Pore models of membrane fusion postulate that cylinders of integral membrane proteins can initiate a fusion pore after conformational rearrangement of pore subunits. In the fusion of yeast vacuoles, V-ATPase V0 sectors, which contain a central cylinder of membrane integral proteolipid subunits, associate to form a transcomplex that might resemble an intermediate postulated in some pore models. ...

BACKGROUND Chromosomal translocations involving the PDGFRB gene have been reported in a broad spectrum of hematological malignancies. An ATF7IP/PDGFRB fusion was recently identified in a Philadelphia chromosome-like (Ph-like) B-progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) patient. Here we report on a special case of a Ph-like ALL patient who had a variant ATF7IP/PDGFRB fusion. CASE REPORT In...

Cell fusion is a fundamental phenomenon observed in all eukaryotes. Cells can exchange resources such as molecules or organelles during fusion. In this paper, we ask whether a cell can also transfer an adaptive response to a fusion partner. We addressed this question in the unicellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum, in which cell-cell fusion is extremely common. Slime moulds are capable of ...

Cell fusion between circulating bone marrow-derived cells (BMDCs) and non-hematopoietic cells is well documented in various tissues and has recently been suggested to occur in response to injury. Here we illustrate that inflammation within the intestine enhanced the level of BMDC fusion with intestinal progenitors. To identify important microenvironmental factors mediating intestinal epithelial...

Intracellular membrane fusion requires SNARE proteins in a trans-complex, anchored to apposed membranes. Proteoliposome studies have suggested that SNAREs drive fusion by stressing the lipid bilayer via their transmembrane domains (TMDs), and that SNARE complexes require a TMD in each docked membrane to promote fusion. Yeast vacuole fusion is believed to require three Q-SNAREs from one vacuole ...

This paper focuses on two major aspects of globalization: international trade and FDI and their impacts on manufacturing employment in Iran and study whether foreign direct investment and trade expansion with Asian and European partner played any role in shaping the Iranian manufacturing employment structure. This study incorporates globalization (KOF index), trade integration and FDI into a si...

BACKGROUND The high level of excretion and rapid folding ability of β-fructofuranosidase (β-FFase) in Escherichia coli has suggested that β-FFase from Arthrobacter arilaitensis NJEM01 can be developed as a fusion partner. METHODS Based on the modified Wilkinson and Harrison algorithm and the preliminary verification of the solubility-enhancing ability of β-FFase truncations, three β-FFase tru...

Myoblast fusion takes place in two steps in mammals and in Drosophila. First, founder cells (FCs) and fusion-competent myoblasts (FCMs) fuse to form a trinucleated precursor, which then recruits further FCMs. This process depends on the formation of the fusion-restricted myogenic-adhesive structure (FuRMAS), which contains filamentous actin (F-actin) plugs at the sites of cell contact. Fusion r...

Actin is implicated in membrane fusion, but the precise mechanisms remain unclear. We showed earlier that membrane organelles catalyze the de novo assembly of F-actin that then facilitates the fusion between latex bead phagosomes and a mixture of early and late endocytic organelles. Here, we correlated the polymerization and organization of F-actin with phagosome and endocytic organelle fusion ...

Mixed lineage leukemia is a very aggressive blood cancer that predominantly occurs in pediatric patients. In contrast to other types of childhood acute leukemias, mixed lineage leukemia presents with a dismal prognosis and despite the availability of advanced treatment methods cure rates have stagnated over the last years. Mixed lineage leukemia is characterized by the presence of MLL fusion pr...