Search results for "Signaling."
showing 10 items of 1102 documents
Evolutionary Analysis of DELLA-Associated Transcriptional Networks
2017
DELLA proteins are transcriptional regulators present in all land plants which have been shown to modulate the activity of over 100 transcription factors in Arabidopsis, involved in multiple physiological and developmental processes. It has been proposed that DELLAs transduce environmental information to pre-wired transcriptional circuits because their stability is regulated by gibberellins (GAs), whose homeostasis largely depends on environmental signals. The ability of GAs to promote DELLA degradation coincides with the origin of vascular plants, but the presence of DELLAs in other land plants poses at least two questions: what regulatory properties have DELLAs provided to the behavior of…
The biology of color
2017
In living color Animals live in a colorful world, but we rarely stop to think about how this color is produced and perceived, or how it evolved. Cuthill et al. review how color is used for social signals between individual animals and how it affects interactions with parasites, predators, and the physical environment. New approaches are elucidating aspects of animal coloration, from the requirements for complex cognition and perception mechanisms to the evolutionary dynamics surrounding its development and diversification. Science , this issue p. eaan0221
New Highlights of Resveratrol: A Review of Properties against Ocular Diseases
2021
Eye diseases are currently a major public health concern due to the growing number of cases resulting from both an aging of populations and exogenous factors linked to our lifestyles. Thus, many treatments including surgical pharmacological approaches have emerged, and special attention has been paid to prevention, where diet plays a preponderant role. Recently, potential antioxidants such as resveratrol have received much attention as potential tools against various ocular diseases. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms of resveratrol against ocular diseases, in particular age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract, diabetic retinopathy, and vitreoretinopathy. We analyze, in…
Cortex-wide BOLD fMRI activity reflects locally-recorded slow oscillation-associated calcium waves.
2017
When a person is in a deep non-dreaming sleep, neurons in their brain alternate slowly between periods of silence and periods of activity. This gives rise to low-frequency brain rhythms called slow waves, which are thought to help stabilize memories. Slow wave activity can be detected on multiple scales, from the pattern of electrical impulses sent by an individual neuron to the collective activity of the brain’s entire outer layer, the cortex. But does slow wave activity in an individual group of neurons in the cortex affect the activity of the rest of the brain? To find out, Schwalm, Schmid, Wachsmuth et al. took advantage of the fact that slow waves also occur under general anesthesia, a…
Phosphorylated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motifs and integrin cytoplasmic domains activate spleen tyrosine kinase via distinct mechanis…
2018
Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) is involved in cellular adhesion and also in the activation and development of hematopoietic cells. Syk activation induced by genomic rearrangement has been linked to certain T-cell lymphomas, and Syk inhibitors have been shown to prolong survival of patients with B-cell lineage malignancies. Syk is activated either by its interaction with a double-phosphorylated immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif (pITAM), which induces rearrangements in the Syk structure, or by the phosphorylation of specific tyrosine residues. In addition to its immunoreceptor function, Syk is activated downstream of integrin pathways, and integrins bind to the same region in Syk a…
The cAMP pathway as therapeutic target in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases
2016
Nucleotide signaling molecules contribute to the regulation of cellular pathways. In the immune system, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is well established as a potent regulator of innate and adaptive immune cell functions. Therapeutic strategies to interrupt or enhance cAMP generation or effects have immunoregulatory potential in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. Here, we provide an overview of the cyclic AMP axis and its role as a regulator of immune functions and discuss the clinical and translational relevance of interventions with these processes.
The Unfolded Protein Response Plays a Predominant Homeostatic Role in Response to Mitochondrial Stress in Pancreatic Stellate Cells.
2016
Activated pancreatic stellate cells (PaSC) are key participants in the stroma of pancreatic cancer, secreting extracellular matrix proteins and inflammatory mediators. Tumors are poorly vascularized, creating metabolic stress conditions in cancer and stromal cells that necessitate adaptive homeostatic cellular programs. Activation of autophagy and the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response (UPR) have been described in hepatic stellate cells, but the role of these processes in PaSC responses to metabolic stress is unknown. We reported that the PI3K/mTOR pathway, which AMPK can regulate through multiple inputs, modulates PaSC activation and fibrogenic potential. Here, using primary a…
Non-coding RNAs Functioning in Colorectal Cancer Stem Cells
2016
In recent years, the hypothesis of the presence of tumor-initiating cancer stem cells (CSCs) has received a considerable support. This model suggested the existence of CSCs which, thanks to their self-renewal properties, are able to drive the expansion and the maintenance of malignant cell populations with invasive and metastatic potential in cancer. Increasing evidence showed the ability of such cells to acquire self-renewal, multipotency, angiogenic potential, immune evasion, symmetrical and asymmetrical divisions which, along with the presence of several DNA repair mechanisms, further enhance their oncogenic potential making them highly resistant to common anticancer treatments. The main…
Wnt1 is an Lrp5-independent bone-anabolic Wnt ligand.
2018
Wnt signaling is important for proper embryonic development, shaping cell fate and migration, stem cell renewal, and organ and tissue formation. Here, Luther et al. investigated the role of Wnt1 in osteoporosis. Patients with early-onset osteoporosis and with WNT1 mutations had low bone turnover and high fracture rates, and loss of Wnt1 activity caused fracture and osteoporosis in mice. Inducing Wnt1 in bone-forming cells increased bone mass in aged mice, and this process did not require Lrp5, a co-receptor involved in Wnt signaling. This study identifies Wnt1 as an anabolic (bone building) factor and suggests that it might be a therapeutic target for osteoporosis.WNT1 mutations in humans a…
TSH/IGF-1 Receptor Cross-Talk Rapidly Activates Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinases in Multiple Cell Types
2017
We previously showed that thyrotropin (TSH)/insulinlike growth factor (IGF)-1 receptor cross-talk appears to be involved in Graves’ orbitopathy (GO) pathogenesis and upregulation of thyroid-specific genes in human thyrocytes. In orbital fibroblasts from GO patients, coadministration of TSH and IGF-1 induces synergistic increases in hyaluronan secretion. In human thyrocytes, TSH plus IGF-1 synergistically increased expression of the sodium-iodide symporter that appeared to involve ERK1/2 activation. However, the details of ERK1/2 activation were not known, nor was whether ERK1/2 was involved in this synergism in other cell types. Using primary cultures of GO fibroblasts (GOFs) and human thyr…