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Beta-arrestin
Arrestins (abbreviated Arr) are a small family of proteins important for regulating signal transduction at G protein-coupled receptors. Arrestins were first discovered in the late '80s as a part of a conserved two-step mechanism for regulating the activity of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in the visual rhodopsin system by Hermann Kühn, Scott Hall, and Ursula Wilden and in the β-adrenergic system by Martin J. Lohse and co-workers. Function In response to a stimulus, GPCRs activate heterotrimeric G proteins. In order to turn off this response, or adapt to a persistent stimulus, active receptors need to be desensitized. The first step in desensitization is phosphorylation of the receptor by a class of serine/threonine kinases called G protein coupled receptor kinases (GRKs). GRK phosphorylation specifically prepares the activated receptor for arrestin binding. Arrestin binding to the receptor blocks further G protein-mediated signaling and targets receptors for int ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrestin Beta 2
Beta-arrestin-2, or β-arrestin2, also known as arrestin beta-2, is an intracellular protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ARRB2'' gene. Members of arrestin/beta-arrestin protein family are thought to participate in agonist-mediated desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors and cause specific dampening of cellular responses to stimuli such as hormones, neurotransmitters, or sensory signals, as well as having signalling roles in their own right. Arrestin beta 2, like arrestin beta 1, was shown to inhibit beta-adrenergic receptor function in vitro. It is expressed at high levels in the central nervous system and may play a role in the regulation of synaptic receptors. Besides the brain, a cDNA for arrestin beta 2 was isolated from thyroid gland, and thus it may also be involved in hormone-specific desensitization of TSH receptors. Multiple alternatively spliced transcript variants have been found for this gene, but the full-length nature of some variants has not been de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arrestin Beta 1
Arrestin, beta 1, also known as ARRB1, is a protein which in humans is encoded by the ''ARRB1'' gene. Function Members of arrestin/beta-arrestin protein family are thought to participate in agonist-mediated desensitization of G protein-coupled receptors and cause specific dampening of cellular responses to stimuli such as hormones, neurotransmitters, or sensory signals. Arrestin beta 1 is a cytosolic protein and acts as a cofactor in the beta-adrenergic receptor kinase (BARK) mediated desensitization of beta-adrenergic receptors. Besides the central nervous system, it is expressed at high levels in peripheral blood leukocytes, and thus the BARK/beta-arrestin system is believed to play a major role in regulating receptor-mediated immune functions. Alternatively spliced transcripts encoding different isoforms of arrestin beta 1 have been described, however, their exact functions are not known. Beta-arrestin has been shown to play a role as a scaffold that binds intermediates a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drosophila
''Drosophila'' (), from Ancient Greek δρόσος (''drósos''), meaning "dew", and φίλος (''phílos''), meaning "loving", is a genus of fly, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit. They should not be confused with the Tephritidae, a related family, which are also called fruit flies (sometimes referred to as "true fruit flies"); tephritids feed primarily on unripe or ripe fruit, with many species being regarded as destructive agricultural pests, especially the Mediterranean fruit fly. One species of ''Drosophila'' in particular, ''Drosophila melanogaster'', has been heavily used in research in genetics and is a common model organism in developmental biology. The terms "fruit fly" and "''Drosophila''" are often used synonymously with ''D. melanogaster'' in modern biological literatur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee
The HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC) is a committee of the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO) that sets the standards for human gene nomenclature. The HGNC approves a ''unique'' and ''meaningful'' name for every known human gene, based on a query of experts. In addition to the name, which is usually 1 to 10 words long, the HGNC also assigns a symbol (a short group of characters) to every gene. As with an SI symbol, a gene symbol is like an abbreviation but is more than that, being a second unique name that can stand on its own just as much as substitute for the longer name. It may not necessarily "stand for" the initials of the name, although many gene symbols do reflect that origin. Purpose Full gene names, and especially gene abbreviations and symbols, are often not specific to a single gene. A marked example is CAP which can refer to any of 6 different genes (BRD4'', CAP1'', HACD1'', LNPEP'', SERPINB6'', and SORBS1''). The HGNC short gene names, or gene symbols, unlik ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chordate
A chordate ( ) is a bilaterian animal belonging to the phylum Chordata ( ). All chordates possess, at some point during their larval or adult stages, five distinctive physical characteristics ( synapomorphies) that distinguish them from other taxa. These five synapomorphies are a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, an endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, and a post- anal tail. In addition to the morphological characteristics used to define chordates, analysis of genome sequences has identified two conserved signature indels (CSIs) in their proteins: cyclophilin-like protein and inner mitochondrial membrane protease ATP23, which are exclusively shared by all vertebrates, tunicates and cephalochordates. These CSIs provide molecular means to reliably distinguish chordates from all other animals. Chordates are divided into three subphyla: Vertebrata (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals), whose notochords are replaced by a cartilaginous/ bony axia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ciona Intestinalis
