scholarly journals Cas Adaptor Proteins Coordinate Sensory Axon Fasciculation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tyler A. Vahedi-Hunter ◽  
Martin M. Riccomagno
Keyword(s):  
Axon Guidance ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Somatosensory System ◽  
Adaptor Proteins ◽  
Cellular Responses ◽  
Axon Pathfinding ◽  
Sensory Projections ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Cas Proteins

AbstractDevelopment of complex neural circuits like the peripheral somatosensory system requires intricate mechanisms to ensure axons make proper connections. While much is known about ligand-receptor pairs required for dorsal root ganglion (DRG) axon guidance, very little is known about the cytoplasmic effectors that mediate cellular responses triggered by these guidance cues. Here we show that members of the Cas family of cytoplasmic signaling adaptors are highly phosphorylated in central projections of the DRG as they enter the spinal cord. Furthermore, we provide genetic evidence that Cas proteins act DRG-autonomously to promote fasciculation of sensory projections. These data establish an evolutionarily conserved requirement for Cas adaptor proteins during peripheral nervous system axon pathfinding. They also provide insight into the interplay between axonal fasciculation and adhesion to the substrate.

scholarly journals Three C. elegans Rac proteins and several alternative Rac regulators control axon guidance, cell migration and apoptotic cell phagocytosis

Development ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 128 (22) ◽  
pp. 4475-4488 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik A. Lundquist ◽  
Peter W. Reddien ◽  
Erika Hartwieg ◽  
H. Robert Horvitz ◽  
Cornelia I. Bargmann
Keyword(s):  
Cell Migration ◽  
Axon Guidance ◽  
Apoptotic Cell ◽  
Regulatory Proteins ◽  
Axon Pathfinding ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Cell Corpse ◽  
And Function ◽  
Redundant Functions ◽  
Caenorhabditis Elegans Genome

The Caenorhabditis elegans genome contains three rac-like genes, ced-10, mig-2, and rac-2. We report that ced-10, mig-2 and rac-2 act redundantly in axon pathfinding: inactivating one gene had little effect, but inactivating two or more genes perturbed both axon outgrowth and guidance. mig-2 and ced-10 also have redundant functions in some cell migrations. By contrast, ced-10 is uniquely required for cell-corpse phagocytosis, and mig-2 and rac-2 have only subtle roles in this process. Rac activators are also used differentially. The UNC-73 Trio Rac GTP exchange factor affected all Rac pathways in axon pathfinding and cell migration but did not affect cell-corpse phagocytosis. CED-5 DOCK180, which acts with CED-10 Rac in cell-corpse phagocytosis, acted with MIG-2 but not CED-10 in axon pathfinding. Thus, distinct regulatory proteins modulate Rac activation and function in different developmental processes.

scholarly journals Diverse continuum of CD4+ T-cell states is determined by hierarchical additive integration of cytokine signals

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (31) ◽  
pp. E6447-E6456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inbal Eizenberg-Magar ◽  
Jacob Rimer ◽  
Irina Zaretsky ◽  
David Lara-Astiaso ◽  
Shlomit Reich-Zeliger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Population ◽  
Cellular Responses ◽  
Cd4 T Cell ◽  
Complex Signal ◽  
Signal Integration ◽  
Additional Insight ◽  
Cell Fates ◽  
Linear Approach ◽  
Hierarchical Groups ◽  
Insight Into

During cell differentiation, progenitor cells integrate signals from their environment that guide their development into specialized phenotypes. The ways by which cells respond to complex signal combinations remain difficult to analyze and model. To gain additional insight into signal integration, we systematically mapped the response of CD4+ T cells to a large number of input cytokine combinations that drive their differentiation. We find that, in response to varied input combinations, cells differentiate into a continuum of cell fates as opposed to a limited number of discrete phenotypes. Input cytokines hierarchically influence the cell population, with TGFβ being most dominant followed by IL-6 and IL-4. Mathematical modeling explains these results using additive signal integration within hierarchical groups of input cytokine combinations and correctly predicts cell population response to new input conditions. These findings suggest that complex cellular responses can be effectively described using a segmented linear approach, providing a framework for prediction of cellular responses to new cytokine combinations and doses, with implications to fine-tuned immunotherapies.

scholarly journals A review of the endemic Hawaiian Drosophilidae and their host plants

Zootaxa ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 1728 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
KARL N. MAGNACCA ◽  
DAVID FOOTE ◽  
PATRICK M. O’GRADY
Keyword(s):  
Host Plant ◽  
Host Plants ◽  
Ecological Specialization ◽  
Primary Host ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Rare And Endangered ◽  
Species Groups ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
Insight Into

