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Metabolic Regulation Of Cellular Signaling, Rashid John Darbandi
Metabolic Regulation Of Cellular Signaling, Rashid John Darbandi
Theses and Dissertations (ETD)
Using the biochemically tractable Xenopus oocyte model system, we have previously characterized a novel metabolic regulation of cell death. We found that glucose-6-phosphate (G6P) via the pentose phosphate pathway leads to increased nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) levels, a subsequent increase in cytosolic acetyl-coenzyme A and activation of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII). We recently identified coenzyme A (CoA), derived from the breakdown of acetyl-CoA, as the key metabolic signal that mediates a novel mechanism of calmodulindependent activation of CaMKII. CoA binds directly to the calmodulin (CaM) binding domain (CaMBD) of CaMKII resulting in its activation and downstream inhibitory phosphorylation …
Anti-Apoptotic Mcl-1 Localizes To The Mitochondrial Matrix And Couples Mitochondrial Fusion To Respiration, Rhonda Perciavalle
Anti-Apoptotic Mcl-1 Localizes To The Mitochondrial Matrix And Couples Mitochondrial Fusion To Respiration, Rhonda Perciavalle
Theses and Dissertations (ETD)
MCL-1, an anti-apoptotic BCL-2 family member that is essential for the survival of multiple cell lineages, is also among the most highly amplified genes in cancer. Although MCL-1 is known to oppose cell death, precisely how it functions to promote survival of normal and malignant cells is poorly understood. Here, I report that different forms of MCL-1 reside in distinct mitochondrial locations and exhibit separable functions. On the outer mitochondrial membrane, a MCL-1 isoform acts like other anti-apoptotic BCL-2 molecules to antagonize apoptosis, whereas an amino-terminally truncated isoform of MCL-1 that is imported into the mitochondrial matrix is necessary to …