scholarly journals Tubulin Acetyltransferase αTAT1 Destabilizes Microtubules Independently of Its Acetylation Activity

2012 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 1114-1123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nereo Kalebic ◽  
Concepcion Martinez ◽  
Emerald Perlas ◽  
Philip Hublitz ◽  
Daniel Bilbao-Cortes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
Posttranslational Modification ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Microtubule Stability ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Major Target

Acetylation of α-tubulin at lysine 40 (K40) is a well-conserved posttranslational modification that marks long-lived microtubules but has poorly understood functional significance. Recently, αTAT1, a member of the Gcn5-relatedN-acetyltransferase superfamily, has been identified as an α-tubulin acetyltransferase in ciliated organisms. Here, we explored the function of αTAT1 with the aim of understanding the consequences of αTAT1-mediated microtubule acetylation. We demonstrate that α-tubulin is the major target of αTAT1 but that αTAT1 also acetylates itself in a regulatory mechanism that is required for effective modification of tubulin. We further show that in mammalian cells, αTAT1 promotes microtubule destabilization and accelerates microtubule dynamics. Intriguingly, this effect persists in an αTAT1 mutant with no acetyltransferase activity, suggesting that interaction of αTAT1 with microtubules, rather than acetylationper se, is the critical factor regulating microtubule stability. Our data demonstrate that αTAT1 has cellular functions that extend beyond its classical enzymatic activity as an α-tubulin acetyltransferase.

scholarly journals Model-guided design of mammalian genetic programs

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (8) ◽  
pp. eabe9375
Author(s):  
J. J. Muldoon ◽  
V. Kandula ◽  
M. Hong ◽  
P. S. Donahue ◽  
J. D. Boucher ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Biological Complexity ◽  
Genetic Circuits ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Design Objective ◽  
Complex Functions ◽  
Mammalian Genetic ◽  
Analog Processing

Genetically engineering cells to perform customizable functions is an emerging frontier with numerous technological and translational applications. However, it remains challenging to systematically engineer mammalian cells to execute complex functions. To address this need, we developed a method enabling accurate genetic program design using high-performing genetic parts and predictive computational models. We built multifunctional proteins integrating both transcriptional and posttranslational control, validated models for describing these mechanisms, implemented digital and analog processing, and effectively linked genetic circuits with sensors for multi-input evaluations. The functional modularity and compositional versatility of these parts enable one to satisfy a given design objective via multiple synonymous programs. Our approach empowers bioengineers to predictively design mammalian cellular functions that perform as expected even at high levels of biological complexity.

scholarly journals Stress-Induced Changes in Alternative Splicing Landscape in Rice: Functional Significance of Splice Isoforms in Stress Tolerance

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 309
Author(s):  
Showkat Ahmad Ganie ◽  
Anireddy S. N. Reddy
Keyword(s):  
Abiotic Stress ◽  
Alternative Splicing ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Pathogen Resistance ◽  
Biotic And Abiotic Stress ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Rice Growth

Improvements in yield and quality of rice are crucial for global food security. However, global rice production is substantially hindered by various biotic and abiotic stresses. Making further improvements in rice yield is a major challenge to the rice research community, which can be accomplished through developing abiotic stress-resilient rice varieties and engineering durable agrochemical-independent pathogen resistance in high-yielding elite rice varieties. This, in turn, needs increased understanding of the mechanisms by which stresses affect rice growth and development. Alternative splicing (AS), a post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanism, allows rapid changes in the transcriptome and can generate novel regulatory mechanisms to confer plasticity to plant growth and development. Mounting evidence indicates that AS has a prominent role in regulating rice growth and development under stress conditions. Several regulatory and structural genes and splicing factors of rice undergo different types of stress-induced AS events, and the functional significance of some of them in stress tolerance has been defined. Both rice and its pathogens use this complex regulatory mechanism to devise strategies against each other. This review covers the current understanding and evidence for the involvement of AS in biotic and abiotic stress-responsive genes, and its relevance to rice growth and development. Furthermore, we discuss implications of AS for the virulence of different rice pathogens and highlight the areas of further research and potential future avenues to develop climate-smart and disease-resistant rice varieties.

scholarly journals Cathepsin S Cleaves BAX as a Novel and Therapeutically Important Regulatory Mechanism for Apoptosis

Pharmaceutics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 339
Author(s):  
Surinder M. Soond ◽  
Lyudmila V. Savvateeva ◽  
Vladimir A. Makarov ◽  
Neonila V. Gorokhovets ◽  
Paul A. Townsend ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Regulatory Mechanism ◽  
Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma ◽  
Cathepsin S ◽  
Apoptotic Pathway ◽  
Intact Cells ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Bax Protein ◽  
Anti Cancer

