Publications by authors named "Katarzyna Kulej"

Article Synopsis
  • Innovative methods for isolating proteins linked to DNA replication have revealed insights into how DNA replication forks stall.
  • A technique called iPOND2-DRIPPER enhances the retrieval and quantification of replication proteins, increasing their levels by up to 300 times compared to standard controls.
  • This approach also allows for the direct observation of ubiquitination events and the recruitment of DNA repair factors when replication is stalled, highlighting interactions with nuclear structures.
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Internal tandem duplication mutations in fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3-ITD) are recurrent in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and increase the risk of relapse. Clinical responses to FLT3 inhibitors (FLT3i) include myeloid differentiation of the FLT3-ITD clone in nearly half of patients through an unknown mechanism. We identified enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a component of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), as a mediator of this effect using a proteomic-based screen.

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Nuclear dimorphism is a fundamental feature of ciliated protozoa, which have separate somatic and germline genomes in two distinct organelles within a single cell. The transcriptionally active somatic genome, contained within the physically larger macronucleus, is both structurally and functionally different from the silent germline genome housed in the smaller micronucleus. This difference in genome architecture is particularly exaggerated in , in which the somatic genome comprises tens of thousands of gene-sized nanochromosomes maintained at a high and variable ploidy, while the germline has a diploid set of megabase-scale chromosomes.

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Understanding of heart failure (HF) has evolved from a simple hemodynamic problem through a neurohormonally and proinflammatory-driven syndrome to a complex multiorgan dysfunction accompanied by inadequate energy handling. This article discusses the most important clinical aspects of advanced HF pathophysiology. It presents the concept of neurohormonal activation and its deleterious effect on cardiovascular system and reflex control.

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Viral infections are associated with extensive remodeling of the cellular proteome. Viruses encode gene products that manipulate host proteins to redirect cellular processes or subvert antiviral immune responses. Adenovirus (AdV) encodes proteins from the early E4 region which are necessary for productive infection.

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The Ca/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent kinase II (CaMKII) is well known for transmitting Ca-signals, which leads to a multitude of physiological responses. Its functionality is believed to involve CaMKII holoenzyme dynamics where trans-autophosphorylation of the crucial phosphorylation site, T286 occurs. Phosphorylation of this site does not occur when stimulated exclusively with the arrhythmia associated D130G mutant form of CaM in vitro.

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The APOBEC3 cytidine deaminases are implicated as the cause of a prevalent somatic mutation pattern found in cancer genomes. The APOBEC3 enzymes act as viral restriction factors by mutating viral genomes. Mutation of the cellular genome is presumed to be an off-target activity of the enzymes, although the regulatory measures for APOBEC3 expression and activity remain undefined.

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Intrinsic antiviral host factors confer cellular defence by limiting virus replication and are often counteracted by viral countermeasures. We reasoned that host factors that inhibit viral gene expression could be identified by determining proteins bound to viral DNA (vDNA) in the absence of key viral antagonists. Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) expresses E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase ICP0 (ICP0), which functions as an E3 ubiquitin ligase required to promote infection.

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Posttranslational modifications (PTMs) such as phosphorylation, acetylation, and glycosylation are an essential regulatory mechanism of protein function and interaction, and they are associated with a wide range of biological processes. Since most PTMs alter the molecular mass of a protein, mass spectrometry (MS) is the ideal analytical tool for studying various PTMs. However, PTMs are often present in substoichiometric levels, and therefore their unmodified counterpart often suppresses their signal in MS.

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Proteomics studies generate tables with thousands of entries. A significant component of being a proteomics scientist is the ability to process these tables to identify regulated proteins. Many bioinformatics tools are freely available for the community, some of which within reach for scientists with limited or no background in programming and statistics.

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Paramyxoviruses are negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses that comprise many important human and animal pathogens, including human parainfluenza viruses. These viruses bud from the plasma membrane of infected cells after the viral ribonucleoprotein complex (vRNP) is transported from the cytoplasm to the cell membrane via Rab11a-marked recycling endosomes. The viral proteins that are critical for mediating this important initial step in viral assembly are unknown.

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Assembly of infectious influenza A viruses (IAV) is a complex process involving transport from the nucleus to the plasma membrane. Rab11A-containing recycling endosomes have been identified as a platform for intracellular transport of viral RNA (vRNA). Here, using high spatiotemporal resolution light-sheet microscopy (~1.

