Topic Review
Telomere Length and Male Fertility
Telomeres are evolutionary conserved,  multifunctional  DNA-protein complexes located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Infertility is the inability of a couple to conceive naturally after one year of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.  Male infertility is a complex multifactorial pathological condition with profoundly different phenotypic presentations. Lifestyle factors, genetics, and telomeres are associated with male infertility. A moderate involvement of telomere length in male infertility and SNPs to be pleiotropic and to be involved in other regulatory mechanisms independent from telomere homeostasis, but involved in the spermatogenic process.
  • 474
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
AtWAKL10
Receptor-like kinases (RLKs) constitute a large group of cell surface receptors that play crucial roles in multiple biological processes. However, the function of most RLKs in plants has not been extensively explored, and much less for the class of cell wall associated kinases (WAKs) and WAK-like kinases (WAKLs). In this study, analyses of developmental expression patterns uncovered a putative role of AtWAKL10 in modulating leaf senescence, which was further investigated at physiological and molecular levels. The expression level of AtWAKL10 increased with the developmental progression and was rapidly upregulated in senescing leaf tissues. The promoter of AtWAKL10 contains various defense and hormone responsive elements, and its expression could be significantly induced by exogenous ABA, JA and SA. Moreover, the loss-of-function atwakl10 mutant showed earlier senescence along the course of natural development and accelerated leaf senescence under darkness and hormonal stresses, while plants overexpressing AtWAKL10 showed an opposite trend.
  • 460
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
Interleukin-1β and Type I Interferons
Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and type I interferons (IFNs) are major cytokines involved in autoinflammatory/autoimmune diseases. Separately, the overproduction of each of these cytokines is well described and constitutes the hallmark of inflammasomopathies and interferonopathies, respectively. While their interaction and the crosstalk between their downstream signaling pathways has been mostly investigated in the frame of infectious diseases, little information on their interconnection is still available in the context of autoinflammation promoted by sterile triggers.
  • 407
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
B Cells in Autoimmunity
B cells are key players in this relationship because activated and differentiated B cells produce secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), which binds commensal bacteria to preserve a healthy microbial ecosystem.
  • 501
  • 18 May 2021
Topic Review
Vertebrate Ferlins
Ferlins are multiple-C2-domain proteins involved in Ca2+-triggered membrane dynamics within the secretory, endocytic and lysosomal pathways. In bony vertebrates there are six ferlin genes encoding, in humans, dysferlin, otoferlin, myoferlin, Fer1L5 and 6 and the long noncoding RNA Fer1L4. Mutations in DYSF (dysferlin) can cause a range of muscle diseases with various clinical manifestations collectively known as dysferlinopathies, including limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2B (LGMD2B) and Miyoshi myopathy. A mutation in MYOF (myoferlin) was linked to a muscular dystrophy accompanied by cardiomyopathy. Mutations in OTOF (otoferlin) can be the cause of nonsyndromic deafness DFNB9. Dysregulated expression of any human ferlin may be associated with development of cancer.
  • 663
  • 17 May 2021
Topic Review
Exosomes in Bone Sarcomas
Bone sarcomas are rare cancers which often present with metastatic disease and are still associated with poor survival rates. Studies in the last decade have identified that exosomes, a type of extracellular vesicle released by cells, play an important role in tumour progression and dissemination. Through the transfer of their cargo (RNAs, proteins, and lipids) across cells, they are involved in cellular cross-talk and can induce changes in cellular behaviour. Exosomes have been shown to be important in metastasis organotropism, induction of angiogenesis and vascular permeability, the education of cells towards a pro-metastatic phenotype or the interaction between stromal and tumour cells. Due to the importance exosomes have in disease progression and the high incidence of metastasis in bone sarcomas, recent studies have evaluated the implications of these extracellular vesicles in bone sarcomas.
  • 547
  • 17 May 2021
Topic Review
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases
The receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a large family of cell-surface receptors, which are essential components of signal transduction pathways. There are more than fifty human RTKs that can be grouped into multiple RTK subfamilies. RTKs mediate cellular signaling transduction, and they play important roles in the regulation of numerous cellular processes. The dysregulation of RTK signaling is related to various human diseases, including cancers. The proteolytic cleavage phenomenon has frequently been found among multiple receptor tyrosine kinases. More and more information about proteolytic cleavage in RTKs has been discovered, providing rich insight.
  • 1.3K
  • 16 May 2021
Topic Review
Mesenchymal Stem Cell
Mesenchymal stem cells have generated a great deal of interest due to their potential use in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. Examples illustrating their therapeutic value across various in vivo models are demonstrated in the literature. However, some clinical trials have not proved their therapeutic efficacy, showing that translation into clinical practice is considerably more difficult and discrepancies in clinical protocols can be a source of failure. Among the critical factors which play an important role in MSCs’ therapeutic efficiency are the method of preservation of the stem cell viability and various characteristics during their storage and transportation from the GMP production facility to the patient’s bedside. The cell storage medium should be considered a key factor stabilizing the environment and greatly influencing cell viability and potency and therefore the effectiveness of advanced therapy medicinal product (ATMP) based on MSCs.
  • 505
  • 14 May 2021
Topic Review
γδ T Cells in ARDs
Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs), affecting ~1–1.5% of all humans, are associated with considerable life long morbidity and early mortality. Early studies in the 1990s showed numerical changes of the recently discovered γδ T cells in the peripheral blood and in affected tissues of patients with a variety of ARDs, kindling interest in their role in the immuno-pathogenesis of these chronic inflammatory conditions. Indeed, later studies applied rapid developments in the understanding of γδ T cell biology, including antigens recognized by γδ T cells, their developmental programs, states of activation, and cytokine production profiles, to analyze their contribution to the pathological immune response in these disorders.
  • 644
  • 14 May 2021
Topic Review
Sec61
The heterotrimeric Sec61 complex of the ER membrane represents the major entry point for precursor polypeptides into the membrane or lumen of the ER. It forms a polypeptide-conducting channel, who's gating (i.e. opening and closing) involves various interactions partners. Mutations in the genes, which are coding for the Sec61 subunits or their interaction partners, can cause diseases (termed Sec61-channelopathies).
  • 788
  • 14 May 2021
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