The regulatory mechanism of cell primary cilia shortening was discovered – Health News Network – Health Portal
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Xinhua News Agency, Tokyo, September 26 (Reporter Qian Zheng) An international team involving Japanese researchers discovered that a protein kinase can regulate the shortening of primary cilia in cells. The new discovery will help explore the causes of diseases such as ciliopathies and cancer. .
Hair-like organelles called primary cilia exist on the surface of most cells in the human body, which play an important role in cell signaling, cell proliferation, and tumor formation. Japan’s Teikyo University, Tohoku University and Hokkaido University recently jointly issued a press release saying that primary cilia have a regulatory effect on cell proliferation. They are “assembled” and formed during the interphase of cell division. Specific receptors are distributed on them, which are the cells’ way to sense the surrounding environment. antenna”. Once the primary cilium senses a signal stimulus related to cell division, it shortens and becomes a “trigger” to initiate cell division. Abnormal shortening of primary cilia may cause a variety of diseases, including microcephaly and dwarfism, collectively known as ciliopathy. However, many questions about the mechanism of primary cilia shortening have not yet been answered.
Researchers from three Japanese universities, Cornell University and other institutions in the United States collaborated and started with Tctex-1, a protein that is phosphorylated at the root of primary cilia. This new study found that a protein kinase called “Microtubule-associated serine/threonine kinase 4 (MAST4)” can bind to Tctex-1 on its kinase domain, enhancing its phosphorylation process, thereby promoting Primary cilia shorten. Therefore, inhibiting the expression of this protein kinase can prevent cilia shortening, while overexpressing this protein kinase can accelerate cilia shortening.
Relevant papers have been published in the online version of the international academic journal “Life Science Alliance”. Research shows that MAST4 protein kinase is a potential new target for the treatment of ciliopathies caused by abnormal cilia shortening. In the future, if drugs that regulate the activity of this protein kinase can be developed, it is expected to develop new treatments for ciliopathies.
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2023-09-27 01:00:11
