Current Protein and Peptide Science - Volume 19, Issue 4, 2018

Calreticulin (CRT), initially identified as a ubiquitous calcium-binding protein in the endoplasmic reticulum, has emerged as a multifunctional protein with roles in calcium homeostasis, molecular chaperoning and cell adhesion. Emerging evidence suggests its involvement in tumorigenesis facilitating proliferation, migration, and adhesion. CRT translocated to the cell surface (ecto-CRT) serves as a phagocytic signal for immu Read More

Natural products serve as a main resource for drug discovery. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is one of the primary intracellular protein degradation systems, which is responsible for the degradation of most short-lived, mis-folded and aged proteins. The proteasome is a validated target for cancer treatment, since cancer cells are more reliant on high levels of proteasome activity to maintain the dynamic protein h Read More

Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Therefore, the search for new and less aggressive treatments is currently the focus of the anticancer research. An attractive alternative for this purpose is the use of bioactive peptides from plants. Plants live everywhere on Earth, both on land and in water, and they are a major source of diverse molecules with pharmacological potential as antioxidant peptid Read More

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) belongs to ErbB family of tyrosine kinases, which plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation, survival, differentiation, and metastasis. In addition, tumors develop resistance to EGFR inhibitors due to the presence or development of point mutations in the tyrosine kinase domain of the receptor. There is an urgent need to develop new anti-EGFR agents with strong t Read More

Plant architecture, the three-dimensional organization of the plant body, includes the branching pattern and the size, shape, and position of organs. Plant architecture is genetically controlled and is influenced by environmental conditions. The regulations occur at most of the stages from the first division of the fertilized eggs to the final establishment of plant architecture. Among the various endogenous regulators, protein kinases Read More

Seed germination and plant growth are key stages in the plant life cycle and they are affected by abiotic stresses. Protein phosphorylation is commonly involved in key regulatory process, which mediates plant growth/development and stress responses. In plant, phosphoproteins play roles in stress responses and provide basic backbone in complex signaling networks. The mechanism of plant responses to abiotic stresses ha Read More

Abiotic stresses like salinity, drought, heat, metal ions, radiation and oxidative stress, and especially their combinations, are major limiting factors for growth and productivity of the crops. Various molecular and biochemical processes governing the plant responses to abiotic stresses have often been investigated and hold the key for producing high-yielding and abiotic stress-tolerant crops. Plant responses to abiotic stresses are d Read More