New insights into Gasdermin D pore formation
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 18:BST20230549. doi: 10.1042/BST20230549. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTGasdermin D (GSDMD) is a pore-forming protein that perforates the plasma membrane (PM) during pyroptosis, a pro-inflammatory form of cell death, to induce the unconventional secretion of inflammatory cytokines and, ultimately, cell lysis. GSDMD is activated by protease-mediated cleavage of its active N-terminal domain from the autoinhibitory C-terminal domain. Inflammatory caspase-1, -4/5 are the main activators of GSDMD via either the canonical or non-canonical pathways of inflammasome activation, but under certain stimuli,...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 18, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Shirin Kappelhoff Eleonora G Margheritis Katia Cosentino Source Type: research

How does the neuronal proteostasis network react to cellular cues?
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 15:BST20230316. doi: 10.1042/BST20230316. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEven though neurons are post-mitotic cells, they still engage in protein synthesis to uphold their cellular content balance, including for organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum or mitochondria. Additionally, they expend significant energy on tasks like neurotransmitter production and maintaining redox homeostasis. This cellular homeostasis is upheld through a delicate interplay between mRNA transcription-translation and protein degradative pathways, such as autophagy and proteasome degradation. When faced with cues s...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 15, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Ki Hong Nam Alban Ordureau Source Type: research

How does the neuronal proteostasis network react to cellular cues?
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 15:BST20230316. doi: 10.1042/BST20230316. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEven though neurons are post-mitotic cells, they still engage in protein synthesis to uphold their cellular content balance, including for organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum or mitochondria. Additionally, they expend significant energy on tasks like neurotransmitter production and maintaining redox homeostasis. This cellular homeostasis is upheld through a delicate interplay between mRNA transcription-translation and protein degradative pathways, such as autophagy and proteasome degradation. When faced with cues s...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 15, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Ki Hong Nam Alban Ordureau Source Type: research

How does the neuronal proteostasis network react to cellular cues?
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 15:BST20230316. doi: 10.1042/BST20230316. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEven though neurons are post-mitotic cells, they still engage in protein synthesis to uphold their cellular content balance, including for organelles, such as the endoplasmic reticulum or mitochondria. Additionally, they expend significant energy on tasks like neurotransmitter production and maintaining redox homeostasis. This cellular homeostasis is upheld through a delicate interplay between mRNA transcription-translation and protein degradative pathways, such as autophagy and proteasome degradation. When faced with cues s...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 15, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Ki Hong Nam Alban Ordureau Source Type: research

The molecular mechanisms underpinning maternal mRNA dormancy
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20231122. doi: 10.1042/BST20231122. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTA large number of mRNAs of maternal origin are produced during oogenesis and deposited in the oocyte. Since transcription stops at the onset of meiosis during oogenesis and does not resume until later in embryogenesis, maternal mRNAs are the only templates for protein synthesis during this period. To ensure that a protein is made in the right place at the right time, the translation of maternal mRNAs must be activated at a specific stage of development. Here we summarize our current understanding of the sophisticated mechani...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Laura Lorenzo-Orts Andrea Pauli Source Type: research

Beyond protein synthesis: non-translational functions of threonyl-tRNA synthetases
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20230506. doi: 10.1042/BST20230506. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs) play an indispensable role in the translation of mRNAs into proteins. It has become amply clear that AARSs also have non-canonical or non-translational, yet essential, functions in a myriad of cellular and developmental processes. In this mini-review we discuss the current understanding of the roles of threonyl-tRNA synthetase (TARS) beyond protein synthesis and the underlying mechanisms. The two proteins in eukaryotes - cytoplasmic TARS1 and mitochondrial TARS2 - exert their non-canonical ...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Pallob Barai Jie Chen Source Type: research

Raman micro-spectroscopy as a tool to study immunometabolism
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20230794. doi: 10.1042/BST20230794. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIn the past two decades, immunometabolism has emerged as a crucial field, unraveling the intricate molecular connections between cellular metabolism and immune function across various cell types, tissues, and diseases. This review explores the insights gained from studies using the emerging technology, Raman micro-spectroscopy, to investigate immunometabolism. Raman micro-spectroscopy provides an exciting opportunity to directly study metabolism at the single cell level where it can be combined with other Raman-based technol...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Jiabao Xu Karl J Morten Source Type: research

Transcriptional control of neural stem cell activity
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20230439. doi: 10.1042/BST20230439. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIn the adult brain, neural stem cells (NSCs) are under the control of various molecular mechanisms to produce an appropriate number of neurons that are essential for specific brain functions. Usually, the majority of adult NSCs stay in a non-proliferative and undifferentiated state known as quiescence, occasionally transitioning to an active state to produce newborn neurons. This transition between the quiescent and active states is crucial for the activity of NSCs. Another significant state of adult NSCs is senescence, in w...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Takashi Kaise Ryoichiro Kageyama Source Type: research

