In: Current opinion in genetics & development, 2021, vol. 71, p. 39-47
DNA breaks may arise accidentally in vegetative cells or in a programmed manner in meiosis. The usage of a DNA template makes homologous recombination potentially error-free, however, recombination is not always accurate. Cells possess a remarkable capacity to tailor processing of recombination intermediates to fulfill a particular need. Vegetatively growing cells aim to maintain genome...
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In: Non-coding RNA, 2021, vol. 7, no. 2, p. 13
Stressful conditions induce the cell to save energy and activate a rescue program modulated by mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Along with transcriptional and translational regulation, the cell relies also on post-transcriptional modulation to quickly adapt the translation of essential proteins. MicroRNAs play an important role in the regulation of protein translation, and their...
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In: Cells, 2020, vol. 9, no. 9, p. 11 p
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...
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In: DNA repair, 2020, vol. 91–92, no. July–August, p. 13 p
When DNA breaks, the ends need to be stabilized and processed to facilitate subsequent repair, which can occur by either direct but error-prone end-joining with another broken DNA molecule or a more accurate homology-directed repair by the recombination machinery. At the same time, the presence of broken DNA triggers a signaling cascade that regulates the repair events and cellular progression...
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In: International journal of molecular sciences, 2017, vol. 18, no. 10, p. 2042
Microtubules are the main components of mitotic spindles, and are the pillars of the cellular cytoskeleton. They perform most of their cellular functions by virtue of their unique dynamic instability processes which alternate between polymerization and depolymerization phases. This in turn is driven by a precise balance between attraction and repulsion forces between the constituents of...
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In: Pharmaceuticals, 2018, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 22
The Toll-Like Receptor 7 (TLR7) is an endosomal membrane receptor involved in the innate immune system response. Its best-known small molecule activators are imidazoquinoline derivatives such as imiquimod (R-837) and resiquimod (R-848). Recently, an interaction between R-837 and the colchicine binding site of tubulin was reported. To investigate the possibility of an interaction between...
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In: DNA and cell biology
Hunter’s syndrome (mucopolysaccharidosis type II) is a rare X-linked lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the iduronate 2-sulfatase (IDS) gene. Motivated by the case of a child affected by this syndrome, we compared the intracellular fate of wild type IDS (IDSWT) and of four nonsense mutations of IDS (IDSL482X, IDSY452X, IDSR443X and IDSW337X) generating progressively shorter ...
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In: Trends in biochemical sciences, 2019, vol. 44, no. 7, p. 589-598
Upon recognition of an antigen, the differentiation of antigen-inexperienced naïve T lymphocytes into subsets able to effectively coordinate host defense is controlled by a network of transcription factors and regulatory molecules. In the cell nucleus, these factors act in the context of epigenetic modifications that influence DNA accessibility and ultimately gene expression. This review...
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In: Critical reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology, 2019, vol. 54, no. 2, p. 153-163
About 40% of the eukaryotic cell’s proteins are inserted co- or post-translationally in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where they attain the native structure under the assistance of resident molecular chaperones and folding enzymes. Subsequently, these proteins are secreted from cells or are transported to their sites of function at the plasma membrane or in organelles of the secretory and ...
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In: Cell host & microbe, 2019, vol. 26, no. 5, p. p. 623-637.e8
Potent and broadly neutralizing antibodies (bnAbs) are the hallmark of HIV-1 protection by vaccination. The membrane-proximal external region (MPER) of the HIV-1 gp41 fusion protein is targeted by the most broadly reactive HIV-1 neutralizing antibodies. Here, we examine the structural and molecular mechansims of neutralization by anti-MPER bnAb, LN01, which was isolated from lymph-node-derived...
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