Cell death and sexual differentiation of behavior: worms, flies, and mammals

Sex differences in the nervous system are found throughout the animal kingdom. Here, we discuss three prominent genetic models: nematodes, fruit flies, and mice. In all three, differential cell death is central to sexual differentiation and shared molecular mechanisms have been identified. Our knowledge of the precise function of neural sex differences lags behind. One fruitful approach to the 'function' question is to contrast sexual differentiation in standard laboratory animals with differentiation in species exhibiting unique social and reproductive organizations. Advanced genetic strategies are also addressing this question in worms and flies, and may soon be applicable to vertebrates.     

MicroRNA pathways in flies and worms: growth,death, fat,stress, and timing

Drosophila geneticists have uncovered roles for microRNAs in the coordination of cell proliferation and cell death during development, and in stress resistance and fat metabolism. In C. elegans, a homolog of the well-known fly developmental regulator hunchback acts downstream of the microRNAs lin-4 and let-7 in a pathway controlling developmental timing.     

A day and a night in the life of a cleft-foot clam: Protovirgularia-Lockeia-Lophoctenium

A remarkable specimen of a compound trace fossil in Pennsylvanian sandstone comprises three very different ichnotaxa in conjunction: Protovirgularia dichotoma, Lockeia siliquaria and Lophoctenium isp. The combined activities represented by these ichnotaxa reflect the locomotion, resting and feeding behavior of a cleft-foot, protobranch clam (bivalve) that burrowed through the sediment, paused five times to deposit-feed, and then burrowed on to a new location, possibly as a reaction to a depositional event. It is estimated that the complete trace fossil was made in 24 hours or less. The three ichnotaxa also provide morphologic details of the bivalve's shell and soft parts (foot and labial palps).     

细胞命运,生死攸关

细胞凋亡是细胞生命活动中一种预定的、并受到严格控制的程序性死亡,它是细胞内一系列促凋亡因子和抗凋亡因子相互作用后获得平衡的结果。细胞凋亡的调控可以发生在表观遗传、转录、翻译、修饰、转运等不同水平,也可以发生在细胞不同的区域,如细胞核、胞质、线粒体、质膜等处。作者近年来发现的新的促/抗凋亡因子从多种不同的角度去诠释细胞凋亡网络的调控。例如,Caspase新的激活机制;凋亡蛋白磷酸化和泛素化修饰以及蛋白通过对中间纤维的影响来诱导线粒体介导的凋亡等等。另外,对凋亡信号如何从胞核流向胞质进而促发线粒体引起的凋亡途径也进行了描述。这些新的凋亡调控机理进一步证明了,细胞凋亡可以发生在细胞生长发育不同的时相和空间,并存在着一个极其复杂的信号传递网络,这一调控网络一旦失去平衡,细胞会引发肿瘤。     

Shaping the T-cell repertoire: a matter of life and death

Thymocyte selection aims to shape a T-cell repertoire that, on the one hand, is able to recognize and respond to foreign peptides and, on the other hand, tolerizes the presence of self-peptides in the periphery. Deletion of T cells or their precursors that fail to fulfill these criteria is mainly mediated by the Bcl-2-regulated apoptosis pathway. Absence of T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated signals or hyperactivation of the TCR by high-affinity self-peptide-major histocompatibility complexes can both trigger apoptotic cell death in developing thymocytes. Notably, TCR-signaling strength also defines survival and outgrowth of the fittest antigen-specific T-cell clones in the periphery. TCR threshold activity leading to such drastically opposing signaling outcomes (life or death) is modulated in part by cytokines and other factors, such as glucocorticoids, that fine-tune the Bcl-2 rheostat, thereby impacting on cell survival. This review aims to highlight the role of Bcl-2-regulated cell death for clonal T-cell selection.     

Men are but worms: neuronal cell death in C elegans and vertebrates

Awarding the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to Sydney Brenner, H Robert Horvitz, and John E Sulston for 'their discoveries concerning the genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death (PCD)' highlights the significant contribution that the study of experimental organisms, such as the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, has made to our understanding of human physiology and pathophysiology. Their studies of lineage determination in worms established the 'central dogma' of apoptosis: The BH3-only protein EGL-1 is induced in cells destined to die, interacts with the BCL-2-like inhibitor CED-9, displacing the adaptor CED-4, which then promotes activation of the caspase CED-3. The vast majority of cells undergoing PCD during development in C. elegans, as in vertebrates, are neurons. Accordingly, the genetic regulation of apoptosis is strikingly similar in nematode and vertebrate neurons. This review summarizes these similarities - and the important differences - in the molecular mechanisms responsible for neuronal PCD in C. elegans and vertebrates, and examines the implications that our understanding of physiological neuronal apoptosis may have for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic human neurodegenerative disorders.     

