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Topic Review
MAPK Pathways in Cancer Metastasis
Metastasis is perhaps the most common reason for treatment failure in cancer patients, as well as the leading cause of cancer-related death. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) are serine/threonine-protein kinases that can be activated by a variety of extracellular stimuli including growth factors, cytokines, insulin, environmental factors, and oxidative and genotoxic stress. It is becoming increasingly clear that MAPKs are involved in all the steps required for hyperproliferating cells to develop into metastatic tumors. However, scholars are currently lacking in vivo data to fully understand how MAPK signaling pathways can affect the progression of metastatic disease. 
  • 5.1K
  • 26 May 2022
Topic Review
Prokaryotic Translation
Prokaryotic translation is the process by which messenger RNA is translated into proteins in prokaryotes.
  • 5.0K
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Biomarkers in FLT3 Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a disease characterized by uncontrolled proliferation of clonal myeloid blast cells that are incapable of maturation to leukocytes. AML is the most common leukemia in adults and remains a highly fatal disease with a five-year survival rate of 24%. More than 50% of AML patients have mutations in the FLT3 gene, rendering FLT3 an attractive target for small-molecule inhibition. Currently, there are several FLT3 inhibitors in the clinic, and others remain in clinical trials. However, these inhibitors face challenges due to lack of efficacy against several FLT3 mutants. Therefore, the identification of biomarkers is vital to stratify AML patients and target AML patient population with a particular FLT3 mutation.
  • 4.4K
  • 03 Mar 2022
Topic Review
Tetraspanins of extracellular vesicles
Tetraspanins are transmembrane proteins with ability to interact with each other and with other non-tetraspanin partners, building up a complex called tetraspanin web. This dynamic structure participates in many cellular processes. Although currently, the tetraspanin proteins found in extracellular vesicles are mostly applied as markers, increasing evidence points to their role in extracellular vesicle biogenesis, cargo selection, cell targeting, and cell uptake under both physiological and pathological conditions.
  • 4.3K
  • 02 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Cell Cycle
The cell cycle is the series of events that take place in a cell, which drives it to divide and produce two new daughter cells. The typical cell cycle in eukaryotes is composed of the following phases: G1, S, G2, and M phase.
  • 4.3K
  • 03 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Plant Stinging Hairs
True stinging hairs are highly specialized plant structures that are able to inject a physiologically active liquid into the skin. They can be classified into two basic types: Urtica-type stinging hairs with the classical “hypodermic syringe” mechanism expelling only liquid, and Tragia-type stinging hairs expelling a liquid together with a sharp crystal. Since the middle of the 20th century, neurotransmitters(acetylcholine, histamine, serotonin) have been repeatedly detected in stinging hairs of Urticaceae; these substances can explain some of the physiological effects of stinging hairs, but fail to completely explain neuropathic effects, pointing to some yet unidentified neurotoxins. 
  • 4.2K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Anti-Aging Potentials of Methylene Blue
Methylene blue (MB), as the first fully man-made medicine, has a wide range of clinical applications. Apart from its well-known applications in surgical staining, malaria, and methemoglobinemia, the anti-oxidative properties of MB recently brought new attention to this century-old drug. Mitochondrial dysfunction has been observed in systematic aging that affects many different tissues, including the brain and skin. This leads to increased oxidative stress and results in downstream phenotypes under age-related conditions. MB can bypass Complex I/III activity in mitochondria and diminish oxidative stress to some degree. MB also shows broad spectrum UV absorption capability.
  • 4.2K
  • 13 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Nrf2 and Oxidative Stress
Organisms are continually exposed to exogenous and endogenous sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and other oxidants that have both beneficial and deleterious effects on the cell. ROS have important roles in a wide range of physiological processes; however, high ROS levels are associated with oxidative stress and disease progression. Oxidative stress has been implicated in nearly all major human diseases, from neurogenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Antioxidant defence systems have evolved as a means of protection against oxidative stress, with the transcription factor Nrf2 as the key regulator.
