Unlike mammalian Toll-like Receptors, the Drosophila Toll receptor does not interact directly with microbial determinants but is rather activated upon binding a cleaved form of the cytokine-like molecule Spatzle (Spz). During the immune response, Spz is thought to be processed by secreted serine proteases (SPs) present in the hemolymph that are activated by the recognition of gram-positive bacteria or fungi . In the present study, we have used an in vivo RNAi strategy to inactivate 75 distinct Drosophila SP genes. We then screened this collection for SPs regulating the activation of the Toll pathway by gram-positive bacteria. Here, we report the identification of five novel SPs that function in an extracellular pathway linking the recognition proteins GNBP1 and PGRP-SA to Spz. Interestingly, four of these genes are also required for Toll activation by fungi, while one is specifically associated with signaling in response to gram-positive bacterial infections. These results demonstrate the existence of a common cascade of SPs upstream of Spz, integrating signals sent by various secreted recognition molecules via more specialized SPs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2006.03.020 | DOI Listing |
J Mol Med (Berl)
January 2025
Division of Human Reproduction and Developmental Genetics, Women's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, Zhejiang, China.
Primary ovarian insufficiency (POI) is a disease defined as a reduction in ovarian function under the age of 40 and represents the main cause of female infertility. In recent years, many genetic mutations associated with POI have been identified using high-throughput sequencing technology. However, one big challenge today is to determine the disease-causing gene associations through functional assessment.
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January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, P.R. China. Electronic address:
Background: The genomic landscape of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has been characterized extensively, but there remains a significant need for actionable targets and effective therapies.
Methods: Here, we perform integrative analysis of genome-wide loss of heterozygosity and expression to identify potential tumor suppressor genes. The functions and mechanisms of one of the candidates, TACC2, are then explored both in vitro and in vivo, leading to the proposal of a therapeutic strategy based on the concept of synthetic lethality.
Nucleic Acids Res
January 2025
Laboratory of Epigenetic Regulations, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Videnska 1083, 142 20, Prague, Czech Republic.
In RNA interference (RNAi), long double-stranded RNA is cleaved by the Dicer endonuclease into small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which guide degradation of complementary RNAs. While RNAi mediates antiviral innate immunity in plants and many invertebrates, vertebrates have adopted a sequence-independent response and their Dicer produces siRNAs inefficiently because it is adapted to process small hairpin microRNA precursors in the gene-regulating microRNA pathway. Mammalian endogenous RNAi is thus a rudimentary pathway of unclear significance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPLoS One
January 2025
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.
Ruvbl1 (also known as TIP49, Pontin) encodes an ATPase of the AAA+ protein superfamily involved in several cellular functions, including chromatin remodeling, control of transcription, and cellular development (motility, growth, and proliferation). While its role has been well established in model organisms including vertebrates and invertebrates (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
December 2024
Department of Molecular Neurobiology, Institute for Developmental Research, Aichi Developmental Disability Center, 713-8 Kamiya, Kasugai, Aichi, 480-0392, Japan.
Growth-associated protein 43 (GAP43) is a membrane-associated phosphoprotein predominantly expressed in the nervous systems, and controls axonal growth, branching, and pathfinding. While the association between GAP43 and human neurological disorders have been reported, the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. We performed whole exome sequencing on a patient with intellectual disability (ID), neurodevelopmental disorders, short stature, and skeletal abnormalities such as left-right difference in legs and digital deformities, and identified a heterozygous missense variation in the GAP43 gene [NM_001130064.
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