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Topic Review
Cofilin Signaling
Three ADF/cofilin family members are expressed in mammals: ADF, cofilin-1, and cofilin-2. The first member ADF (also known as destrin), encoded by the gene DSTN in humans, was initially identified in the chick brain. Cofilin was discovered as an actin-interacting protein in the porcine brain. Later, Ono et al. identified two mammalian variants of cofilin, non-muscle type (also known as cofilin-1 and n-cofilin) and muscle type (also known as cofilin-2 and m-cofilin). In humans, cofilin-1 and cofilin-2 are encoded by the genes CFL1 and CFL2, respectively. Different isoforms of ADF/cofilin have qualitatively similar but quantitatively different effects on actin dynamics. To be noted, both ADF and cofilin show cooperative binding with actin filaments. Interestingly, cofilin-1 comprises almost 90% of the total ADF/cofilin family in CNS. Cofilin can bind to both G-actin and F-actin, exhibiting stronger affinities for the ADP-bound actins than the ATP- or ADP-Pi-bound forms. Cofilin binding to F-actin induces actin subunit rotation, enhances Pi release along the filament, and promotes filament severing in a concentration-dependent manner.
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Oct 2021
Topic Review
Aerobic Glycolysis in Cancer Cells
Aerobic glycolysis in cancer cells, which involves the production of lactate as the end product of glucose breakdown even in the presence of adequate oxygen, is the foundation for the current interest in the cancer-cell-specific reprograming of metabolic pathways. The renewed interest in cancer cell metabolism has now gone well beyond the original Warburg effect related to glycolysis to other metabolic pathways that include amino acid metabolism, one-carbon metabolism, the pentose phosphate pathway, nucleotide synthesis, antioxidant machinery, etc. Since glucose and amino acids constitute the primary nutrients that fuel the altered metabolic pathways in cancer cells, the transporters that mediate the transfer of these nutrients and their metabolites not only across the plasma membrane but also across the mitochondrial and lysosomal membranes have become an integral component of the expansion of the Warburg effect.
  • 1.2K
  • 31 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Resveratrol in Human Male Fertility
Resveratrol (RSV) (3,4′,5 trihydroxystilbene) is a natural, non-flavonoid polyphenol widely present in the Mediterranean diet and, particularly, in grapes, peanuts, berries, and red wine.
  • 1.2K
  • 13 May 2021
Topic Review
Indicaxanthin Bioactivity in Health and Disease
Indicaxanthin is a dietary, highly bioavailable phytochemical from cactus pear fruit, with nutraceutical potential. Studies in healthy, transformed cells and whole organisms suggest health-promoting activities, particularly in counteracting inflammation and regulating mechanisms that control cell growth and longevity. In vitro evidence to date does not provide a unified picture of the molecular mechanisms mediating the action of Indicaxanthin; rather different mechanisms have emerged in relation to different stimuli and conditions in both healthy and transformed cells. Many of the activities appear to be geared toward restoring cellular redox homeostasis, correcting dysfunction generated by oxidative stress, and modulating signaling pathways that control vital processes in healthy cells; other activities, apparently independent of cellular redox balance, have also been observed.
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Conditions Determining Male Infertility
The lack of knowledge of the causes of impaired reproductive potential results in an inability to implement specific treatment, which is associated with the lack of positive outcomes (pregnancy). This review will make relevant environmental comparisons. It will allow an understanding of the importance of environmental factors in shaping the body's defense and capabilities in the field of reproductive condition. The results can be used in enhancing diagnosis and deciding on appropriate infertility treatment.
  • 1.2K
  • 23 Mar 2021
Topic Review
Thioredoxin-Related Transmembrane Proteins
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is site of synthesis and maturation of membrane and secretory proteins in eukaryotic cells. The ER contains more than 20 members of the Protein Disulfide Isomerase (PDI) family. These enzymes regulate formation, isomerization and disassembly of covalent bonds between cysteine residues. As such, PDIs ensure protein folding, which is required to attain functional and transport-competent structure, and protein unfolding, which facilitates dislocation of defective gene products across the ER membrane for ER-associated degradation (ERAD). The PDI family includes over a dozen of soluble members and few membrane-bound ones. Among these latter, there are five PDIs grouped in the thioredoxin-related transmembrane (TMX) protein family.
  • 1.2K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Emerging Targeted Therapies for HER2-Positive Breast Cancer
HER2-positive (HER2+) breast cancer, which accounts for ~20% of breast cancer, is one of the more aggressive and has the worst overall survival rate among them. These patients are treated with trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting the HER2 molecule. Even though trastuzumab is an effective therapy, resistance events hamper its clinical benefit, making the development of new therapies a constantly growing area of interest. 
  • 1.2K
  • 15 May 2023
Topic Review
Histone Deacetylases in Muscular Dystrophies
Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that regulate the deacetylation of numerous histone and non-histone proteins, thereby affecting a wide range of cellular processes. Deregulation of HDAC expression or activity is often associated with several pathologies, suggesting potential for targeting these enzymes for therapeutic purposes.
  • 1.2K
  • 30 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Glycosphingolipid Antigens and Human Diseases
Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are composed of a mono-, di-, or oligosaccharide and a ceramide and function as constituents of cell membranes. Various molecular species of GSLs have been identified in mammalian cells due to differences in the structures of oligosaccharides. The oligosaccharide structure can vary depending on cell lineage, differentiation stage, and pathology; this property can be used as a cell identification marker. 
  • 1.2K
  • 18 Apr 2021
Topic Review
Glaucoma Pathophysiology
Glaucoma is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that represents the major cause of irreversible blindness.
  • 1.2K
  • 31 May 2021
Topic Review
Long Non-Coding RNA Epigenetics
Long noncoding RNAs exceeding a length of 200 nucleotides play an important role in ensuring cell functions and proper organism development by interacting with cellular compounds such as miRNA, mRNA, DNA and proteins. However, there is an additional level of lncRNA regulation, called lncRNA epigenetics, in gene expression control.
  • 1.2K
  • 25 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Advanced Microsamples
Although the application of microsamples in metabolic phenotyping exists, it is still in its infancy, with whole blood being overwhelmingly the primary biofluid collected through the collection method of dried blood spots. Research into the metabolic phenotyping of microsamples is limited; however, with advances in commercially available microsampling devices, common barriers such as volumetric inaccuracies and the ‘haematocrit effect’ in dried blood spot microsampling can be overcome.
  • 1.2K
  • 02 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Lysosomal Calcium Channels
Ca2+ is pivotal intracellular messenger that coordinates multiple cell functions such as fertilization, growth, differentiation, and viability. Intracellular Ca2+ signaling is regulated by both extracellular Ca2+ entry and Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Apart from working as the cellular recycling center, the lysosome has been increasingly recognized as a significant intracellular Ca2+ store that provides Ca2+ to regulate many cellular processes. The lysosome also talks to other organelles by releasing and taking up Ca2+. In lysosomal Ca2+-dependent processes, autophagy is particularly important, because it has been implicated in many human diseases including cancer.
  • 1.2K
  • 27 Apr 2021
Topic Review
RAB11-Mediated Trafficking and Human Cancers
RAB11 isoforms function as membrane organizers connecting the transport of cargoes towards the plasma membrane with the assembly of autophagic precursors and the generation of cellular protrusions. These processes dramatically impact normal cell physiology and their alteration significantly affects the survival, progression and metastatization as well as the accumulation of toxic materials of cancer cells. 
  • 1.2K
  • 28 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Agaricales Mushroom Lignin Peroxidase
Lignin biodegradation has been extensively studied in white-rot fungi, which largely belong to order Polyporales. Among the enzymes that wood-rotting polypores secrete, lignin peroxidases (LiPs) have been labeled as the most efficient. A recent thorough study of 52 Agaricomycetes genomes has revealed the high presence of putative ligninolytic peroxidases in fungi belonging to the order Agaricales. These include the first LiP outside the order Polyporales, identified in the genome of the mushroom Agrocybe pediades (ApeLiP) as a case of parallel and convergent evolution of LiPs between Agaricales and Polyporales.
  • 1.2K
  • 17 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Bladder Ischemia
The concept of bladder ischemia as a contributing factor to detrusor overactivity and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) is evolving. Bladder ischemia as a consequence of pelvic arterial atherosclerosis was first documented in experimental models and later in elderly patients with LUTS. It was shown that early-stage moderate ischemia produces detrusor overactivity, while prolonged severe ischemia provokes changes consistent with detrusor underactivity. Recent studies imply a central role of cellular energy sensors, cellular stress sensors, and stress response molecules in bladder responses to ischemia. The cellular energy sensor adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase was shown to play a role in detrusor overactivity and neurodegeneration in bladder ischemia.
  • 1.2K
  • 15 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Antibody-Drug Conjugate Targeting c-Kit
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for 15–25% of all lung cancers. It exhibits a rapid doubling time and a high degree of invasiveness. Additionally, overexpression of c-Kit occurs in 70% of SCLC patients.
  • 1.2K
  • 29 Mar 2022
Topic Review
MIT for Uric Acid Determination
The application of molecular imprinting technology (MIT) is a fascinating way to obtain the highly selective analytical systems. The terminology of MIT is applicable to both (i) inorganic compounds as it was demonstrated on the silica gel-based system at the very beginning of the history of this technology and also for the (ii) polymeric compounds. In case of the MIT application for the systems based on the polymers, the obtained structures are called MIPs. Uric acid is a biologically active compound, which is found in human fluids (blood and urine). The increased (hyperuricemia) or decreased (hypouricemia) levels of uric acid in the blood and urine are linked to many diseases, including gout, diabetes (type 2), cardiovascular, kidney, and many other. MIPs are offering many analytical and/or technological advantages for electrochemical and some other analytical systems dedicated to the determination of uric acid, which is an important issue in biomedicine, environmental and food chemistry. 
  • 1.2K
  • 21 May 2021
Topic Review
Retroviral Genome Packaging
Retroviruses selectively package two copies of their RNA genomes from a cellular milieu that includes a substantial excess of host and non-genomic viral RNAs. Present understanding of the structural determinants and mechanism of retroviral genome packaging has been derived from combinations of genetic experiments, phylogenetic analyses, nucleotide accessibility mapping, in silico RNA structure predictions, and biophysical studies. Genetic experiments provided early clues regarding the protein and RNA elements required for packaging, and nucleotide accessibility mapping experiments provided insights into the secondary structures of functionally important elements in the genome. Three-dimensional structural determinants of packaging were primarily derived by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. A key advantage of NMR, relative to other methods for determining biomolecular structure (such as X-ray crystallography), is that it is well suited for studies of conformationally dynamic and heterogeneous systems—a hallmark of the retrovirus packaging machinery.
  • 1.2K
  • 06 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Protein-based Subunit Nanovaccine
Protein-based subunit nanovaccines are typically composed of native or altered protein antigens that can self-assemble into nanoparticles, or antigens associated with nanoparticles through covalent or noncovalent interactions. Characteristically, nanovaccines are 1 to 1000 nm in size which generally facilitates the induction of stronger immune responses.
  • 1.2K
  • 18 Oct 2021
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