Review
Plant Sciences
Felipe F. de Felippes, Peter M. Waterhouse
Summary: To be properly expressed, genes require a terminator, a region downstream of the coding sequence that contains information for mRNA maturation. The addition of a poly(A) tail at the 3' end of the new transcript is a critical step in mRNA biology that affects gene expression levels. Different terminators can also impact gene expression and the production of regulatory small RNAs in plants, which are important for gene regulation.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Review
Immunology
Takeshi Nitta, Hiroshi Takayanagi
Summary: The stromal microenvironment in the thymus is crucial for generating a functional T cell repertoire, with thymic epithelial cells (TECs) being the most prominent type. Besides TECs, other stromal cell types of mesenchymal origin also play important roles in controlling TEC development. The recently discovered functional effect of thymic fibroblasts on T cell repertoire selection is highlighted as a significant advancement in our understanding of thymic organogenesis and T cell development.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Kim Bush, Carlea Patrick, Kimberly Elliott, Michael Morris, Yordanos Tiruneh, Paul McGaha
Summary: Rural communities face poor health outcomes due to the lack of resources and poor health literacy skills. Community Health Workers (CHWs) play a significant role in improving hypertension management and bridging gaps between service providers and community members. The CHW-led intervention in the Self-Management Blood Pressure program resulted in improved overall health and quality of life for participants.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Brittany Hunt, Jae Hoon Lim, John L. Williams
Summary: This study examines the impact of race on the higher education transition experiences of three groups of male student veterans. The findings indicate that student veterans of color face cultural alienation and racism on college campuses and employ various cultural capitals and resilient strategies to cope.
JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Mohd Fadhli Hamdan, Siti Nurfadhlina Mohd Noor, Nazrin Abd-Aziz, Teen-Lee Pua, Boon Chin Tan
Summary: The evolution of technological applications in agriculture, including genetic engineering and genome editing techniques, is crucial for increasing crop yields and quality, addressing climate change and rising food demand. However, the development and application of these modern technologies also face challenges in regulation and standardization.
Article
Agronomy
Martin Calero-Lara, Rafael Lopez-Luque, Francisco Jose Casares
Summary: This study developed an algorithm for managing photovoltaic solar energy to deliver all generated power to a pump and irrigation system, resulting in efficient energy utilization and reduced CO2 emissions.
Article
Biology
Alexander S. Hauser, Charlotte Avet, Claire Normand, Arturo Mancini, Asuka Inoue, Michel Bouvier, David E. Gloriam
Summary: Two-thirds of human hormones and one-third of clinical drugs act on membrane receptors coupled to G proteins, but there are differences in the reported G protein couplings among recent large-scale datasets. This study presents a common coupling map that uncovers novel couplings, GPCR-G protein selectivity, and the comparison of co-coupling and co-expression of G proteins with phylogenetic relationships. These findings will advance receptor research and cellular signaling, and contribute to the development of safer drugs.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Parismita Kalita, Timir Tripathi
Summary: This review examines contemporary methods for identifying and optimizing epitopes, engineering their immunogenic properties, and developing safe and efficient delivery into the host.
DRUG DISCOVERY TODAY
(2022)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sarah Naomi Bolz, Michael Schroeder
Summary: Promiscuity refers to the ability of ligands and targets to interact specifically with multiple binding partners. Despite its negative aspects, promiscuity has gained increasing attention in drug discovery for its potential to enhance drug efficacy and enable drug repositioning. The recent breakthrough in protein structure prediction has opened up novel possibilities to uncover unknown connections in ligand-target interaction networks.
EXPERT OPINION ON DRUG DISCOVERY
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Noor Azzizah Omar, Jaya Kumar, Seong Lin Teoh
Summary: This review examines the roles of neurotrophin-3 (NT3) and neurotrophin-4 (NT4) in the pathogenesis of brain disorders and their potential therapeutic applications. The study found that NT3 and NT4 are involved in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases and have promising therapeutic potential in various nervous system diseases and disorders.
