Over the last few decades, proteins and peptides have become increasingly more common as FDA-approved drugs, despite their inefficient delivery due to their inability to cross the plasma membrane. In this context, bacterial two-component systems, ter...
Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) are a cell model now widely used to investigate pathophysiological features of cardiac tissue. Given the invaluable contribution hiPSC-CM could make for studies on cardio-metabolic...
Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), which are covalently-linked membrane proteins at the cell surface have recently been suggested to involve in not only endocytic cellular uptake but also non-endocytic direct cell membrane translocation of arginine-rich cell...
Botulinum neurotoxin serotype E (BoNT/E) is one of the major causes of human botulism, which is a life-threatening disease caused by flaccid paralysis of muscles. After receptor-mediated toxin internalization into motor neurons, the translocation dom...
Amylosucrase (AS) is a highly versatile enzyme with significant potential for industrial applications, including functional food production and glycosylation of bioactive compounds. However, its large-scale production is hampered by low secretion eff...
Sensitive sequencing of biopolymers by nanopore-based translocation techniques requires an extension of the time spent by the molecule in the pore. We develop an electrostatic theory of polymer translocation to show that the translocation time can be...
Artificial membranes with conical pores and controllable thickness reveal ionic-transport capabilities that are superior compared with those offered by cylindrical pores. By simulating the translocation of an abstract chain-like body through a conica...
Group IVA cytosolic phospholipase A2α (cPLA2α) is a key enzyme in physiology and pathophysiology because it constitutes a rate-limiting step in the pathway for the generation of pro- and anti-inflammatory eicosanoid lipid mediators. cPLA2...
Adenylate cyclase toxin (ACT) is one of the principal virulence factors secreted by the whooping cough causative bacterium Bordetella pertussis, and it has a critical role in colonization of the respiratory tract and establishment of the disease. ACT...
The adenylate cyclase toxin CyaA is involved in the early stages of infection by Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough. CyaA intoxicates target cells by a direct translocation of its catalytic domain (AC) across the plasma membr...
In this paper, the charged polymer escapement phenomenon, via a little hole of nano-metric dimensions arranged in a constitutive biological membrane, is studied. We will present the case of the transport process of an ideal polymer in a 3-dimensional...
Aquaporin-5 (AQP5) is selectively expressed in the apical membrane of exocrine glands, such as salivary, sweat, and submucosal airway glands, and plays important roles in maintaining their secretory functions. Because AQP5 is not regulated by gating,...
Cation-pumping membrane pyrophosphatases (mPPases; EC 7.1.3.1) vary in their transport specificity from obligatory H+ transporters found in all kingdoms of life, to Na+/H+-co-transporters found in many prokaryotes. The available data suggest a unique...
Glucocorticoids (GCs) stimulate rapid cell signalling by activating the membrane-anchored intracellular glucocorticoid receptor (GR). However, the recruitment of the GR to the plasma membrane to facilitate nongenomic signalling is far from clear. As...
Diverse extracellular signals induce plasma membrane translocation of sphingosine kinase-1 (SphK1), thereby enabling inside-out signaling of sphingosine-1-phosphate. We have shown before that Gq-coupled receptors and constitutively active Gαq/1...
Gram-negative bacteria release outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) that deliver various molecules, including virulence factors, to interact with their host. Recent studies have suggested that OMVs may also serve as carriers for RNAs, particularly small re...
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are believed to be a prominent alternative to the common antibiotics. However, despite decades of research, there are still no good clinical examples of peptide-based antimicrobial drugs for system application. The main...
A fraction of the insulin-stimulated uptake of long-chain fatty acids (FAs) is mediated by the FA translocase cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36) in white adipocytes. Intracellular vesicle-localized CD36 is redistributed to the plasma membrane follo...
Clostridioides difficile infections cause severe symptoms ranging from diarrhea to pseudomembranous colitis due to the secretion of AB-toxins, TcdA and TcdB. Both toxins are taken up into cells through receptor-mediated endocytosis, autoproteolytic p...
Ginsenoside Rh2 is a potential pharmacologically active metabolite of ginseng. Previously, we have reported that an octyl ester derivative of ginsenoside Rh2 (Rh2-O), has been confirmed to possess higher bioavailability and anticancer effect than Rh2...
Cellular entry of diphtheria toxin is a multistage process involving receptor targeting, endocytosis, and translocation of the catalytic domain across the endosomal membrane into the cytosol. The latter is ensured by the translocation (T) domain of t...
PMAP-23, a cathelicidin-derived host defense peptide, does not cause severe membrane permeabilization, but exerts strong and broad-spectrum bactericidal activity. We have previously shown that it forms an amphipathic α-helical structure with a centra...
Chitin, an extracellular polysaccharide, is synthesized by membrane-embedded chitin synthase (CHS) utilizing intracellular substrates. The mechanism of the translocation of synthesized chitin across the membrane to extracellular locations remains unr...
Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs), also known as protein translocation domains, membrane translocating sequences or Trojan peptides, are small molecules of 6 to 30 amino acid residues capable of penetrating biological barriers and cellular membranes....
