Biology subjects

Arini, G. S.

Publications and source records attributed to Arini, G. S..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

SARS-CoV-2 activates ER stress and Unfolded protein response

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection is a major global public health concern affecting millions of people worldwide. The scientific community has joint efforts to provide effective and rapid solutions to this disease. Knowing the molecular, transmission and clinical features of this disease is of paramount importance to develop effective therapeutic and diagnostic tools. Here, we provide evidence that SARS-CoV-2 hijacks the glycosylation biosynthetic, ER-stress and UPR machineries for viral replication using a time-resolved (0-48 hours post infection, hpi) total, membrane as well as glycoproteome mapping and orthogonal validation. We found that SARS-CoV-2 induces ER stress and UPR is observed in Vero and Calu-3 cell lines with activation of the PERK-eIF2-ATF4-CHOP signaling pathway. ER-associated protein upregulation was detected in lung biopsies of COVID-19 patients and associated with survival. At later time points, cell death mechanisms are triggered. The data show that ER stress and UPR pathways are required for SARS-CoV-2 infection, therefore representing a potential target to develop/implement anti-CoVID-19 drugs.

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2020

Distinct photooxidation-induced cell death pathways lead to selective killing of human breast cancer cells

Lack of effective treatments for aggressive breast cancer is still a major global health problem. We previously reported that Photodynamic Therapy using Methylene Blue as photosensitizer (MB-PDT) massively kills metastatic human breast cancer, marginally affecting healthy cells. In this study we aimed to unveil the molecular mechanisms behind MB-PDT effectiveness. Through lipidomic and biochemical approaches we demonstrated that MB-PDT efficiency and specificity relies on polyunsaturated fatty acids-enriched membranes and on the better capacity to deal with photooxidative damage displayed by non-tumorigenic cells. We found out that, in tumorigenic cells, lysosome membrane permeabilization is accompanied by ferroptosis and/or necroptosis. Our results broadened the understanding of MB-PDT-induced photooxidation mechanisms and specificity in breast cancer cells. Therefore, we demonstrated that efficient approaches could be designed on the basis of lipid composition and metabolic features for hard-to-treat cancers. The results further reinforce MB-PDT as a therapeutic strategy for highly aggressive human breast cancer cells.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.View Full Text

cancer biology↗