Publications by authors named "Sibylle Zank"
Article Synopsis
- - Neph proteins are crucial membrane proteins involved in creating specific cell contacts and play important roles in various biological processes like eye development in fruit flies, neural connections in roundworms, and kidney function in mammals.
- - The study identifies PICK1 as a protein that interacts with Neph proteins, with its binding requiring dimerization and dependent on interactions with other PDZ domain proteins, stabilizing Neph1 at the cell membrane.
- - In experiments with fruit flies, reducing PICK1 levels led to a destabilization of the Neph homologue Roughest, which disrupted eye development, highlighting the cooperative role of Neph proteins and PICK1 in cell recognition.
Purpose Of Review: The introduction of Caenorhabditis elegans by Sydney Brenner to study 'how genes might specify the complex structures found in higher organisms' revolutionized molecular and developmental biology and pioneered a new research area to study organ development and cellular differentiation with this model organism. Here, we review the role of the nematode in renal research and discuss future perspectives for its use in molecular nephrology.
Recent Findings: Although C.
Nephronophthisis is the most common genetic cause of end-stage renal failure during childhood and adolescence. Genetic studies have identified disease-causing mutations in at least 11 different genes (NPHP1-11), but the function of the corresponding nephrocystin proteins remains poorly understood. The two evolutionarily conserved proteins nephrocystin-1 (NPHP1) and nephrocystin-4 (NPHP4) interact and localize to cilia in kidney, retina, and brain characterizing nephronophthisis and associated pathologies as result of a ciliopathy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany genes are responsible for the modulation of lifespan in model organisms. In addition to regulating adaptive biologic responses that control stress signaling and longevity, some of these genes participate in tumor formation. The mechanisms that determine longevity and link regulation of lifespan with tumorigenesis are poorly understood.
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