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Full-Text Articles in Molecular Biology

Control Of Stem Cell Self-Renewal And Differentiation By The Heterochronic Genes And The Cellular Asymmetry Machinery In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Omid F. Harandi, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Control Of Stem Cell Self-Renewal And Differentiation By The Heterochronic Genes And The Cellular Asymmetry Machinery In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Omid F. Harandi, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Transitions between asymmetric (self-renewing) and symmetric (proliferative) cell divisions are robustly regulated in the context of normal development and tissue homeostasis. To genetically assess the regulation of these transitions, we used the postembryonic epithelial stem (seam) cell lineages of Caenorhabditis elegans. In these lineages, the timing of these transitions is regulated by the evolutionarily conserved heterochronic pathway, whereas cell division asymmetry is conferred by a pathway consisting of Wnt (Wingless) pathway components, including posterior pharynx defect (POP-1)/TCF, APC related/adenomatosis polyposis coli (APR-1)/APC, and LIT-1/NLK (loss of intestine/Nemo-like kinase). Here we explore the genetic regulatory mechanisms underlying stage-specific transitions between self-renewing …


The Decapping Scavenger Enzyme Dcs-1 Controls Microrna Levels In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Gabriel Bosse, Stefan Ruegger, Maria Ow, Alejandro Vasquez-Rifo, Evelyne Rondeau, Victor Ambros, Helge Grosshans, Martin Simard Oct 2015

The Decapping Scavenger Enzyme Dcs-1 Controls Microrna Levels In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Gabriel Bosse, Stefan Ruegger, Maria Ow, Alejandro Vasquez-Rifo, Evelyne Rondeau, Victor Ambros, Helge Grosshans, Martin Simard

Victor R. Ambros

In metazoans, microRNAs play a critical role in the posttranscriptional regulation of genes required for cell proliferation and differentiation. MicroRNAs themselves are regulated by a multitude of mechanisms influencing their transcription and posttranscriptional maturation. However, there is only sparse knowledge on pathways regulating the mature, functional form of microRNA. Here, we uncover the implication of the decapping scavenger protein DCS-1 in the control of microRNA turnover. In Caenorhabditis elegans, mutations in dcs-1 increase the levels of functional microRNAs. We demonstrate that DCS-1 interacts with the exonuclease XRN-1 to promote microRNA degradation in an independent manner from its known decapping scavenger …


Developmental Decline In Neuronal Regeneration By The Progressive Change Of Two Intrinsic Timers, Yan Zou, Hui Chiu, Anna Zinovyeva, Victor Ambros, Chiou-Fen Chuang, Chieh Chang Oct 2015

Developmental Decline In Neuronal Regeneration By The Progressive Change Of Two Intrinsic Timers, Yan Zou, Hui Chiu, Anna Zinovyeva, Victor Ambros, Chiou-Fen Chuang, Chieh Chang

Victor R. Ambros

Like mammalian neurons, Caenorhabditis elegans neurons lose axon regeneration ability as they age, but it is not known why. Here, we report that let-7 contributes to a developmental decline in anterior ventral microtubule (AVM) axon regeneration. In older AVM axons, let-7 inhibits regeneration by down-regulating LIN-41, an important AVM axon regeneration-promoting factor. Whereas let-7 inhibits lin-41 expression in older neurons through the lin-41 3' untranslated region, lin-41 inhibits let-7 expression in younger neurons through Argonaute ALG-1. This reciprocal inhibition ensures that axon regeneration is inhibited only in older neurons. These findings show that a let-7-lin-41 regulatory circuit, which was previously …


The Evolution Of Our Thinking About Micrornas, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

The Evolution Of Our Thinking About Micrornas, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Our appreciation of the significance of microRNAs to biology at large continues to be an evolving process.


The Developmental Timing Regulator Hbl-1 Modulates The Dauer Formation Decision In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Xantha Karp, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

The Developmental Timing Regulator Hbl-1 Modulates The Dauer Formation Decision In Caenorhabditis Elegans, Xantha Karp, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Animals developing in the wild encounter a range of environmental conditions, and so developmental mechanisms have evolved that can accommodate different environmental contingencies. Harsh environmental conditions cause Caenorhabditis elegans larvae to arrest as stress-resistant "dauer" larvae after the second larval stage (L2), thereby indefinitely postponing L3 cell fates. HBL-1 is a key transcriptional regulator of L2 vs. L3 cell fate. Through the analysis of genetic interactions between mutations of hbl-1 and of genes encoding regulators of dauer larva formation, we find that hbl-1 can also modulate the dauer formation decision in a complex manner. We propose that dynamic interactions between …


Mir-14 Regulates Autophagy During Developmental Cell Death By Targeting Ip3-Kinase 2, Charles Nelson, Victor Ambros, Eric Baehrecke Oct 2015

