Volume 4 (2020)

Fine intercellular connections in development: TNTs, cytonemes, or intercellular bridges?

Olga Korenkova1,2, Anna Pepe1 and Chiara Zurzolo1

Intercellular communication is a fundamental property of multicellular organisms, necessary for their adequate responses to changing environment. Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) represent a novel means of intercellular communication being a long cell-to-cell conduit. TNTs are actively formed under a broad range of stresses and are also proposed to exist under physiological conditions. Development is a physiological condition of particular interest, as it requires fine coordination. Here we discuss whether protrusions shown to exist during embryonic development of different species could be TNTs or if they represent other types of cell structure, like cytonemes or intercellular bridges, that are suggested to play an important role in development.

Kynurenine: an oncometabolite in colon cancer

Niranjan Venkateswaran1 and Maralice Conacci-Sorrell1,2,3

TRYPTOPHAN IS PREFERENTIALLY CONVERTED INTO KYNURENINE IN COLON CANCER Tryptophan can be utilized in three ways intracellularly: it can be incorporated into newly synthesized proteins, it can be processed by

Necroptosis, tumor necrosis and tumorigenesis

Zheng-gang Liu1 and Delong Jiao1

INTRODUCTION Cell death can happen through either an active, regulated process, known as programmed cell death, or a passive, uncontrolled course. Because of the dramatic morphological differences of these two

Fatty acids – from energy substrates to key regulators of cell survival, proliferation and effector function

Danilo Cucchi1, Dolores Camacho-Muñoz2, Michelangelo Certo3, Valentina Pucino3, Anna Nicolaou2,4 and Claudio Mauro3,5,6

Recent advances in immunology and cancer research show that fatty acids, their metabolism and their sensing have a crucial role in the biology of many different cell types. Indeed, they are able to affect cellular behaviour with great implications for pathophysiology. Both the catabolic and anabolic pathways of fatty acids present us with a number of enzymes, receptors and agonists/antagonists that are potential therapeutic targets, some of which have already been successfully pursued. Fatty acids can affect the differentiation of immune cells, particularly T cells, as well as their activation and function, with important consequences for the balance between anti- and pro-inflammatory signals in immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular conditions. In the context of cancer biology, fatty acids mainly provide substrates for (…)

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Biomechanical stress provides a second hit in the establishment of BMP/TGFβ-related vascular disorders

Christian Hiepen1, Jerome Jatzlau1 and Petra Knaus1

BMPR2 MUTATIONS PRIME FOR PAH BUT REQUIRE A SECOND HIT While BMPR2 mutations appear as one of the main genetic drivers for HPAH, low BMPR2 expression is also found in

ACBP is an appetite stimulator across phylogenetic barriers

Frank Madeo1,2, Nektarios Tavernarakis3,4, José M. Bravo-San Pedro5-7,# and Guido Kroemer5-10,#

Human civilization is unique with respect to the organization of our natural environment, allowing constant supply of nutrients to most individuals in developed countries, contrasting with the natural fluctuation in

RPA and Pif1 cooperate to remove G-rich structures at both leading and lagging strand

Laetitia Maestroni1, Julien Audry1, Pierre Luciano1, Stéphane Coulon1, Vincent Géli1 and Yves Corda1

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the absence of Pif1 helicase induces the instability of G4-containing CEB1 minisatellite during leading strand but not lagging strand replication. We report that RPA and Pif1 cooperate to maintain CEB1 stability when the G4 forming strand is either on the leading or lagging strand templates. At the leading strand, RPA acts in the same pathway as Pif1 to maintain CEB1 stability. Consistent with this result, RPA co-precipitates with Pif1. This association between Pif1 and RPA is affected by the rfa1-D228Y mutation that lowers the affinity of RPA in particular for G-rich single-stranded DNA. At the lagging strand, in contrast to pif1∆, the rfa1-D228Y mutation strongly increases the frequency of CEB1 rearrangements. We explain that Pif1 is dispensable at the lagging strand DNA by the ability of RPA by itself to prevent formation of stable G-rich secondary structures during lagging (…)

Fine intercellular connections in development: TNTs, cytonemes, or intercellular bridges?

Olga Korenkova1,2, Anna Pepe1 and Chiara Zurzolo1

Intercellular communication is a fundamental property of multicellular organisms, necessary for their adequate responses to changing environment. Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) represent a novel means of intercellular communication being a long cell-to-cell conduit. TNTs are actively formed under a broad range of stresses and are also proposed to exist under physiological conditions. Development is a physiological condition of particular interest, as it requires fine coordination. Here we discuss whether protrusions shown to exist during embryonic development of different species could be TNTs or if they represent other types of cell structure, like cytonemes or intercellular bridges, that are suggested to play an important role in development.

