Publications by authors named "W W Steiner"

The Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway is fundamental to embryogenesis, tissue homeostasis, and cancer. Hh signals are transduced via an unusual mechanism: upon agonist-induced phosphorylation, the noncanonical G protein-coupled receptor SMOOTHENED (SMO) binds the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A (PKA-C) and physically blocks its enzymatic activity. By combining computational structural approaches with biochemical and functional studies, we show that SMO mimics strategies prevalent in canonical GPCR and PKA signaling complexes, despite little sequence or secondary structural homology.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - During Hedgehog (Hh) signaling, the SMOOTHENED (SMO) receptor interacts with GLI transcription factors by blocking the activity of a key enzyme, protein kinase A (PKA-C).
  • - The study reveals that GPCR kinase 2 (GRK2) moves to the primary cilium upon SMO activation, leading to SMO phosphorylation and facilitating its direct interaction with PKA-C.
  • - This research highlights the essential role of GRK2 in Hh signaling, suggesting that GRKs may be important for direct interactions between GPCRs and other cellular proteins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

European beech is negatively affected by climate change and a further growth decline is predicted for large parts of its distribution range. Despite the importance of this species, little is known about its genetic adaptation and especially the genetic basis of its physiological traits. Here, we used genotyping by sequencing to identify SNPs in 43 German European beech populations growing under different environmental conditions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The use of the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), which involves repeated assessments in people's daily lives, has increased in popularity in psychology and associated disciplines in recent years. A rather challenging aspect of ESM is its technical implementation. In this paper, after briefly introducing the history of ESM and the main reasons for its current popularity, we outline the experience sampling app which is currently being developed at the University of Vienna.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF