scholarly journals AtPiezo Plays an Important Role in Root Cap Mechanotransduction

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 467
Author(s):  
Xianming Fang ◽  
Beibei Liu ◽  
Qianshuo Shao ◽  
Xuemei Huang ◽  
Jia Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Root ◽  
Mechanical Force ◽  
Root Cap ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
The Past ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Model Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Mechanosensitive Ion Channel ◽  
Initial Perception ◽  
Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana

Plants encounter a variety of mechanical stimuli during their growth and development. It is currently believed that mechanosensitive ion channels play an essential role in the initial perception of mechanical force in plants. Over the past decade, the study of Piezo, a mechanosensitive ion channel in animals, has made significant progress. It has been proved that the perception of mechanical force in various physiological processes of animals is indispensable. However, little is still known about the function of its homologs in plants. In this study, by investigating the function of the AtPiezo gene in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, we found that AtPiezo plays a role in the perception of mechanical force in plant root cap and the flow of Ca2+ is involved in this process. These findings allow us to understand the function of AtPiezo from the perspective of plants and provide new insights into the mechanism of plant root cap in response to mechanical stimuli.

scholarly journals The Roles of Plant Hormones and Their Interactions with Regulatory Genes in Determining Meristem Activity

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (16) ◽  
pp. 4065 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ze Hong Lee ◽  
Takeshi Hirakawa ◽  
Nobutoshi Yamaguchi ◽  
Toshiro Ito
Keyword(s):  
Transcription Factors ◽  
Plant Hormones ◽  
Pluripotent Stem Cells ◽  
Apical Meristem ◽  
The Past ◽  
Unique System ◽  
Model Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Secreted Peptides ◽  
Floral Meristems ◽  
Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana

Plants, unlike animals, have developed a unique system in which they continue to form organs throughout their entire life cycle, even after embryonic development. This is possible because plants possess a small group of pluripotent stem cells in their meristems. The shoot apical meristem (SAM) plays a key role in forming all of the aerial structures of plants, including floral meristems (FMs). The FMs subsequently give rise to the floral organs containing reproductive structures. Studies in the past few decades have revealed the importance of transcription factors and secreted peptides in meristem activity using the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Recent advances in genomic, transcriptomic, imaging, and modeling technologies have allowed us to explore the interplay between transcription factors, secreted peptides, and plant hormones. Two different classes of plant hormones, cytokinins and auxins, and their interaction are particularly important for controlling SAM and FM development. This review focuses on the current issues surrounding the crosstalk between the hormonal and genetic regulatory network during meristem self-renewal and organogenesis.

Mechanosensitive Ion Channels: Structural Features Relevant to Mechanotransduction Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 207-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Jin ◽  
Lily Yeh Jan ◽  
Yuh-Nung Jan
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Mechanical Force ◽  
Mechanosensitive Channels ◽  
Mechanosensitive Ion Channels ◽  
The Past ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Structural Characterizations

Activation of mechanosensitive ion channels underlies a variety of fundamental physiological processes that require sensation of mechanical force. Different mechanosensitive channels adapt distinctive structures and mechanotransduction mechanisms to fit their biological roles. How mechanosensitive channels work, especially in animals, has been extensively studied in the past decade. Here we review key findings in the functional and structural characterizations of these channels and highlight the structural features relevant to the mechanotransduction mechanism of each specific channel.

scholarly journals Alternative approaches to target Myc for cancer treatment

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Wang ◽  
Jiawei Zhang ◽  
Jie Yin ◽  
Yichao Gan ◽  
Senlin Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Small Molecules ◽  
Drug Target ◽  
The Past ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Alternative Approaches ◽  
Global Transcriptome ◽  
Factor C ◽  
Signaling Modules ◽  
Druggable Targets

AbstractThe Myc proto-oncogene family consists of three members, C-MYC, MYCN, and MYCL, which encodes the transcription factor c-Myc (hereafter Myc), N-Myc, and L-Myc, respectively. Myc protein orchestrates diverse physiological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, survival, and apoptosis. Myc modulates about 15% of the global transcriptome, and its deregulation rewires the cellular signaling modules inside tumor cells, thereby acquiring selective advantages. The deregulation of Myc occurs in >70% of human cancers, and is related to poor prognosis; hence, hyperactivated Myc oncoprotein has been proposed as an ideal drug target for decades. Nevertheless, no specific drug is currently available to directly target Myc, mainly because of its “undruggable” properties: lack of enzymatic pocket for conventional small molecules to bind; inaccessibility for antibody due to the predominant nucleus localization of Myc. Although the topic of targeting Myc has actively been reviewed in the past decades, exciting new progresses in this field keep emerging. In this review, after a comprehensive summarization of valuable sources for potential druggable targets of Myc-driven cancer, we also peer into the promising future of utilizing macropinocytosis to deliver peptides like Omomyc or antibody agents to intracellular compartment for cancer treatment.

scholarly journals Tree Vitality and Forest Health: Can Tree-Ring Stable Isotopes Be Used as Indicators?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Cherubini ◽  
Giovanna Battipaglia ◽  
John L. Innes
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Stable Isotopes ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Forest Decline ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Stress Factors ◽  
Tree Vitality ◽  
The Past ◽  
Physiological Processes