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Histone post-translational modifications (PTMs) contribute to chromatin accessibility due to their chemical properties and their ability to recruit enzymes responsible for DNA readout and chromatin remodeling. To date, more than 400 different histone PTMs and thousands of combinations of PTMs have been identified, the vast majority with still unknown biological function. Identification and quantification of histone PTMs has become routine in mass spectrometry (MS) but, since raising antibodies for each PTM in a study can be prohibitive, lots of potential is lost from MS datasets when uncharacterized PTMs are found to be significantly regulated.

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Cellular SAMHD1 inhibits replication of many viruses by limiting intracellular deoxynucleoside triphosphate (dNTP) pools. We investigate the influence of SAMHD1 on human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). During HCMV infection, we observe SAMHD1 induction, accompanied by phosphorylation via viral kinase UL97.

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DNA and histone proteins define the structure and composition of chromatin. Histone posttranslational modifications (PTMs) are covalent chemical groups capable of modeling chromatin accessibility, mostly due to their ability in recruiting enzymes responsible for DNA readout and remodeling. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomics is the methodology of choice for large-scale identification and quantification of protein PTMs, including histones.

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Background: Patients with central sleep apnea (CSA) have recently been shown to have improved sleep metrics and quality of life (QoL) with phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS).

Aims: The aim of this study was to report the results of a partnership between cardiology, sleep medicine, and electrophysiology in a single clinical center as well as the enrollment, implantation, and follow‑up experience demonstrating both the safety and efficacy of PNS.

Methods: This analysis included data from the pilot and pivotal trials investigating the effect of PNS using an implantable transvenous system in patients with CSA.

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Background: Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a crucial role in cancer propagation. It can be orchestrated by the activation of multiple signaling pathways, which have been found to be highly coordinated with many epigenetic regulators. Although the mechanism of EMT has been studied over decades, cross talk between signaling and epigenetic regulation is not fully understood.

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Wnt5a has been implicated in melanoma progression and metastasis, although the exact downstream signaling events that contribute to melanoma metastasis are poorly understood. Wnt5a signaling results in acyl protein thioesterase 1 (APT1) mediated depalmitoylation of pro-metastatic cell adhesion molecules CD44 and MCAM, resulting in increased melanoma invasion. The mechanistic details that underlie Wnt5a-mediated regulation of APT1 activity and cellular function remain unknown.

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Viral DNA genomes replicating in cells encounter a myriad of host factors that facilitate or hinder viral replication. Viral proteins expressed early during infection modulate host factors interacting with viral genomes, recruiting proteins to promote viral replication, and limiting access to antiviral repressors. Although some host factors manipulated by viruses have been identified, we have limited knowledge of pathways exploited during infection and how these differ between viruses.

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Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a constitutively active, ubiquitously expressed protein kinase that regulates multiple signaling pathways. kinase assays and genetic and pharmacological manipulations of GSK-3 have identified more than 100 putative GSK-3 substrates in diverse cell types. Many more have been predicted on the basis of a recurrent GSK-3 consensus motif ((pS/pT)(S/T)), but this prediction has not been tested by analyzing the GSK-3 phosphoproteome.

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The epigenetic reader BRD4 plays a vital role in transcriptional regulation, cellular growth control, and cell-cycle progression. Dysregulation of BRD4 function has been implicated in the pathogenesis of a wide range of cancers. However, how BRD4 is regulated to maintain its normal function in healthy cells and how alteration of this process leads to cancer remain poorly understood.

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Herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) lytic infection results in global changes to the host cell proteome and the proteins associated with host chromatin. We present a system level characterization of proteome dynamics during infection by performing a multi-dimensional analysis during HSV-1 lytic infection of human foreskin fibroblast (HFF) cells. Our study includes identification and quantification of the host and viral proteomes, phosphoproteomes, chromatin bound proteomes and post-translational modifications (PTMs) on cellular histones during infection.

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Mass spectrometry (MS) is an essential part of the cell biologist's proteomics toolkit, allowing analyses at molecular and system-wide scales. However, proteomics still lag behind genomics in popularity and ease of use. We discuss key differences between MS-based -omics and other booming -omics technologies and highlight what we view as the future of MS and its role in our increasingly deep understanding of cell biology.

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Calmodulin (CaM) is a Ca binding protein modulating multiple targets, several of which are associated with cardiac pathophysiology. Recently, CaM mutations were linked to heart arrhythmia. CaM is crucial for cell growth and viability, yet the effect of the arrhythmogenic CaM mutations on cell viability, as well as heart rhythm, remains unknown, and only a few targets with relevance for heart physiology have been analyzed for their response to mutant CaM.

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Viral proteins mimic host protein structure and function to redirect cellular processes and subvert innate defenses. Small basic proteins compact and regulate both viral and cellular DNA genomes. Nucleosomes are the repeating units of cellular chromatin and play an important part in innate immune responses.

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