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Exp Mol Pathol 2021 Apr 17:104640. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Key Laboratory for Experimental Teratology of Ministry of Education, Department of Pathology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, CheeLoo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China; Department of Pathology, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China. Electronic address:

Breast cancer (BC) has become one of the most common malignant tumors in the world, seriously endangering women's health and life. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of BC remain unclear. Over the past decade, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) were gradually discovered and appreciated to play pivotal regulatory role in the progression of BC. Read More

Acta Trop 2021 Apr 17:105922. Epub 2021 Apr 17.

Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, SAS Nagar, Mohali160062, Punjab, India. Electronic address:

Visceral Leishmaniasis is a major neglected tropical disease with increasing incidences of drug resistance. This has led to the search for a suitable drug target for chemotherapeutic intervention. Potassium channels are a family of membrane proteins which play a vital role in homeostasis and any perturbation in them alters cell survival which makes them an attractive target. Read More

J Agric Food Chem 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A & F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.

Leaf senescence is the last stage of leaf development and is determined by various environmental and endogenous signals. Leaf senescence can determine plant productivity and fitness. Transcription factors (TFs) with the transmembrane domain constitute a special group of regulatory proteins that can translocate from the membrane system into nuclei to exert the transcriptional function upon endogenous or exogenous stimuli. Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2021 ;2302:1-20

Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Membrane Protein Disease Research Group, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.

Rhomboid proteases are a ubiquitous superfamily of serine intramembrane peptidases that play a role in a wide variety of cellular processes. The mammalian mitochondrial rhomboid protease, Presenilin-Associated Rhomboid Like (PARL), is a critical regulator of mitochondrial homeostasis through the cleavage of its substrates, which have roles in mitochondrial quality control and apoptosis. However, neither structural nor functional information for this important protease is available, because the expression of eukaryotic membrane proteins to sufficient levels in an active form often represents a major bottleneck for in vitro studies. Read More

J Microbiol 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Eulji University School of Medicine, Daejeon, 34824, Republic of Korea.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a crucial role in cell-to-cell communication. EVs and viruses share several properties related to their structure and the biogenesis machinery in cells. EVs from virus-infected cells play a key role in virus spread and suppression using various loading molecules, such as viral proteins, host proteins, and microRNAs. Read More

J Exp Bot 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Biointeractions and Crop Protection, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden, United Kingdom.

Plants have developed intricate defense mechanisms, referred to as innate immunity, to defend themselves against a wide range of pathogens. Plants often respond rapidly to pathogen attack by the synthesis and delivery of various antimicrobial compounds, proteins and small RNA in membrane vesicles to the primary infection sites. Much of the evidence regarding the importance of vesicular trafficking in plant-pathogen interactions comes from the studies involving model plants whereas this process is relatively understudied in crop plants. Read More

J Cell Biochem 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College, Valhalla, New York, USA.

The American Cancer Society predicted more than 52 000 new cases of thyroid cancer in 2020, making it the most prevalent endocrine malignancy. Due to the approximately threefold higher incidence of thyroid cancer in women, we hypothesize that androgens and/or androgen receptors play a protective role and that thyroid cancer in men represents an escape from androgen-mediated cell regulation. The analysis of androgen receptor (AR) expression in patient tissue samples identified a 2. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021 Apr;118(15)

Physics Department T38, Technical University of Munich, 85748 Garching, Germany

The sequence-dependent structure and deformability of DNA play a major role for binding of proteins and regulation of gene expression. So far, most efforts to model DNA flexibility are based on unimodal harmonic stiffness models at base-pair resolution. However, multimodal behavior due to distinct conformational substates also contributes significantly to the conformational flexibility of DNA. Read More

Pharmacogenomics 2021 Apr 20. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Department of Human Genetics, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education & Research, Chennai, India.

To evaluate the variants in the genes coding for the proteins involved in thiopurine and folate metabolism with treatment related adverse effects (TRAEs). Eleven variants in seven candidate genes were genotyped in 127 pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients under 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) treatment to infer the association of selected genotypes with TRAEs. Among the genotypes inspected, (c. Read More

Neurochem Res 2021 Apr 19. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Center for Genetic Medicine, Xuzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital, Xuzhou, China.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction, and repetitive or restricted interests and behaviors. Membrane proteins are a significant part of the proteins in cell and play key functions in synaptic transmission. We have recently shown that neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression was reduced in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) of mice following postnatal valproic acid (VPA) exposure. Read More

Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021 Mar 22;23(12):7261-7270. Epub 2021 Mar 22.

Department of Chemistry, Lady Brabourne College, Kolkata - 700017, India.

Interactions between proteins and small molecules play important roles in the inhibition of protein function. However, a lack of proper knowledge about non-covalent interactions can act as a barrier towards gaining a complete understanding of the factors that control these associations. To find effective molecules for COVID-19 inhibition, we have quantitatively investigated 143 X-ray crystal structures of the SARS-CoV-2 M protein of coronavirus with covalently or non-covalently bound small molecules (SMs). Read More

Food Microbiol 2021 Sep 2;98:103799. Epub 2021 Apr 2.

Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Area, Marie Curie Building (C3), Agrifood Campus of International Excellence ceiA3, University of Cordoba, Ctra. N-IV-A, Km 396, 14014, Córdoba, Spain. Electronic address:

Vinegar is elaborated using a semi-continuous submerged culture of a complex microbiota of acetic acid bacteria. The genus Komagataeibacter provides much of the proteins of the metaproteome, being K. europaeus the main species working in this environment. Read More

Lipids Health Dis 2021 Apr 19;20(1):34. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Qatar Metabolic Institute, Department of Medicine and Academic Health System, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with obesity, diabetes, and insulin resistance. The circulating C1Q/TNF-related proteins (CTRP-2, CTRP-9) and growth differentiation factors (GDF-8, GDF-15) contribute to glucose and lipid homeostasis. The effects of intralipids and insulin infusion on CTRP-2, CTRP-9, GDF-8 and GDF-15 in PCOS and control subjects before and after chronic exercise training were examined. Read More

J Neuroinflammation 2021 Apr 19;18(1):95. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Biochemistry, Universidad Central del Caribe School of Medicine, Av. Sta. Juanita, Bayamón, 00960, Puerto Rico.

Background: Chronic brain inflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of various neurodegenerative diseases and disorders. For example, overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines has been associated with impairments in hippocampal-dependent memory. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection is a widely used model to explore the pathobiology of inflammation. Read More

Reprod Biol Endocrinol 2021 Apr 19;19(1):56. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Laboratory, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, Guangzhou Medical University, No.9, Jinsui Road, Guangzhou, 510623, Guangdong, China.

Introduction: Hypertension disorder of pregnancy (HDP) is one of the leading causes of maternal and foetal illness. The aim of the current study was to identify and verify novel serum markers for HDP.

Methods: A label-free LC-MS/MS method was used to establish the serum proteomic profiles of 12 pre-HDP (before clinical diagnosis of HDP) pregnancies and verify prioritized candidates in the verification set of 48 pre-HDP pregnancies. Read More

BMC Genomics 2021 Apr 19;22(1):283. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas/Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Apple, College of Horticulture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China.

Background: Histone lysine methylation plays an important role in plant development and stress responses by activating or repressing gene expression. Histone lysine methylation is catalyzed by a class of SET-domain group proteins (SDGs). Although an increasing number of studies have shown that SDGs play important regulatory roles in development and stress responses, the functions of SDGs in apple remain unclear. Read More

Expert Rev Proteomics 2021 Apr 19. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Clinical Medicine, Macquarie University, Macquarie Park, NSW, Australia.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Mitochondria have their own genetic material; however, most of their proteins (∼99%) are synthesized as precursors on cytosolic ribosomes, and then imported into the mitochondria. Therefore, exploring proteome changes in these organelles can yield valuable information and shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial dysfunction in AD. Read More

New Phytol 1993 Sep;125(1):1-26

Plant Science Division, AFRC Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Plas Gogerddan, Aberystwyth SY23 3EB, UK.

In this review, changes in plant gene expression in response to environmental stresses are discussed using the examples of high and low temperature treatments. While some changes may contribute to acclimatory processes which improve plant survival or performance under stress, others may be 'shock' responses indicative of sensitivity. The heat-shock response, which is almost ubiquitous among eukaryotic organisms, is characterized by repression of normal cellular protein synthesis mediated at both the transcriptional and the translational level, and induction of heat-shock protein (HSP) synthesis. Read More

New Phytol 1993 Mar;123(3):397-413

Department of Plant Biology, University of Groningen, Kerklaan 30, 9751 NN Haren, The Netherlands.

With the exception of the unicellular yeasts, fungi typically grow by means of hyphae that extend only at their apices and ramify into a mycelium. This mode of growth provides fungi with a certain mobility and the ability to invade dead and living organic substrata. They are thus the main decomposers of plant residues but they also have established intricate symbiotic relationships with plants, both mutualistic and parasitic. Read More

New Phytol 1992 Sep;122(1):21-33

Department of Applied Genetics, John Innes Institute and AFRC Institute of Plant Science Research, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK.

The pea embryo stores about half of its carbon as starch and has proved to be an excellent system on which to study the nature and regulation of the pathway of starch synthesis. The developing embryo receives its carbon as sucrose, which is metabolized via glycolysis in the cytosol of cotyledonary cells. Glucose 6-phosphate enters the amyloplast - probably via a phosphate-exchange translocator - where it is converted to ADPglucose via phosphoglucomutase and ADPglucose pyrophosphorylase. Read More

New Phytol 1988 Mar;108(3):229-257

Department of Botany, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel.

