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FASEB J 2021 Apr;35(4):e21337

Graduate Institute of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

ADP-ribosylation factors (Arfs) and Arf-like (Arl) GTPases are key regulators of intracellular vesicle trafficking and Golgi structure. Both Arf and Arl proteins cycle between active GTP-bound and inactive GDP-bound forms, where guanine nucleotide exchange factors (GEFs) regulate the exchange of GDP for GTP, whereas GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs) promote the hydrolysis of bound GTP. Human Arl1 is located at the trans-Golgi network (TGN) and regulates the function and structure of the Golgi complex. Read More

Nat Cell Biol 2021 02 8;23(2):147-159. Epub 2021 Feb 8.

Institute of Biotechnology and Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Coordinated polymerization of actin filaments provides force for cell migration, morphogenesis and endocytosis. Capping protein (CP) is a central regulator of actin dynamics in all eukaryotes. It binds to actin filament (F-actin) barbed ends with high affinity and slow dissociation kinetics to prevent filament polymerization and depolymerization. Read More

Elife 2021 Jan 13;10. Epub 2021 Jan 13.

CRUK- Beatson Institute, Glasgow, United Kingdom.

The ADP-ribosylation factor-like 3 (ARL3) is a ciliopathy G-protein which regulates the ciliary trafficking of several lipid-modified proteins. ARL3 is activated by its guanine exchange factor (GEF) ARL13B via an unresolved mechanism. BART is described as an ARL3 effector which has also been implicated in ciliopathies, although the role of its ARL3 interaction is unknown. Read More

Int J Mol Sci 2020 Dec 24;22(1). Epub 2020 Dec 24.

Cellular Biophysics, Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Hannover Medical School, 30625 Hannover, Germany.

The actomyosin system generates mechanical work with the execution of the power stroke, an ATP-driven, two-step rotational swing of the myosin-neck that occurs post ATP hydrolysis during the transition from weakly to strongly actin-bound myosin states concomitant with P release and prior to ADP dissociation. The activating role of actin on product release and force generation is well documented; however, the communication paths associated with weak-to-strong transitions are poorly characterized. With the aid of mutant analyses based on kinetic investigations and simulations, we identified the W-helix as an important hub coupling the structural changes of switch elements during ATP hydrolysis to temporally controlled interactions with actin that are passed to the central transducer and converter. Read More

J Biol Chem 2020 Dec 24. Epub 2020 Dec 24.

Oncology Structural Biology, Pfizer, Inc., United States.

Poly ADP ribosyltransferases play a critical role in DNA repair and cell death, and PARP1 is a particularly important therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer due to its synthetic lethal relationship with BRCA1/2. Numerous PARP1 inhibitors have been developed, and their efficacy in cancer treatment is attributed to both the inhibition of enzymatic activity and their ability to trap PARP1 on to the damaged DNA, which is cytotoxic. Of the clinical PARP inhibitors, talazoparib is the most effective at trapping PARP1 on damaged DNA. Read More