Publications by authors named "Helka Nurkkala"

Initial triggers for diabetic retinopathy (DR) are hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and advanced glycation end-products. The most pathological structural changes occur in retinal microvasculature, but the overall development of DR is multifactorial, with a complex interplay of microvascular, neurodegenerative, genetic/epigenetic, immunological, and secondary inflammation-related factors. Although several individual factors and pathways have been associated with retinopathy, a systems level understanding of the disease is lacking.

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Somatic mutations in exon 2 of the RNA polymerase II transcriptional Mediator subunit MED12 occur at very high frequency (∼70%) in uterine leiomyomas. However, the influence of these mutations on Mediator function and the molecular basis for their tumorigenic potential remain unknown. To clarify the impact of these mutations, we used affinity-purification mass spectrometry to establish the global protein-protein interaction profiles for both wild-type and mutant MED12.

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Cellular information processing via reversible protein phosphorylation requires tight control of the localization, activity, and substrate specificity of protein kinases, which to a large extent is accomplished by complex formation with other proteins. Despite their critical role in cellular regulation and pathogenesis, protein interaction information is available for only a subset of the 518 human protein kinases. Here we present a global proteomic analysis of complexes of the human CMGC kinase group.

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