XPLN: a novel regulator of mTORC2 in cell survival and differentiation
The protein kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a master regulator of cell growth, survival, differentiation, and metabolism.
The School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
MCB Highlights
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It takes a(n academic) village to determine an enzyme's function
Professor of Microbiology John Cronan, Professor of Biochemistry John Gerlt and Professor of Chemistry Jonathan Sweedler, along with colleagues from two other institutions, teamed up to discover the role of an enzyme known as HpbD in its bacterial host, Pelagibaca bermudensis.
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How to Grow a New Head
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Phillip Newmark and his colleague James Sikes have found an answer to a vexing biological riddle.
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Team Discovers How Aquaporins Admit Water While Excluding Protons
Associate Professor of Biochemistry Emad Tajkhorshid and colleagues have discovered a new mechanism by which water channel proteins in cell membranes allow water molecules to flow easily while keeping protons out. The research appears in the journal Science.
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Small RNA-mediated activation of sugar phosphatase mRNA regulates glucose homeostasis
Assistant Professor of Microbiology Carin Vanderpool and colleagues have identified the conserved haloacid dehalogenase (HAD)-like enzyme YigL as the previously hypothesized phosphatase for detoxification of phosphosugars, and reveal that its synthesis is activated by an Hfq-dependent small RNA in Salmonella typhimurium.
