PIK3R1 fusion drives chemoresistance in ovarian cancer by activating ERK1/2 and inducing rod and ring-like structures.

Gene fusions are common in high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSC). Such genetic lesions may promote tumorigenesis, but the pathogenic mechanisms are currently poorly understood. Here, we investigated the role of a PIK3R1-CCDC178 fusion identified from a patient with advanced HGSC.

Intermediate filaments in the heart: The dynamic duo of desmin and lamins orchestrates mechanical force transmission.

The intermediate filament (IF) cytoskeleton supports cellular structural integrity, particularly in response to mechanical stress. The most abundant IF proteins in mature cardiomyocytes are desmin and lamins. The desmin network tethers the contractile apparatus and organelles to the nuclear envelope and the sarcolemma, while lamins, as components of the nuclear lamina, provide structural stability to the nucleus and the genome.

Lamin A/C phosphorylation at serine 22 is a conserved heat shock response to regulate nuclear adaptation during stress.

The heat shock (HS) response is crucial for cell survival in harmful environments. Nuclear lamin A/C, encoded by the LMNA gene, contributes towards altered gene expression during HS, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we show that upon HS, lamin A/C was reversibly phosphorylated at serine 22 in concert with HSF1 activation in human cells, mouse cells and Drosophila melanogaster in vivo.

A heterozygous p.S143P mutation in associates with proteasome dysfunction and enhanced autophagy-mediated degradation of mutant lamins A and C.

Lamins A and C are nuclear intermediate filament proteins that form a proteinaceous meshwork called lamina beneath the inner nuclear membrane. Mutations in the gene encoding lamins A and C cause a heterogenous group of inherited degenerative diseases known as laminopathies. Previous studies have revealed altered cell signaling pathways in lamin-mutant patient cells, but little is known about the fate of mutant lamins A and C within the cells.

Personalized Drug Sensitivity Screening for Bladder Cancer Using Conditionally Reprogrammed Patient-derived Cells.

Many patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer (BC) are either ineligible for or do not benefit from cisplatin-based chemotherapy, and there is an unmet need to estimate individuals' drug sensitivities. We investigated the suitability of conditionally reprogrammed (CR) cells for the characterization of BC properties and their feasibility for personalized drug sensitivity screening. The CR cultures were established from six BC tumors with varying histology and stage.

Modeling of -Related Dilated Cardiomyopathy Using Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the leading causes of heart failure and heart transplantation. A portion of familial DCM is due to mutations in the gene encoding the nuclear lamina proteins lamin A and C and without adequate treatment these patients have a poor prognosis. To get better insights into pathobiology behind this disease, we focused on modeling -related DCM using human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM).

Deleterious assembly of the lamin A/C mutant p.S143P causes ER stress in familial dilated cardiomyopathy.

Mutation of the LMNA gene, encoding nuclear lamin A and lamin C (hereafter lamin A/C), is a common cause of familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Among Finnish DCM patients, the founder mutation c.427T>C (p.

LMNA Mutation c.917T>G (p.L306R) Leads to Deleterious Hyper-Assembly of Lamin A/C and Associates with Severe Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy and Premature Aging.

Mutations in the LMNA gene coding for the nuclear lamina proteins lamin A and its smaller splice form lamin C associate with a heterogeneous group of diseases collectively called laminopathies. Here, we describe a 2-year-old patient with a previously undescribed phenotype including right ventricular cardiomyopathy, progeroid features, and premature death. Sequencing of LMNA revealed a novel heterozygous de novo mutation p.

Identification of a glycosphingolipid transfer protein GLTP1 in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Arabidopsis thaliana At2g33470 encodes a glycolipid transfer protein (GLTP) that enhances the intervesicular trafficking of glycosphingolipids in vitro. GLTPs have previously been identified in animals and fungi but not in plants. Thus, At2g33470 is the first identified plant GLTP and we have designated it AtGTLP1.

Glycosphingolipid synthesis requires FAPP2 transfer of glucosylceramide.

The molecular machinery responsible for the generation of transport carriers moving from the Golgi complex to the plasma membrane relies on a tight interplay between proteins and lipids. Among the lipid-binding proteins of this machinery, we previously identified the four-phosphate adaptor protein FAPP2, the pleckstrin homology domain of which binds phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate and the small GTPase ARF1. FAPP2 also possesses a glycolipid-transfer-protein homology domain.

Membrane interaction and activity of the glycolipid transfer protein.

In this study we have addressed the ability of the glycolipid transfer protein (GLTP) to transfer anthrylvinyl-galactosylceramide at different pH and sodium chloride concentrations, and the ability of three different mutants to transfer the fluorescently labeled galactosylceramide between donor and acceptor model membranes. We constructed single tryptophan mutants with site-directed mutagenesis where two of the three tryptophan (W) of wild-type human GLTP were substituted with phenylalanine (F) and named W85 GLTP (W96F and W142F), W96 GLTP (W85F and W142F) and W142 GLTP (W85F and W96F) accordingly. Wild-type GLTP and W96 GLTP were both able to transfer anthrylvinyl-galactosylceramide, but the two variants W85 GLTP and W142 GLTP did not show any glycolipid transfer activity, indicating that the tryptophan in position 96 is crucial for transfer activity.

Structural evidence for adaptive ligand binding of glycolipid transfer protein.

Glycolipids participate in many important cellular processes and they are bound and transferred with high specificity by glycolipid transfer protein (GLTP). We have solved three different X-ray structures of bovine GLTP at 1.4 angstroms, 1.

Crystallization and X-ray analysis of bovine glycolipid transfer protein.

Glycolipid-transfer protein (GLTP) is a 24 kDa basic cytosolic protein that facilitates the transfer of glycolipids between bilayer membranes in vitro, but its in vivo function is unknown. Human, bovine, porcine and murine GLTPs have recently been cloned and share high sequence identity to each other. The three-dimensional structure of GLTP has not yet been solved and no structures of any proteins related to GLTP are known.