''Ciona intestinalis'' (sometimes known by the common name of vase tunicate) is an ascidian (sea squirt), a tunicate with very soft tunic. Its Latin name literally means "pillar of intestines", referring to the fact that its body is a soft, translucent column-like structure, resembling a mass of intestines sprouting from a rock. It is a globally distributed cosmopolitan species. Since Linnaeus described the species, ''Ciona intestinalis'' has been used as a model invertebrate chordate in developmental biology and genomics. Studies conducted between 2005 and 2010 have shown that there are at least two, possibly four, sister species. More recently it has been shown that one of these species has already been described as '' Ciona robusta''. By anthropogenic means, the species has invaded various parts of the world and is known as an invasive species. Although Linnaeus first categorised this species as a kind of mollusk, Alexander Kovalevsky found a tadpole-like larval stage durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caenorhabditis Elegans
''Caenorhabditis elegans'' () is a free-living transparent nematode about 1 mm in length that lives in temperate soil environments. It is the type species of its genus. The name is a Hybrid word, blend of the Greek ''caeno-'' (recent), ''rhabditis'' (rod-like) and Latin ''elegans'' (elegant). In 1900, Émile Maupas, Maupas initially named it ''Rhabditidae, Rhabditides elegans.'' Günther Osche, Osche placed it in the subgenus ''Caenorhabditis'' in 1952, and in 1955, Ellsworth Dougherty, Dougherty raised ''Caenorhabditis'' to the status of genus. ''C. elegans'' is an unsegmented pseudocoelomate and lacks respiratory or circulatory systems. Most of these nematodes are hermaphrodites and a few are males. Males have specialised tails for mating that include spicule (nematode), spicules. In 1963, Sydney Brenner proposed research into ''C. elegans,'' primarily in the area of neuronal development. In 1974, he began research into the molecular biology, molecular and developmental ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SAG (gene)
S-arrestin is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''SAG'' gene. Members of arrestin/beta-arrestin protein family are thought to participate in agonist-mediated desensitization of G-protein-coupled receptors and cause specific dampening of cellular responses to stimuli such as hormones, neurotransmitters, or sensory signals. S-arrestin, also known as S-antigen, is a major soluble protein in photoreceptor cells that is involved in desensitization of the photoactivated transduction cascade. It is expressed in the retina and the pineal gland and inhibits coupling of rhodopsin to transducin in vitro. Additionally, S-arrestin is highly antigenic, and is capable of inducing experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis. Mutations in this gene have been associated with Oguchi disease, a rare autosomal recessive In genetics, dominance is the phenomenon of one variant (allele) of a gene on a chromosome masking or overriding the Phenotype, effect of a different variant of the same gen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clathrin
Clathrin is a protein that plays a role in the formation of coated vesicles. Clathrin was first isolated by Barbara Pearse in 1976. It forms a triskelion shape composed of three clathrin heavy chains and three light chains. When the triskelia interact they form a polyhedral lattice that surrounds the vesicle. The protein's name refers to this lattice structure, deriving from Latin ''clathri'', meaning lattice. Barbara Pearse named the protein clathrin at the suggestion of Graeme Mitchison, selecting it from three possible options. Coat-proteins, like clathrin, are used to build small vesicles in order to transport molecules within cells. The endocytosis and exocytosis of vesicles allows cells to communicate, to transfer nutrients, to import signaling receptors, to mediate an immune response after sampling the extracellular world, and to clean up the cell debris left by tissue inflammation. The endocytic pathway can be hijacked by viruses and other pathogens in order to gai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endosomes
Endosomes are a collection of intracellular sorting organelles in eukaryotic cells. They are parts of the endocytic membrane transport pathway originating from the trans Golgi network. Molecules or ligands internalized from the plasma membrane can follow this pathway all the way to lysosomes for degradation or can be recycled back to the cell membrane in the endocytic cycle. Molecules are also transported to endosomes from the trans Golgi network and either continue to lysosomes or recycle back to the Golgi apparatus. Endosomes can be classified as early, sorting, or late depending on their stage post internalization. Endosomes represent a major sorting compartment of the endomembrane system in cells. Function Endosomes provide an environment for material to be sorted before it reaches the degradative lysosome. For example, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is taken into the cell by binding to the LDL receptor at the cell surface. Upon reaching early endosomes, the LDL dis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