Mitochondria in cell life, death and disease

In animal cell, mitochondria are the main sites of the synthesis of ATP required for cell functioning and survival. On the other hand, mitochondria play a key role in initiating cell programmed death (apoptosis). In addition, defects in the mitochondrial genome and in the nuclear genome encoding mitochondrial proteins may result in malfunctioning of these organelles and, as result, in diseases of the whole organism. This article contains basic information on the functioning of oxidative phosphorylation and on mitochondrial production of reactive oxygen species. It also describes initiation of apoptosis at the mitochondrial level. Finally, it briefly presents some most common genetic defects responsible for "mitochondrial diseases".     

evolution: the dialogue between life and death

Organisms have the ability to harness energy from the environment to create order and to reproduce. From early error-prone systems natural selection acted to produce present day organisms with high accuracy in the synthesis of macromolecules. The environment imposes strict limits on reproduction, so evolution is always accompanied by the discarding of a large proportion of the less fit cells, or organisms. Sexual reproduction depends on an immortal germline and a soma which may be immortal or mortal. Higher animals living in hazardous environments have evolved aging and death of the soma for the benefit of the ongoing germline.     

Ubiquitylation in apoptosis: a post-translational modification at the edge of life and death

The proper regulation of apoptosis is essential for the survival of multicellular organisms. Furthermore, excessive apoptosis can contribute to neurodegenerative diseases, anaemia and graft rejection, and diminished apoptosis can lead to autoimmune diseases and cancer. It has become clear that the post-translational modification of apoptotic proteins by ubiquitylation regulates key components in cell death signalling cascades. For example, ubiquitin E3 ligases, such as MDM2 (which ubiquitylates p53) and inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins, and deubiquitinases, such as A20 and ubiquitin-specific protease 9X (USP9X) (which regulate the ubiquitylation and degradation of receptor-interacting protein 1 (RIP1) and myeloid leukaemia cell differentiation 1 (MCL1), respectively), have important roles in apoptosis. Therapeutic agents that target apoptotic regulatory proteins, including those that are part of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, might afford clinical benefits.     

Sex chromosome evolution: life,death and repetitive DNA

Innate immunity is essential for the survival of organisms across the evolutionary spectrum. Drosophila is well studied as a model of innate immunity and has been instrumental in establishing principles of defense and gene signaling pathways that are shared with humans. Previous studies in Drosophila have not focused on differences between the sexes, and in this report we present evidence that it is essential to include differences between the sexes. Survival rates post-infection, after a fungal or bacterial infection, varied according to the combination of signaling pathway (Toll and Imd) and sex tested. We also found that antimicrobial protein gene mRNA levels for Drosomycin and Metchnikowin showed both similarities and differences between the sexes. These studies highlight the need to include both sexes in studies of immune function as well as the associated opportunities for advancing our understanding of immunity.     

Sex chromosome evolution: life,death and repetitive DNA

Dimorphic sex chromosomes create problems. Males of many species, including Drosophila, are heterogametic, with dissimilar X and Y chromosomes. The essential process of dosage compensation modulates the expression of X-linked genes in one sex to maintain a constant ratio of X to autosomal expression. This involves the regulation of hundreds of dissimilar genes whose only shared property is chromosomal address. Drosophila males dosage compensate by up regulating X-linked genes 2 fold. This is achieved by the Male Specific Lethal (MSL) complex, which is recruited to genes on the X chromosome and modifies chromatin to increase expression. How the MSL complex is restricted to X-linked genes remains unknown. Recent studies of sex chromosome evolution have identified a central role for 2 types of repetitive elements in X recognition. Helitrons carrying sites that recruit the MSL complex have expanded across the X chromosome in at least one Drosophila species.¹ Our laboratory found that siRNA from an X-linked satellite repeat promotes X recognition by a yet unknown mechanism.² The recurring adoption of repetitive elements as X-identify elements suggests that the large and mysterious fraction of the genome called “junk” DNA is actually instrumental in the evolution of sex chromosomes.     

A day in the life of a genome biologist in the not-too-distant future

A look into the future of a biologist: daily activities governed by presidential mandates and acts.