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Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2022
Topics: Animals; Biological Phenomena; Parasites; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 35967874
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.962047 -
FEBS Letters Jul 2017Homologous recombination (HR) is the process whereby two DNA molecules that share high sequence similarity are able to recombine to generate hybrid DNA molecules.... (Review)
Review
Homologous recombination (HR) is the process whereby two DNA molecules that share high sequence similarity are able to recombine to generate hybrid DNA molecules. Throughout evolution, the ability of HR to identify highly similar DNA sequences has been adopted for numerous biological phenomena including DNA repair, meiosis, telomere maintenance, ribosomal DNA amplification and immunological diversity. Although Rad51 and Dmc1 are the key proteins that promote HR in mitotic and meiotic cells, respectively, accessory proteins that allow Rad51 and Dmc1 to effectively fulfil their functions have been identified in all examined model systems. In this Review, we discuss the roles of the highly conserved Swi5-Sfr1 accessory complex in yeast, mice and humans, and explore similarities and differences between these species.
Topics: Animals; Conserved Sequence; Homologous Recombination; Humans; Nuclear Proteins; Recombinases; Schizosaccharomyces; Species Specificity
PubMed: 28423184
DOI: 10.1002/1873-3468.12656 -
Cellular Microbiology Jul 2021The interactions between microbes and their hosts are among the most complex biological phenomena known today. The interaction may reach from overall beneficial... (Review)
Review
The interactions between microbes and their hosts are among the most complex biological phenomena known today. The interaction may reach from overall beneficial interaction, as observed for most microbiome/microbiota related interactions to interaction with virulent pathogens, against which host cells have evolved sophisticated defence strategies. Among the latter, the confinement of invading pathogens in a phagosome plays a key role, which often results in the destruction of the invader, whereas some pathogens may counteract phagosomal arrest and survive by gaining access to the cytosol of the host cell. In the current review, we will discuss recent insights into this dynamic process of host-pathogen interaction, using Mycobacterium tuberculosis and related pathogenic mycobacteria as main examples.
Topics: Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Phagocytosis; Phagosomes; Tuberculosis
PubMed: 33860624
DOI: 10.1111/cmi.13344 -
American Journal of Public Health Jan 2024
Topics: Humans; Health Workforce; Public Health; Workforce; Biological Phenomena
PubMed: 38091562
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2023.307524 -
Journal of Biology 2009
Topics: Animals; Biological Phenomena; Epistasis, Genetic; Genetics, Population; Mutation; Phenotype
PubMed: 19486505
DOI: 10.1186/jbiol144 -
Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta.... Nov 2019Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a developmental biological process that is hijacked during tumor progression. Cadherin switching, which disrupts adherens... (Review)
Review
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a developmental biological process that is hijacked during tumor progression. Cadherin switching, which disrupts adherens junctions and alters cadherin-associated signaling pathways, is common during EMT. In many tumors, substantial extracellular matrix (ECM) is deposited. Collagen is the most abundant ECM constituent and it mediates specific signaling pathways by binding to integrins and discoidin domain receptors (DDRs). The interaction of the collagen receptors results in activation of signaling pathways that promote tumor progression including an induction of the cadherin switching. DDR inhibitors have demonstrated anticancer therapeutic efficacy preclinically by inhibiting the collagen signaling. Understanding how collagen signaling impacts cellular processes including EMT and cadherin switching is of great interest especially given the strong interest in stromal targeted therapies for desmoplastic cancers.
Topics: Adherens Junctions; Antineoplastic Agents; Biological Phenomena; Cadherins; Cell Adhesion; Collagen; Discoidin Domain Receptors; Disease Progression; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition; Extracellular Matrix; Humans; Neoplasms; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 30954569
DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2019.04.002 -
The Journal of Physiology Jul 2020A primary limitation in the use of pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (PSC-CMs) for both patient health and scientific investigation is the failure of these... (Review)
Review
A primary limitation in the use of pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (PSC-CMs) for both patient health and scientific investigation is the failure of these cells to achieve full functional maturity. In vivo, cardiomyocytes undergo numerous adaptive structural, functional and metabolic changes during maturation. By contrast, PSC-CMs fail to fully undergo these developmental processes, instead remaining arrested at an embryonic stage of maturation. There is thus a significant need to understand the biological processes underlying proper CM maturation in vivo. Here, we discuss what is known regarding the initiation and coordination of CM maturation. We postulate that there is a critical perinatal window, ranging from embryonic day 18.5 to postnatal day 14 in mice, in which the maturation process is exquisitely sensitive to perturbation. While the initiation mechanisms of this process are unknown, it is increasingly clear that maturation proceeds through interconnected regulatory circuits that feed into one another to coordinate concomitant structural, functional and metabolic CM maturation. We highlight PGC1α, SRF and the MEF2 family as transcription factors that may potentially mediate this cross-talk. We lastly discuss several emerging technologies that will facilitate future studies into the mechanisms of CM maturation. Further study will not only produce a better understanding of its key processes, but provide practical insights into developing a robust strategy to produce mature PSC-CMs.