The molecular mechanisms underpinning maternal mRNA dormancy
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20231122. doi: 10.1042/BST20231122. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTA large number of mRNAs of maternal origin are produced during oogenesis and deposited in the oocyte. Since transcription stops at the onset of meiosis during oogenesis and does not resume until later in embryogenesis, maternal mRNAs are the only templates for protein synthesis during this period. To ensure that a protein is made in the right place at the right time, the translation of maternal mRNAs must be activated at a specific stage of development. Here we summarize our current understanding of the sophisticated mechani...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Laura Lorenzo-Orts Andrea Pauli Source Type: research

Beyond protein synthesis: non-translational functions of threonyl-tRNA synthetases
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20230506. doi: 10.1042/BST20230506. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (AARSs) play an indispensable role in the translation of mRNAs into proteins. It has become amply clear that AARSs also have non-canonical or non-translational, yet essential, functions in a myriad of cellular and developmental processes. In this mini-review we discuss the current understanding of the roles of threonyl-tRNA synthetase (TARS) beyond protein synthesis and the underlying mechanisms. The two proteins in eukaryotes - cytoplasmic TARS1 and mitochondrial TARS2 - exert their non-canonical ...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Pallob Barai Jie Chen Source Type: research

Raman micro-spectroscopy as a tool to study immunometabolism
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20230794. doi: 10.1042/BST20230794. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIn the past two decades, immunometabolism has emerged as a crucial field, unraveling the intricate molecular connections between cellular metabolism and immune function across various cell types, tissues, and diseases. This review explores the insights gained from studies using the emerging technology, Raman micro-spectroscopy, to investigate immunometabolism. Raman micro-spectroscopy provides an exciting opportunity to directly study metabolism at the single cell level where it can be combined with other Raman-based technol...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Jiabao Xu Karl J Morten Source Type: research

Transcriptional control of neural stem cell activity
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 13:BST20230439. doi: 10.1042/BST20230439. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIn the adult brain, neural stem cells (NSCs) are under the control of various molecular mechanisms to produce an appropriate number of neurons that are essential for specific brain functions. Usually, the majority of adult NSCs stay in a non-proliferative and undifferentiated state known as quiescence, occasionally transitioning to an active state to produce newborn neurons. This transition between the quiescent and active states is crucial for the activity of NSCs. Another significant state of adult NSCs is senescence, in w...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 13, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Takashi Kaise Ryoichiro Kageyama Source Type: research

Genome organization across scales: mechanistic insights from in vitro reconstitution studies
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 7:BST20230883. doi: 10.1042/BST20230883. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEukaryotic genomes are compacted and organized into distinct three-dimensional (3D) structures, which range from small-scale nucleosome arrays to large-scale chromatin domains. These chromatin structures play an important role in the regulation of transcription and other nuclear processes. The molecular mechanisms that drive the formation of chromatin structures across scales and the relationship between chromatin structure and function remain incompletely understood. Because the processes involved are complex and interconnec...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 7, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Elisa Oberbeckmann A Marieke Oudelaar Source Type: research

Type III intermediate filaments in redox interplay: key role of the conserved cysteine residue
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 7:BST20231059. doi: 10.1042/BST20231059. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTIntermediate filaments (IFs) are cytoskeletal elements involved in mechanotransduction and in the integration of cellular responses. They are versatile structures and their assembly and organization are finely tuned by posttranslational modifications. Among them, type III IFs, mainly vimentin, have been identified as targets of multiple oxidative and electrophilic modifications. A characteristic of most type III IF proteins is the presence in their sequence of a single, conserved cysteine residue (C328 in vimentin), that is a...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 7, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Mar ía A Pajares Dolores P érez-Sala Source Type: research

Genome organization across scales: mechanistic insights from in vitro reconstitution studies
Biochem Soc Trans. 2024 Mar 7:BST20230883. doi: 10.1042/BST20230883. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTEukaryotic genomes are compacted and organized into distinct three-dimensional (3D) structures, which range from small-scale nucleosome arrays to large-scale chromatin domains. These chromatin structures play an important role in the regulation of transcription and other nuclear processes. The molecular mechanisms that drive the formation of chromatin structures across scales and the relationship between chromatin structure and function remain incompletely understood. Because the processes involved are complex and interconnec...
Source: Biochemical Society Transactions - March 7, 2024 Category: Biochemistry Authors: Elisa Oberbeckmann A Marieke Oudelaar Source Type: research