Publications by authors named "L E Ballina"
The ability of cells to move and migrate is required during development, but also in the adult in processes such as wound healing and immune responses. In addition, cancer cells exploit the cells' ability to migrate and invade to spread into nearby tissue and eventually metastasize. The majority of cancer deaths are caused by metastasis and the process of cell migration is therefore intensively studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCells use noncanonical autophagy, also called conjugation of ATG8 to single membranes (CASM), to label damaged intracellular compartments with ubiquitin-like ATG8 family proteins in order to signal danger caused by pathogens or toxic compounds. CASM relies on E3 complexes to sense membrane damage, but so far, only the mechanism to activate ATG16L1-containing E3 complexes, associated with proton gradient loss, has been described. Here, we show that TECPR1-containing E3 complexes are key mediators of CASM in cells treated with a variety of pharmacological drugs, including clinically relevant nanoparticles, transfection reagents, antihistamines, lysosomotropic compounds, and detergents.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemiconducting polymer nanoparticles (SPNs) are explored for applications in cancer theranostics because of their high absorption coefficients, photostability, and biocompatibility. However, SPNs are susceptible to aggregation and protein fouling in physiological conditions, which can be detrimental for in vivo applications. Here, a method for achieving colloidally stable and low-fouling SPNs is described by grafting poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) onto the backbone of the fluorescent semiconducting polymer, poly(9,9'-dioctylfluorene-5-fluoro-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole), in a simple one-step substitution reaction, postpolymerization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Mitophagy is the process where cells selectively break down damaged mitochondria to maintain cell health, and it’s important for preventing issues like neurodegeneration.
- Researchers found that in lymphoblasts from ALS patients with a SOD1 mutation, there was increased autophagy activity.
- They identified a new mitophagy inhibitor called IGS2.7 that, when tested in ALS models, helps restore autophagy levels, suggesting it could be a promising treatment for familial ALS.
Article Synopsis
- Cell migration plays a crucial role in both normal processes like brain development and pathological issues such as cancer metastasis, with a focus on the involvement of the autophagy-linked FYVE protein (ALFY) in these contexts.
- ALFY has been found to localize to specific early endosomes during cell migration and is concentrated in the protrusions at both the front and back of migrating cells.
- The absence of ALFY leads to decreased cell attachment and improper integrin functioning, which disrupts the formation of the leading edge necessary for effective cell movement and directionality.