Abstract Purpose of Review Society is concerned about the long-term condition of the forests. Although a clear definition of forest health is still missing, to evaluate forest health, monitoring efforts in the past 40 years have concentrated on the assessment of tree vitality, trying to estimate tree photosynthesis rates and productivity. Used in monitoring forest decline in Central Europe since the 1980s, crown foliage transparency has been commonly believed to be the best indicator of tree condition in relation to air pollution, although annual variations appear more closely related to water stress. Although crown transparency is not a good indicator of tree photosynthesis rates, defoliation is still one of the most used indicators of tree vitality. Tree rings have been often used as indicators of past productivity. However, long-term tree growth trends are difficult to interpret because of sampling bias, and ring width patterns do not provide any information about tree physiological processes. Recent Findings In the past two decades, tree-ring stable isotopes have been used not only to reconstruct the impact of past climatic events, such as drought, but also in the study of forest decline induced by air pollution episodes, and other natural disturbances and environmental stress, such as pest outbreaks and wildfires. They have proven to be useful tools for understanding physiological processes and tree response to such stress factors. Summary Tree-ring stable isotopes integrate crown transpiration rates and photosynthesis rates and may enhance our understanding of tree vitality. They are promising indicators of tree vitality. We call for the use of tree-ring stable isotopes in future monitoring programmes.

scholarly journals The scope of flavin-dependent reactions and processes in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana

2021 ◽  
Vol 189 ◽  
pp. 112822
Author(s):  
Reinmar Eggers ◽  
Alexandra Jammer ◽  
Shalinee Jha ◽  
Bianca Kerschbaumer ◽  
Majd Lahham ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Model Plant ◽  
Model Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana ◽  
Plant Arabidopsis Thaliana

scholarly journals TACAN is an essential component of the mechanosensitive ion channel responsible for pain sensing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Beaulieu-Laroche ◽  
M. Christin ◽  
AM Donoghue ◽  
F. Agosti ◽  
N. Yousefpour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channels ◽  
Heterologous Expression ◽  
Ion Channel ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Thermal Pain ◽  
Fundamental Process ◽  
Mechanosensitive Ion Channel ◽  
Pain Stimuli ◽  
Essential Subunit

SummaryMechanotransduction, the conversion of mechanical stimuli into electrical signals, is a fundamental process underlying several physiological functions such as touch and pain sensing, hearing and proprioception. This process is carried out by specialized mechanosensitive ion channels whose identities have been discovered for most functions except pain sensing. Here we report the identification of TACAN (Tmem120A), an essential subunit of the mechanosensitive ion channel responsible for sensing mechanical pain. TACAN is expressed in a subset of nociceptors, and its heterologous expression increases mechanically-evoked currents in cell lines. Purification and reconstitution of TACAN in synthetic lipids generates a functional ion channel. Finally, knocking down TACAN decreases the mechanosensitivity of nociceptors and reduces behavioral responses to mechanical but not to thermal pain stimuli, without affecting the sensitivity to touch stimuli. We propose that TACAN is a pore-forming subunit of the mechanosensitive ion channel responsible for sensing mechanical pain.

scholarly journals Mechanosensitive Ion Channel Piezo1 Regulates Myocyte Fusion during Skeletal Myogenesis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huascar Pedro Ortuste Quiroga ◽  
Shingo Yokoyama ◽  
Massimo Ganassi ◽  
Kodai Nakamura ◽  
Tomohiro Yamashita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ion Channel ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Myoblast Fusion ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Muscle Satellite Cell ◽  
Myotube Formation ◽  
Mechanosensitive Ion Channel ◽  
And Function ◽  
Sirna Knockdown

AbstractMechanical stimuli such as stretch and resistance training are essential to regulate growth and function of skeletal muscle. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in sensing mechanical stress remain unclear. Here, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of the mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1 during myogenic progression. Muscle satellite cell-derived myoblasts and myotubes were modified with stretch, siRNA knockdown and agonist-induced activation of Piezo1. Direct manipulation of Piezo1 modulates terminal myogenic progression. Piezo1 knockdown suppressed myoblast fusion during myotube formation and maturation. This was accompanied by downregulation of the fusogenic protein Myomaker. Piezo1 knockdown also lowered Ca2+ influx in response to stretch. Conversely Piezo1 activation stimulated fusion and increased Ca2+ influx in response to stretch. These evidences indicate that Piezo1 is essential for myotube formation and maturation, which may have implications for msucular dystrophy prevention through its role as a mechanosensitive Ca2+ channel.

scholarly journals An uracil-linked hydroxyflavone probe for the recognition of ATP

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 747-755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Márton Bojtár ◽  
Péter Zoltán Janzsó-Berend ◽  
Dávid Mester ◽  
Dóra Hessz ◽  
Mihály Kállay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fluorescence Spectroscopy ◽  
Electrostatic Interactions ◽  
Theoretical Calculations ◽  
Structural Similarity ◽  
Living Systems ◽  
Selective Detection ◽  
Complex Structures ◽  
Fluorescent Chemosensors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Physiological Processes

Background: Nucleotides are essential molecules in living systems due to their paramount importance in various physiological processes. In the past years, numerous attempts were made to selectively recognize and detect these analytes, especially ATP using small-molecule fluorescent chemosensors. Despite the various solutions, the selective detection of ATP is still challenging due to the structural similarity of various nucleotides. In this paper, we report the conjugation of a uracil nucleobase to the known 4’-dimethylamino-hydroxyflavone fluorophore. Results: The complexation of this scaffold with ATP is already known. The complex is held together by stacking and electrostatic interactions. To achieve multi-point recognition, we designed the uracil-appended version of this probe to include complementary base-pairing interactions. The theoretical calculations revealed the availability of multiple complex structures. The synthesis was performed using click chemistry and the nucleotide recognition properties of the probe were evaluated using fluorescence spectroscopy. Conclusions: The first, uracil-containing fluorescent ATP probe based on a hydroxyflavone fluorophore was synthesized and evaluated. A selective complexation with ATP was observed and a ratiometric response in the excitation spectrum.

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