DNA damage response enhanced the therapeutic response to E2. Combination treatment using E2 and DNA damage response inhibitors may have clinical potential in advanced ER+ breast cancer.
CLINICAL CANCER RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biophysics
Jake A. Bergquist, Brian Zenger, Lindsay C. Rupp, Anna Busatto, Jess Tate, Dana H. Brooks, Akil Narayan, Rob S. Macleod
Summary: This study provides a detailed characterization of the application of uncertainty quantification (UQ) to the inverse problem of electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI). It demonstrates how UQ can provide insights into the behavior of ECGI using variability in cardiac position as a test case. The study lays the groundwork for future development of UQ-ECGI studies and ECGI formulations that can handle input parameter variability.
PHYSIOLOGICAL MEASUREMENT
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Venkateswara R. Gogulamudi, Jessica R. Durrant, Adelola O. Adeyemo, Huynh Mi Ho, Ashley E. Walker, Lisa A. Lesniewski
Summary: Using multiple mouse models, the impact of aging on the size and severity of atherosclerotic lesions was explored. It was found that aging is associated with higher levels of total and LDL cholesterol, as well as triglycerides. Aortic plaque burden increased with duration of atherogenic diet in all age groups. The size and severity of aortic root atheromas increased with age, but there was no effect of age on carotid atheromas induced by partial carotid ligation.
Meeting Abstract
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Eric Tuday, Torikul Islam, Johntaehwan Kim, Lisa A. Lesniewski, Anthony J. Donato