dictyNews
Electronic Edition
Volume 42, number 23
September 30, 2016

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Abstracts
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 Web of Stories Interview of John Bonner - Video

I was interviewed for Web of Stories a few months ago on the story 
of my life and the video is now online. Just search for Web of Stories 
or directly go to this link:
http://www.webofstories.com/play/Bonner/1

The interview is largely based on my published autobiography. It is 
too long — fit only for those who run the marathon. You can quit at 
the 5 mile marker!


submitted by: John Bonner [[log in to unmask]]
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The PARP family: insights into functional aspects of poly(ADP-ribose) 
polymerase-1 in cell growth and survival

T. Jubin1, A. Kadam1, M. Jariwala1, S. Bhatt1, S. Sutariya1, A.R. Gani1, 
S. Gautam2, R. Begum1

1Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, The Maharaja Sayajirao 
University of Baroda, Vadodara, Gujarat, India.
2Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India.


Cell Proliferation, 49: 421– 437. doi: 10.1111/cpr.12268

PARP family members can be found spread across all domains and continue 
to be essential molecules from lower to higher eukaryotes. Poly (ADP-ribose) 
polymerase 1 (PARP-1), newly termed ADP-ribosyltransferase D-type 1 
(ARTD1), is a ubiquitously expressed ADP-ribosyltransferase (ART) enzyme 
involved in key cellular processes such as DNA repair and cell death. This 
review assesses current developments in PARP-1 biology and activation 
signals for PARP-1, other than conventional DNA damage activation. 
Moreover, many essential functions of PARP-1 still remain elusive. PARP-1 
is found to be involved in a myriad of cellular events via conservation of 
genomic integrity, chromatin dynamics and transcriptional regulation. This 
article briefly focuses on its other equally important overlooked functions 
during growth, metabolic regulation, spermatogenesis, embryogenesis, 
epigenetics and differentiation. Understanding the role of PARP-1, its 
multidimensional regulatory mechanisms in the cell and its dysregulation 
resulting in diseased states, will help in harnessing its true therapeutic 
potential.


submitted by: Sandip Sutariya [[log in to unmask]]
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Extracellular matrix dynamics and functions in the social amoeba 
Dictyostelium: A critical review


Robert J. Huber (a)* and Danton H. O’Day (b,c)


(a) Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
(b) Department of Cell & Systems Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, 
Ontario, Canada
(c) Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, 
Ontario, Canada


Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects

Background: The extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic complex of 
glycoproteins, proteoglycans, carbohydrates, and collagen that serves as 
an interface between mammalian cells and their extracellular environment. 
Essential for normal cellular homeostasis, physiology, and events that occur 
during development, it is also a key functionary in a number of human 
diseases including cancer. The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum 
secretes an ECM during multicellular development that regulates 
multicellularity, cell motility, cell differentiation, and morphogenesis, and 
provides structural support and protective layers to the resulting 
differentiated cell types. Proteolytic processing within the Dictyostelium 
ECM leads to specific bioactive factors that regulate cell motility and 
differentiation.Scope of Review: Here we review the structure and functions 
of the Dictyostelium ECM and its role in regulating multicellular development. 
The questions and challenges that remain and how they can be answered 
are also discussed.

Major Conclusions: The Dictyostelium ECM shares many of the features 
of mammalian and plant ECM, and thus presents an excellent system for 
studying the structure and function of the ECM.

General Significance: As a genetically tractable model organism, 
Dictyostelium offers the potential to further elucidate ECM functions, 
and to possibly reveal previously unknown roles for the ECM. 


submitted by: Robert Huber [[log in to unmask]]
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[End dictyNews, volume 42, number 23]