Molecular Aspects of Diseases Origin and Development

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 3454

Special Issue Editor


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Institute of Biology, Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Arciszewski St. 22 B, PL 76-200 Słupsk, Poland
Interests: L-arginine; melatonin; Krebs cycle intermediates; alcohol-induced toxicity; hypoxia; individual physiological reactivity; oxidative stress; antioxidant profile; lysosomal status; mitochondrial respiration
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Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to provide an overview and update on advances in the development of original hypotheses regarding biochemical reactions in tissues, organs and systems aimed at compensating for the effects and/or consequences of various damaging factors, elucidating different molecular and cellular mechanisms of physiological and pathological processes, as well as the action of effective drugs based on biomolecules. Furthermore, this Special Issue will highlight the epigenetic mechanisms of action, application and use of effective biomolecule-based agents to elucidate the molecular and cellular mechanisms of these compounds.

This Special Issue seeks to publish papers on the mechanisms directly related to molecular diagnosis and novel pathomechanisms regarding typical metabolic disorders, as well as molecular aspects of pathophysiological abnormalities in environmental and lifestyle diseases. The implementation of cell signaling mechanisms regulating physiological and pathogenetic processes under the influence of various damaging factors will also be the focus of this Special Issue. We would be very pleased if you would consider submitting an article on any topic related to this theme.

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Prof. Dr. Natalia Kurhaluk
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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Review

17 pages, 1123 KiB  
Review
The Role of the RNA Helicase DDX3X in Medulloblastoma Progression
by Akanksha Swarup and Timothy A. Bolger
Biomolecules 2024, 14(7), 803; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14070803 - 6 Jul 2024
Viewed by 718
Abstract
Medulloblastoma is the most common pediatric brain cancer, with about five cases per million in the pediatric population. Current treatment strategies have a 5-year survival rate of 70% or more but frequently lead to long-term neurocognitive defects, and recurrence is relatively high. Genomic [...] Read more.
Medulloblastoma is the most common pediatric brain cancer, with about five cases per million in the pediatric population. Current treatment strategies have a 5-year survival rate of 70% or more but frequently lead to long-term neurocognitive defects, and recurrence is relatively high. Genomic sequencing of medulloblastoma patients has shown that DDX3X, which encodes an RNA helicase involved in the process of translation initiation, is among the most commonly mutated genes in medulloblastoma. The identified mutations are 42 single-point amino acid substitutions and are mostly not complete loss-of-function mutations. The pathological mechanism of DDX3X mutations in the causation of medulloblastoma is poorly understood, but several studies have examined their role in promoting cancer progression. This review first discusses the known roles of DDX3X and its yeast ortholog Ded1 in translation initiation, cellular stress responses, viral replication, innate immunity, inflammatory programmed cell death, Wnt signaling, and brain development. It then examines our current understanding of the oncogenic mechanism of the DDX3X mutations in medulloblastoma, including the effect of these DDX3X mutations on growth, biochemical functions, translation, and stress responses. Further research on DDX3X’s mechanism and targets is required to therapeutically target DDX3X and/or its downstream effects in medulloblastoma progression. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Aspects of Diseases Origin and Development)
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25 pages, 2696 KiB  
Review
Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle Intermediates and Individual Ageing
by Natalia Kurhaluk
Biomolecules 2024, 14(3), 260; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom14030260 - 22 Feb 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2235
Abstract
Anti-ageing biology and medicine programmes are a focus of genetics, molecular biology, immunology, endocrinology, nutrition, and therapy. This paper discusses metabolic therapies aimed at prolonging longevity and/or health. Individual components of these effects are postulated to be related to the energy supply by [...] Read more.
Anti-ageing biology and medicine programmes are a focus of genetics, molecular biology, immunology, endocrinology, nutrition, and therapy. This paper discusses metabolic therapies aimed at prolonging longevity and/or health. Individual components of these effects are postulated to be related to the energy supply by tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle intermediates and free radical production processes. This article presents several theories of ageing and clinical descriptions of the top markers of ageing, which define ageing in different categories; additionally, their interactions with age-related changes and diseases related to α-ketoglutarate (AKG) and succinate SC formation and metabolism in pathological states are explained. This review describes convincingly the differences in the mitochondrial characteristics of energy metabolism in animals, with different levels (high and low) of physiological reactivity of functional systems related to the state of different regulatory systems providing oxygen-dependent processes. Much attention is given to the crucial role of AKG and SC in the energy metabolism in cells related to amino acid synthesis, epigenetic regulation, cell stemness, and differentiation, as well as metabolism associated with the development of pathological conditions and, in particular, cancer cells. Another goal was to address the issue of ageing in terms of individual characteristics related to physiological reactivity. This review also demonstrated the role of the Krebs cycle as a key component of cellular energy and ageing, which is closely associated with the development of various age-related pathologies, such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular or neurodegenerative diseases where the mTOR pathway plays a key role. This article provides postulates of postischaemic phenomena in an ageing organism and demonstrates the dependence of accelerated ageing and age-related pathology on the levels of AKG and SC in studies on different species (roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila, mice, and humans used as models). The findings suggest that this approach may also be useful to show that Krebs cycle metabolites may be involved in age-related abnormalities of the mitochondrial metabolism and may thus induce epigenetic reprogramming that contributes to the senile phenotype and degenerative diseases. The metabolism of these compounds is particularly important when considering ageing mechanisms connected with different levels of initial physiological reactivity and able to initiate individual programmed ageing, depending on the intensity of oxygen consumption, metabolic peculiarities, and behavioural reactions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Aspects of Diseases Origin and Development)
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