Introduction It is over three decades since the NEK1 protein kinase was discovered, but remarkably little is known concerning the molecular mechanisms underlying the roles and regulation of this enzyme. NEK1 is one of 11 members of the NEK family of …
Introduction The corpus luteum is a transient endocrine gland that secretes the steroid hormone progesterone to maintain pregnancy (1, 2). This ephemeral gland is inversely regulated by luteotrophic hormones which support luteal formation, maintenance, and …
Introduction Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignant tumors of the digestive tract, characterized by high morbidity and mortality, and currently ranks third in incidence and second in mortality among all malignant tumors ( …
Introduction Apart from harboring and organizing the genome, the cell nucleus plays a crucial role in integrating intra and extracellular mechanical cues to generate an appropriate cellular response. The linker of cytoskeleton and nucleoskeleton (LINC) is …
Introduction The 26S proteasome is the central protein degradation complex in the cytoplasm and nucleus of eukaryotic cells. It consists of the 20S core particle (CP) and one or two copies of the 19S regulator (Wehmer et al, 2017). The three proteolytic …
Introduction Proteins are the primary actors in our cells and their activities are often deregulated in cancer. Quantifying proteomic abundances in patient tumours can aid the identification of pathways and processes that are deregulated in specific …
Introduction Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) that is overexpressed, mutated or otherwise dysregulated in a large fraction of human cancers (Mitsudomi & Yatabe, 2010). On ligand binding, EGFR assumes an active …
Introduction Transposable elements make up a large part of the eukaryotic genome and come in a multitude of variants. They have been shown to drive gene regulation and to exhibit sophisticated ways of selective insertion in the genome (Bourque et al, 2018 …
Introduction The discovery of the Zα domain in the p150 isoform of the dsRNA-editing enzyme ADAR1 (encoded by ADAR), along with genetic studies in both humans (Herbert, 2020a) and mice (de Reuver et al, 2022; Hubbard et al, 2022; Jiao et al, 2022), has …
Introduction Cohesin is essential for sister chromatid cohesion and critically involved in DNA recombination and repair, regulation of gene expression, telomere protection, and possibly other processes (for reviews see [Nasmyth, 2011; Haering & …
Introduction Receptor-type transmembrane proteins at the plasma membrane and ligand-type secretory proteins are crucial for intercellular communication. These proteins reach their destination only after productive folding-mediated maturation in the ER. …
Glaucoma is a common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by retinal ganglion cell death, astrocyte reactivity in the optic nerve, and vision loss. Currently, lowering the intraocular pressure (IOP) is the first-line treatment, but adjuvant …
Introduction The cohesin complex has long been the focus of significant attention because of its tight association with eukaryotic genomes’ structure, function, and segregation. Its interaction with chromatin is critical for loop–extrusion-mediated …
Introduction High-quality assemblies are an essential part of many biological projects. For most well-studied organisms, high-quality references are available and large consortia work on improving them further, for example, the Telomere-to-Telomere (T2T) …
Introduction RNA splicing is the process by which introns are removed from precursor mRNAs to form functional mature mRNAs and long non-coding RNAs, a ubiquitous process among eukaryotes essential for proper gene expression (reviewed in Lee & Rio [2015 …
Abstract In age-related neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, disease-specific proteins become aggregation-prone and form amyloid-like deposits. Depletion of SERF proteins ameliorates this toxic process in worm and human cell models …
Introduction Methylation of histone residues is a major means by which the epigenetic regulation of gene expression is achieved. For instance, in higher eukaryotes, trimethylation of histones at H3K9, H3K27, and H4K20 represent the major repressive …
Introduction NK cells, which are important to control selected cancers and infections, express multiple germ-line-encoded activating and inhibitory receptors. The latter are engaged by major histocompatibility complex class I (MHCI) molecules, whose …
Introduction Protein ubiquitination, a post-translational modification, regulates various cellular events in eukaryotes (Yau & Rape, 2016); thus, the disruption of the ubiquitination system leads to severe problems in humans, including cancer, …
Introduction The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is a single layer of pigmented cells with a cobblestone-like appearance and resides between retinal photoreceptor cells and the choroid of the eye (Strauss, 2005). The RPE directly contacts with …
