Microreviews, Review
Prohibitins: emerging host targets of bacteria and viruses at the plasma membrane, mitochondria, and cytoplasm
Grecia O. Rivera-Palomino1,2 and Arianne L. Theiss1,2,3
Prohibitins are emerging as central host hubs exploited by bacteria and viruses to rewire signaling and mitochondrial dynamics. The current review discusses Prohibitins in host-pathogen interplay and their potential as novel anti-infective targets.
Outer membrane vesicles in Vibrio species: Roles in biofilm formation and pathogenesis
Kumari Shambhavi and Durg Vijai Singh
This review explores current knowledge on outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) in Vibrio species, highlighting their roles in pathogenesis, host interaction, and marine ecology; and identifies major knowledge gaps, outlining key methodological challenges and future prospects for OMV-based applications.
The mechanism of Tat-dependent protein translocation
Thomas Brüser1,* and Carsten Sanders2,3,4
This review integrates mechanistically relevant biochemical, molecular, and structural studies on Tat-dependent translocation of folded proteins into an in its molecular detail new comprehensive explanation of how the Tat system mediates protein transport.
From the gut to the lungs: The role of gut microbiota in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and related research progress
Simin Yang1,2, Shuting Zeng1,2, Yongan Deng1,2, Xiaodong Duan1,2, Chengkai Chen1,2, Luyun Sun2, Yongkang Qiao2 and Zunpeng Shu1,2
This article provides new ideas and directions for the basic research and clinical practice of COPD by comprehensively sorting out the association between gut microbiota and COPD.
Protein arginine methyltransferases in protozoan parasites: a new path for antiparasitic chemotherapy?
Gustavo D. Campagnaro1,* and Sébastien Pomel2
This review discusses the activity and the relevance of arginine methyltransferases for the survival of pathogenic kinetoplastids, apicomplexans and amoebas, and how these enzymes could be exploited as drug targets.
Gut microbiota and ankylosing spondylitis: current insights and future challenges
Andrei Lobiuc1, Liliana Groppa2, Lia Chislari2, Eugeniu Russu2,3, Marinela Homitchi2,3, Camelia Ciorescu2,3, Sevag Hamamah4, I. Codruta Bran1 and Mihai Covasa1
This review explores the growing role of gut microbiota in AS and its potential to reshape targeted treatment strategies and facilitate development of adjunct therapies to address disease onset and progression.
Advancements in vaginal microbiota, Trichomonas vaginalis, and vaginal cell interactions: Insights from co-culture assays
Fernanda Gomes Cardoso and Tiana Tasca
This review updates co-culture and co-incubation techniques for studying interactions of Lactobacillus spp., representing a pre-dominant member of the healthy vaginal microbiota; Candida spp., the most abundant yeast in the vagina, and T. vaginalis, responsible for the most widespread nonviral STI worldwide.
Influence of cervicovaginal microbiota on Chlamydia trachomatis infection dynamics
Emily Hand1, Indriati Hood-Pishchany1,2, Toni Darville1,2 and Catherine M. O’Connell2
This review examines the complex interplay between the cervicovaginal microbiome, C. trachomatis infection, and host immune responses, highlighting the role of metabolites such as short-chain and long-chain fatty acids, indole, and iron in modulating pathogen survival and host defenses.
Unveiling the molecular architecture of the mitochondrial respiratory chain of Acanthamoeba castellanii
Christian Q. Scheckhuber1, Sutherland K. Maciver2 and Alvaro de Obeso Fernandez del Valle1
This review provides a comprehensive overview of the mitochondrial res-piratory chain in A. castellanii, focusing on the key alternative components involved in oxidative phosphorylation and their roles in energy metabolism, stress response, and adaptation to various conditions.
Control of the gut microbiome by fecal microRNA
March 9, 2016
This article comments on work published by Liu et al. (Cell Host & Microbe, 2016), which identifies miRNAs in gut lumen and feces of both mice and humans that were able to enter bacteria, specifically regulate bacterial gene transcripts and affect bacterial growth thereby regulating the gut microbiome.
Mitochondrial regulation of cell death: a phylogenetically conserved control
February 23, 2016
Mitochondria are fundamental for eukaryotic cells as they participate in critical catabolic and anabolic pathways. Moreover, mitochondria play a key role in the signal transduction cascades that precipitate many (but not all) regulated variants of cellular demise. In this short review, the authors discuss the differential implication of mitochondria in the major forms of regulated cell death.
Mek1/Mre4 is a master regulator of meiotic recombination in budding yeast
February 22, 2016
This article comments on work published by Chen et al. (PLoS BIol, 2015), showing that the meiosis specific kinase Mek1 indirectly regulates the crossover/non-crossover decision between homologs as well as genetic interference and suggests Mek1 to be a "master regulator" of meiotic recombination in budding yeast.
Shaping meiotic chromosomes with SUMO: a feedback loop controls the assembly of the synaptonemal complex in budding yeast
February 19, 2016
This article comments on work published by Leung et al. (J Cell Biol, 2015), which shows that the formation of the meiosis-specific synaptonemal complex is controlled through SUMOylation of a regulator required for the assembly of transverse filaments, implicating the involvement of a positive feedback loop in the control of synaptonemal complex assembly.
Learning epigenetic regulation from mycobacteria
January 18, 2016
This article comments on work published by Koshla et al. (Nat Commun, 2015), which shows that pathogenic Mycobacterium tuberculosis has evolved strategies to hijack the epigenetic regulation of host transcripton for its own survival.
Biofilm assembly becomes crystal clear – filamentous bacteriophage organize the Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm matrix into a liquid crystal
December 31, 2015
This article comments on work published by Secor et al. (Host Cell & Microbe, 2015), which highlights a previously unknown role for filamentous Pf phage in organizing the P. aeruginosa biofilm matrix into a liquid crystalline structure. These findings help ground our understanding of biofilm formation within established paradigms of soft matter physics
Histone modifications as regulators of life and death in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
December 31, 2015
The mechanism by which chromosomes restructure during apoptosis is still poorly understood, but it is becoming increasingly clear that altered epigenetic histone modifications are fundamental parameters that influence the chromatin state and the nuclear rearrangements within apoptotic cells. This review highlights recent work on the epigenetic regulation of programmed cell death in budding yeast.
Spermidine cures yeast of prions
December 25, 2015
This article comments on work published by Speldewinde and Grant (Mol Biol Cell, 2015), which found that spermidine, a polyamine that has been used to increase autophagic flux, acts as a protective agent which prevents spontaneous prion formation in yeast.
Histone deacetylases: revealing the molecular base of dimorphism in pathogenic fungi
November 4, 2015
Fungi, as every living organism, interact with the external world and have to adapt to its fluctuations. For pathogenic fungi, such interaction involves adapting to the hostile environment of their host. Survival depends on the capacity of fungi to detect and respond to external stimuli, which is achieved through a tight and efficient genetic control. Elías-Villalobos et al. propose that histone acetylation is critical to the proper timing and induction of transcription of the genes encoding factors that coordinate changes in morphology with pathogenesis.