Mir-14 Regulates Autophagy During Developmental Cell Death By Targeting Ip3-Kinase 2, Charles Nelson, Victor Ambros, Eric Baehrecke

Victor R. Ambros

Macroautophagy (autophagy) is a lysosome-dependent degradation process that has been implicated in age-associated diseases. Autophagy is involved in both cell survival and cell death, but little is known about the mechanisms that distinguish its use during these distinct cell fates. Here, we identify the microRNA miR-14 as being both necessary and sufficient for autophagy during developmentally regulated cell death in Drosophila. Loss of miR-14 prevented induction of autophagy during salivary gland cell death, but had no effect on starvation-induced autophagy in the fat body. Moreover, misexpression of miR-14 was sufficient to prematurely induce autophagy in salivary glands, but not in …


Circulating Micrornas In Cardiovascular Disease, David Mcmanus, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Circulating Micrornas In Cardiovascular Disease, David Mcmanus, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Comment on: Transcoronary concentration gradients of circulating microRNAs. [Circulation. 2011]


Micrornas And Developmental Timing, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Micrornas And Developmental Timing, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

MicroRNAs regulate temporal transitions in gene expression associated with cell fate progression and differentiation throughout animal development. Genetic analysis of developmental timing in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans identified two evolutionarily conserved microRNAs, lin-4/mir-125 and let-7, that regulate cell fate progression and differentiation in C. elegans cell lineages. MicroRNAs perform analogous developmental timing functions in other animals, including mammals. By regulating cell fate choices and transitions between pluripotency and differentiation, microRNAs help to orchestrate developmental events throughout the developing animal, and to play tissue homeostasis roles important for disease, including cancer.


Dauer Larva Quiescence Alters The Circuitry Of Microrna Pathways Regulating Cell Fate Progression In C. Elegans, Xantha Karp, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Dauer Larva Quiescence Alters The Circuitry Of Microrna Pathways Regulating Cell Fate Progression In C. Elegans, Xantha Karp, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

In C. elegans larvae, the execution of stage-specific developmental events is controlled by heterochronic genes, which include those encoding a set of transcription factors and the microRNAs that regulate the timing of their expression. Under adverse environmental conditions, developing larvae enter a stress-resistant, quiescent stage called 'dauer'. Dauer larvae are characterized by the arrest of all progenitor cell lineages at a stage equivalent to the end of the second larval stage (L2). If dauer larvae encounter conditions favorable for resumption of reproductive growth, they recover and complete development normally, indicating that post-dauer larvae possess mechanisms to accommodate an indefinite period …


Mirwip: Microrna Target Prediction Based On Microrna-Containing Ribonucleoprotein-Enriched Transcripts, Molly Hammell, Dang Long, Liang Zhang, Andrew Lee, C. Steven Carmack, Min Han, Ye Ding, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Mirwip: Microrna Target Prediction Based On Microrna-Containing Ribonucleoprotein-Enriched Transcripts, Molly Hammell, Dang Long, Liang Zhang, Andrew Lee, C. Steven Carmack, Min Han, Ye Ding, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Target prediction for animal microRNAs (miRNAs) has been hindered by the small number of verified targets available to evaluate the accuracy of predicted miRNA-target interactions. Recently, a dataset of 3,404 miRNA-associated mRNA transcripts was identified by immunoprecipitation of the RNA-induced silencing complex components AIN-1 and AIN-2. Our analysis of this AIN-IP dataset revealed enrichment for defining characteristics of functional miRNA-target interactions, including structural accessibility of target sequences, total free energy of miRNA-target hybridization and topology of base-pairing to the 5' seed region of the miRNA. We used these enriched characteristics as the basis for a quantitative miRNA target prediction method, …


Immunopurification Of Ago1 Mirnps Selects For A Distinct Class Of Microrna Targets, Xin Hong, Molly Hammell, Victor Ambros, Stephen Cohen Oct 2015

Immunopurification Of Ago1 Mirnps Selects For A Distinct Class Of Microrna Targets, Xin Hong, Molly Hammell, Victor Ambros, Stephen Cohen

Victor R. Ambros

microRNAs comprise a few percent of animal genes and have been recognized as important regulators of a diverse range of biological processes. Understanding the biological functions of miRNAs requires effective means to identify their targets. Combined efforts from computational prediction, miRNA over-expression or depletion, and biochemical purification have identified thousands of potential miRNA-target pairs in cells and organisms. Complementarity to the miRNA seed sequence appears to be a common principle in target recognition. Other features, including miRNA-target duplex stability, binding site accessibility, and local UTR structure might affect target recognition. Yet computational approaches using such contextual features have yielded largely …


Micrornas: Genetically Sensitized Worms Reveal New Secrets, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Micrornas: Genetically Sensitized Worms Reveal New Secrets, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Why do many microRNA gene mutants display no evident phenotype? Multiply mutant worms that are selectively impaired in genetic regulatory network activities have been used to uncover previously unknown functions for numerous Caenorhabditis elegans microRNAs.