The Hawaiian Drosophilidae is one of the best examples of rapid speciation in nature. Nearly 1,000 species of endemic drosophilids have evolved in situ in Hawaii since a single colonist arrived over 25 million years ago. A number of mechanisms, including ecological adaptation, sexual selection, and geographic isolation, have been proposed to explain the evolution of this hyperdiverse group of species. Here, we examine the known ecological associations of 326 species of endemic Hawaiian Drosophilidae in light of the phylogenetic relationships of these species. Our analysis suggests that the long-accepted belief of strict ecological specialization in this group does not hold for all taxa. While many species have a primary host plant family, females will also oviposit on non-preferred host plant taxa. Host shifting is fairly common in some groups, especially the grimshawi and modified mouthparts species groups of Drosophila, and the Scaptomyza subgenus Elmomyza. Associations with types of substrates (bark, leaves, flowers) are more evolutionarily conserved than associations with host plant families. These data not only give us insight into the role ecology has played in the evolution of this large group, but can help in making decisions about the management of rare and endangered host plants and the insects that rely upon them for survival.

scholarly journals NUMB regulates the endocytosis and activity of the anaplastic lymphoma kinase in an isoform-specific manner

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 994-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ran Wei ◽  
Xuguang Liu ◽  
Courtney Voss ◽  
Wentao Qin ◽  
Lina Dagnino ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Fate ◽  
Receptor Tyrosine Kinase ◽  
Anaplastic Lymphoma Kinase ◽  
Degradation Pathway ◽  
Anaplastic Lymphoma ◽  
Mechanistic Insight ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Specific Manner ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract NUMB is an evolutionarily conserved protein that plays an important role in cell adhesion, migration, polarity, and cell fate determination. It has also been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of certain cancers, although it remains controversial whether NUMB functions as an oncoprotein or tumor suppressor. Here, we show that NUMB binds to anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), a receptor tyrosine kinase aberrantly activated in several forms of cancer, and this interaction regulates the endocytosis and activity of ALK. Intriguingly, the function of the NUMB–ALK interaction is isoform-dependent. While both p66-NUMB and p72-NUMB isoforms are capable of mediating the endocytosis of ALK, the former directs ALK to the lysosomal degradation pathway, thus decreasing the overall ALK level and the downstream MAP kinase signal. In contrast, the p72-NUMB isoform promotes ALK recycling back to the plasma membrane, thereby maintaining the kinase in its active state. Our work sheds light on the controversial role of different isoforms of NUMB in tumorigenesis and provides mechanistic insight into ALK regulation.

The Neural Basis of Escape Behavior in Vertebrates

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 417-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiago Branco ◽  
Peter Redgrave
Keyword(s):  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Escape Behavior ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Neural Systems ◽  
Adaptive Behaviors ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Sensory Stimuli ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Escape Behaviors

Escape is one of the most studied animal behaviors, and there is a rich normative theory that links threat properties to evasive actions and their timing. The behavioral principles of escape are evolutionarily conserved and rely on elementary computational steps such as classifying sensory stimuli and executing appropriate movements. These are common building blocks of general adaptive behaviors. Here we consider the computational challenges required for escape behaviors to be implemented, discuss possible algorithmic solutions, and review some of the underlying neural circuits and mechanisms. We outline shared neural principles that can be implemented by evolutionarily ancient neural systems to generate escape behavior, to which cortical encephalization has been added to allow for increased sophistication and flexibility in responding to threat.

scholarly journals Identification of human proteins functionally conserved with the yeast putative adaptors ADA2 and GCN5.

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 593-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Candau ◽  
P A Moore ◽  
L Wang ◽  
N Barlev ◽  
C Y Ying ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transcriptional Activation ◽  
Sequence Similarity ◽  
Adaptor Proteins ◽  
Yeast Two Hybrid ◽  
Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Activation Domains ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Human Proteins ◽  
Two Hybrid

Transcriptional adaptor proteins are required for full function of higher eukaryotic acidic activators in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, suggesting that this pathway of activation is evolutionarily conserved. Consistent with this view, we have identified possible human homologs of yeast ADA2 (yADA2) and yeast GCN5 (yGCN5), components of a putative adaptor complex. While there is overall sequence similarity between the yeast and human proteins, perhaps more significant is conservation of key sequence features with other known adaptors. We show several functional similarities between the human and yeast adaptors. First, as shown for yADA2 and yGCN5, human ADA2 (hADA2) and human GCN5 (hGCN5) interacted in vivo in a yeast two-hybrid assay. Moreover, hGCN5 interacted with yADA2 in this assay, suggesting that the human proteins form similar complexes. Second, both yADA2 and hADA2 contain cryptic activation domains. Third, hGCN5 and yGCN5 had similar stabilizing effects on yADA2 in vivo. Furthermore, the region of yADA2 that interacted with yGCN5 mapped to the amino terminus of yADA2, which is highly conserved in hADA2. Most striking, is the behavior of the human proteins in human cells. First, GAL4-hADA2 activated transcription in HeLa cells, and second, either hADA2 or hGCN5 augmented GAL4-VP16 activation. These data indicated that the human proteins correspond to functional homologs of the yeast adaptors, suggesting that these cofactors play a key role in transcriptional activation.

