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Plant, Cell & Environment Mar 2019Plants need to cope with changing environmental conditions, be it variable light or temperature, different availability of water or nutrients, or attack by pathogens or...
Plants need to cope with changing environmental conditions, be it variable light or temperature, different availability of water or nutrients, or attack by pathogens or insects. Some of these changing conditions can become stressful and require strong countermeasures to ensure plant survival. Plants have evolved numerous distinct sensing and signalling mechanisms to perceive and respond appropriately to a variety of stresses. Because of the unpredictable nature of numerous stresses, resource-saving stress response mechanisms are inducible and become activated only upon a stress experience. Furthermore, plants have evolved mechanisms by which they can remember past stress events and prime their responses in order to react more rapidly or more strongly to recurrent stress. Research over the last decade has revealed mechanisms of this information storage and retrieval, which include epigenetic regulation, transcriptional priming, primed conformation of proteins, or specific hormonal or metabolic signatures. There is also increasing understanding of the ecological constraints and relevance of stress priming and memory. This special issue presents research articles and reviews addressing various aspects of this exciting and growing field of research. Here, we introduce the topic by referring to the articles published in this issue, and we outline open questions and future directions of research.
Topics: Adaptation, Physiological; Epigenesis, Genetic; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Plant Physiological Phenomena; Signal Transduction; Stress, Physiological
PubMed: 30779228
DOI: 10.1111/pce.13526 -
Antioxidants & Redox Signaling Feb 2014Mechanotransduction describes the molecular mechanisms by which cells response to changes in their physical environment by translating mechanical stimuli into...
Mechanotransduction describes the molecular mechanisms by which cells response to changes in their physical environment by translating mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals. It is now clear that reactive oxygen species (ROS) and redox signaling play a crucial role in mechanotransduction analogous to their role in chemotransduction. This Forum has particular emphasis on ROS generation with altered mechanical stress, the upstream signal transduction pathways that initiate ROS production, and the downstream effectors that lead to physiological responses. There is particular emphasis on the role of ion channels in the initial response and the role of NADPH oxidases as the major source of ROS. The latter enzyme serves as the fulcrum of the mechanotransduction cascade. Although it seems likely that all cells are mechanosensitive to some degree, we have highlighted the responses of unicellular organisms (bacteria), bone cells, and particularly cells of the vasculature (endothelial cells and vascular smooth muscle cells). These cell types have been useful for studying the responses to altered osmotic pressure, hemodynamic pressure, shear stress, and compressive forces while exploring the link between signal transduction and physiological/pathophysiological responses.
Topics: Humans; Mechanotransduction, Cellular; Osmotic Pressure; Oxidation-Reduction; Reactive Oxygen Species; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 24354342
DOI: 10.1089/ars.2013.5753 -
Discovery Medicine Feb 2017Burn injuries have a consistently high rate of mortality and morbidity and will remain a major health problem because burn injuries can result in repeat admissions for... (Review)
Review
Burn injuries have a consistently high rate of mortality and morbidity and will remain a major health problem because burn injuries can result in repeat admissions for reconstruction and rehabilitation. Thus, addressing the pathophysiology of burns is crucial to improve both therapeutic interventions and patient care. A number of experimental burn models have been employed to study the systemic response of the whole organism and the more detailed cellular and molecular pathways affected by burns. However, an in-depth understanding and the useful application of experimental models are essential for effectively translating laboratory outcomes to clinical treatments. This review highlights the strengths and limitations of recent experimental burn models in vivo and in vitro.