Prb/Cki Pathways At The Interface Of Cell Cycle And Development, Victor Ambros Oct 2015

Prb/Cki Pathways At The Interface Of Cell Cycle And Development, Victor Ambros

Victor R. Ambros

Comment on: The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, cki-1 and cki-2, act in overlapping but distinct pathways to control cell-cycle quiescence during C. elegans development. Buck SH, et al. Cell Cycle 2009; 8:2613-20.


Three-Dimensional Confocal Microscopy Indentation Method For Hydrogel Elasticity Measurement, Donghee Lee, Md Mahmudur Rahman, You Zhou, Sangjin Ryu Aug 2015

Three-Dimensional Confocal Microscopy Indentation Method For Hydrogel Elasticity Measurement, Donghee Lee, Md Mahmudur Rahman, You Zhou, Sangjin Ryu

Md Mahmudur Rahman

No abstract provided.


Hnrnp A1 And Secondary Structure Coordinate Alternative Splicing Of Mag, Nancy Zearfoss, Emily Johnson, Sean Ryder May 2015

Hnrnp A1 And Secondary Structure Coordinate Alternative Splicing Of Mag, Nancy Zearfoss, Emily Johnson, Sean Ryder

Sean P. Ryder

Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) is a major component of myelin in the vertebrate central nervous system. MAG is present in the periaxonal region of the myelin structure, where it interacts with neuronal proteins to inhibit axon outgrowth and protect neurons from degeneration. Two alternatively spliced isoforms of Mag mRNA have been identified. The mRNA encoding the shorter isoform, known as S-MAG, contains a termination codon in exon 12, while the mRNA encoding the longer isoform, known as L-MAG, skips exon 12 and produces a protein with a longer C-terminal region. L-MAG is required in the central nervous system. How inclusion of …


Differential Muscle Hypertrophy Is Associated With Satellite Cell Numbers And Akt Pathway Activation Following Activin Type Iib Receptor Inhibition In Mtm1 P.R69c Mice, Michael Lawlor, Marissa Viola, Hui Meng, Rachel Edelstein, Fujun Liu, Ke Yan, Elizabeth Luna, Alexandra Lerch-Gaggl, Raymond Hoffmann, Christopher Pierson, Anna Buj-Bello, Jennifer Lachey, Scott Pearsall, Lin Yang, Cecilia Hillard, Alan Beggs Oct 2014

Differential Muscle Hypertrophy Is Associated With Satellite Cell Numbers And Akt Pathway Activation Following Activin Type Iib Receptor Inhibition In Mtm1 P.R69c Mice, Michael Lawlor, Marissa Viola, Hui Meng, Rachel Edelstein, Fujun Liu, Ke Yan, Elizabeth Luna, Alexandra Lerch-Gaggl, Raymond Hoffmann, Christopher Pierson, Anna Buj-Bello, Jennifer Lachey, Scott Pearsall, Lin Yang, Cecilia Hillard, Alan Beggs

Elizabeth J. Luna

X-linked myotubular myopathy is a congenital myopathy caused by deficiency of myotubularin. Patients often present with severe perinatal weakness, requiring mechanical ventilation to prevent death from respiratory failure. We recently reported that an activin receptor type IIB inhibitor produced hypertrophy of type 2b myofibers and modest increases of strength and life span in the severely myopathic Mtm1δ4 mouse model of X-linked myotubular myopathy. We have now performed a similar study in the less severely symptomatic Mtm1 p.R69C mouse in hopes of finding greater treatment efficacy. Activin receptor type IIB inhibitor treatment of Mtm1 p.R69C animals produced behavioral and histological evidence …


The Molecular Basis Of Drug Resistance Against Hepatitis C Virus Ns3/4a Protease Inhibitors, Keith Romano, Akbar Ali, Cihan Aydin, Djade Soumana, Aysegul Ozen, Laura Deveau, Casey Silver, Hong Cao, Alicia Newton, Christos Petropoulos, Wei Huang, Celia Schiffer Oct 2012

The Molecular Basis Of Drug Resistance Against Hepatitis C Virus Ns3/4a Protease Inhibitors, Keith Romano, Akbar Ali, Cihan Aydin, Djade Soumana, Aysegul Ozen, Laura Deveau, Casey Silver, Hong Cao, Alicia Newton, Christos Petropoulos, Wei Huang, Celia Schiffer

Celia A. Schiffer

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 170 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of chronic liver diseases, including cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Available antiviral therapies cause severe side effects and are effective only for a subset of patients, though treatment outcomes have recently been improved by the combination therapy now including boceprevir and telaprevir, which inhibit the viral NS3/4A protease. Despite extensive efforts to develop more potent next-generation protease inhibitors, however, the long-term efficacy of this drug class is challenged by the rapid emergence of resistance. Single-site mutations at protease residues R155, A156 and D168 confer …