Transcriptomic Profiling of DAF-7/TGFβ Pathway Mutants in .

The transforming growth factor beta superfamily encompasses a large family of ligands that are well conserved across many organisms. They are regulators of a number of physiological and pathological processes. The model nematode has been instrumental in identifying key components of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) pathway.

Function and regulation of primary cilia and intraflagellar transport proteins in the skeleton.

Primary cilia are microtubule-based organelles that project from the cell surface to enable transduction of various developmental signaling pathways. The process of intraflagellar transport (IFT) is crucial for the building and maintenance of primary cilia. Ciliary dysfunction has been found in a range of disorders called ciliopathies, some of which display severe skeletal dysplasias.

Prolactin and transforming growth factor-beta signaling exert opposing effects on mammary gland morphogenesis, involution, and the Akt-forkhead pathway.

Both prolactin (PRL) and TGF-beta regulate cell survival in mammary epithelial cells, but their mechanisms of interactions are not known. In primary mammary epithelial cells and the HC11 mouse mammary epithelial cell line, PRL prevented TGF-beta-induced apoptosis, as measured by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase dUTP nick-end labeling staining and caspase-3 activation. This effect depended on phosphatidyl inositol triphosphate kinase (PI3K).