Topics: Animals; Burns; Humans; Mice; Models, Theoretical; Rats; Signal Transduction; Swine
PubMed: 28371612
DOI: No ID Found -
International Journal of Molecular... May 2021Biological signals are sensed by their respective receptors and are transduced and processed by a sophisticated intracellular signaling network leading to a... (Review)
Review
Biological signals are sensed by their respective receptors and are transduced and processed by a sophisticated intracellular signaling network leading to a signal-specific cellular response. Thereby, the response to the signal depends on the strength, the frequency, and the duration of the stimulus as well as on the subcellular signal progression. Optogenetic tools are based on genetically encoded light-sensing proteins facilitating the precise spatiotemporal control of signal transduction pathways and cell fate decisions in the absence of natural ligands. In this review, we provide an overview of optogenetic approaches connecting light-regulated protein-protein interaction or caging/uncaging events with steering the function of signaling proteins. We briefly discuss the most common optogenetic switches and their mode of action. The main part deals with the engineering and application of optogenetic tools for the control of transmembrane receptors including receptor tyrosine kinases, the T cell receptor and integrins, and their effector proteins. We also address the hallmarks of optogenetics, the spatial and temporal control of signaling events.
Topics: Animals; Cell Communication; Cell Differentiation; Humans; Integrins; Light; Optogenetics; Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 34069904
DOI: 10.3390/ijms22105300 -
International Journal of Molecular... Feb 2022The annual meeting "Signal Transduction-Receptors, Mediators and Genes" of the Signal Transduction Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary conference which is open to all...
The annual meeting "Signal Transduction-Receptors, Mediators and Genes" of the Signal Transduction Society (STS) is an interdisciplinary conference which is open to all scientists sharing a common interest in the elucidation of the signaling pathways mediating physiological or pathological processes in the health and disease of humans, animals, plants, fungi, prokaryotes, and protists. The 24th meeting on signal transduction was held from 15 to 17 November 2021 in Weimar, Germany. As usual, keynote presentations by invited scientists introduced the respective workshops, and were followed by speakers chosen from the submitted abstracts. A special workshop focused on "Target Identification and Interaction". Ample time was reserved for the discussion of the presented data during the workshops. Unfortunately, due to restrictions owing to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the poster sessions-and thus intensive scientific discussions at the posters-were not possible. In this report, we provide a concise summary of the various workshops and further aspects of the scientific program.
Topics: Biomedical Research; Germany; Signal Transduction; Societies, Scientific
PubMed: 35216127
DOI: 10.3390/ijms23042015 -
Current Neurovascular Research May 2008Unmitigated oxidative stress can lead to diminished cellular longevity, accelerated aging, and accumulated toxic effects for an organism. Current investigations further... (Review)
Review
Unmitigated oxidative stress can lead to diminished cellular longevity, accelerated aging, and accumulated toxic effects for an organism. Current investigations further suggest the significant disadvantages that can occur with cellular oxidative stress that can lead to clinical disability in a number of disorders, such as myocardial infarction, dementia, stroke, and diabetes. New therapeutic strategies are therefore sought that can be directed toward ameliorating the toxic effects of oxidative stress. Here we discuss the exciting potential of the growth factor and cytokine erythropoietin for the treatment of diseases such as cardiac ischemia, vascular injury, neurodegeneration, and diabetes through the modulation of cellular oxidative stress. Erythropoietin controls a variety of signal transduction pathways during oxidative stress that can involve Janus-tyrosine kinase 2, protein kinase B, signal transducer and activator of transcription pathways, Wnt proteins, mammalian forkhead transcription factors, caspases, and nuclear factor kappaB. Yet, the biological effects of erythropoietin may not always be beneficial and may be poor tolerated in a number of clinical scenarios, necessitating further basic and clinical investigations that emphasize the elucidation of the signal transduction pathways controlled by erythropoietin to direct both successful and safe clinical care.
