1,720,995 research outputs found
Mitotic functions of the Ran GTPase network: the importance of being in the right place at the right time
No full textThe Ran GTPase has important roles in nucleocytoplasmic transport, cell cycle progression, nuclear organization and nuclear envelope (NE) assembly. In this review, we discuss emerging evidence that implicate the Ran GTPase system in mitotic control in mammalian cells. Recent work indicates that members of the Ran network control two fundamental aspects of the mammalian mitotic apparatus: (i) centrosome and spindle pole function, and (ii) kinetochore function. It is also emerging that, after NE breakdown, specific Ran network components assemble in local combinations at crucial sites of the mitotic apparatus. In the light of these findings, the original notion that nucleotide-bound forms of the Ran GTPase are distributed along a unique "gradient" in mitotic cells should be re-examined. Available data also suggest that the Ran system is deregulated in certain cellular contexts: this may represent a favoring condition for the onset and propagation of mitotic errors that can predispose cells to become genetically unstable and facilitate neoplastic growth
Spatial control of mitosis by the GTPase Ran.
No full textMitosis is the most potentially dangerous event in the life of a cell, during which the cell genetic identity is transmitted to daughters; errors at this stage may yield aneuploid cells that can initiate a genetically unstable clone. The small GTPase Ran is the central element of a conserved signaling network that has a prominent role in mitotic regulation. Pioneering studies with amphibian oocytes indicated that Ran, in the GTP-bound form, activates factors that regulate spindle assembly and dynamics. An increasing body of data indicate higher specificity and complexity in mitotic control operated by Ran in somatic cells. Newly identified target factors of Ran operate with different specificity, and it is emerging that mitotic progression requires the precise positioning of Ran network components and effectors at specific sites of the mitotic apparatus according to a highly regulated schedule in space and time. In this review we summarize our current understanding of Ran control of mitosis and highlight the specificity of mechanisms operating in mammalian somatic cells
The GTPase Ran: regulation of cell life and potential roles in cell transformation.
No full textThe GTPase Ran plays a crucial role in nucleo-cytoplasmic transport of tumor suppressors, proto-oncogenes, signaling molecules and transcription factors. It also plays direct roles in mitosis, through which it regulates faithful chromosome segregation and hence the generation of genetically stable cells. Ran operates through a group of effector proteins. In this review we summarize growing evidence suggesting that deregulated activity of Ran or its effectors can contribute to pathways of cell transformation and facilitate tumor progression
Effects of potassium cyanide on silver stainability of specific cell structures.
No full textTreatment with potassium cyanide prevents the occurrence of diffuse silver precipitates on chromosome preparations. It therefore allows greatly increased times of incubation with silver solutions on both mitotic and meiotic preparations. By this method selective silver staining of active nucleolar organizers, centromeric regions and kinetochores of mitotic chromosomes and of specifically staining structures of meiotic chromosomes has been obtained
Different effects of histone H1 on de novo DNA methylation in vitro depend on both the DNA base composition and the DNA methyltransferase
No full textWe have characterized the inhibition exerted by histone H1 on the activity of human placenta DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase. Our experiments demonstrate that the extent of inhibition depends on the DNA base composition, AT-rich substrates being more severely affected than GC-rich substrates and CpG-rich islands. With bacterial SssI methylase, the effect is completely reversed since its activity on AT-rich substrates undergoes a 4-5-fold stimulation upon the addition of H1. Poly(L-lysine) mimicks H1 effects, suggesting an essential role of lysine residues in both the inhibitory and stimulatory effects of H1. By comparison of the different behaviors of the two enzymes, the inhibitory effect over the eukaryotic enzyme might be accounted for by hypothesizing a competition between minor groove-binding motifs (SPKK-like) present in placenta methylase as well as in histone H1
In vitro methylation of CpG-rich islands.
No full textCpG islands are distinguishable from the bulk of vertebrate DNA for being unmethylated and CpG-rich. Since CpG doublets are the specific target of eukaryotic DNA methyltransferases, CpG-rich sequences might be expected to be good methyl-accepting substrates in vitro, despite their unmethylated in vivo condition. This was tested using a partially purified DNA-methyltransferase from human placenta and several cloned CpG-rich or CpG-depleted sequences. The efficiency of methylation was found to be proportional to the CpG content for CpG-depleted regions, which are representative of the bulk genome. However, methylation was much less efficient for CpG frequencies higher than 1 in 12 nucleotides, reaching only 60% of the expected level. That suggests that the close CpG spacing typical of CpG-islands somehow inhibits mammalian DNA methyltransferase. The implications of these findings on the in vivo pattern of DNA methylation are discussed
Emerging roles of DNA tumor viruses in cell proliferation: New insights into genomic instability
No full textThe small DNA virus proteins E1A and E1B from human Adenovirus, E6 and E7 from human papillomavirus, and large T and small T antigens from SV40, are multifaceted molecular tools that can carry out an impressive number of tasks in the host cell. These viral factors, collectively termed 'oncoproteins' for their ability to induce cancer, can be viewed as paradigmatic oncogenic factors which can disrupt checkpoint controls at multiple levels - they interfere with both 'gatekeeper' cellular functions, including major control pathways of cell cycle and apoptosis, and with 'caretaker' functions, thereby inducing mitotic abnormalities and increasing genomic instability. Both E1A and E7 have been recently found to interact physically with the Ran GTPase. This interaction is key in uncoupling the centrosome cycle from the cell cycle, highlighting a direct link between viral infection and the induction of genomic instability. Further expanding our current knowledge in this field will be crucial to elucidate viral strategies leading to cellular transformation and cancer progression, as well as design novel preventive or therapeutic approaches to human cancer
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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