Publications related to Intracellular trafficking and signaling in development

Computational drug development for membrane protein targets

Henning Paul-Julius Stahlberg, Pierre Vogel, Shuguang Yuan, Dongchun Ni, Babatunde Edukpe Ekundayo

The application of computational biology in drug development for membrane protein targets has experienced a boost from recent developments in deep learning-driven structure prediction, increased speed and resolution of structure elucidation, machine learni ...

2024

Engineering hydrogel microenvironments for epithelial organoid culture

Antonius Chrisnandy

Organoids, miniature tissues generated from self-organizing stem cells within three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrices (ECM), have opened up exciting possibilities for in vitro studies of complex physiological processes. A key factor in the success of ...

EPFL2024

HaloTag-Based Tools for Live-Cell Imaging and Elucidation of Organellar Redox Biology

Sarah Emmert

Redox homeostasis is a key factor in maintaining cellular function and health. The main determinant of the intracellular redox potential is ubiquitous glutathione (GSH) together with its oxidized dimer (GSSG). Importantly, both redox equilibrium and GSH ho ...

EPFL2024

Androgen Receptor Signaling in in vivo models of Estrogen Receptor-positive Breast Cancer and Normal Breast Epithelium

Andrea Agnoletto

Steroid hormone receptors (HRs) are ligand-activated transcription factors that play a pivotal role in breast development and carcinogenesis. It is well established that estrogen receptor (ER) signaling is a major proliferative driver in estrogen receptor ...

EPFL2024

Ultraviolet Superradiance from Mega-Networks of Tryptophan in Biological Architectures

Majed Chergui, Katrin Elisabeth Oberhofer

Networks of tryptophan (Trp)& horbar;an aromatic amino acid with strong fluorescence response & horbar;are ubiquitous in biological systems, forming diverse architectures in transmembrane proteins, cytoskeletal filaments, subneuronal elements, photorecepto ...

Amer Chemical Soc2024

Characterization of the gut-bone marrow axis through bile acid signaling

Alejandro Alonso Calleja

Communication between the intestine and other organs such as the lungs, brain or bones is mediated by several metabolites, like short-chain fatty acids or bile acids, that relay information about nutritional and microbiota status. Bile acids are endogenous ...

EPFL2024

Accessible and highly observable gastrointestinal organoid model systems for studying host-pathogen interactions

Moritz Hofer

Traditional cell cultures have long been fundamental to biological research, offering an alternative to animal models burdened by ethical constraints and procedural intricacies, often lacking relevance to human physiology and disease. Moreover, their inabi ...

EPFL2024

Unlocking Hidden Potential: Exploring the Complexities of Signaling in Immune Cell Activation to Optimize CAR Therapy

Mathieu Girardin

Chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) are synthetic, transmembrane proteins that trigger immune cell signaling following their engagement. They have been first utilized in T cells and later in natural killer (NK) cells to redirect their cytotoxicity toward a s ...

EPFL2023

Regulation and function of a hemicleaved Activin-A processing intermediate in melanoma

Manon Bulliard

Activin-A is a Transforming Growth Factor-B (TGFB)-related cytokine that regulates various biological processes including cell proliferation and differentiation through autocrine, paracrine or endocrine signaling. Activin-A expression is upregulated in mul ...

EPFL2023

A locally activatable sensor for robust quantification of organellar glutathione

Pablo Rivera Fuentes, Sarah Emmert, Gianluca Quargnali

Glutathione (GSH) is the main determinant of intracellular redox potential and participates in multiple cellular signalling pathways. Achieving a detailed understanding of intracellular GSH homeostasis depends on the development of tools to map GSH compart ...

NATURE PORTFOLIO2023

Extensive programmed centriole elimination unveiled in C. elegans embryos

Pierre Gönczy, Nils Kalbfuss

Centrioles are critical for fundamental cellular processes, including signaling, motility, and division. The extent to which centrioles are present after cell cycle exit in a developing organism is not known. The stereotypical lineage of Caenorhabditis ele ...

2023

Towards Uncovering the Mechanisms of Electrophile Sensing and Signaling

Chloé Rogg

Native reactive electrophile species (RES) such as 4-hydroxynonenal (HNE) act as cellular signals through covalent modification of kinetically-privileged electrophile sensor proteins. Research efforts in the field focus mainly on identifying these sensor p ...

EPFL2023

A single-cell-based characterization of mammalian adipose stem and progenitor cell heterogeneity and function

Pernille Yde Rainer

White adipose tissue (WAT) is a cellularly heterogeneous endocrine organ that not only serves as a reservoir for storing and releasing energy but also actively participates in metabolic homeostasis. Given the current rise in obesity and its associated como ...

EPFL2023

Puckered and JNK signaling in pioneer neurons coordinates the motor activity of the Drosophila embryo

Samuel William Vernon

Central nervous system organogenesis is a complex process that obeys precise architectural rules. The impact that nervous system architecture may have on its functionality remains, however, relatively unexplored. To clarify this problem, we analyze the dev ...

Nature Portfolio2023

Bioengineering human mini-intestines with in vivo-like complexity and function

Olga Mitrofanova

Biological research heavily relies on the use of animal models, which has made it difficult to answer specific questions about human biology and disease. However, with the advent of human organoids - miniature versions of tissues generated in 3D human stem ...

EPFL2023

Notch1 signaling is limited in healthy mature kidneys in vivo

Freddy Radtke

ObjectiveA Delta-Notch signaling component, Notch1, is involved in the normal development and multiple disorders of the kidney. Although the increase in Notch1 signaling is crucial to these pathogeneses, the basal signaling level in 'healthy' mature kidney ...

SPRINGERNATURE2023

Exploring the interplay of molecular pattern and valency for selective interactions at the bio-interface

Kaltrina Paloja

Cell-cell communication is fundamental for immune balance. Multivalent interactions of surface receptors at immune interfaces drive specific communication, with stimulatory and inhibitory signals guiding the immune outcome. Notably, the valency, affinity, ...

EPFL2023

Engineered substrates incapable of induction of chondrogenic differentiation compared to the chondrocyte imprinted substrates

Philippe Renaud, Shahin Bonakdar, Leila Montazeri, Zahrasadat Ghazali

It is well established that surface topography can affect cell functions. However, finding a reproducible and reliable method for regulating stem cell behavior is still under investigation. It has been shown that cell imprinted substrates contain micro- an ...

IOP Publishing Ltd2023

How are cells instructed to form somite boundaries by the zebrafish segmentation clock?

Olivier François Venzin

In vertebrate embryos, the elongating body axis is patterned via the sequential and rhyth-mic production of segments from a posterior unsegmented tissue called the presomitic mesoderm (PSM). This process is controlled by a population of cellular oscillator ...

EPFL2023

Rules and mechanisms governing G protein coupling selectivity of GPCRs

Bruno Emanuel Ferreira De Sousa Correia, Pablo Gainza Cirauqui

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) convert extracellular stimuli into intracellular signaling by coupling to heterotrimeric G proteins of four classes: Gi/o, Gq, Gs, and G12/13. However, our understanding of the G protein selectivity of GPCRs is incomplet ...

Cell Press2023