Categories
Cardiovascular
Diagnostics
Endocrinology
Health Insurance
Medical Devices
Mental Health
Nutrition
Oncology
Public Health
Sexual Health
Popular Articles

UK Government Supports Moves For Pharma Companies To Communicate Directly With Patients
The UK government would like to allow pharmaceutical companies to provide patients with more information about prescription drugs, according to an article published in Pulse. UK ministers view the European Commission"s proposals positively - these proposals would greatly extend the communication permitted between companies and patients. Currently, European Law limits such communication to patient safety leaflets.
generic viagra online
What Makes A Great Footballer?
While most fans are in awe of what their football heroes can do with a football, the of their remarkable skill remains strangely mysterious. Although being in excellent physical condition undoubtedly helps, few people actually believe that intense physical training alone can turn an average bloke into a Ronaldo. Now, scientists from the University of Queensland have decided to study what this "something else" might be. Dr. Robbie Wilson talked about the details of this study and the results that have been obtained so far in his talk at the Society of Experimental Biology Annual Meeting in Glasgow on Sunday 28th June 2009.
News of the day
Brain Energy Use Key To Understanding Consciousness, Yale Researchers Find
High levels of brain energy are required to maintain consciousness, a finding which suggests a new way to understand the properties of this still mysterious state of being, Yale University researchers report.
Mental Health

How Mitochondria Get Their Membranes Bent

Mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells. Underneath their smooth surface they harbor an elaborately folded inner membrane. It holds a multitude of bottleneck like invaginations, which expand into elongated cavities (cristae). The narrow shape of the entrance or pore to the cristae ("crista junction") allows separation of the intracristal space and storage of molecules. Cytochrome c, for example, an important signaling protein in programmed cell death (apoptosis), is stored in this compartment. When apoptosis is triggered, the pores enlarge and cytochrome c is released into the cytosol. Thus, understanding of how the pore diameter and the shape of the inner membrane are regulated on a molecular basis is of great relevance to a better understanding of mitochondrial function in general. Recently, in cooperation with other research teams, the group of Prof. Andreas Reichert, who has been appointed as professor for Mitochondrial Biology to the Goethe University within the Cluster of Excellence Macromolecular Complexes in 2007, has identified two proteins linked in an antagonistic manner that are relevant for governing inner membrane structure. In the current issue of the the Journal of Cell Biology Rabl, Soubannier et al. report on their quest of slow-growing baker`s yeast mutants harboring deformed mitochondria. Thereby, they discovered the protein Fcj1 ("Formation of criasta junction protein 1"), which is embedded in the inner membrane and accumulates at crista junctions. Upon increased expression of Fcj1 the number of cristae junctions goes up. Without the protein, however, crista junctions are lacking and the inner cristae membrane forms internal parallel stacks of vesicles. On the other hand, the researchers found that regular assemblies (supercomplexes) of the F1FO-ATPase, a protein complex required for supplying the cell"s energy, accumulated at the cristae tips but were less abundant at crista junctions. In addition, Fcj1 and the F1FO-ATPase appear to have opposing functions. In fact, Fcj1 reduces the formation of F1FO-supercomplexes. "We hypothesize, Fcj1 makes sure that the membrane can adopt a negative curvature, while the F1FO-ATPase supercomplex induces positive bending", Andreas Reichert interprets the results. "This is highly exciting, as we have for the first time found out how mitochondrial ultrastructure is regulated and which components determine the structure of crista junctions at all." Original publication: Rabl, R.*, Soubannier, V.*, Scholz, R., Vogel, F., Mendl, N., Vasiljev-Neumeyer, A., Kç¶rner, C., Jagasia, R., Keil, T., Baumeister, W., Cyrklaff, M., Neupert, W., and Reichert, A.S. (2009). Formation of cristae and crista junctions in mitochondria depends on antagonism between Fcj1 and Su e/g. J Cell Biol, 2009; ePub 15th June 2009. *equally contributed Dr. Andreas Reichert Goethe University Frankfurt


Add your comment:
Name:
Site address: http://
Your message:
Enter today\\\\'s date, 2 digits
(spam protection):

© Copyright 2009