The N-terminal Set-β Protein Isoform Induces Neuronal Death. Published: May, 2015 Abstract:
Set-β protein plays different roles in neurons, but the diversity of Set-β neuronal isoforms and their functions have not been characterized. The expression and subcellular localization of Set-β are altered in Alzheimer disease, cleavage of Set-β ... Read more »
Aerobic glycolysis tunes YAP/TAZ transcriptional activity. Published: May, 2015 Abstract:
Increased glucose metabolism and reprogramming toward aerobic glycolysis are a hallmark of cancer cells, meeting their metabolic needs for sustained cell proliferation. Metabolic reprogramming is usually considered as a downstream consequence of t... Read more »
Widespread Proteome Remodeling and Aggregation in Aging C. elegans. Published: May, 2015 Abstract:
Aging has been associated with a progressive decline of proteostasis, but how this process affects proteome composition remains largely unexplored. Here, we profiled more than 5,000 proteins along the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. We find t... Read more »
Genipin as a novel chemical activator of EBV lytic cycle. Published: February, 2015 Abstract:
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous gammaherpesvirus that causes acute infection and establishes life-long latency. EBV causes several human cancers, including Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal and gastric carcinoma. Antiviral agents can be ... Read more »
Retromer vesicles interact with RNA granules in haploid male germ cells. Published: December, 2014 Abstract:
Spermatozoa are produced during spermatogenesis as a result of mitotic proliferation, meiosis and cellular differentiation. Postmeiotic spermatids are exceptional cells given their haploid genome and remarkable sperm-specific structural transforma... Read more »
O-GlcNAcylation Prevents Aggregation of the Polycomb Group Repressor Polyhomeotic. Published: November, 2014 Abstract:
The glycosyltransferase Ogt adds O-linked N-Acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) moieties to nuclear and cytosolic proteins. Drosophila embryos lacking Ogt protein arrest development with a remarkably specific Polycomb phenotype, arising from the failure ... Read more »
Neuropeptide Y promotes adipogenesis in chicken adipose cells in vitro. Published: November, 2014 Abstract:
Neuropeptide Y is an evolutionarily conserved neurotransmitter that stimulates food intake in higher vertebrate species and promotes adipogenesis in mammals. The objective of this study was to determine if NPY also enhances adipogenesis in birds, ... Read more »
Serine Deprivation Enhances Anti-neoplastic Activity of Biguanides. Published: November, 2014 Abstract:
Metformin, a biguanide widely used in the treatment of type II diabetes, clearly exhibits anti-neoplastic activity in experimental models and has been reported to reduce cancer incidence in diabetics. . There are ongoing clinical trials to evaluat... Read more »
Ultrasensitive proteome analysis using paramagnetic bead technology. Published: October, 2014 Abstract:
In order to obtain a systems-level understanding of a complex biological system, detailed proteome information is essential. Despite great progress in proteomics technologies, thorough interrogation of the proteome from quantity-limited biological... Read more »
In vivo interrogation of gene function in the mammalian brain using CRISPR-Cas9. Published: October, 2014 Abstract:
Probing gene function in the mammalian brain can be greatly assisted with methods to manipulate the genome of neurons in vivo. The clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-associated endonuclease (Cas)9 from Streptococc... Read more »
PaperClip: rapid multi-part DNA assembly from existing libraries. Published: September, 2014 Abstract:
Assembly of DNA 'parts' to create larger constructs is an essential enabling technique for bioengineering and synthetic biology. Here we describe a simple method, PaperClip, which allows flexible assembly of multiple DNA parts from currently exist... Read more »
Screening and identification of small molecule inhibitors of ErbB2-induced invasion Published: July, 2014 Abstract:
ERBB2 amplification and overexpression are strongly associated with invasive cancer with high recurrence and poor prognosis. Enhanced ErbB2 signaling induces cysteine cathepsin B and L expression leading to their higher proteolytic activity (zFRas... Read more »
RPLP1, a Crucial Ribosomal Protein for Embryonic Development of the Nervous System. Published: June, 2014 Abstract:
Ribosomal proteins are pivotal to development and tissue homeostasis. RP Large P1 (Rplp1) overexpression is associated with tumorigenesis. However, the physiological function of Rplp1 in mammalian development remains unknown. In this study, we dis... Read more »
ZNF143 is regulated through alternative 3'UTR isoforms. Published: June, 2014 Abstract:
ZNF143 is a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor conserved in all vertebrates, regulating genes involved in primary metabolism and cell growth. It is therefore crucial to tightly maintain the adequate level of this factor in the cell. Altho... Read more »