Secretory tissues occur in most vascular plants. Some of these tissues, such as hydathodes, salt glands and nectaries, secrete unmodified or only slightly modified substances supplied directly or indirectly by the vascular tissues. Other tissues secreting, for instance, polysaccharides, proteins and lipophilic material, produce these substances in their cells. Read More

New Phytol 2004 Jul;163(1):99-110

Plantebiosenteret, Department of Biology, NTNU, 7491 Trondheim, Norway.

•  Polygalacturonase-inhibiting proteins (PGIPs) have been demonstrated to play a role in host defence in several plants. •  The PGIP now cloned from strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa) showed a high degree of homology to other fruit PGIPs. The gene expression of strawberry PGIP was monitored in healthy leaves, flowers and fruit at different maturity stages. Read More

New Phytol 2002 Jun;154(3):769-777

Université Lyon 1, UMR d'Ecologie Microbienne, Bâtiment A. Lwoff, 43 boulevard du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France.

• In an attempt to determine whether fungal auxin affects host plant gene expression during mycorrhizal formation, an auxin upregulated cDNA, Pp-iaa88, was isolated by differential screening of a cDNA library made from auxin-treated Pinus pinaster roots. • Pp-iaa88 codes for a polypeptide that shares extensive homology to auxin-inducible Aux/IAA proteins, which are supposed to act as transcription factors. Cycloheximide did not inhibit auxin-induced mRNA accumulation, indicating that Pp-iaa88 upregulation is a primary (direct) auxin response. Read More

New Phytol 2001 Jul;151(1):35-66

Centre for Plant Sciences, Leeds Institute for Biotechnology and Agriculture (LIBA), School of Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK.

The complexity of Ca patterns observed in eukaryotic cells, including plants, has led to the hypothesis that specific patterns of Ca propagation, termed Ca signatures, encode information and relay it to downstream elements (effectors) for translation into appropriate cellular responses. Ca -binding proteins (sensors) play a key role in decoding Ca signatures and transducing signals by activating specific targets and pathways. Calmodulin is a Ca sensor known to modulate the activity of many mammalian proteins, whose targets in plants are now being actively characterized. Read More

New Phytol 2002 Sep;155(3):469-479

Department of Botany, Stockholm University, S-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden.

•  We have characterized the origin and distribution of arabinogalactan proteins (AGPs) at the symbiotic interface of dinitrogen (N )-fixing root nodules of Alnus spp. The interface between the host plant cell and the microsymbiont is an important zone for signaling and growth regulation during nodulation. Arabinogalactan proteins are glycoproteins that have adhesive properties, and, potentially, participate in cell wall assembly, direction of growth, and signaling cascades. Read More

Toxicon 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José 11501, Costa Rica. Electronic address:

Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease affecting millions of people every year, especially in vulnerable rural populations in the developing world. Viperid snakes cause envenomings characterized by a complex pathophysiology which includes local and systemic hemorrhage due to the action of snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs). The pathogenesis of SVMP-induced systemic hemorrhage has not been investigated in detail. Read More

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Res 2021 Apr 16:119045. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Cell Regulation, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan. Electronic address:

PGAM5 is a protein phosphatase located in the inner mitochondrial membrane through its transmembrane (TM) domain and is cleaved within the TM domain upon mitochondrial dysfunction. We found previously that cleaved PGAM5 is released from mitochondria, following proteasome-mediated rupture of the outer mitochondrial membrane during mitophagy, a selective form of autophagy specific to mitochondria. Here, we examined the role of cleaved PGAM5 outside mitochondria. Read More

J Lipid Res 2021 Apr 16:100075. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Institute of Molecular Biosciences, University of Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria. Electronic address:

Carboxylesterase 2 (CES2/Ces2) proteins exert established roles in (pro)drug metabolism. Recently, human and murine CES2/Ces2c have been discovered as triglyceride (TG) hydrolases implicated in the development of obesity and fatty liver disease. The murine Ces2 family consists of seven homologous genes as opposed to a single CES2 gene in humans. Read More

Aging (Albany NY) 2021 Apr 19;13. Epub 2021 Apr 19.

Department of Orthopedics, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.

Budding Uninhibited By Benzimidazoles are a group of genes encoding proteins that play central roles in spindle checkpoint during mitosis. Improper mitosis may lead to aneuploidy which is found in many types of tumors. As a key mediator in mitosis, the dysregulated expression of BUBs has been proven to be highly associated with various malignancies, such as leukemia, gastric cancer, breast cancer, and liver cancer. Read More

FEBS J 2021 Apr;288(8):2461-2489

Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany.

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play critical roles in the regulation of human physiology in response to a wide array of different extracellular stimuli and thus represent one of the largest groups of therapeutic drug targets. Recent advances in the structural characterization of GPCRs in different conformations and in complex with G proteins and arrestins have provided important insights into the mechanism and function of GPCRs. However, in order to truly understand the molecular basis of the functional versatility of GPCRs, the structural snapshots obtained by X-ray crystallography or cryo-EM need to be complimented with information about the conformational dynamics of receptors and their signaling complexes. Read More