  • 4.1K
  • 01 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Translation
In molecular biology and genetics, translation is the process in which ribosomes in the cytoplasm or endoplasmic reticulum synthesize proteins after the process of transcription of DNA to RNA in the cell's nucleus. The entire process is called gene expression. In translation, messenger RNA (mRNA) is decoded in a ribosome, outside the nucleus, to produce a specific amino acid chain, or polypeptide. The polypeptide later folds into an active protein and performs its functions in the cell. The ribosome facilitates decoding by inducing the binding of complementary tRNA anticodon sequences to mRNA codons. The tRNAs carry specific amino acids that are chained together into a polypeptide as the mRNA passes through and is "read" by the ribosome. Translation proceeds in three phases: In prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea), translation occurs in the cytosol, where the large and small subunits of the ribosome bind to the mRNA. In eukaryotes, translation occurs in the cytoplasm or across the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum in a process called co-translational translocation. In co-translational translocation, the entire ribosome/mRNA complex binds to the outer membrane of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the new protein is synthesized and released into the ER; the newly created polypeptide can be stored inside the ER for future vesicle transport and secretion outside the cell, or immediately secreted. Many types of transcribed RNA, such as transfer RNA, ribosomal RNA, and small nuclear RNA, do not undergo translation into proteins. A number of antibiotics act by inhibiting translation. These include anisomycin, cycloheximide, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, streptomycin, erythromycin, and puromycin. Prokaryotic ribosomes have a different structure from that of eukaryotic ribosomes, and thus antibiotics can specifically target bacterial infections without any harm to a eukaryotic host's cells.
  • 4.0K
  • 14 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Senescence in Physiological Processes and Age-Related Diseases
Cellular senescence is a physiological mechanism that has both beneficial and detrimental consequences. Senescence limits tumorigenesis, lifelong tissue damage, and is involved in different biological processes, such as morphogenesis, regeneration, and wound healing. 
  • 3.9K
  • 28 Mar 2023
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Molecular Aspects of Spike–ACE2 Interaction
A new betacoronavirus (CoV-2) is responsible for the pandemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that began in China at the end of 2019, today known as COronaVIrus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Subsequent studies confirmed the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) as the main cell receptor of spike trimeric glycoprotein, located on the viral envelope, mediating the CoV-2 invasion into the host cells through the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike. Computational analysis of the known experimental 3D structures of spike–ACE2 complexes evidenced distinguishing features in the molecular interactions at the RBD-cell receptor binding interface between CoV-2 and previous CoV-1. The spike represents a key target for drug design as well as an optimal antigen for RNA/viral vector vaccines and monoclonal antibodies in order to maximize prevention and therapy of COVID-19.
  • 3.7K
  • 13 Apr 2022
Topic Review
The Mitotic Spindle
During cell division, the mitotic spindle, a macromolecular structure primarily comprised of microtubules, drives chromosome alignment and partitioning between daughter cells. Mitotic spindles can sense cellular dimensions in order to adapt their length and mass to cell size.
  • 3.7K
  • 29 Jan 2022
Topic Review
Acinar Cells for Pancreatic Cancer
The carcinogenesis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) progresses according to multi-step evolution, whereby the disease acquires increasingly aggressive pathological features. Lineage-tracing experiments demonstrated that pancreatic cancerous lesions originate from acinar cells, a highly specialized cell type in the pancreatic epithelium. Acinar cells are polarized, pyramidal-shaped cells containing numerous acidophilic granules near the apical side. Those granules contain inactive proteases, which are activated and released into the tubular network upon activation. Primary acinar cells can survive in vitro as organoid-like 3D spheroids, which can transdifferentiate into cells with a clear ductal morphology in response to different cell- and non-cell-autonomous stimuli.This event, termed acinar-to-ductal metaplasia, recapitulates the histological and molecular features of disease initiation.
  • 3.7K
  • 24 Sep 2020
Topic Review
PIP2 Regulation in Cell
Phosphoinositides play a crucial role in regulating many cellular functions, such as actin dynamics, signaling, intracellular trafficking, membrane dynamics, and cell–matrix adhesion. Central to this process is phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP2). The levels of PIP2 in the membrane are rapidly altered by the activity of phosphoinositide-directed kinases and phosphatases, and it binds to dozens of different intracellular proteins. Despite the vast literature dedicated to understanding the regulation of PIP2 in cells over past 30 years, much remains to be learned about its cellular functions. Here, we focus on past and recent exciting results on different molecular mechanisms that regulate cellular functions by binding of specific proteins to PIP2 or by stabilizing phosphoinositide pools in different cellular compartments. Moreover, this review summarizes recent findings that implicate dysregulation of PIP2 in many diseases.