Unraveling vitamin B12-responsive gene regulation in algae. Published: May, 2014 Abstract:
Photosynthetic microalgae play a vital role in primary productivity and biogeochemical cycling in both marine and freshwater systems across the globe. However, the growth of these cosmopolitan organisms depends on the bioavailability of nutrients ... Read more »
Analyzing the functions and structure of the human lipodystrophy protein seipin. Published: January, 2014 Abstract:
Disruption of the gene BSCL2, which encodes the protein seipin, causes severe generalized lipodystrophy in humans with a near complete absence of adipose tissue. Moreover, cell culture studies have demonstrated that seipin plays a critical cell-au... Read more »
Prmt7 is dispensable in tissue culture models for adipogenic differentiation Published: December, 2013 Abstract:
Protein arginine methylation is a common posttranslational modification that has been implicated in numerous biological processes including gene expression. The mammalian genome encodes nine protein arginine methyltransferases (Prmts) that catalyz... Read more »
BORIS/CTCFL is an RNA-binding protein that associates with polysomes. Published: November, 2013 Abstract:
BACKGROUND: BORIS (CTCFL), a paralogue of the multifunctional and ubiquitously expressed transcription factor CTCF, is best known for its role in transcriptional regulation. In the nucleus, BORIS is particularly enriched in the nucleolus, a crucia... Read more »
Transcriptome surveillance by selective termination of noncoding RNA synthesis. Published: November, 2013 Abstract:
Pervasive transcription of eukaryotic genomes stems to a large extent from bidirectional promoters that synthesize mRNA and divergent noncoding RNA (ncRNA). Here, we show that ncRNA transcription in the yeast S. cerevisiae is globally restricted b... Read more »
Adenovirus precursor pVII protein stability is regulated by its propeptide sequence. Published: November, 2013 Abstract:
Adenovirus encodes for the pVII protein, which interacts and modulates virus DNA structure in the infected cells. The pVII protein is synthesized as the precursor protein and undergoes proteolytic processing by viral proteinase Avp, leading to rel... Read more »
The SERRATE protein is involved in alternative splicing in Arabidopsis thaliana. Published: October, 2013 Abstract:
How alternative splicing (AS) is regulated in plants has not yet been elucidated. Previously, we have shown that the nuclear cap-binding protein complex (AtCBC) is involved in AS in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here we show that both subunits of AtCBC (A... Read more »
Sequestration by IFIT1 impairs translation of 2'O-unmethylated capped RNA. Published: October, 2013 Abstract:
Viruses that generate capped RNA lacking 2'O methylation on the first ribose are severely affected by the antiviral activity of Type I interferons. We used proteome-wide affinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry to identify human and mous... Read more »
A new strategy for gene targeting and functional proteomics using the DT40 cell line. Published: September, 2013 Abstract:
DT40 cells derived from chicken B lymphocytes exhibit exceptionally high homologous recombination rates. Therefore, they can be used as a convenient tool and model for gene targeting experiments. However, lack of efficient cloning strategies, prot... Read more »
The 26S proteasome drives trinucleotide repeat expansions. Published: July, 2013 Abstract:
Trinucleotide repeat (TNR) expansion is the causative mutation for at least 17 inherited neurological diseases. An important question in the field is which proteins drive the expansion process. This study reports that the multi-functional protein ... Read more »
Epigenetic regulation of microRNA expression in renal cell carcinoma. Published: June, 2013 Abstract:
The underlying mechanisms of microRNA deregulation in cancer cells include epigenetic modifications, which play a crucial role in carcinogenesis. We demonstrate that numerous microRNAs are induced in renal cell carcinoma cell lines after treatment... Read more »
Choroid-plexus-derived Otx2 homeoprotein constrains adult cortical plasticity. Published: June, 2013 Abstract:
Brain plasticity is often restricted to critical periods in early life. Here, we show that a key regulator of this process in the visual cortex, Otx2 homeoprotein, is synthesized and secreted globally from the choroid plexus. Consequently, Otx2 is... Read more »
Use of red autofluorescence for monitoring prodiginine biosynthesis. Published: May, 2013 Abstract:
Prodigiosin-like pigments or prodiginines (PdGs) are promising drugs owing to their reported antitumor, antibiotic, and immunosuppressive activities. These natural compounds are produced by several bacteria, including Streptomyces coelicolor and S... Read more »
Multiple mechanisms of action of pyridoxine in primary hyperoxaluria type 1. Published: April, 2013 Abstract:
Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is a rare hereditary calcium oxalate kidney stone disease caused by a deficiency of the liver-specific pyridoxal-phosphate-dependent peroxisomal enzyme alanine:glyoxylate aminotransferase (AGT). About one third o... Read more »
CPEB1 coordinates alternative 3'-UTR formation with translational regulation. Published: March, 2013 Abstract:
More than half of mammalian genes generate multiple messenger RNA isoforms that differ in their 3' untranslated regions (3' UTRs) and therefore in regulatory sequences, often associated with cell proliferation and cancer; however, the mechanisms c... Read more »
Endogenous purification reveals GREB1 as a key estrogen receptor regulatory factor. Published: February, 2013 Abstract:
Estrogen receptor-α (ER) is the driving transcription factor in most breast cancers, and its associated proteins can influence drug response, but direct methods for identifying interacting proteins have been limited. We purified endogenous ER usin... Read more »
Mechanism of competence activation by the ComRS signaling system in streptococci. Published: January, 2013 Abstract:
In many streptococci, competence for natural DNA transformation is regulated by the Rgg-type regulator ComR and the pheromone ComS, which is sensed intracellularly. We compared the ComRS systems of four model streptococcal species using in vitro a... Read more »
Control of somatic tissue differentiation by the long non-coding RNA TINCR. Published: December, 2012 Abstract:
Several of the thousands of human long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been functionally characterized; however, potential roles for lncRNAs in somatic tissue differentiation remain poorly understood. Here we show that a 3.7-kilobase lncRNA, termin... Read more »
Dual Role of Dextran Sulfate 5000 Da as Anti-Apoptotic and Pro-Autophagy Agent. Published: November, 2012 Abstract:
Dextran sulfate 5,000 Da (DS), a sulfated polysaccharide, has been used in recombinant mammalian cell cultures to prevent cell aggregation, thereby increasing cell viability. Previous studies using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) suspension cultures h... Read more »
BTB-ZF factors recruit the E3 ligase cullin 3 to regulate lymphoid effector programs. Published: November, 2012 Abstract:
The differentiation of several T- and B-cell effector programs in the immune system is directed by signature transcription factors that induce rapid epigenetic remodelling. Here we report that promyelocytic leukaemia zinc finger (PLZF), the BTB-zi... Read more »
Systematic identification of functional residues in mammalian histone H2AX. Published: October, 2012 Abstract:
The histone variant H2AX is a principal component of chromatin involved in the detection, signaling and repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). H2AX is thought to operate primarily through its C-terminal S139 phosphorylation, which mediates the... Read more »
PML promotes MHC class II gene expression by stabilizing the class II transactivator. Published: September, 2012 Abstract:
Promyelocytic leukemia (PML) nuclear bodies selectively associate with transcriptionally active genomic regions, including the gene-rich major histocompatibility (MHC) locus. In this paper, we have explored potential links between PML and interfer... Read more »
Role of SUMOylation in full antiestrogenicity. Published: July, 2012 Abstract:
The selective estrogen receptor downregulator (SERD) fulvestrant can be used as second line treatment in patients relapsing after treatment with tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM). Unlike tamoxifen, SERDs are devoid of parti... Read more »
Up-regulation of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase as a stress response. Published: July, 2012 Abstract:
2-Oxoglutarate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex (OGDHC) operates at a metabolic cross-road, mediating Ca(2+)- and ADP-dependent signals in mitochondria. Here, we test our hypothesis that OGDHC plays a major role in the neurotransmitter metabolism... Read more »
The linker histone plays a dual role during gametogenesis in S. cerevisiae. Published: May, 2012 Abstract:
The differentiation of gametes involves dramatic changes to chromatin, affecting transcription, meiosis, and cell morphology. Sporulation in S. cerevisiae shares many chromatin features with spermatogenesis, including a ten-fold compaction of the ... Read more »
Proteome analysis of Acetobacter pasteurianus during acetic acid fermentation. Published: March, 2012 Abstract:
Acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are Gram-negative, strictly aerobic microorganisms that show a unique resistance to ethanol (EtOH) and acetic acid (AcH). Members of the Acetobacter and Gluconacetobacter genera are capable of transforming EtOH into AcH ... Read more »
Notch1 binds and induces degradation of Snail in hepatocellular carcinoma. Published: November, 2011 Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common, highly invasive malignant tumor associated with a high mortality rate. We previously reported that the aberrant expression of Snail via activation of reactive oxygen species contributes to th... Read more »
