Volume 89, Nº 1 (2024)

Autophagy is the process by which cell contents, such as aggregated proteins, dysfunctional organelles, and cell structures, are sequestered by the autophagosome and delivered to lysosomes for degradation. As a process that allows the cell to get rid of non-functional components that tend to accumulate with age, autophagy has been associated with many human diseases. In this regard, the search for autophagy activators and the study of their mechanism of action is an important task for the treatment of many diseases, as well as for increasing healthy life expectancy. Plants are rich sources of autophagy activators, containing a large amount of polyphenolic compounds in their composition, which can be activators in their original form, or can be metabolized by the intestinal microbiota to active compounds. This review is devoted to plant-based autophagy activators with an emphasis on the sources of their production, mechanism of action, and application in various diseases. The review also describes companies commercializing natural autophagy activators.

In recent years, nucleic acid amplification methods that proceed in isothermal mode and require the use of DNA polymerases with strand-displacement activity have become increasingly widespread. Among these, the most popular is the Bst exo- polymerase, but it tends to carry out nonspecific DNA synthesis through multimerization. This study shows the influence of the nucleotide sequence on the binding of Bst exo- with DNA and on the efficiency of multimerization initiation. On single-stranded trinucleotides (sst) and dinucleotide duplexes (dst), molecular docking revealed the preference for binding of the “closed” form of Bst exo- to purine-rich sequences, especially those containing dG at the 3′ end of the synthesized strand. The data obtained in silico were confirmed in experiments using oligonucleotide templates that differ in the structure of the 3′- and 5′-terminal motifs. It has been shown that templates with an oligopurine 3′-terminal fragment and an oligopyrimidine 5′-terminal part contribute to an earlier start of multimerization. The obtained data can be used at the stage of selecting optimal nucleotide sequences for isothermal amplification, ensuring more reliable results. Thus, to avoid multimerization, DNA templates and primers containing terminal dA and/or dG nucleotides should be excluded.

In this review we consider mechanisms of monoallelic expression: genomic imprinting, in which gene transcription depends on the parental origin of the allele, and random monoallelic transcription. We summarize evidence for the regulation of activity in imprinted regions. Particular attention is paid to areas that control imprinting. Factors that may influence the variability of the imprintome are considered. The perspectives behind monoallelic expression studies are also discussed.

Cardiac myosin binding protein C (cMyBP-C) is one of the essential control components of the myosin cross-bridge cycle. The C-terminal part of cMyBP-C lies on the surface of the thick filament, and its N-terminal part interacts with actin, myosin, and tropomyosin, affecting both the kinetics of the ATP hydrolysis cycle and the lifetime of the cross bridge, as well as the calcium regulation of actin-myosin interaction, thereby modulating the contractile function of the myocardium. The role of cMyBP-C in atrial contraction is poorly studied. We examined the effect of the N-terminal C0-m-C2 (C0-C2) fragment of cMyBP-C on actin-myosin interaction using ventricular and atrial myosin in an in vitro motility assay. The C0-C2 fragment of cMyBP-C significantly reduced the maximum sliding velocity of thin filaments on both myosin isoforms and increased the calcium sensitivity of actin-myosin interaction. The C0-C2 fragment had different effects on the kinetics of nucleotide, ATP, and ADP exchange, increasing the affinity of ventricular myosin for ADP and decreasing the affinity of atrial myosin. The effect of the C0-C2 fragment on the activation of the thin filament depended on the myosin isoforms. Atrial myosin activates the thin filament less strongly than ventricular myosin, and the C0-C2 fragment makes these differences in myosin isoforms more pronounced.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is one of the most abundant modifications of both eukaryotic and prokaryotic mRNAs. Recent years witnessed an accumulation of a large volume of experimental data on the involvement of m6A methylation in the regulation of stability and translation of different mRNAs. Remarkably, up until recently, the majority of such m6A-related studies have been focused on cytoplasmic functions of this modification. In this review, we overview a number of novel studies revealing the role of m6A in several key biological processes occurring in cellular nucleus, such as transcription, organization of chromatin, splicing, nuclear-cytoplasmic transport, and R-loop metabolism. Based on this analysis, we propose a model where modifications present on nuclear RNAs represent an additional layer of regulation of gene expression, that, together with DNA methylation and histone modifications, determines chromatin structure and function in various biological contexts.

Cell migration is largely determined by the type of protrusions formed by the cell. Mesenchymal migration is accomplished by the formation of lamellipodia and/or filopodia, and membrane blebs lay at the basis of amoeboid migration. Changing the conditions of migration can lead to an alteration of the character of cell movement, for example, inhibition of Arp2/3-dependent actin polymerization by the CK-666 inhibitor leads to transition from mesenchymal to amoeboid motility type. The ability of cells to switch from one type of motility to another is called migration plasticity. The cellular mechanisms regulating migratory plasticity are poorly understood. One of the factors determining the possibility of migratory plasticity may be the presence and/or organization of vimentin intermediate filaments (VIFs). To investigate whether the organization of the VIF network affects the ability of fibroblasts to form membrane blebs, we used rat embryonic fibroblasts REF52 with normal VIF organization, with VIF knockout (REF^–/–) and with a mutation inhibiting the assembly of full-length VIFs (REF117). Blebs formation was induced by treatment of cells with CK-666. Vimentin knockout did not lead to statistically significant increase of number of cells with blebs. In fibroblasts with short fragments of vimentin the number of cells forming blebs both spontaneously and in presence of CK-666 increased significantly. Disruption of the VIF organization did not lead to the significant changes in microtubules network or myosin light chain phosphorylation, but caused a significant reduction of the focal contact system. The most pronounced and statistically significant decrease in both the size and number of focal adhesions were observed in REF117. We believe that the regulation of membrane blebbing by VIFs is mediated by their effect on the focal adhesion system. Analysis of migration of fibroblasts with different organization of VIFs in a three-dimensional collagen gel showed that the organization of VIFs determines the type of cell protrusions, which in turn determines the character of cell movement. A novel role of VIF as a regulator of membrane blebbing, essential for the manifestation of migratory plasticity, is shown.