Some Clostridium difficile strains produce, in addition to toxins A and B, the binary toxin Clostridium difficile transferase (CDT), which ADP-ribosylates actin and may contribute to the hypervirulence of these strains. The separate binding and trans...
The plastid stroma-localized chaperone HSP90C plays a crucial role in maintaining optimal proteostasis within chloroplasts and participates in protein translocation processes. While existing studies have revealed HSP90C’s direct interaction wit...
The cell membrane is a complex and highly regulated system that is composed of lipid bilayer and proteins. One of the main functions of the cell membrane is the regulation of cell entry. Cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) are defined as peptides that c...
Here, we review recent molecular modelling and simulation studies of the Sec translocon, the primary component/channel of protein translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and bacterial periplasm, respectively. Our focus is placed on the euka...
Protein import into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the first step in the biogenesis of around 10,000 different soluble and membrane proteins in humans. It involves the co- or post-translational targeting of precursor polypeptides to the ER, and th...
Arsenic exposure can induce liver insulin resistance (IR) and diabetes (DM), but the underlying mechanisms are not yet clear. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in the regulation of the onset of diabetes, especially in the progression of IR. This...
Genetically modified plants and crops can contribute to remarkable increase in global food supply, with improved yield and resistance to plant diseases or insect pests. The development of biotechnology introducing exogenous nucleic acids in transgeni...
Background: Piperlongumine, a component of Piper longum fruit, is considered as a treatment for malignancy. It is effective by inducing apoptosis. Mechanisms involved in the apoptotic action of piperlongumine include oxidative stress and activation o...
The nitrosourea alkylating agent, carmustine, is used as chemotherapeutic drug in several malignancies. The substance triggers tumor cell apoptosis. Side effects of carmustine include myelotoxicity with anemia. At least in theory, anemia could partly...
Recently, membrane-active peptides or proteins that include antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), cytolytic proteins, and cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) have attracted attention due to their potential applications in the biomedical field. Among them, CPPs...
Importing proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is essential for about 30% of the human proteome. It involves the targeting of precursor proteins to the ER and their insertion into or translocation across the ER membrane. Furthermore, it relie...
Neurofibromin (NF) inhibits the RAS/RAF/ERK pathway through its interaction with SPRED1 (Sprouty-related EVH1 domain-containing protein 1). Here, we investigated the functional relationship between NF and SPRED2 in breast cancer (BC). Human BC cell l...
P-type ATPases are a large family of membrane transporters that are found in all forms of life. These enzymes couple ATP hydrolysis to the transport of various ions or phospholipids across cellular membranes, thereby generating and maintaining crucia...
Proton-translocating NADH–ubiquinone oxidoreductase (complex I) catalyzes the oxidation of NADH by ubiquinone accompanied by the transmembrane transfer of four protons, thus contributing to the formation of a proton motive force (pmf) across th...
Interaction between bacterial toxins and cellular surface receptors is an important component of the host-pathogen interaction. Anthrax toxin protective antigen (PA) binds to the cell surface receptor, enters the cell through receptor-mediated endocy...
The proteins of membrane transporters (MTs) are embedded within membrane-bounded organelles and are the prime targets for improvements in the efficiency of water and nutrient transportation. Their function is to maintain cellular homeostasis by contr...
The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of mammalian cells is the central organelle for the maturation and folding of transmembrane proteins and for proteins destined to be secreted into the extracellular space. The proper folding of target proteins is achiev...
The N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors function as plasma membrane ionic channels and take part in very tightly controlled cellular processes activating neurogenic and inflammatory pathways. In particular, the NR1 subunit (new terminolog...
One of the reported substrates for the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) translocation inhibitor cyclotriazadisulfonamide (CADA) is DNAJC3, a chaperone of the unfolded protein response during ER stress. In this study, we investigated the impact of altered D...
The alarming rise of antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria has emerged as a major global health challenge. A key factor contributing to this crisis is the low permeability of the bacterial outer membrane, which acts as a barrier that preven...
TMEM175 (transmembrane protein 175) coding sequence variants are associated with increased risk of Parkinson’s disease. TMEM175 is the ubiquitous lysosomal K+ channel regulated by growth factor receptor signaling and direct interaction with protein k...
The 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) plays an important role in apoptotic cell death, including apoptosis induced by the hypoxia mimicking agent cobalt chloride (CoCl2). In this study, the protective effects of a high (CB86; Ki = 1.6 nM) and a low...
Using the dynamic Monte Carlo method, we investigate dynamics of semiflexible polymer translocation through a nanopore into laterally unbounded region between two parallel flat membranes with separation R in presence of an electric field inside the p...
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are extensively adopted in the applications of biotechnology and biomedicine. Their interactions with cell membranes are of great importance for understanding the toxicity of CNTs and the application of drug delivery. In this...
Membrane active peptides hold great potential for targeted drug delivery systems and understanding their mechanism of uptake is a key step in the development of peptide based therapeutics and clinical use. Giant unilamellar vesicles are cell-sized mo...
Podocytes and their foot processes form a functional layer of the glomerular filtration barrier. Due to their unique morphology and function, podocytes employ distinct nutrient pathways to maintain the bioenergetic balance, with lactate being one of...
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