Publications by authors named "Victoria Martens"
Members of the Shank family of postsynaptic scaffold proteins (Shank1-3) link neurotransmitter receptors to the actin cytoskeleton in dendritic spines through establishing numerous interactions within the postsynaptic density (PSD) of excitatory synapses. Large Shank isoforms carry at their N-termini a highly conserved domain termed the Shank/ProSAP N-terminal (SPN) domain, followed by a set of Ankyrin repeats. Both domains are involved in an intramolecular interaction which is believed to regulate accessibility for additional interaction partners, such as Ras family G-proteins, αCaMKII, and cytoskeletal proteins.
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- ARGONAUTE-2 (AGO2) and its associated miRNAs form the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which is vital for controlling mRNA translation and degradation in the RNA interference pathway.
- Researchers discovered 13 mutations in the AGO2 gene among 21 patients with neurological development issues, leading to a breakdown in shRNA-mediated silencing.
- The mutations caused problems in RISC formation and affected AGO2's interaction with mRNA, highlighting the significance of proper gene expression regulation for human brain development.
Background: Neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be caused by alterations in genes encoding proteins that are involved in synapse formation and function. This includes scaffold proteins such as Shank3, and synaptic adhesion proteins such as Neurexins or Neuroligins. An important question is whether the products of individual risk genes cooperate functionally (exemplified in the interaction of Neurexin with Neuroligin isoforms).
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- Receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) play a key role in the development of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but understanding how their signaling impacts cancer behavior is complex.
- Researchers used patient-derived models of ALL influenced by specific RTKs (FLT3 and PDGFRB) and employed phosphoproteomics to explore signaling pathways and identify group I p21-activated kinases (PAKs) as potential new targets for therapy.
- Inhibiting PAKs, either through RNA interference or specific drugs, reduced leukemia cell growth and increased cell death, and combining PAK inhibitors with existing treatments enhanced their effectiveness, suggesting a promising strategy to improve outcomes in RTK-dependent ALL.
SHANK3, a synaptic scaffold protein and actin regulator, is widely expressed outside of the central nervous system with predominantly unknown function. Solving the structure of the SHANK3 N-terminal region revealed that the SPN domain is an unexpected Ras-association domain with high affinity for GTP-bound Ras and Rap G-proteins. The role of Rap1 in integrin activation is well established but the mechanisms to antagonize it remain largely unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn multiple myeloma, circulating "clonotypic" B cells, that express the immunoglobulin rearrangement of the malignant plasma cell clone, can be indirectly detected by PCR. Their role as potential "feeder" cells for the malignant plasma cell pool remains controversial. Here we established for the first time an approach that allows direct tracking of such clonotypic cells by labeling with patient-specific immunoglobulin ligands in 15 patients with myeloma.
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