Maternal embryonic leucine zipper kinase (MELK) functions as a modulator of intracellular signaling and affects various cellular and biological processes, including cell cycle, cell proliferation, apoptosis, spliceosome assembly, gene expression, embryonic development, hematopoiesis, and oncogenesis. In these cellular processes, MELK functions by binding to numerous proteins. In general, the effects of multiple protein interactions with MELK are oncogenic in nature, and the overexpression of MELK in kinds of cancer provides some evidence that it may be involved in tumorigenic process. In this review, our current knowledge of MELK function and recent discoveries in MELK signaling pathway were discussed. The regulation of MELK in cancers and its potential as a therapeutic target were also described.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms141121551 | DOI Listing |
J Cell Mol Med
February 2025
Department of Reproductive Health and Infertility, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
Reduced trophoblast migration and invasion contribute to unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA). Aquaporin 3 (AQP3) plays a crucial role in facilitating trophoblast migration and invasion during early pregnancy through fetal-maternal crosstalk. This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the mechanism involving AQP3 and its modulatory effects on human extravillous trophoblast (HTR-8/SVneo cells) migration and invasion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProc Biol Sci
January 2025
Eugene P. Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
Environmental conditions influence the maternal deposition of hormones into eggs, which is hypothesized to adaptively modify developmental outcomes in offspring. However, most ecosystems harbour environmental contaminants capable of disrupting endocrine signaling, and maternal exposure to these compounds has the potential to further alter offspring traits. Studies rarely examine maternally derived hormones and contaminants along with offspring phenotypes, and we know little about their interrelationships and potential interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEBioMedicine
January 2025
Nutrigenomics and Growth Biology Laboratory, Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, 99164, USA. Electronic address:
J Endocrinol
January 2025
K Soma, Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Maternal diet has long-term effects on offspring brain development and behavior. Sucrose (table sugar) intakes are high in modern diets, but it is not clear how a maternal high-sucrose diet (HSD) affects the offspring. In rats, a maternal HSD (26% of calories from sucrose, which is human-relevant) alters maternal metabolism and brain and also alters adult offspring endocrinology and behavior in a sex-specific manner.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Immunol
January 2025
Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, United States.
Introduction: The immune compartment within fetal chorionic villi is comprised of fetal Hofbauer cells (HBC) and invading placenta-associated maternal monocytes and macrophages (PAMM). Recent studies have characterized the transcriptional profile of the first trimester (T1) placenta; however, the phenotypic and functional diversity of chorionic villous immune cells at term (T3) remain poorly understood.
Methods: To address this knowledge gap, immune cells from human chorionic villous tissues obtained from full-term, uncomplicated pregnancies were deeply phenotyped using a combination of flow cytometry, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq, CITE-seq) and chromatin accessibility profiling (snATAC-seq).
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