Publications by authors named "John H Brumell"

Background: In early atherosclerosis, circulating LDLs (low-density lipoproteins) traverse individual endothelial cells by an active process termed transcytosis. The CANTOS trial (Canakinumab Antiinflammatory Thrombosis Outcome Study) treated advanced atherosclerosis using a blocking antibody for IL-1β (interleukin-1β); this significantly reduced cardiovascular events. However, whether IL-1β regulates early disease, particularly LDL transcytosis, remains unknown.

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causes life-threatening wound and gastrointestinal infections, mediated primarily by the production of a Multifunctional-Autoprocessing Repeats-In-Toxin (MARTX) toxin. The most commonly present MARTX effector domain, the Makes Caterpillars Floppy-like (MCF) toxin, is a cysteine protease stimulated by host adenosine diphosphate (ADP) ribosylation factors (ARFs) to autoprocess. Here, we show processed MCF then binds and cleaves host s-related proteins in rain (Rab) guanosine triphosphatases within their C-terminal tails resulting in Rab degradation.

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Salmonella utilizes a type 3 secretion system to translocate virulence proteins (effectors) into host cells during infection. The effectors modulate host cell machinery to drive uptake of the bacteria into vacuoles, where they can establish an intracellular replicative niche. A remarkable feature of Salmonella invasion is the formation of actin-rich protuberances (ruffles) on the host cell surface that contribute to bacterial uptake.

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Peroxisomes are essential for mitochondrial health, as the absence of peroxisomes leads to altered mitochondria. However, it is unclear whether the changes in mitochondria are a function of preserving cellular function or a response to cellular damage caused by the absence of peroxisomes. To address this, we developed conditional hepatocyte-specific Pex16 deficient (Pex16 KO) mice that develop peroxisome loss and subjected them to a low-protein diet to induce metabolic stress.

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SLIT/ROBO signaling impacts many aspects of tissue development and homeostasis, in part, through the regulation of cell growth and proliferation. Recent studies have also linked SLIT/ROBO signaling to the regulation of diverse phagocyte functions. However, the mechanisms by which SLIT/ROBO signaling acts at the nexus of cellular growth control and innate immunity remain enigmatic.

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Article Synopsis
  • Cell growth depends on special signals called insulin and IGF1, which help cells multiply.
  • Researchers found 40 proteins that interact with a key player in this process named IRS1, including one called DCAF7.
  • When they reduced DCAF7 in cells, it stopped them from growing properly by causing them to get stuck in a certain phase of the cell cycle (G2), and also changed the location of a protein called FOXO1 that affects cell growth.
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Background: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to global health and has placed pressure on the livestock industry to eliminate the use of antibiotic growth promotants (AGPs) as feed additives. To mitigate their removal, efficacious alternatives are required. AGPs are thought to operate through modulating the gut microbiome to limit opportunities for colonization by pathogens, increase nutrient utilization, and reduce inflammation.

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  • Endothelial cells play a crucial role in how glucose is delivered from blood to tissues, but the exact mechanisms are not well understood.
  • In a study of human adipose-tissue microvascular endothelial cells, researchers found that the uptake of deoxyglucose was primarily facilitated by glucose transporters GLUT1 and GLUT3, leading to significant phosphorylation and incorporation into glycogen.
  • Interestingly, a portion of the deoxyglucose was later released from the cells in an unphosphorylated form, influenced by various factors including adrenaline, indicating complex glucose processing and potential pathways for tissue delivery.
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Non-canonical autophagy is a key cellular pathway in immunity, cancer, and neurodegeneration, characterized by conjugation of ATG8 to endolysosomal single membranes (CASM). CASM is activated by engulfment (endocytosis, phagocytosis), agonists (STING, TRPML1), and infection (influenza), dependent on K490 in the ATG16L1 WD40-domain. However, factors associated with non-canonical ATG16L1 recruitment and CASM induction remain unknown.

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Despite their low abundance, phosphoinositides play a central role in membrane traffic and signalling. PtdIns(3,4,5)P and PtdIns(3,4)P are uniquely important, as they promote cell growth, survival and migration. Pathogenic organisms have developed means to subvert phosphoinositide metabolism to promote successful infection and their survival in host organisms.

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The leukocyte NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) plays a key role in pathogen killing and immunoregulation. Genetic defects in NOX2 result in chronic granulomatous disease (CGD), associated with microbial infections and inflammatory disorders, often involving the lung. Alveolar macrophages (AMs) are the predominant immune cell in the airways at steady state, and limiting their activation is important, given the constant exposure to inhaled materials, yet the importance of NOX2 in this process is not well understood.