Certain lysosomal cathepsin proteins have come into focus as being good candidates for therapeutic targeting, based on them being over-expressed in a variety of cancers and based on their regulation of the apoptotic pathway. Here, we report novel findings that highlight the ability of cathepsin S expression to be up-regulated under Paclitaxel-stimulatory conditions in kidney cell lines and it being able to cleave the apoptotic p21 BAX protein in intact cells and in vitro. Consistent with this, we demonstrate that this effect can be abrogated in vitro and in mammalian cells under conditions that utilize dominant-inhibitory cathepsin S expression, cathepsin S expression-knockdown and through the activity of a novel peptide inhibitor, CS-PEP1. Moreover, we report a unique role for cathepsin S in that it can cleave a polyubiquitinated-BAX protein intermediate and is a step that may contribute to down-regulating post-translationally-modified levels of BAX protein. Finally, CS-PEP1 may possess promising activity as a potential anti-cancer therapeutic against chemotherapeutic-resistant Renal Clear Cell Carcinoma kidney cancer cells and for combined uses with therapeutics such as Paclitaxel.

Sterol and lipid trafficking in mammalian cells

2006 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
F.R. Maxfield ◽  
M. Mondal
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Trafficking ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Intracellular Transport ◽  
Vesicular Transport ◽  
Cholesterol Content ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Lipid Trafficking ◽  
Sterol Transport ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Asymmetrically Distributed

The pathways involved in the intracellular transport and distribution of lipids in general, and sterols in particular, are poorly understood. Cholesterol plays a major role in modulating membrane bilayer structure and important cellular functions, including signal transduction and membrane trafficking. Both the overall cholesterol content of a cell, as well as its distribution in specific organellar membranes are stringently regulated. Several diseases, many of which are incurable at present, have been characterized as results of impaired cholesterol transport and/or storage in the cells. Despite their importance, many fundamental aspects of intracellular sterol transport and distribution are not well understood. For instance, the relative roles of vesicular and non-vesicular transport of cholesterol have not yet been fully determined, nor are the non-vesicular transport mechanisms well characterized. Similarly, whether cholesterol is asymmetrically distributed between the two leaflets of biological membranes, and if so, how this asymmetry is maintained, is poorly understood. In this review, we present a summary of the current understanding of these aspects of intracellular trafficking and distribution of lipids, and more specifically, of sterols.

scholarly journals The intracellular dynamic of protein palmitoylation

2010 ◽  
Vol 191 (7) ◽  
pp. 1229-1238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Salaun ◽  
Jennifer Greaves ◽  
Luke H. Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
Posttranslational Modifications ◽  
Posttranslational Modification ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Protein Functionality ◽  
Peripheral Membrane Proteins ◽  
Protein Palmitoylation ◽  
Thioester Bond ◽  
Intracellular Sorting ◽  
Intracellular Dynamic ◽  
Insight Into

S-palmitoylation describes the reversible attachment of fatty acids (predominantly palmitate) onto cysteine residues via a labile thioester bond. This posttranslational modification impacts protein functionality by regulating membrane interactions, intracellular sorting, stability, and membrane micropatterning. Several recent findings have provided a tantalizing insight into the regulation and spatiotemporal dynamics of protein palmitoylation. In mammalian cells, the Golgi has emerged as a possible super-reaction center for the palmitoylation of peripheral membrane proteins, whereas palmitoylation reactions on post-Golgi compartments contribute to the regulation of specific substrates. In addition to palmitoylating and depalmitoylating enzymes, intracellular palmitoylation dynamics may also be controlled through interplay with distinct posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation and nitrosylation.

scholarly journals Protein Glycosylation inAspergillus fumigatusIs Essential for Cell Wall Synthesis and Serves as a Promising Model of Multicellular Eukaryotic Development

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheng Jin
Keyword(s):  
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae ◽  
Cell Wall ◽  
Posttranslational Modification ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Protein Glycosylation ◽  
Cell Wall Synthesis ◽  
Fungal Cell ◽  
Multiple Functions ◽  
Significant Attention

Glycosylation is a conserved posttranslational modification that is found in all eukaryotes, which helps generate proteins with multiple functions. Our knowledge of glycosylation mainly comes from the investigation of the yeastSaccharomyces cerevisiaeand mammalian cells. However, during the last decade, glycosylation in the human pathogenic moldAspergillus fumigatushas drawn significant attention. It has been revealed that glycosylation inA. fumigatusis crucial for its growth, cell wall synthesis, and development and that the process is more complicated than that found in the budding yeastS. cerevisiae. The present paper implies that the investigation of glycosylation inA. fumigatusis not only vital for elucidating the mechanism of fungal cell wall synthesis, which will benefit the design of new antifungal therapies, but also helps to understand the role of protein glycosylation in the development of multicellular eukaryotes. This paper describes the advances in functional analysis of protein glycosylation inA. fumigatus.

