Cytoplasmic dynein-driven movement of chromosomes during prophase I of mammalian meiosis is essential for synapsis and genetic exchange. Dynein connects to chromosome telomeres via KASH5 and SUN1 or SUN2, which together span the nuclear envelope. Here, we show that KASH5 promotes dynein motility in vitro, and cytosolic KASH5 inhibits dynein's interphase functions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytoplasmic dynein 1 (dynein) is a minus end-directed microtubule motor protein with many cellular functions, including during cell division. The role of the light intermediate chains (LICs; DYNC1LI1 and 2) within the complex is poorly understood. In this paper, we have used small interfering RNAs or morpholino oligonucleotides to deplete the LICs in human cell lines and Xenopus laevis early embryos to dissect the LICs' role in cell division.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe preclinical development process of chemotherapeutic drugs is often carried out in two-dimensional monolayer cultures. However, a considerable amount of evidence demonstrates that two-dimensional cell culture does not accurately reflect the three-dimensional in vivo tumour microenvironment, specifically with regard to gene expression profiles, oxygen and nutrient gradients and pharmacokinetics. With this objective in mind, we have developed and established a physiologically relevant three-dimensional in vitro model of colorectal cancer based on the removal of interstitial fluid from collagen type I hydrogels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nasopharyngeal carcinomas (NPC) are consistently associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Their malignant epithelial cells contain the viral genome and express several antigenic viral proteins. However, the mechanisms of immune escape in NPCs are still poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNedd4 family ubiquitin ligases regulate trafficking and degradation of numerous target substrates in different cellular compartments, including at the plasma membrane, in endosomes, in the secretory pathway and in the nucleus. WWP1 is a Nedd4 family protein closely related to mouse Itch and Drosophila Su(dx), both of which have been shown to regulate the Notch receptor. To investigate the possibility that WWP1 is also associated with Notch signalling we coexpressed human Notch1 and WWP1 in mouse myoblast cells.
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