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Autophagy, an essential intracellular recycling process, is linked to the pathogenesis of various diseases including Crohn’s disease (CD). Factors that lead to the development of impaired autophagy during intestinal inflammation remain largely unexplored. Here, we report the impact of the interaction between serotonin [5-hydroxytryptamine;(5-HT)] and autophagy in colitis in mouse and human studies.

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Adaptive changes in lysosomal capacity are driven by the transcription factors TFEB and TFE3 in response to increased autophagic flux and endolysosomal stress, yet the molecular details of their activation are unclear. LC3 and GABARAP members of the ATG8 protein family are required for selective autophagy and sensing perturbation within the endolysosomal system. Here, we show that during the conjugation of ATG8 to single membranes (CASM), Parkin-dependent mitophagy, and -induced xenophagy, the membrane conjugation of GABARAP, but not LC3, is required for activation of TFEB/TFE3 to control lysosomal capacity.

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BioID: proximity-dependent biotin identification; GO: gene ontology; OSBPL: oxysterol binding protein like; VAPA: VAMP associated protein A; VAPB: VAMP associated protein B and C.

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Article Synopsis
  • Depolarized mitochondria can undergo mitophagy, which is a selective process of breaking down damaged mitochondria, and RAB7A is a key protein involved in this process.
  • RAB7A moves to the surface of damaged mitochondria after depolarization, but its activity regulation during mitophagy is not fully understood.
  • The study identifies C5orf51 as a crucial regulator that helps RAB7A localize to damaged mitochondria, promoting mitophagy, and its absence leads to improper RAB7A localization and reduced recruitment of another protein, ATG9A.
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The type I interferon (IFN) signaling pathway has important functions in resistance to viral infection, with the downstream induction of interferon stimulated genes (ISG) protecting the host from virus entry, replication and spread. Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), a facultative intracellular foodborne pathogen, can exploit the type I IFN response as part of their pathogenic strategy, but the molecular mechanisms involved remain unclear. Here we show that type I IFN suppresses the antibacterial activity of phagocytes to promote systemic Lm infection.

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Salmonella utilizes translocated virulence proteins (termed effectors) to promote host cell invasion. The effector SopD contributes to invasion by promoting scission of the plasma membrane, generating Salmonella-containing vacuoles. SopD is expressed in all Salmonella lineages and plays important roles in animal models of infection, but its host cell targets are unknown.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Insulin promotes energy storage in fat, muscle, and liver, but its effectiveness is reduced in insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes.
  • - Autophagy is a process that breaks down cellular components to recycle materials and produce energy, working in contrast to insulin's function.
  • - The review explores how insulin action and autophagy interact, emphasizing that problems with autophagy may contribute to or result from insulin resistance.
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Plasma membrane integrity is essential for cellular homeostasis. In vivo, cells experience plasma membrane damage from a multitude of stressors in the extra- and intra-cellular environment. To avoid lethal consequences, cells are equipped with repair pathways to restore membrane integrity.

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Rab5 is required for macropinosome formation, but its site and mode of action remain unknown. We report that Rab5 acts at the plasma membrane, downstream of ruffling, to promote macropinosome sealing and scission. Dominant-negative Rab5, which obliterates macropinocytosis, had no effect on the development of membrane ruffles.

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  • In 2008, guidelines were established for researching autophagy, which has since gained significant interest and new technologies, necessitating regular updates to monitoring methods across various organisms.
  • The new guidelines emphasize selecting appropriate techniques to evaluate autophagy while noting that no single method suits all situations; thus, a combination of methods is encouraged.
  • The document highlights that key proteins involved in autophagy also impact other cellular processes, suggesting genetic studies should focus on multiple autophagy-related genes to fully understand these pathways.
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Article Synopsis
  • * The researchers developed a molecular translator that enables these sensors to provide glucose outputs, allowing easy reading with commonly available glucose meters.
  • * Demonstrations include detecting a small molecule, diagnosing infections like typhoid and paratyphoid A/B, and potential use for SARS-CoV-2 detection, enhancing pandemic response capabilities.
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The NOX2 NADPH oxidase (NOX2) produces reactive oxygen species to kill phagosome-confined bacteria. However, we previously showed that is able to avoid the NOX2 activity in phagosomes and escape to the cytosol. Thus, despite the established role of NOX2 limiting infection in mice, the underlying mechanisms of this antibacterial activity remain unclear.

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The genetic circuits that allow cancer cells to evade destruction by the host immune system remain poorly understood. Here, to identify a phenotypically robust core set of genes and pathways that enable cancer cells to evade killing mediated by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), we performed genome-wide CRISPR screens across a panel of genetically diverse mouse cancer cell lines that were cultured in the presence of CTLs. We identify a core set of 182 genes across these mouse cancer models, the individual perturbation of which increases either the sensitivity or the resistance of cancer cells to CTL-mediated toxicity.

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