Journal News

From the journals: MCP

Swarnali  Roy
March 10, 2023

Targeting sANPEP in brain disease. A new insight for treating renal cancer. Read about articles on these topics recently published in the journal Molecular & Cellular Proteomics.

Targeting sANPEP in brain disease

Neuroinflammation, a response to cellular injury in the brain or spinal cord, helps the immune system and the brain communicate by recruiting cytokines and chemokines and also plays a role in neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Complex integral activity among cells in the central nervous system, or CNS, including neurons and glia cells, causes neuroinflammation. The macroglial cells known as astrocytes, the most abundant and diverse nonneuronal cells in the CNS, are major regulators of neuroinflammation. Microglia, an integrative part of the CNS system, are nonneuronal cells that regulate the innate immune response of the brain. The crosstalk between microglia and astrocytes supports neuronal function and survival after acute CNS injury or disease, and this communication is maintained via secreted growth factors, cytokines, chemokines and innate-immunity mediators.

A recent Molecular & Cellular Proteomics article by Jong-Heon Kim and a team from Korea and the U.S. focuses on how the brain renin–angiotensin system, or RAS, regulates the astrocyte–microglia crosstalk by analysing the astrocyte secretome, which provides information about secreted proteins and their pathways.

The researchers identified a markedly elevated level of a soluble form of aminopeptidase N called sANPEP, a RAS component in the secretome, during neuroinflammation. They identified 322 proteins by proteomic analysis in astrocyte-conditioned medium following inflammatory stimulation. When they analyzed the proteins’ functional distribution, they found sANPEP was one of the upregulated proteins in RAS that is related to inflammation-associated pathways in activated astrocytes. They also found a significantly higher sANPEP level in the plasma of mice genetically altered for neuroinflammation than in unaltered mice.

This work helps identify sANPEP as a biomarker in disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, because it is upregulated in the body fluid and human astrocytes in a neuroinflammation model. Its enzymatic activity to promote microglial stimulation indicates therapeutic potential as a drug target.

An insight for treating renal cancer

About 5% to 10% of all known cancer types are hereditary. These cancers, linked to gene mutations passed from parents to their offspring, are often difficult to treat.

Birt–Hogg–Dubé, or BHD, syndrome, a rare autosomal dominant inherited disorder, often precedes development of renal cell carcinoma, or RCC. In 2002, researchers identified a germline mutation in the folliculin gene, or FLCN, as a factor for BHD development. Since this discovery, multiple research groups have tried to understand how FLCN functions in RCC.

In a recently published Molecular & Cellular Proteomics article, Iris Glykofridis and a team in the Netherlands delved into the phosphorylated kinase pathway to understand how FLCN suppresses renal tumorigenesis. They investigated the role of FLCN in the cellular signaling pathway via protein and receptor phosphorylation by analyzing phosphoproteomic profiles of human renal tubular epithelial cells with and without FLCN. They identified specific tyrosine phosphorylation sites with markedly higher levels of phosphorylation in major receptor tyrosine kinases like EGFR and significant dephosphorylation in transcription factor EB phosphoserines upon FLCN loss.

The researchers analyzed the phosphoproteomic data and showed that FLCN loss has a clear effect on the phosphorylation of kinases and substrates within multiple biological pathways and may be important for the onset of oncogenic transformation of renal cells. The authors hope that understanding the FLCN-dependent phosphorylation pathway can open a new window to help design novel candidates for targeted therapies.

Enjoy reading ASBMB Today?

Become a member to receive the print edition four times a year and the digital edition monthly.

Learn more
Swarnali  Roy

Swarnali Roy is a postdoctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Bioorganic Chemistry at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. She is an ASBMB Today volunteer contributor.

Get the latest from ASBMB Today

Enter your email address, and we’ll send you a weekly email with recent articles, interviews and more.

Latest in Science

Science highlights or most popular articles

Computational tool helps scientists create novel bug sprays
Journal News

Computational tool helps scientists create novel bug sprays

May 20, 2025

Rapid discovery of mosquito repellent compounds is enabled through a novel screening platform that combines both computational modeling and functional screening.

Meet Lan Huang
Interview

Meet Lan Huang

May 19, 2025

Molecular & Cellular Proteomics associate editor uses crosslinking mass spec to study protein–protein interactions to find novel therapeutics.

Influenza gets help from gum disease bacteria
Journal News

Influenza gets help from gum disease bacteria

May 15, 2025

Scientists discover that a protease from Porphyromonas gingivalis enhances viral spread. Read more about this recent Journal of Biological Chemistry paper.

How bacteria fight back against promising antimicrobial peptide
Journal News

How bacteria fight back against promising antimicrobial peptide

May 15, 2025

Researchers find a mutation in E. coli that reduces its susceptibility to a potential novel antibiotic. Read more about this recent Journal of Biological Chemistry paper.

New clues reveal how cells respond to stress
Journal News

New clues reveal how cells respond to stress

May 15, 2025

Redox signaling protein may help regulate inflammasome and innate immune activation. Read more about this recent Journal of Biological Chemistry paper.

Innovative platform empowers scientists to transform venoms into therapeutics
Journal News

Innovative platform empowers scientists to transform venoms into therapeutics

May 13, 2025

Scientists combine phage display and a “metavenome” library to discover new drugs that bind clinically relevant human cell receptors. Read about this recent Molecular & Cellular Proteomics paper.