Search results for "skeleton"

Neuronal Cytoskeleton in Intellectual Disability: From Systems Biology and Modeling to Therapeutic Opportunities

2021

Intellectual disability (ID) is a pathological condition characterized by limited intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors. It affects 1–3% of the worldwide population, and no pharmacological therapies are currently available. More than 1000 genes have been found mutated in ID patients pointing out that, despite the common phenotype, the genetic bases are highly heterogeneous and apparently unrelated. Bibliomic analysis reveals that ID genes converge onto a few biological modules, including cytoskeleton dynamics, whose regulation depends on Rho GTPases transduction. Genetic variants exert their effects at different levels in a hierarchical arrangement, starting from the molecular lev…

SNPs in bone-related miRNAs are associated with the osteoporotic phenotype

2017

AbstractBiogenesis and function of microRNAs can be influenced by genetic variants in the pri-miRNA sequences leading to phenotypic variability. This study aims to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) affecting the expression levels of bone-related mature microRNAs and thus, triggering an osteoporotic phenotype. An association analysis of SNPs located in pri-miRNA sequences with bone mineral density (BMD) was performed in the OSTEOMED2 cohort (n = 2183). Functional studies were performed for assessing the role of BMD-associated miRNAs in bone cells. Two SNPs, rs6430498 in the miR-3679 and rs12512664 in the miR-4274, were significantly associated with femoral neck BMD. Further, we…

The stressed cytoskeleton: How actin dynamics can shape stress-related consequences on synaptic plasticity and complex behavior

2015

Stress alters synaptic plasticity but the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which environmental stimuli modulate synaptic function remain to be elucidated. Actin filaments are the major structural component of synapses and their rearrangements by actin-binding proteins (ABPs) are critical for fine-tuning synaptic plasticity. Accumulating evidence suggests that some ABPs are specifically regulated by stress and stress-related effectors such as glucocorticoids and corticotropin releasing hormone. ABPs may thus be central in stress-induced perturbations at the level of synaptic plasticity, leading to impairments in behavioral domains including cognitive performance and social behavior.…

The swinholide biosynthesis gene cluster from a terrestrial cyanobacterium, Nostoc sp. strain UHCC 0450

2017

ABSTRACT Swinholides are 42-carbon ring polyketides with a 2-fold axis of symmetry. They are potent cytotoxins that disrupt the actin cytoskeleton. Swinholides were discovered from the marine sponge Theonella sp. and were long suspected to be produced by symbiotic bacteria. Misakinolide, a structural variant of swinholide, was recently demonstrated to be the product of a symbiotic heterotrophic proteobacterium. Here, we report the production of swinholide A by an axenic strain of the terrestrial cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. strain UHCC 0450. We located the 85-kb trans -AT polyketide synthase (PKS) swinholide biosynthesis gene cluster from a draft genome of Nostoc sp. UHCC 0450. The swinholide …

Biomineralization toolkit: the importance of sample cleaning prior to the characterization of biomineral proteomes.

2013

In an interesting work published recently in PNAS, Drake et al. (1) presented a proteomic study of the skeleton from the stony coral Stylophora pistillata . This study identified proteins that are associated to the mineral phase (i.e., that potentially contribute to shape the skeleton). In other words, this set of proteins is supposed to represent the so-called “biomineralization toolkit.” Although some of the 36 proteins reported in Drake et al. (1) appear as genuine extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins related to biomineralization, such as coral acid-rich proteins or carbonic anhydrase, some others are obvious intracellular contaminants that should not be considered as skeletal organic mat…

2013

Controlling the position of the nucleus is vital for a number of cellular processes from yeast to humans. In Drosophila nurse cells, nuclear positioning is crucial during dumping, when nurse cells contract and expel their contents into the oocyte. We provide evidence that in nurse cells, continuous filopodia-like actin cables, growing from the plasma membrane and extending to the nucleus, achieve nuclear positioning. These actin cables move nuclei away from ring canals. When nurse cells contract, actin cables associate laterally with the nuclei, in some cases inducing nuclear turning so that actin cables become partially wound around the nuclei. Our data suggest that a perinuclear actin mes…

Robotic Rehabilitation and Multimodal Instrumented Assessment of Post-stroke Elbow Motor Functions-A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

2020

Background: The reliable assessment, attribution, and alleviation of upper-limb joint stiffness are essential clinical objectives in the early rehabilitation from stroke and other neurological disorders, to prevent the progression of neuromuscular pathology and enable proactive physiotherapy toward functional recovery. However, the current clinical evaluation and treatment of this stiffness (and underlying muscle spasticity) are severely limited by their dependence on subjective evaluation and manual limb mobilization, thus rendering the evaluation imprecise and the treatment insufficiently tailored to the specific pathologies and residual capabilities of individual patients. Methods: To ad…

The relationship between loading history and proximal femoral diaphysis cross-sectional geometry

2017

Objectives We investigated the relationship between loading history and bone biomechanical properties used in physical activity reconstructions. These bone properties included bone bending and torsional strength (J), cortical area (CA), the direction of the major axis (theta angle), and element shape ratios determined from cross sections of standardized bone length. In addition, we explored the applicability of anatomically determined cross sections. Methods Our material consisted of hip and proximal thigh magnetic resonance images of Finnish female athletes (N = 91) engaged in high-jump, triple-jump, endurance running, swimming, power-lifting, soccer and squash; along with a group of activ…

Cytotoxicity of 35 medicinal plants from Sudan towards sensitive and multidrug-resistant cancer cells

2015

Abstract Background Cancer is a complex disease with multiple genetic and epigenetic alterations. Since decades, the hallmark of cancer therapy is chemotherapy. Cytotoxic drugs erase rapidly dividing cells without sufficient differentiation between normal and cancerous cells resulting in severe side effects in normal tissues. Recently, strategies for cancer treatment focused on targeting specific proteins involved in tumor growth and progression. The present study was designed to investigate the cytotoxicity of 65 crude extracts from 35 Sudanese medicinal plants towards various cancer cell lines expressing molecular mechanisms of resistance towards classical chemotherapeutics (two ATP-bindi…

Regulatory T cell-derived adenosine induces dendritic cell migration through the Epac-Rap1 pathway.

2014

Abstract Dendritic cells (DC) are one target for immune suppression by regulatory T cells (Treg), because their interaction results in reduced T cell stimulatory capacity and secretion of inhibitory cytokines in DC. We show that DC in the presence of Treg are more mobile as compared with cocultures with conventional CD4+ T cells and form DC–Treg aggregates within 2 h of culture. The migration of DC was specifically directed toward Treg, as Treg, but not CD4+ T cells, attracted DC in Boyden chambers. Treg deficient for the ectonucleotidase CD39 were unable to attract DC. Likewise, addition of antagonists for A2A adenosine receptors abolished the formation of DC–Treg clusters, indicating a ro…