Recombineering BAC transgenes for protein tagging. Published: February, 2011 Abstract:
Protein tagging offers many advantages for proteomic and regulomic research, particularly due to the use of generic and highly sensitive methods that can be applied with reasonable throughput. Ideally, protein tagging is equivalent to having a hig... Read more »
Transcription factor IIS impacts UV-inhibited transcription. Published: November, 2010 Abstract:
Inhibition of transcription elongation can cause severe developmental and neurological abnormalities notably manifested by the rare recessive progeroid disorder Cockayne syndrome (CS). DNA alterations can cause permanent blocks to an elongating RN... Read more »
Iron regulatory proteins secure mitochondrial iron sufficiency and function. Published: August, 2010 Abstract:
Mitochondria supply cells with ATP, heme, and iron sulfur clusters (ISC), and mitochondrial energy metabolism involves both heme- and ISC-dependent enzymes. Here, we show that mitochondrial iron supply and function require iron regulatory proteins... Read more »
Novel snail1 target proteins in human colon cancer identified by proteomic analysis. Published: January, 2010 Abstract:
BACKGROUND: The transcription factor Snail1 induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process responsible for the acquisition of invasiveness during tumorigenesis. Several transcriptomic studies have reported Snail1-regulated genes in ... Read more »
Simultaneous quantitative analysis of N-acylethanolamides in clinical samples. Published: December, 2009 Abstract:
A simple and rapid analytical method is described for the simultaneous quantitative analysis of three different N-acylethanolamides in human biological samples: anandamide (AEA), oleoylethanolamide (OEA), and palmitoylethanolamide (PEA). The metho... Read more »
INTS3 controls the hSSB1-mediated DNA damage response. Published: October, 2009 Abstract:
Human SSB1 (single-stranded binding protein 1 [hSSB1]) was recently identified as a part of the ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) signaling pathway. To investigate hSSB1 function, we performed tandem affinity purifications of hSSB1 mutants mimic... Read more »
Functional connection between deimination and deacetylation of histones. Published: September, 2009 Abstract:
Histone methylation plays key roles in regulating chromatin structure and function. The recent identification of enzymes that antagonize or remove histone methylation offers new opportunities to appreciate histone methylation plasticity in the reg... Read more »
Phosphorylation of histone H3 Thr-45 is linked to apoptosis. Published: June, 2009 Abstract:
Numerous post-translational modifications have been identified in histones. Most of these occur within the histone tails, but a few have been identified within the histone core sequences. Histone core post-translational modifications have the pote... Read more »
Rapid antibody selection by mRNA display on a microfluidic chip. Published: May, 2009 Abstract:
In vitro antibody-display technologies are powerful approaches for isolating monoclonal antibodies from recombinant antibody libraries. However, these display techniques require several rounds of affinity selection which is time-consuming. Here, w... Read more »
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes injure the plasma membrane of macrophages. Published: October, 2008 Abstract:
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are emerging nanotechnology materials which are likely to be mass-produced in the near future. However, prior to mass-production, certain health-related concerns should first be addressed. For example, when inhaled, the thi... Read more »
Step-by-step preparation of proteins for mass spectrometric analysis. Abstract:
Nowadays, identification of proteins from biological samples by mass spectrometry is widely used. In principle there are two scenarios. Proteins are pre-fractionated in some way, e.g. by gel electrophoresis or are analyzed as complex mixture (shot... Read more »
Isolation of integrin-based adhesion complexes. Abstract:
The integration of cells with their extracellular environment is facilitated by cell surface adhesion receptors, such as integrins, which play important roles in both normal development and the onset of pathologies. Engagement of integrins with th... Read more »
FoxK2 is required for cellular proliferation and survival Abstract:
FoxK2 is a forkhead transcription factor expressed ubiquitously in the developing murine central nervous system. Here we investigated the role of FoxK2 in vitro and focused on proliferation and cellular survival. Knockdown of FoxK2 results in a de... Read more »
A method for measuring fatty acid oxidation in C. elegans Abstract:
The nematode C. elegans has during the past decade proven to be a valuable model organism to identify and examine molecular mechanisms regulating lipid storage and metabolism. While the primary approach has been to identify genes and pathways conf... Read more »