Reviews
Saccharomyces cerevisiae in cancer research: modeling tumor biology and enabling drug discovery
Graziana Assalve1,a, Paola Lunetti1,a, Annalisa Fai1, Luca Frattaruolo2, Anna Rita Cappello2, Alessandra Ferramosca1,* and Vincenzo Zara1
By combining genetic tractability with conservation of key cellular pathways, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is emerging as a versatile model for cancer biology and a scalable platform for identifying therapeutic targets and vulnerabilities.
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.
Effects of the intestinal microbiota on prostate cancer treatment by androgen deprivation therapy
November 15, 2022
Prostate cancer (PC) can be kept in check by androgen deprivation therapy (ADT, usually with the androgen synthesis inhibitor abiraterone acetate or the androgen receptor antagonist such as enzalutamide) until the tumor evolves to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The transition of hormone-sensitive PC (HSPC) to CPRC has been explained by cancer cell-intrinsic resistance mechanisms. Recent data indicate that this transition is also marked by cancer cell-extrinsic mechanisms such as the failure of ADT-induced PC immunosurveillance, which depends on the presence of immunostimulatory bacteria in the gut. Moreover, intestinal bacteria that degrade drugs used for ADT, as well as bacteria that produce androgens, can interfere with the efficacy of ADT. Thus, specific bacteria in the gut serve as a source of testosterone, which accelerates prostate cancer progression, and men with CRPC exhibit an increased abundance of such bacteria with androgenic functions. In conclusion, the response of PC to ADT is profoundly influenced by the composition of the microbiota with its immunostimulatory, immunosuppressive and directly ADT-subversive elements.
Occurrence and potential mechanism of holin-mediated non-lytic protein translocation in bacteria
September 23, 2022
Holins are generally believed to generate large membrane lesions that permit the passage of endolysins across the cytoplasmic membrane of prokaryotes, ultimately resulting in cell wall degradation and cell lysis. However, there are more and more examples known for non-lytic holin-dependent secretion of proteins by bacteria, indicating that holins somehow can transport proteins without causing large membrane lesions. Phage-derived holins can be used for a non-lytic endolysin translocation to permeabilize the cell wall for the passage of secreted proteins. In addition, clostridia, which do not possess the Tat pathway for transport of folded proteins, most likely employ non-lytic holin-mediated transport also for secretion of toxins and bacteriocins that are incompatible with the general Sec pathway. The mechanism for non-lytic holin-mediated transport is (...)
Pirates of the haemoglobin
February 18, 2022
Not all treasure is silver and gold; for pathogenic bacteria, iron is the most precious and the most pillaged of metallic elements. Iron is essential for the survival and growth of all life; however free iron is scarce for bacteria inside human hosts. As a mechanism of defence, humans have evolved ways to store iron so as to render it inaccessible for invading pathogens, such as keeping the metal bound to iron-carrying proteins. For bacteria to survive within humans, they must therefore evolve counters to this defence to compete with these proteins for iron binding, or directly steal iron from them. (...)
Endomembrane remodeling and dynamics in Salmonella infection
December 27, 2021
Salmonellae are bacteria that cause moderate to severe infections in humans, depending on the strain and the immune status of the infected host. These pathogens have the particularity of residing in the cells of the infected host. They are usually found in a vacuolar compartment that the bacteria shape with the help of effector proteins. Following invasion of a eukaryotic cell, the bacterial vacuole undergoes maturation characterized by changes in localization, composition and morphology. In particular, membrane tubules stretching over the microtubule cytoskeleton are formed from the bacterial vacuole. Although these tubules do not occur in all infected cells, they are functionally important and promote intracellular replication. This review focuses on the role and significance of membrane compartment remodeling observed in infected cells and the bacterial and host cell pathways involved.
Lipid and fatty acid metabolism in trypanosomatids
October 6, 2021
This work reviews specific aspects of lipid and fatty acid metabolism in the protozoan parasites T. brucei, T. cruzi, and Leishmania spp., as well as the pathways that have been explored for the development of new chemotherapies.
Understanding the pathogenesis of infectious diseases by single-cell RNA sequencing
August 4, 2021
This work highlights recent remarkable advances in single-cell RNA sequencing technologies and their applications in the investigation of host-pathogen interactions. Current challenges and potential prospects for disease treatment are discussed as well.
Exploring absent protein function in yeast: assaying post translational modification and human genetic variation
July 2, 2021
This review discusses the applicability of yeast systems to investigate absent human protein function with a specific focus on the impact of protein variation on protein-protein interaction modulation.
Mechanisms underlying lactic acid tolerance and its influence on lactic acid production in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
April 14, 2021
This article reviews the manner in which Saccharomyces cerevisiae deals with the accumulation of lactic acid as a singular stress factor as well as in combination with other stresses. In addition, different methods to improve lactic acid tolerance in S. cerevisiae using targeted and non-targeted engineering methods are discussed.
Biofilms by bacterial human pathogens: Clinical relevance – development, composition and regulation – therapeutical strategies
February 1, 2021
This review focuses on bacterial biofilms formed by human pathogens, highlights their relevance for diverse diseases and discusses therapeutical intervention strategies targeting biofilms.