Isolation of transcripts overexpressed in the human pathogenTrichophyton rubrumgrown in lipid as carbon source

2011 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernanda C.A. Maranhão ◽  
Henrique C.S. Silveira ◽  
Antonio Rossi ◽  
Nilce M. Martinez-Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Source ◽  
Trichophyton Rubrum ◽  
Cdna Array ◽  
Subtractive Hybridization ◽  
Cellular Responses ◽  
Cdna Clones ◽  
Medical Importance ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Dot Blotting ◽  
Host Invasion

Trichophyton rubrum is the most common etiological agent of human dermatophytosis. Despite the incidence and medical importance of this dermatophyte, little is known about the mechanisms of host invasion and pathogenicity. Host invasion depends on the adaptive cellular responses of the pathogen that allow it to penetrate the skin layers, which are mainly composed of proteins and lipids. In this study, we used suppression subtractive hybridization to identify transcripts overexpressed in T. rubrum cultured in lipid as carbon source. Among the subtractive cDNA clones isolated, 85 clones were positively screened by cDNA array dot blotting and were sequenced. The putative proteins encoded by the isolated transcripts showed similarities to fungal proteins involved in metabolism, signaling, defense, and virulence, such as the MDR/ABC transporter, glucan 1,3-β-glucosidase, chitin synthase B, copper-sulfate-regulated protein, and serine/threonine phosphatase (calcineurin A). These results provide the first molecular insight into the genes differentially expressed during the adaptation of T. rubrum to a lipidic carbon source.

scholarly journals Rho Family of Ras-Like GTPases in Early-Branching Animals

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2279
Author(s):  
Silvestar Beljan ◽  
Maja Herak Bosnar ◽  
Helena Ćetković
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Molecular Switches ◽  
Cellular Responses ◽  
Small Gtpases ◽  
Rho Family Gtpases ◽  
History Of ◽  
Rho Family ◽  
Major Branch ◽  
External Signals ◽  
Insight Into

Non-bilaterian animals consist of four phyla; Porifera, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, and Placozoa. These early-diverging animals are crucial for understanding the evolution of the entire animal lineage. The Rho family of proteins make up a major branch of the Ras superfamily of small GTPases, which function as key molecular switches that play important roles in converting and amplifying external signals into cellular responses. This review represents a compilation of the current knowledge on Rho-family GTPases in non-bilaterian animals, the available experimental data about their biochemical characteristics and functions, as well as original bioinformatics analysis, in order to gain a general insight into the evolutionary history of Rho-family GTPases in simple animals.

The evolutionarily conserved MOS4-associated complex

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 776-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaeli Johnson ◽  
Oliver Dong ◽  
Xin Li
Keyword(s):  
Biological Function ◽  
Plant Immunity ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Time Control ◽  
Core Member ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Core Components ◽  
Flowering Time Control ◽  
Insight Into

AbstractRecent work in plant immunity has shown that MOS4, a known intermediate in R protein mediated resistance, is a core member of the nuclear MOS4-associated complex (MAC). This complex is highly conserved in eukaryotes, as orthologous complexes known as the CDC5L-SNEVPrp19-Pso4 complex and the Nineteen complex (NTC) were previously identified in human and yeast, respectively. The involvement of these complexes in pre-mRNA splicing and spliceosome assembly suggests that the MAC probably has a similar function in plants. Double mutants of any two MAC components are lethal, whereas single mutants of the MAC core components mos4, Atcdc5, mac3, and prl1 are all viable and display pleiotropic defects. This suggests that while the MAC is required for some essential biological function such as splicing, individual MAC components are not crucial for complex functionality and likely have regulatory roles in other biological processes such as plant immunity and flowering time control. Future studies on MAC components in Arabidopsis will provide further insight into the regulatory mechanisms of the MAC on specific biological processes.

scholarly journals A Novel Cas Family Member, HEPL, Regulates FAK and Cell Spreading

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 1627-1636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahendra K. Singh ◽  
Disha Dadke ◽  
Emmanuelle Nicolas ◽  
Ilya G. Serebriiskii ◽  
Sinoula Apostolou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Family Member ◽  
Cell Invasion ◽  
Focal Adhesions ◽  
Cell Spreading ◽  
Protein Family ◽  
Scaffolding Protein ◽  
Family Function ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
Complete Protein ◽  
Cas Proteins

For over a decade, p130Cas/BCAR1, HEF1/NEDD9/Cas-L, and Efs/Sin have defined the Cas (Crk-associated substrate) scaffolding protein family. Cas proteins mediate integrin-dependent signals at focal adhesions, regulating cell invasion and survival; at least one family member, HEF1, regulates mitosis. We here report a previously undescribed novel branch of the Cas protein family, designated HEPL (for HEF1-Efs-p130Cas-like). The HEPL branch is evolutionarily conserved through jawed vertebrates, and HEPL is found in some species lacking other members of the Cas family. The human HEPL mRNA and protein are selectively expressed in specific primary tissues and cancer cell lines, and HEPL maintains Cas family function in localization to focal adhesions, as well as regulation of FAK activity, focal adhesion integrity, and cell spreading. It has recently been demonstrated that upregulation of HEF1 expression marks and induces metastasis, whereas high endogenous levels of p130Cas are associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer, emphasizing the clinical relevance of Cas proteins. Better understanding of the complete protein family should help inform prediction of cancer incidence and prognosis.

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