Metabolic adaptation in epithelial ovarian cancer metastasis.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is highly lethal due to its unique metastatic characteristics. EOC spheroids enter a non-proliferative state, with hypoxic cores and reduced oncogenic signaling, all of which contribute to tumour dormancy during metastasis. We investigated the metabolomic states of EOC cells progressing through the three steps to metastasis.

Structural Basis of Human Helicase DDX21 in RNA Binding, Unwinding, and Antiviral Signal Activation.

RNA helicase DDX21 plays vital roles in ribosomal RNA biogenesis, transcription, and the regulation of host innate immunity during virus infection. How DDX21 recognizes and unwinds RNA and how DDX21 interacts with virus remain poorly understood. Here, crystal structures of human DDX21 determined in three distinct states are reported, including the apo-state, the AMPPNP plus single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) bound pre-hydrolysis state, and the ADP-bound post-hydrolysis state, revealing an open to closed conformational change upon RNA binding and unwinding.

Structure insight of GSDMD reveals the basis of GSDMD autoinhibition in cell pyroptosis.

Recent findings have revealed that the protein gasdermin D (GSDMD) plays key roles in cell pyroptosis. GSDMD binds lipids and forms pore structures to induce pyroptosis upon microbial infection and associated danger signals. However, detailed structural information for GSDMD remains unknown.

Crystal structure of Pelagibacterium halotolerans PE8: New insight into its substrate-binding pattern.

Lysophospholipase_carboxylesterase (LPCE) has highly conserved homologs in many diverse species ranging from bacteria to humans, as well as substantial biological significance and potential therapeutic implications. However, its biological function and catalytic mechanism remain minimally investigated because of the lack of structural information. Here, we report the crystal structure of a bacterial esterase PE8 belonging to the LPCE family.

Structural insights of a hormone sensitive lipase homologue Est22.

Hormone sensitive lipase (HSL) catalyzes the hydrolysis of triacylglycerols into fatty acids and glycerol, thus playing key roles in energy homeostasis. However, the application of HSL serving as a pharmaceutical target and an industrial biocatalyst is largely hampered due to the lack of high-resolution structural information. Here we report biochemical properties and crystal structures of a novel HSL homologue esterase Est22 from a deep-sea metagenomic library.