Topics: Animals; Erythropoietin; Humans; Oxidative Stress; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 18473829
DOI: 10.2174/156720208784310231 -
Acta Physiologica (Oxford, England) Mar 2020
Topics: Endothelium; Glycocalyx; Mechanotransduction, Cellular; Signal Transduction; Syndecan-4
PubMed: 31663265
DOI: 10.1111/apha.13410 -
Brain Research May 2013Pharmacology, in its broadest interpretation, is defined as the study of the interaction between physiological entities and drugs. In modern neuropsychopharmacology,... (Review)
Review
Pharmacology, in its broadest interpretation, is defined as the study of the interaction between physiological entities and drugs. In modern neuropsychopharmacology, this interaction is viewed as the drug itself on one side and signal transducer (receptor), the signal transduction cascade (effector proteins, second messengers), the cellular response (transcriptional regulation, activity modulation), the organ response (brain circuitry modulation), and, finally, the whole organism response (behavior) on the other. In other words, pharmacology has structured itself around the idea that the exogenous molecule (the drug) encodes a "signal" leading to everything on the other side including, in extreme renditions, a physiological response. The inference is that engaging a particular signal transduction pathway in a defined cell type leads inexorably to a prototypic physiological response. Thus, for instance, serotonergic activation of 5-HT(2A) receptors in rat aortic smooth muscle cells leads to an increase in intracellular Ca(++) (via IP₃ release) and smooth muscle contraction (Roth et al., 1986). Here, we suggest that the invention of synthetic ligand--GPCR pairs (aka DREADDs, RASSLS, 'pharmacogenetics') permits the study of pharmacology using a shifted equation: more of the signal transduction elements moved to the left and, subsequently, under experimental control. For the purposes of disambiguation and to clarify this new interpretation as a creation of pharmacological manipulation, we present the term pharmacosynthetics to describe what has heretofore been called pharmacogenetics or chemicogenetics. This review discusses this new interpretation and reviews recent applications of the technology and considerations of the approach. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Optogenetics (7th BRES).
Topics: Animals; Humans; Models, Biological; Neurons; Pharmacogenetics; Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 23063887
DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.09.043 -
Microbiology and Molecular Biology... Sep 2013The most common prokaryotic signal transduction mechanisms are the one-component systems in which a single polypeptide contains both a sensory domain and a DNA-binding... (Review)
Review
The most common prokaryotic signal transduction mechanisms are the one-component systems in which a single polypeptide contains both a sensory domain and a DNA-binding domain. Among the >20 classes of one-component systems, the TetR family of regulators (TFRs) are widely associated with antibiotic resistance and the regulation of genes encoding small-molecule exporters. However, TFRs play a much broader role, controlling genes involved in metabolism, antibiotic production, quorum sensing, and many other aspects of prokaryotic physiology. There are several well-established model systems for understanding these important proteins, and structural studies have begun to unveil the mechanisms by which they bind DNA and recognize small-molecule ligands. The sequences for more than 200,000 TFRs are available in the public databases, and genomics studies are identifying their target genes. Three-dimensional structures have been solved for close to 200 TFRs. Comparison of these structures reveals a common overall architecture of nine conserved α helices. The most important open question concerning TFR biology is the nature and diversity of their ligands and how these relate to the biochemical processes under their control.
Topics: Bacterial Proteins; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Quorum Sensing; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 24006471
DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.00018-13 -
Developmental Cell Jul 2020Metabolites affect cell growth in two different ways. First, they serve as building blocks for biomass accumulation. Second, metabolites regulate the activity of... (Review)
Review
Metabolites affect cell growth in two different ways. First, they serve as building blocks for biomass accumulation. Second, metabolites regulate the activity of growth-relevant signaling pathways. They do so in part by covalently attaching to proteins, thereby generating post-translational modifications (PTMs) that affect protein function, the focus of this Perspective. Recent advances in mass spectrometry have revealed a wide variety of such metabolites, including lipids, amino acids, Coenzyme-A, acetate, malonate, and lactate to name a few. An active area of research is to understand which modifications affect protein function and how they do so. In many cases, the cellular levels of these metabolites affect the stoichiometry of the corresponding PTMs, providing a direct link between cell metabolism and the control of cell signaling, transcription, and cell growth.
Topics: Acetylation; Histones; Humans; Methylation; Phosphorylation; Protein Processing, Post-Translational; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 32693055
DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.06.036