scholarly journals Oxygen radicals, nitric oxide, and peroxynitrite: Redox pathways in molecular medicine

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (23) ◽  
pp. 5839-5848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Radi
Keyword(s):  
Nitric Oxide ◽  
Free Radical ◽  
Mammalian Cells ◽  
Oxygen Radicals ◽  
Biochemical Characterization ◽  
Cell Function ◽  
Molecular Medicine ◽  
Antioxidant Systems ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Cell Degeneration

Oxygen-derived free radicals and related oxidants are ubiquitous and short-lived intermediates formed in aerobic organisms throughout life. These reactive species participate in redox reactions leading to oxidative modifications in biomolecules, among which proteins and lipids are preferential targets. Despite a broad array of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant systems in mammalian cells and microbes, excess oxidant formation causes accumulation of new products that may compromise cell function and structure leading to cell degeneration and death. Oxidative events are associated with pathological conditions and the process of normal aging. Notably, physiological levels of oxidants also modulate cellular functions via homeostatic redox-sensitive cell signaling cascades. On the other hand, nitric oxide (•NO), a free radical and weak oxidant, represents a master physiological regulator via reversible interactions with heme proteins. The bioavailability and actions of •NO are modulated by its fast reaction with superoxide radical (O2•−), which yields an unusual and reactive peroxide, peroxynitrite, representing the merging of the oxygen radicals and •NO pathways. In this Inaugural Article, I summarize early and remarkable developments in free radical biochemistry and the later evolution of the field toward molecular medicine; this transition includes our contributions disclosing the relationship of •NO with redox intermediates and metabolism. The biochemical characterization, identification, and quantitation of peroxynitrite and its role in disease processes have concentrated much of our attention. Being a mediator of protein oxidation and nitration, lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and cell death, peroxynitrite represents both a pathophysiologically relevant endogenous cytotoxin and a cytotoxic effector against invading pathogens.

Regulation of the water channel aquaporin-2 by posttranslational modification

2011 ◽  
Vol 300 (5) ◽  
pp. F1062-F1073 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanne B. Moeller ◽  
Emma T. B. Olesen ◽  
Robert A. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Membrane Proteins ◽  
Protein Interactions ◽  
Posttranslational Modifications ◽  
Posttranslational Modification ◽  
Water Channel ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Aquaporin 2 ◽  
Eukaryotic Membrane Proteins ◽  
Insight Into

The cellular functions of many eukaryotic membrane proteins, including the vasopressin-regulated water channel aquaporin-2 (AQP2), are regulated by posttranslational modifications. In this article, we discuss the experimental discoveries that have advanced our understanding of how posttranslational modifications affect AQP2 function, especially as they relate to the role of AQP2 in the kidney. We review the most recent data demonstrating that glycosylation and, in particular, phosphorylation and ubiquitination are mechanisms that regulate AQP2 activity, subcellular sorting and distribution, degradation, and protein interactions. From a clinical perspective, posttranslational modification resulting in protein misrouting or degradation may explain certain forms of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. In addition to providing major insight into the function and dynamics of renal AQP2 regulation, the analysis of AQP2 posttranslational modification may provide general clues as to the role of posttranslational modification for regulation of other membrane proteins.

scholarly journals Screening for chemical modulators for LRRK2

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1617-1623
Author(s):  
Heather Mortiboys
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factor ◽  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
High Throughput ◽  
Drug Screen ◽  
Accurate Assessment ◽  
Leucine Rich Repeat ◽  
Cellular Functions ◽  
Sporadic Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Substantial Interest ◽  
Screening Approaches

After the discovery of leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) as a risk factor for sporadic Parkinson's disease (PD) and mutations in LRRK2 as a cause of some forms of familial PD, there has been substantial interest in finding chemical modulators of LRRK2 function. Most of the pathogenic mutations in LRRK2 are within the enzymatic cores of the protein; therefore, many screens have focused on finding chemical modulators of this enzymatic activity. There are alternative screening approaches that could be taken to investigate compounds that modulate LRRK2 cellular functions. These screens are more often phenotypic screens. The preparation for a screen has to be rigorous and enable high-throughput accurate assessment of a compound's activity. The pipeline to beginning a drug screen and some LRRK2 inhibitor and phenotypic screens will be discussed.

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