Microreviews, Review
VAMP8 mucin exocytosis attenuates intestinal pathogenesis by Entamoeba histolytica
Steve Cornick1, France Moreau1, Herbert Y. Gaisano2, Kris Chadee1
This article comments on work published by Cornick et al. (mBio, 2017), which nominates SNARE-mediated exocytosis as the putative mechanism responsible for pathogen-induced mucus secretion from goblet cells.
Shutdown of interferon signaling by a viral-hijacked E3 ubiquitin ligase
Kaitlin A. Davis1 and John T. Patton2
This article comments on work published by Davis et al. (mBio, 2017), which describes molecular requirements that govern NSP1 recognition of β-TrCP, including an essential degron phosphorylation event, and the step-wise incorporation of NSP1 into hijacked cullin-RING E3 ligases (CRLs) that ubiquitinate and tag β-TrCP for degradation.
Breaking the bad: Bacillus blocks fungal virulence factors
François L. Mayer1 and James W. Kronstad1
This article comments on work published by Mayer & Kronstad (mBio, 2017), which identified the soil bacterium, Bacillus safensis as a potent inhibitor of virulence factor production by two major fungal pathogens of humans, Cryptococcus neoformans, and Candida albicans.
The integrated stress response in budding yeast lifespan extension
Spike D.L. Postnikoff1, Jay E. Johnson2 and Jessica K. Tyler1
This article summarizes how the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been instrumental in unraveling the molecular and cellular determinants of aging, and how the induction of cellular stress responses has been associated with experimental lifespan extension, thus underscoring the value of yeast as a model for developing potential aging therapies for humans.
Macrophages as drivers of an opportunistic infection
Annette C. Vergunst1, Nazareth Lopez Carranza1, Lili Zhang1,2, Margarida C. Gomes1, Yara Tasrini1,
Annemarie H. Meijer3 and David O’Callaghan1
This article comments on work published by Mesureur et al. (PloS Pathog, 2017), which shows that macrophages are essential for proliferation of B. cenocepacia in the host. This suggests a new paradigm for Bcc infections and urges the development of novel anti-infectious therapies to efficiently disarm these intrinsically antibiotic resistant facultative intracellular pathogens.
Exacerbating and reversing lysosomal storage diseases: from yeast to humans
Tamayanthi Rajakumar1, Andrew B. Munkacsi1,2 and Stephen L. Sturley3
This article summarizes the use of yeast models in advancing our understanding of lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), where they have been instrumental in researching LSD mechanisms, screening for therapeutic compounds, and exploring genetic and gene-environment interactions relevant to diseases like Batten disease, cystinosis, and Niemann-Pick type C disease, as well as their connection to broader health issues such as viral infections and obesity.
Live fast, die fast principle in a single cell of fission yeast
Hidenori Nakaoka1
This article comments on a recent study (Nakaoka and Wakamoto, PLoS Biol, 2017), which developed a microfluidics-based platform to track multiple single cell lineages until death.
Bacterial genotoxin functions as immune-modulator and promotes host survival
July 28, 2016
This article comments on work published by Del Bel Belluz et al. (PLoS Pathog, 2016), which demonstrated that the typhoid toxin of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi esembles an immune-modulatory molecule rather than a toxic agent.
Functions and regulation of the MRX complex at DNA double-strand breaks
July 27, 2016
DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) pose a serious threat to genome stability and cell survival. Cells possess mechanisms that recognize DSBs and promote their repair through either homologous recombination (HR) or non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). The present review focuses mainly on recent works in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to highlight structure and regulation of the evolutionary conserved Mre11-Rad50-Xrs2 (MRX) complex as well as its interplays with Tel1.
Inhibition of Zika virus by Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti
June 27, 2016
This article comments on work published by Dutra et al. (Cell Host Microbe, 2016), which investigated the potential of Wolbachia infections in Aedes aegypti to restrict infection and transmission of Zika virus.
Syphilis: Re-emergence of an old foe
June 27, 2016
Syphilis is caused by infection with Treponema pallidum subsp. pallidum, a not-yet-cultivable spiral-shaped bacterium that is usually transmitted by sexual contact with an infected partner or by an infected pregnant woman to her fetus. This review provides insights into the etiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of syphilis.
Trichomoniasis – are we giving the deserved attention to the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease worldwide?
June 27, 2016
Trichomonas vaginalis is the etiologic agent of trichomoniasis, the most common non-viral sexually transmitted disease (STD) in the world. This article contributes to claim the attention of public health policies to control this STD.
House of cellulose – a new hideout for drug tolerant Mycobacterium tuberculosis
June 23, 2016
This article comments on work published by Trivedi et al. (Nat Commun, 2016), which shows that Mycobacterium tuberculosis cells organise themselves into biofilms in response to intracellular thiol reductive stress.
Antibiotic use in childhood alters the gut microbiota and predisposes to overweight
June 20, 2016
This article comments on work published by Korpela et al. (Nat Commun, 2016), which investigates the correlation between the use of antibiotics in early life and the excessive weight gain in later childhood.
Evidence for the hallmarks of human aging in replicatively aging yeast
June 20, 2016
Recently, efforts have been made to characterize the hallmarks that accompany and contribute to the phenomenon of aging, as most relevant for humans. Remarkably, studying the finite lifespan of the single cell eukaryote budding yeast has been paramount for our understanding of aging. Here, we compile observations from literature over the past decades of research on replicatively aging yeast to highlight how the hallmarks of aging in humans are present in yeast.
Bacterial outer membrane vesicle biogenesis: a new mechanism and its implications
May 10, 2016
This article comments on work published by Roier et al. (Nat Commun, 2016), which proposes a novel and highly conserved bacterial outer membane vesicle biogenesis mechanism based on phospholipid accumulation in the outer leaflet of the outer membrane.