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In a recent paper published in Cell Research, Abdul-Ghani and colleagues show that the cytokine, cardiotrophin-1 (CT1), drives a protective form of reversible cardiac hypertrophy that acts through a nonapoptotic caspase-dependent mechanism. Since CT1 can be delivered as exogenous protein, these studies provide new biological insights and potential translational opportunities.
New plant type (NPT) or ideal plant architecture (IPA) is an attractive way of increasing yield potential by promoting high resource use efficiency combined with better lodging resistance. In a recent paper in Cell Research, Wang et al. describe how a QTL they identified could bring about the desired NPT architecture by elucidating the role of its encoded gene in controlling the stability of IPA1/OsSPL14, a previously reported NPT protein, in the context of ubiquitination.
The plant hormone strigolactone (SL) is important for many processes in plants, but its molecular mode of action has been difficult to elucidate. A new discovery has identified the SPL transcription factor, IPA1, as a crucial component directly involved in SL signaling.
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are ubiquitous gatekeepers of cellular response and signal predominantly by recruitment and activation of G proteins. In a recent paper in Nature, Flock et al. use large-scale bioinformatics to build a model of GPCR-G protein selectivity and an interactive database to interrogate potential receptor-G protein interactions.
