Researchers from Heidelberg University’s Faculty of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) have uncovered key mechanisms underlying the proliferation of the malaria parasite Plasmodium. The molecular processes that govern the formation of infectious daughter parasites and new nuclei are essential for parasite survival and may therefore represent targets for future antimalarial therapies. The findings have recently been published in The EMBO Journal and Nature Communications. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Forschende der Medizinischen Fakultät Heidelberg der Universität Heidelberg, der Harvard Medical School und des Deutschen Krebsforschungszentrums (DKFZ) haben zentrale Mechanismen in der Vermehrung des Malariaparasiten Plasmodium entschlüsselt. Die molekularen Abläufe zur Bildung infektiöser Tochterparasiten und neuer Zellkerne sind für die Malariaerreger essenziell und könnten damit einen relevanten Angriffspunkt für zukünftige Therapien darstellen. Die Ergebnisse sind aktuell in den Fachzeitschriften EMBO Journal und Nature Communications erschienen. Quelle: IDW Informationsdienst Wissenschaft

Muhammad A Shah, Emily L Denton, Cheryl H Arrowsmith, Mathieu Lupien and Matthieu Schapira Abstract Background The notion that epigenetic mechanisms may be central to cancer initiation and progression is supported by recent next-generation sequencing efforts revealing that genes involved in chromatin-mediated signaling are recurrently mutated in cancer patients. Results Here, we analyze mutational and transcriptional profiles from TCGA and the ICGC across a collection 441 chromatin factors and histones. Chromatin factors essential for rapid replication are frequently overexpressed, and those that maintain genome stability frequently mutated. We identify novel mutation hotspots such as K36M in histone H3.1, and uncover…

Daniel Smeets, Yolanda Markaki, Volker J Schmid, Felix Kraus, Anna Tattermusch, Andrea Cerase, Michael Sterr, Susanne Fiedler, Justin Demmerle, Jens Popken, Heinrich Leonhardt, Neil Brockdorff, Thomas Cremer1, Lothar Schermelleh and Marion Cremer Abstract Background A Xist RNA decorated Barr body is the structural hallmark of the compacted inactive X territory in female mammals. Using super-resolution three-dimensional structured illumination microscopy (3D-SIM) and quantitative image analysis, we compared its ultrastructure with active chromosome territories (CTs) in human and mouse somatic cells, and explored the spatio-temporal process of Barr body formation at onset of inactivation in early differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs)….