Article
Biology
Orou G. Gaoue, Jacob K. Moutouama, Michael A. Coe, Matthew O. Bond, Elizabeth Green, Nadejda B. Sero, Bezeng S. Bezeng, Kowiyou Yessoufou
Summary: Ethnobiology has evolved towards theory-inspired and hypothesis-driven approaches to study local ecological knowledge, emphasizing the importance of spatially explicit distribution of knowledge and the use of advanced statistical modelling methods. Promoting workshops and courses focused on these advanced methods is critical for the progress of ethnobiology and its interaction with other disciplines.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Review
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Muhammad Jawad Akbar Awan, Komal Pervaiz, Awais Rasheed, Imran Amin, Nasir A. Saeed, Kanwarpal S. Dhugga, Shahid Mansoor
Summary: Common wheat, with its complex genome, poses challenges for crop improvement. However, advancements in genomics technologies, such as the CRISPR-Cas9 system, along with tissue culturing and speed breeding, offer promising opportunities to enhance wheat yield and disease resistance.
BIOTECHNOLOGY ADVANCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shane C. Wright, Michel Bouvier
Summary: GPCRs continue to be a focus in drug discovery efforts due to their widespread expression and broad role in signal transduction. Despite over 800 GPCRs sharing a common architecture, unique differences govern ligand specificity and pathway selectivity. Recent biosensor development has reinforced the idea that biased signaling may become mainstream in drug discovery programs.
CURRENT OPINION IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Oanh Vu, Brian Joseph Bender, Lisa Pankewitz, Daniel Huster, Annette G. Beck-Sickinger, Jens Meiler
Summary: G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest membrane protein family and a significant target class for therapeutics. The class A receptors of GPCRs affect various aspects of human physiology. Many peptides that bind to these receptors undergo interaction and conformational changes.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lorenzo Di Rienzo, Mattia Miotto, Edoardo Milanetti, Giancarlo Ruocco
Summary: Organisms have developed effective mechanisms to sense the external environment, and human-designed biosensors exploit this natural optimization. In the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the pheromone pathway can be engineered to recognize user-defined ligands. A computational procedure based on protein binding pocket optimization is proposed to select amino acid substitutions for the native yeast GPCR to recognize specific ligands.
COMPUTATIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL
(2023)
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shirsha Saha, Arun K. Shukla
Editorial Material
Immunology
Trent M. Woodruff, Arun K. Shukla
TRENDS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hemlata Dwivedi-Agnihotri, Madhu Chaturvedi, Mithu Baidya, Tomasz Maciej Stepniewski, Shubhi Pandey, Jagannath Maharana, Ashish Srivastava, Natarin Caengprasath, Aylin C. Hanyaloglu, Jana Selent, Arun K. Shukla
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Arun K. Shukla
Summary: This Special Issue of The FEBS Journal presents a series of review articles focusing on recent developments in the field of GPCR biology, with particular emphasis on novel paradigms of their activation, signaling, and regulation. These articles cover a wide range of cellular, physiological, and structural aspects related to GPCRs and their interactions with signal transducers, allosteric modulation, and emerging technologies for studying receptor signaling and regulation.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jagannath Maharana, Arun K. Shukla
Summary: A recent study has revealed the structure of neurotensin receptor 1 (NTSR1) in complex with heterotrimeric G(i) protein, assembled in a lipid environment using circularized nanodiscs. The structure provides insights into how the lipid environment can affect receptor-G protein coupling and activation.
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Tao Che, Hemlata Dwivedi-Agnihotri, Arun K. Shukla, Bryan L. Roth
Summary: The opioid crisis has led to a search for safer and more effective opioids. The discovery of biased opioid ligands offers a potential alternative, but questions remain about their therapeutic benefits. More research is needed in this important area to understand the implications of biased agonism.