  • 3.5K
  • 19 Nov 2020
Topic Review
FoxO1
FoxO1 is a conserved transcription factor involved in energy metabolism. It is tightly regulated by modifications on its mRNA and protein and responds to environmental nutrient signals. FoxO1 controls the transcription of downstream genes mediating metabolic regulation. Dysfunction of FoxO1 pathways results in several metabolic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and atherosclerosis.
  • 3.5K
  • 07 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Melatonin as a Neurotrophic Factor
Melatonin, N-acetyl-5-hydroxytryptamine, is a hormone that synchronizes the internal environment with the photoperiod. It is synthesized in the pineal gland and greatly depends on the endogenous circadian clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and the retina’s exposure to different light intensities. Among its most studied functions are the regulation of the waking-sleep rhythm and body temperature. Furthermore, melatonin has pleiotropic actions, which affect, for instance, the modulation of the immune and the cardiovascular systems, as well as the neuroprotection achieved by scavenging free radicals.
  • 3.4K
  • 19 Nov 2022
Topic Review
MicroRNA Processing by Dicer
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that are about 22 nucleotides in length. They regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally with the effector protein complex, containing Argonaute or trinucleotide repeat containing 6 (TNRC6) proteins, and target mRNAs in a sequence-dependent manner, causing the translational repression and destabilization of the target mRNAs. Both Drosha and Dicer, members of the RNase III family proteins, are essential components in the canonical miRNA biogenesis pathway. miRNA is transcribed into primary-miRNA (pri-miRNA) from genomic DNA. Drosha then cleaves the flanking regions of pri-miRNA into precursor-miRNA (pre-miRNA), while Dicer cleaves the loop region of the pre-miRNA to form a miRNA duplex. In this report, we summarized and discussed the current reports in which double-stranded RNA binding proteins (dsRBPs), such as TAR RNA binding protein (TRBP) or the adenosine deaminase acting on RNA (ADAR), modulate the processing of miRNA by Dicer in various manners. 
  • 3.4K
  • 01 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Crosstalk
Biological crosstalk refers to instances in which one or more components of one signal transduction pathway affects another. This can be achieved through a number of ways with the most common form being crosstalk between proteins of signaling cascades. In these signal transduction pathways, there are often shared components that can interact with either pathway. A more complex instance of crosstalk can be observed with transmembrane crosstalk between the extracellular matrix (ECM) and the cytoskeleton.
  • 3.3K
  • 08 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Association between Membrane Proteins and Disease
Cell membranes, including membrane carrier proteins, membrane channel proteins and ATP drive pumps, are the main transporters. Membrane transporters have wide, but specific tissue distributions. They can impact on multiple endogenous and xenobiotic processes. Transport proteins constitute approximately 10% of most proteomes and play vital roles in the translocation of solutes across the membranes of all organisms. The receptor proteins on the cell membrane are also important structures involved in substrate transport and signal communication. The obstacles of cell transport-related proteins directly lead to the lack or excess of certain substances in cells.
  • 3.3K
  • 04 Nov 2021
Topic Review
The Hedgehog Signaling Pathway
Hedgehog–GLI (HH) signaling plays an essential role in embryogenesis and tissue homeostasis. Aberrant activation of the pathway through mutations or other mechanisms is involved in the development and progression of numerous types of cancer, including basal cell carcinoma, medulloblastoma, melanoma, breast, prostate, hepatocellular and pancreatic carcinomas. Activation of HH signaling sustains proliferation, suppresses cell death signals, enhances invasion and metastasis, deregulates cellular metabolism and promotes angiogenesis and tumor inflammation. Targeted inhibition of the HH pathway has therefore emerged as an attractive therapeutic strategy for the treatment of a wide range of cancers.
  • 3.2K
  • 18 Jan 2023
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