Publications by authors named "Emily A Todd"

Article Synopsis
  • Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) co-occur, showing distinct differences in how they affect males and females, despite similar risk factors for both sexes.
  • In a study using male and female mice, males on a high-adenine diet developed more severe CKD and displayed significant cardiac issues, like left ventricular hypertrophy and prolonged QTc intervals, compared to females.
  • A new ECG marker called S-J duration was identified, increasing with disease progression, and highlighting the importance of studying these sex-specific cardiac differences in CKD-induced CVD.
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Bone tissue regeneration is a rapidly evolving field aimed at the development of biocompatible materials and devices, such as scaffolds, to treat diseased and damaged osseous tissue. Functional scaffolds maintain structural integrity and provide mechanical support at the defect site during the healing process, while simultaneously enabling or improving regeneration through amplified cellular cues between the scaffold and native tissues. Ample research on functionalization has been conducted to improve scaffold-host tissue interaction, including fabrication techniques, biomaterial selection, scaffold surface modifications, integration of bioactive molecular additives, and post-processing modifications.

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Echocardiography is frequently used to evaluate cardiac function in rodent models of cardiovascular disease. Whereas methods to acquire the commonly used echocardiography parameters are well-described in published protocols or manuals, many important parameters are ill-defined and often open to subjective interpretation. Such lack of uniformity has engendered conflicting interpretations of the same parameters in published literature.

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Article Synopsis
  • JAK2 is a key kinase that regulates blood cell development, and its excessive activation can lead to blood cancers.
  • The study found that the CBL family E3 ubiquitin ligases help control JAK2 levels by promoting its degradation through a protein called LNK/SH2B3.
  • In experiments, inhibiting JAK2 reduced the growth of abnormal blood cells and leukemia in mice, and human leukemias with certain mutations showed increased JAK2 levels, making them more susceptible to JAK inhibitors, indicating potential new treatments for blood cancers.
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The modification of proteins by ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (UFM1) is implicated in many human diseases. Prior to conjugation, UFM1 undergoes activation by its cognate activating enzyme, UBA5. UBA5 is a non-canonical E1 activating enzyme that possesses an adenylation domain but lacks a distinct cysteine domain.

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Modification of proteins by ubiquitin or ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs) is a critical cellular process implicated in a variety of cellular states and outcomes. A prerequisite for target protein modification by a UBL is the activation of the latter by activating enzymes (E1s). Here, we present the crystal structure of the non-canonical homodimeric E1, UBA5, in complex with its cognate UBL, UFM1, and supporting biochemical experiments.

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The deubiquitinating enzyme associated molecule with the SH3 domain of STAM (AMSH) is crucial for the removal of ubiquitin molecules during receptor-mediated endocytosis and lysosomal receptor sorting. AMSH interacts with signal transducing adapter molecule (STAM) 1 or 2, which enhances the activity of AMSH through an unknown mechanism. This stimulation is dependent on the ubiquitin-interacting motif of STAM.

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The ubiquitination pathway controls several human cellular processes, most notably protein degradation. Ubiquitin, a small signaling protein, is activated by the E1 activating enzyme, transferred to an E2 conjugating enzyme, and then attached to a target substrate through a process that can be facilitated by an E3 ligase enzyme. The enzymatic mechanism of ubiquitin transfer from the E2 conjugating enzyme onto substrate is not clear.

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