Abstract:
:Lipids are key molecules for membranes, energy storage and signalling. I have been privileged to have worked in such a diverse field and in organisms from microbes to humans. Here I will describe some of those contrasting areas which range from environmental impacts to food production and on to human health. It has been a fascinating journey which still continues to excite me.
journal_name
Biochem Soc Transjournal_title
Biochemical Society transactionsauthors
Harwood JLdoi
10.1042/BST20160406subject
Has Abstractpub_date
2017-04-15 00:00:00pages
297-302issue
2eissn
0300-5127issn
1470-8752pii
BST20160406journal_volume
45pub_type
历史文章,杂志文章,评审abstract::Site-specific recombinases are enzymes that promote precise rearrangements of DNA sequences. They do this by cutting and rejoining the DNA strands at specific positions within a pair of target sites recognized and bound by the recombinase. One group of these enzymes, the serine recombinases, initiates strand exchange ...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST0390617
更新日期:2011-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::VEGFs (vascular endothelial growth factors) are master regulators of vascular development and of blood and lymphatic vessel function during health and disease in adults. This family of five mammalian ligands acts through three RTKs (receptor tyrosine kinases). In addition, co-receptors such as NRPs (neuropilins) assoc...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20110689
更新日期:2012-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::Synthetic gene circuits allow us to govern cell behavior in a programmable manner, which is central to almost any application aiming to harness engineered living cells for user-defined tasks. Transcription factors (TFs) constitute the 'classic' tool for synthetic circuit construction but some of their inherent constra...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1042/BST20200020
更新日期:2020-10-30 00:00:00
abstract::The Kelch-like ECH associated protein 1 (Keap1)-NF-E2 p45-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway regulates networks of proteins that protect against the cumulative damage of oxidants, electrophiles and misfolded proteins. The interaction between transcription factor Nrf2 and its main negative cytoplasmic regulator Keap1 foll...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1042/BST20150003
更新日期:2015-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::The transcript is populated with numerous overlapping codes that regulate all steps of gene expression. Deciphering these codes is very challenging due to the large number of variables involved, the non-modular nature of the codes, biases and limitations in current experimental approaches, our limited knowledge in gen...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1042/BST20191048
更新日期:2020-08-28 00:00:00
abstract::Invertebrates use a wide range of peptides as transmitters and hormones to regulate complex behaviour, physiology and development. These animals, especially those that are amenable to genetic study and are the subject of genome-sequencing projects, provide powerful model systems for understanding the functions of pept...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:
更新日期:2000-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::The Ca2+-mobilizing second messenger, NAADP (nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate), has been with us for nearly 20 years and yet we still cannot fully agree on the identity of its target Ca2+-release channel. In spite of some recent robust challenges to the idea that two-pore channels (TPCs) represent the elu...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20140300
更新日期:2015-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid) receptor trafficking is a fundamental mechanism for regulating synaptic strength, and hence may underlie cellular processes involved in learning and memory. PICK1 (protein that interacts with protein C-kinase) has recently emerged as a key regulator of AM...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1042/BST0340931
更新日期:2006-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) accumulates in acidocalcisomes, acidic calcium stores that have been found from bacteria to human cells. Proton pumps, such as the vacuolar proton pyrophosphatase (V-H(+)-PPase or VP1), the vacuolar proton ATPase (V-H(+)-ATPase) or both, maintain their acidity. A vacuolar transporter ch...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20150193
更新日期:2016-02-01 00:00:00
abstract::Glutamate transporters are essential for terminating synaptic excitation and for maintaining extracellular glutamate concentrations below neurotoxic levels. These transporters also mediate a thermodynamically uncoupled chloride flux that is activated by two of the molecules that they transport - sodium and glutamate. ...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/0300-5127:0290707
更新日期:2001-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::The statins, simvastatin and atorvastatin are the most widely prescribed drugs. Statins lower cholesterol levels through their action on HMG-CoA (3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA) reductase, an essential enzyme for the biosynthesis of cholesterol. Fungal HMG-CoA reductases are also inhibited by statins, resulting in red...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST0351529
更新日期:2007-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::Cellular membranes communicate extensively via contact sites that form between two membranes. Such sites allow exchange of specific ions, lipids or proteins between two compartments without content mixing, thereby preserving organellar architecture during the transfer process. Even though the molecular compositions of...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20150190
更新日期:2016-04-15 00:00:00
abstract::Although the Gompertz formula accurately describes observed mortality distributions over most of their extent, their 'tail' is much longer than that of a Gompertz curve fitted to the whole data set. A simple candidate explanation is that the longest-lived subset of any population will necessarily be enriched in indivi...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1042/bst0310452
更新日期:2003-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::Higher eukaryotes rely on AS (alternative splicing) of pre-mRNAs (mRNA precursors) to generate more than one protein product from a single gene and to regulate mRNA stability and translational activity. An important example of the latter function involves an interplay between AS and NMD (nonsense-mediated decay), a cy...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20140066
更新日期:2014-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::Loss of barrier function in the vasculature promotes inflammatory signalling which in turn contributes to the progression of cardiovascular disease. cAMP can protect against endothelial dysfunction through the effectors PKA (protein kinase A) and Epac (exchange protein directly activated by cAMP). The present review o...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20130271
更新日期:2014-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::The progression of Type 2 diabetes is accompanied by diminishing islet β-cell mass and function. It has been proposed that β-cells are lost not only through apoptosis, but also by dedifferentiating into progenitor-like cells. There is therefore much interest in the mechanisms which define and maintain β-cell identity....
