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Mitophagy
Mitophagy is the selective degradation of mitochondria by autophagy. It often occurs to defective mitochondria following damage or stress. The process of mitophagy was first described over a hundred years ago by Margaret Reed Lewis and Warren Harmon Lewis. Ashford and Porter used electron microscopy to observe mitochondrial fragments in liver lysosomes by 1962, and a 1977 report suggested that "mitochondria develop functional alterations which would activate autophagy." The term "mitophagy" was in use by 1998. Mitophagy is key in keeping the cell healthy. It promotes turnover of mitochondria and prevents accumulation of dysfunctional mitochondria which can lead to cellular degeneration. It is mediated by Atg32 (in yeast) and NIX and its regulator BNIP3 in mammals. Mitophagy is regulated by PINK1 and parkin proteins. In addition to the selective removal of damaged mitochondria, mitophagy is also required to adjust mitochondrial numbers to changing cellular metabolic needs, fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autophagy
Autophagy (or autophagocytosis; from the Ancient Greek , , meaning "self-devouring" and , , meaning "hollow") is the natural, conserved degradation of the cell that removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components through a lysosome-dependent regulated mechanism. It allows the orderly degradation and recycling of cellular components. Although initially characterized as a primordial degradation pathway induced to protect against starvation, it has become increasingly clear that autophagy also plays a major role in the homeostasis of non-starved cells. Defects in autophagy have been linked to various human diseases, including neurodegeneration and cancer, and interest in modulating autophagy as a potential treatment for these diseases has grown rapidly. Four forms of autophagy have been identified: macroautophagy, microautophagy, chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA), and crinophagy. In macroautophagy (the most thoroughly researched form of autophagy), cytoplasmic components (like ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parkin (ligase)
Parkin is a 465-amino acid residue E3 ubiquitin ligase, a protein that in humans and mice is encoded by the ''PARK2'' gene. Parkin plays a critical role in ubiquitination – the process whereby molecules are covalently labelled with ubiquitin (Ub) and directed towards degradation in proteasomes or lysosomes. Ubiquitination involves the sequential action of three enzymes. First, an E1 ubiquitin-activating enzyme binds to inactive Ub in eukaryotic cells via a thioester bond and mobilises it in an ATP-dependent process. Ub is then transferred to an E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme before being conjugated to the target protein via an E3 ubiquitin ligase. There exists a multitude of E3 ligases, which differ in structure and substrate specificity to allow selective targeting of proteins to intracellular degradation. In particular, parkin recognises proteins on the outer membrane of mitochondria upon cellular insult and mediates the clearance of damaged mitochondria via autophagy and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nix (gene)
Nix is a pro-apoptotic gene that is regulated by Histotoxic hypoxia. It expresses a signaling protein related to the BH3-only family. This protein induces autophagy, an intracellular function by which cytoplasmic components are delivered to the lysosome to be broken down and used elsewhere or excreted from the cell. This protein is important in development because it allows cells to have a consistent store of cellular components. It also holds an important role in the differentiation and maturation of erythrocytes and lymphocytes by the process of mitophagy with the help of its regulator BNIP3. Using a gene knockout technique in mice, scientists have been able to attribute this pruning of mitochondria and induction of cellular necrosis to the expression of the Nix gene. The Nix protein may be associated with certain kinds of cancer formation. In mouse models, loss of Nix resulted in a delayed onset of tumors for pancreatic cancer, and was additionally associated with reduced ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence
A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used throughout the cell as a source of chemical energy. They were discovered by Albert von Kölliker in 1857 in the voluntary muscles of insects. The term ''mitochondrion'' was coined by Carl Benda in 1898. The mitochondrion is popularly nicknamed the "powerhouse of the cell", a phrase coined by Philip Siekevitz in a 1957 article of the same name. Some cells in some multicellular organisms lack mitochondria (for example, mature mammalian red blood cells). A large number of unicellular organisms, such as microsporidia, parabasalids and diplomonads, have reduced or transformed their mitochondria into other structures. One eukaryote, ''Monocercomonoides'', is known to have completely lost its mitochondria, and one multicellular organism, '' Henne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
BNIP3
BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa protein-interacting protein 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''BNIP3'' gene. BNIP3 is a member of the apoptotic Bcl-2 protein family. It can induce cell death while also assisting with cell survival. Like many of the Bcl-2 family proteins, BNIP3 modulates the permeability state of the outer mitochondrial membrane by forming homo- and hetero-oligomers inside the membrane. Upregulation results in a decrease in mitochondrial potential, an increase in reactive oxygen species, mitochondrial swelling and fission, and an increase in mitochondrial turnover via autophagy. Sequence similarity with Bcl-2 family members was not detected. Humans and other animals (''Drosophila, Caenorhabditis''), as well as lower eukaryotes ('' Dictyostelium, Trypanosoma, Cryptosporidium, Paramecium'') encode several BNIP3 paralogues including the human NIP3L, which induces apoptosis by interacting with viral and cellular anti-apoptosis proteins. Structure The ri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mitochondria
