Publications by authors named "Natalie Woolger"

The ubiquitous calpains, calpain-1 and -2, play important roles in Ca-dependent membrane repair. Mechanically active tissues like skeletal muscle are particularly reliant on mechanisms to repair and remodel membrane injury, such as those caused by eccentric damage. We demonstrate that calpain-1 and -2 are master effectors of Ca-dependent repair of mechanical plasma membrane scrape injuries, although they are dispensable for repair/removal of small wounds caused by pore-forming agents.

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Dysferlin is a large transmembrane protein that plays a key role in cell membrane repair and underlies a recessive form of inherited muscular dystrophy. Dysferlinopathy is characterized by absence or marked reduction of dysferlin protein with 43% of reported pathogenic variants being missense variants that span the length of the dysferlin protein. The unique structure of dysferlin, with seven tandem C2 domains separated by linkers, suggests dysferlin may dynamically associate with phospholipid membranes in response to Ca signaling.

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Myoferlin and dysferlin are closely related members of the ferlin family of Ca-regulated vesicle fusion proteins. Dysferlin is proposed to play a role in Ca-triggered vesicle fusion during membrane repair. Myoferlin regulates endocytosis, recycling of growth factor receptors and adhesion proteins, and is linked to the metastatic potential of cancer cells.

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Macrophages are key target cells for HIV-1. HIV-1(BaL) induced a subset of interferon-stimulated genes in monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), which differed from that in monocyte-derived dendritic cells and CD4 T cells, without inducing any interferons. Inhibition of type I interferon induction was mediated by HIV-1 inhibition of interferon-regulated factor (IRF3) nuclear translocation.

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