ELENA-REAL , Carlos A.

The development, as well as the homeostatic control of multi-cellular organisms, requires programmed cell death processes. In humans and plants, such events entail an intricate protein network in which cytochrome c plays a central role; recognizing several cytosolic and nuclear targets upon its release from the mitochondria. Whilst cytochrome c...

La enfermedad de Parkinson (PD) es una de las enfermedades neurodegenerativas más comunes relacionadas con la edad que afecta a millones de personas en todo el mundo. Existen pruebas sólidas que apoyan el papel de los radicales libres, estrés oxidativo, disfunción mitocondrial y agregación de proteínas en el mecanismo de acción tóxica y muerte...

Respiratory cytochrome c has been found to be phosphorylated at tyrosine 97 in the postischemic brain upon neuroprotective insulin treatment, but how such posttranslational modification affects mitochondrial metabolism is unclear. Here, we report the structural features and functional behavior of a phosphomimetic cytochrome c mutant, which was...

Programmed cell death (PCD) is crucial for development and homeostasis of all multicellular organisms. In human cells, the double role of extra-mitochondrial cytochrome c in triggering apoptosis and inhibiting survival pathways is well reported. In plants, however, the specific role of cytochrome c upon release from the mitochondria remains in...

Apoptosis is a highly regulated form of programmed cell death, essential to the development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. Cytochrome c is a central figure in the activation of the apoptotic intrinsic pathway, thereby activating the caspase cascade through its interaction with Apaf-1. Our recent studies have revealed 14-3-3ε (a...

Intrinsic protein flexibility is of overwhelming relevance for intermolecular recognition and adaptability of highly dynamic ensemble of complexes, and the phenomenon is essential for the understanding of numerous biological processes. These conformational ensembles—encounter complexes—lack a unique organization, which prevents the...

The regular functioning of the nucleolus and nucleus-mitochondria crosstalk are considered unrelated processes, yet cytochrome c (Cc) migrates to the nucleus and even the nucleolus under stress conditions. Nucleolar liquid–liquid phase separation usually serves the cell as a fast, smart mechanism to control the spatial localization and...