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20120355
更新日期:2013-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::Post-translational modification (PTM) of histones has been investigated in eukaryotes for years, revealing its widespread occurrence and functional importance. Many PTMs affect chromatin folding and gene activity. Only recently the occurrence of such modifications has been recognized in bacteria. However, it is unclea...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20180488
更新日期:2018-10-19 00:00:00
abstract::Diet can significantly influence exercise performance. Diet alone will not ensure successful performance in sport, but it plays a permissive role in allowing sustained intensive training with limited risk of illness and injury. Diet may also promote adaptations to training by stimulating synthesis and breakdown of the...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/bst0311267
更新日期:2003-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::Biological diversity in marine OMZs (oxygen minimum zones) is dominated by a complex community of bacteria and archaea whose anaerobic metabolisms mediate key steps in global nitrogen and carbon cycles. Molecular and physiological studies now confirm that OMZs also support diverse micro-organisms capable of utilizing ...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20110708
更新日期:2011-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::Vitamin B12 (cobalamin) is a cobalt-containing modified tetrapyrrole that is an essential nutrient for higher animals. Its biosynthesis is restricted to certain bacteria and requires approximately 30 enzymatic steps for its complete de novo construction. Remarkably, two distinct biosynthetic pathways exist, which are ...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20120066
更新日期:2012-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::We have identified three groups of growth-constraint genes using mosaic genetic screens in Drosophila melanogaster, including PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted on chromosome 10), and the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) genes, Tsc1 and Tsc2. Our studies show that all three groups of genes participate in m...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/bst0310584
更新日期:2003-06-01 00:00:00
abstract::The process of information exchange between two homologous DNA duplexes is known as homologous recombination (HR) or double-strand break repair (DSBR), depending on the context. HR is the fundamental process underlying the genome shuffling that expands genetic diversity (for example during meiosis in eukaryotes). DSBR...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST0390015
更新日期:2011-01-01 00:00:00
abstract::Numerous RNA molecules with new catalytic properties have been isolated from synthetic combinatorial libraries. A broad range of chemical reactions is catalysed, and nucleic acids can accelerate bond formation between small organic substrates. This review focuses on carbon-carbon bond formation accelerated by in vitro...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/bst0301137
更新日期:2002-11-01 00:00:00
abstract::Horses and other equids are unusual in producing protein-rich sweat for thermoregulation, a major component of which is latherin, a highly surface-active, non-glycosylated protein that is a member of the PLUNC (palate, lung and nasal epithelium clone) family. Latherin produces a significant reduction in water surface ...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章
doi:10.1042/BST0391017
更新日期:2011-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::Mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene are the primary cause of the severe autism spectrum disorder RTT (Rett syndrome). Deletion of Mecp2 in mice recapitulates many of the overt neurological features seen in humans, and the delayed onset of symptoms is accompanied by deficits in neuronal morphology and synaptic physiol...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST0380498
更新日期:2010-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::The canonical structural motif for co-ordination of non-haem ferrous iron in metal-dependent oxygenases is a facial triad of two histidine residues and one aspartate or glutamate residue. This so-called 2-His-1-carboxylate metallocentre is often accommodated in a double-stranded beta-helix fold with the iron-co-ordina...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST0361180
更新日期:2008-12-01 00:00:00
abstract::Recent studies of some proteins involved in the formation of focal adhesions are described. These include fibronectin, integrins, talin, Dok1 and filamin. Emphasis is placed on features that facilitate regulated assembly of complexes; these include a modular construction and flexible regions that provide interaction s...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST0360263
更新日期:2008-04-01 00:00:00
abstract::The study of regulated exocytosis uniquely allows the direct measurement of intracellular membrane fusion events in real time. We have exploited this to examine factors that regulate not only the extent but also the dynamics of single fusion/release events. The general strategy used has been to assess exocytosis in tr...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/bst0290467
更新日期:2001-08-01 00:00:00
abstract::Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common liver disorders in industrialized countries. NAFLD develops in the absence of alcohol abuse and encompasses a wide spectrum of disorders ranging from benign fatty liver to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH often leads to fibrosis, cirrhosis a...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/BST20140138
更新日期:2014-10-01 00:00:00
abstract::Chlorophyll metabolism is probably the most visible manifestation of life. In spite of this, chlorophyll catabolism has remained something of a mystery until about 10 years ago. At that time, the first non-green tetrapyrrolic chlorophyll breakdown products from higher plants were discovered, and the structure of the f...
journal_title:Biochemical Society transactions
pub_type: 杂志文章,评审
doi:10.1042/bst0300625
更新日期:2002-08-01 00:00:00