A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used throughout the cell as a source of chemical energy. They were discovered by Albert von Kölliker in 1857 in the voluntary muscles of insects. The term ''mitochondrion'' was coined by Carl Benda in 1898. The mitochondrion is popularly nicknamed the "powerhouse of the cell", a phrase coined by Philip Siekevitz in a 1957 article of the same name. Some cells in some multicellular organisms lack mitochondria (for example, mature mammalian red blood cells). A large number of unicellular organisms, such as microsporidia, parabasalids and diplomonads, have reduced or transformed their mitochondria into other structures. One eukaryote, '' Monocercomonoides'', is known to have completely lost its mitochondria, and one multicellular orga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FUNDC1
FUN14 domain containing 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FUNDC1 gene. Model organisms Model organisms have been used in the study of FUNDC1 function. A conditional knockout mouse line, called ''Fundc1tm1a(KOMP)Wtsi'' was generated as part of the International Knockout Mouse Consortium program — a high-throughput mutagenesis project to generate and distribute animal models of disease to interested scientists — at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Male and female animals underwent a standardized phenotypic screen to determine the effects of deletion. Twenty two tests were carried out on mutant In biology, and especially in genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic character arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is generally an alteration of the DNA sequence of the genome or chromosome of an organism. It ... mice, however no significant abnormalities were observed. References Further reading Genes mutated in mice ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
HIF1A
Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha, also known as HIF-1-alpha, is a subunit of a heterodimeric transcription factor hypoxia-inducible factor 1 ( HIF-1) that is encoded by the ''HIF1A'' gene. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2019 was awarded for the discovery of HIF. HIF1A is a basic helix-loop-helix PAS domain containing protein, and is considered as the master transcriptional regulator of cellular and developmental response to hypoxia. The dysregulation and overexpression of ''HIF1A'' by either hypoxia or genetic alternations have been heavily implicated in cancer biology, as well as a number of other pathophysiologies, specifically in areas of vascularization and angiogenesis, energy metabolism, cell survival, and tumor invasion. Two other alternative transcripts encoding different isoforms have been identified. Structure HIF1 is a heterodimeric basic helix-loop-helix structure that is composed of HIF1A, the alpha subunit (this protein), and the aryl hydrocarbo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neurons
A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. Non-animals like plants and fungi do not have nerve cells. Neurons are typically classified into three types based on their function. Sensory neurons respond to stimuli such as touch, sound, or light that affect the cells of the sensory organs, and they send signals to the spinal cord or brain. Motor neurons receive signals from the brain and spinal cord to control everything from muscle contractions to glandular output. Interneurons connect neurons to other neurons within the same region of the brain or spinal cord. When multiple neurons are connected together, they form what is called a neural circuit. A typical neuron consists of a cell body ( soma), dendrites, and a single axon. The soma is a compact structure, and the axon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Synapses
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or to the target effector cell. Synapses are essential to the transmission of nervous impulses from one neuron to another. Neurons are specialized to pass signals to individual target cells, and synapses are the means by which they do so. At a synapse, the plasma membrane of the signal-passing neuron (the ''presynaptic'' neuron) comes into close apposition with the membrane of the target (''postsynaptic'') cell. Both the presynaptic and postsynaptic sites contain extensive arrays of molecular machinery that link the two membranes together and carry out the signaling process. In many synapses, the presynaptic part is located on an axon and the postsynaptic part is located on a dendrite or soma. Astrocytes also exchange information with the synaptic neurons, responding to synaptic activity and, in turn, regulating neurotransmission. Syn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MFN2
Mitofusin-2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''MFN2'' gene. Mitofusins are GTPases embedded in the outer membrane of the mitochondria. In mammals MFN1 and MFN2 are essential for mitochondrial fusion. In addition to the mitofusins, OPA1 regulates inner mitochondrial membrane fusion, and DRP1 is responsible for mitochondrial fission. Mitofusin-2 (MFN2) is a mitochondrial membrane protein that plays a central role in regulating mitochondrial fusion and cell metabolism. More specifically, MFN2 is a dynamin-like GTPase embedded in the outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM) which in turn affects mitochondrial dynamics, distribution, quality control, and function. In addition to the MFN2, OPA1 regulates inner mitochondrial membrane fusion, MFN1 is a mediator of mitochondrial fusion and DRP1 is responsible for mitochondrial fission. Structure The human mitofusin-2 protein contains 757 amino acid residues. The MFN2 comprises a large cytosolic GTPase domain at the N-termi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MFN1
Mitofusin-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''MFN1'' gene. The protein encoded by this gene is a mediator of mitochondrial fusion. This protein and mitofusin 2 are homologs of the ''Drosophila ''Drosophila'' () is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or (less frequently) pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species ...'' protein fuzzy onion (Fzo). They are mitochondrial membrane proteins that interact with each other to facilitate mitochondrial targeting. References Further reading * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{protein-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