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Haitao Zhang, Aleksandra Luginina, Alexey Mishin, Mithu Baidya, Arun K. Shukla, Vadim Cherezov
Summary: This review discusses the roles of G protein-coupled angiotensin II receptors AT1R and AT2R in regulating blood pressure and fluid balance, as well as their potential value in treating neuropathic pain and lung fibrosis. It also highlights key aspects of ATR that require further study to fully understand their mechanisms that fine-tune cellular and physiological functions.
TRENDS IN PHARMACOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Peter Kolb, Terry Kenakin, Stephen P. H. Alexander, Marcel Bermudez, Laura M. Bohn, Christian S. Breinholt, Michel Bouvier, Stephen J. Hill, Evi Kostenis, Kirill A. Martemyanov, Rick R. Neubig, H. Ongun Onaran, Sudarshan Rajagopal, Bryan L. Roth, Jana Selent, Arun K. Shukla, Martha E. Sommer, David E. Gloriam
Summary: GPCRs regulate various physiological processes and their effects depend on the pairing of a receptor and a ligand. Ligands that induce biased signalling can lead to better drug effects and fewer side effects. However, ligand bias is complex, making it necessary to develop guidelines for designing and reporting biased signalling experiments.
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shubhi Pandey, Punita Kumari, Mithu Baidya, Ryoji Kise, Yubo Cao, Hemlata Dwivedi-Agnihotri, Ramanuj Banerjee, Xaria X. Li, Cedric S. Cui, John D. Lee, Kouki Kawakami, Jagannath Maharana, Ashutosh Ranjan, Madhu Chaturvedi, Gagan Deep Jhingan, Stephane A. Laporte, Trent M. Woodruff, Asuka Inoue, Arun K. Shukla
Summary: The study uncovers that non-canonical 7TMRs, D6R and C5aR2, efficiently couple to parrs with distinct engagement of GRKs and activation of non-canonical downstream signaling pathways.
News Item
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jagannath Maharana, Parishmita Sarma, Arun K. Shukla
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yutaro Shiraishi, Yutaka Kofuku, Takumi Ueda, Shubhi Pandey, Hemlata Dwivedi-Agnihotri, Arun K. Shukla, Ichio Shimada
Summary: The study investigates the interactions between beta-arrestin 1 and a GPCR using NMR measurements, finding that the C tail-mediated interaction alone partially activates beta-arrestin 1, while the TM core- and C tail-mediated interactions together stabilize its activated conformation.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Gary J. Stephens, Arun K. Shukla
BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Parishmita Sarma, Shirsha Saha, Arun K. Shukla
Summary: This study proposes a new mechanism that explains how activation of Gq determines the selectivity of GPCR kinase subtypes to the activated angiotensin receptor, resulting in distinct binding and functional outcomes for beta-arrestins.
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Parishmita Sarma, Arun K. Shukla
Summary: Kleist et al. utilized NMR spectroscopy and residue contact network analysis to identify a potential allosteric network in CXCR7, a chemokine receptor that exhibits bias towards beta-arrestin. This network connects the extracellular ligand-binding pocket with the intracellular transducer-coupling region through the receptor's transmembrane core.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jak Grimes, Zsombor Koszegi, Yann Lanoiselee, Tamara Miljus, Shannon L. O'Brien, Tomasz M. Stepniewski, Brian Medel-Lacruz, Mithu Baidya, Maria Makarova, Ravi Mistry, Joelle Goulding, Julia Drube, Carsten Hoffmann, Dylan M. Owen, Arun K. Shukla, Jana Selent, Stephen J. Hill, Davide Calebiro
Summary: 3-arrestin plays a key role in GPCR signaling and desensitization. This study combines single-molecule microscopy and molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the interactions between 3-arrestin, receptors, and the lipid bilayer. Surprisingly, the results show that 3-arrestin spontaneously inserts into the lipid bilayer and interacts with receptors through lateral diffusion on the plasma membrane. Furthermore, the plasma membrane stabilizes 3-arrestin after receptor interaction, allowing it to separate from the activating receptor and diffuse to clathrin-coated pits. These findings provide new insights into the mechanism of 3-arrestin function at the plasma membrane.