Topics: Animals; Biological Phenomena; Cell Differentiation; Humans; Mice; Myocytes, Cardiac; Pluripotent Stem Cells
PubMed: 30571853
DOI: 10.1113/JP276754 -
PLoS Biology Nov 2022Well-designed animations can help students to focus on the underlying principles and processes in biology rather than relying on rote memorization. We present...
Well-designed animations can help students to focus on the underlying principles and processes in biology rather than relying on rote memorization. We present question-driven, terminology-free, "candymation" videos for teaching the concepts behind mitosis and meiosis as an example.
Topics: Humans; Students; Biological Phenomena
PubMed: 36395079
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001875 -
Biological Research For Nursing Jul 2019Incorporating biologically based data into symptom science research can contribute substantially to understanding commonly experienced symptoms across chronic... (Review)
Review
Incorporating biologically based data into symptom science research can contribute substantially to understanding commonly experienced symptoms across chronic conditions. The purpose of this literature review was to identify functional polymorphisms associated with common symptoms (i.e., pain, sleep disturbance, fatigue, affective and cognitive symptoms) with the goal of identifying a parsimonious list of functional genetic polymorphisms with evidence to advocate for their inclusion in symptom science research. PubMed was searched to identify genes and functional polymorphisms associated with symptoms across chronic conditions, revealing eight functional genetic polymorphisms in seven different genes that showed evidence of association with at least three or more symptoms and/or symptom clusters: rs6265, rs4680, rs3800373, rs1800795, rs1056890, 5-HTTLPR+rs25531, and rs1799964 and rs1800629. Of these genes, three represent protein biomarkers previously identified as common data elements for symptom science research (BDNF, IL-6, and TNFA), and the polymorphisms in these genes identified through the search are known to impact secretion or level of transcription of these protein biomarkers. Inclusion of genotype data for polymorphisms offers great potential to further advance scientific knowledge of the biological basis of individual symptoms and symptom clusters across studies. Additionally, these polymorphisms have the potential to be used as targets to optimize precision health through the identification of individuals at risk for poor symptom experiences as well as the development of symptom management interventions.
Topics: Biological Phenomena; Biomarkers; Fatigue; Genotype; Humans; Pain; Polymorphism, Genetic; Sleep Wake Disorders; Syndrome
PubMed: 31023072
DOI: 10.1177/1099800419846407 -
Physical Biology Sep 2023Cells communicate with each other to jointly regulate cellular processes during cellular differentiation and tissue morphogenesis. This multiscale coordination arises... (Review)
Review
Cells communicate with each other to jointly regulate cellular processes during cellular differentiation and tissue morphogenesis. This multiscale coordination arises through the spatiotemporal activity of morphogens to pattern cell signaling and transcriptional factor activity. This coded information controls cell mechanics, proliferation, and differentiation to shape the growth and morphogenesis of organs. While many of the molecular components and physical interactions have been identified in key model developmental systems, there are still many unresolved questions related to the dynamics involved due to challenges in precisely perturbing and quantitatively measuring signaling dynamics. Recently, a broad range of synthetic optogenetic tools have been developed and employed to quantitatively define relationships between signal transduction and downstream cellular responses. These optogenetic tools can control intracellular activities at the single cell or whole tissue scale to direct subsequent biological processes. In this brief review, we highlight a selected set of studies that develop and implement optogenetic tools to unravel quantitative biophysical mechanisms for tissue growth and morphogenesis across a broad range of biological systems through the manipulation of morphogens, signal transduction cascades, and cell mechanics. More generally, we discuss how optogenetic tools have emerged as a powerful platform for probing and controlling multicellular development.
Topics: Optogenetics; Morphogenesis; Cell Communication; Signal Transduction; Biological Phenomena
PubMed: 37678266
DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/acf7a1