Kynurenine: an oncometabolite in colon cancer

Niranjan Venkateswaran1 and Maralice Conacci-Sorrell1,2,3

TRYPTOPHAN IS PREFERENTIALLY CONVERTED INTO KYNURENINE IN COLON CANCER Tryptophan can be utilized in three ways intracellularly: it can be incorporated into newly synthesized proteins, it can be processed by

Necroptosis, tumor necrosis and tumorigenesis

Zheng-gang Liu1 and Delong Jiao1

INTRODUCTION Cell death can happen through either an active, regulated process, known as programmed cell death, or a passive, uncontrolled course. Because of the dramatic morphological differences of these two

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Fine intercellular connections in development: TNTs, cytonemes, or intercellular bridges?

Olga Korenkova1,2, Anna Pepe1 and Chiara Zurzolo1

Intercellular communication is a fundamental property of multicellular organisms, necessary for their adequate responses to changing environment. Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) represent a novel means of intercellular communication being a long cell-to-cell conduit. TNTs are actively formed under a broad range of stresses and are also proposed to exist under physiological conditions. Development is a physiological condition of particular interest, as it requires fine coordination. Here we discuss whether protrusions shown to exist during embryonic development of different species could be TNTs or if they represent other types of cell structure, like cytonemes or intercellular bridges, that are suggested to play an important role in development.

Kynurenine: an oncometabolite in colon cancer

Niranjan Venkateswaran1 and Maralice Conacci-Sorrell1,2,3

TRYPTOPHAN IS PREFERENTIALLY CONVERTED INTO KYNURENINE IN COLON CANCER Tryptophan can be utilized in three ways intracellularly: it can be incorporated into newly synthesized proteins, it can be processed by

Fatty acids – from energy substrates to key regulators of cell survival, proliferation and effector function

Danilo Cucchi1, Dolores Camacho-Muñoz2, Michelangelo Certo3, Valentina Pucino3, Anna Nicolaou2,4 and Claudio Mauro3,5,6

Recent advances in immunology and cancer research show that fatty acids, their metabolism and their sensing have a crucial role in the biology of many different cell types. Indeed, they are able to affect cellular behaviour with great implications for pathophysiology. Both the catabolic and anabolic pathways of fatty acids present us with a number of enzymes, receptors and agonists/antagonists that are potential therapeutic targets, some of which have already been successfully pursued. Fatty acids can affect the differentiation of immune cells, particularly T cells, as well as their activation and function, with important consequences for the balance between anti- and pro-inflammatory signals in immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular conditions. In the context of cancer biology, fatty acids mainly provide substrates for (…)

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A sympathetic gut connection drives the metabolic benefits of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Mohammed K. Hankir1

Surgery is regarded by many as the go-to treatment option for severe obesity; yet how physically altering the gastrointestinal tract produces such striking results on body weight and overall metabolic health is poorly understood. In a recent issue of Cell Reports Ye et al. (2020) compare mouse models of Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) and sleeve gastrectomy (SG), the two most commonly performed weight loss surgeries in the clinic today, to show that the former reconfiguring procedure selectively increases resting metabolic rate through splanchnic nerve-mediated browning of mesenteric white fat. More significantly, they demonstrate that this effect for RYGB is required for the maintained negative energy balance and improved glycemic control that it confers.

Exploiting the circuit breaker cancer evolution model in human clear cell renal cell carcinoma

James J. Hsieh1 and Emily H. Cheng2,3,4

INTRODUCTION On average a human adult body encompasses fifty trillion cells (~5×1013) with a daily turnover of hundred billion cells (~1011) within which each contains two copies of ~three billion

HIF1α or mitophagy: which drives cardiomyocyte differentiation?

Beatriz Villarejo-Zori1,#, Juan Ignacio Jiménez-Loygorri1,# and Patricia Boya1

Cardiomyocytes (CMs) are the main cellular component of the heart's atria and ventricles, and their contractile capacity is the engine that drives blood flow throughout the body. The differentiation of

Copper – a novel stimulator of autophagy

Hans Zischka1,2 and Guido Kroemer3-7

In biomedicine, the transition metal copper has a Janus-faced dual role, as an essential but static cofactor of vital enzymes but also as a highly detrimental poison, if in excess.

Coronavirus infections: Epidemiological, clinical and immunological features and hypotheses

Didier Raoult1, Alimuddin Zumla2,3, Franco Locatelli4, Giuseppe Ippolito5 and Guido Kroemer6-10,*

INTRODUCTION Infections have been limiting quality of life and longevity throughout human history. Endemic infections have been associated to a significant number of avoidable deaths and a significant increase of

ACBP is an appetite stimulator across phylogenetic barriers

Frank Madeo1,2, Nektarios Tavernarakis3,4, José M. Bravo-San Pedro5-7,# and Guido Kroemer5-10,#

Human civilization is unique with respect to the organization of our natural environment, allowing constant supply of nutrients to most individuals in developed countries, contrasting with the natural fluctuation in

Necroptosis, tumor necrosis and tumorigenesis

Zheng-gang Liu1 and Delong Jiao1

INTRODUCTION Cell death can happen through either an active, regulated process, known as programmed cell death, or a passive, uncontrolled course. Because of the dramatic morphological differences of these two