PKA and Apicomplexan Parasite Diseases

Confirmation of BRD4 haploinsufficiency role in Cornelia de Lange-like phenotype and delineation of a 19p13.12p13.11 gene contiguous syndrome

Cornelia de Lange syndrome (CdLS) is a genetically and clinical heterogeneous condition characterized by congenital malformation, intellectual disability, and peculiar dysmorphic features. Recently, BRD4 (19p13.12) was proposed as a new critical gene associated with a mild CdLS because of a similar presentation of the patients carrying point mutations and of its involvement in the NIPBL pathway. Patients harboring a 19p interstitial deletion shared some physical features with BRD4 mutation carriers, which results in a more complex phenotype because of the involvement of several neighboring genes. We report a new 19p deletion in a patient clinically diagnosed as CdLS, partially overlapping with previously published cases with the aim to support the role of BRD4 haploinsufficiency in a CdL-like phenotype and to improve the delineation of 19p13.12p13.11 deletion as a new nonrecurrent gene contiguous syndrome, spanning GIPC1, NOTCH3, BRD4, AKAP8, AKAP8L, CASP14, and EPS15L1 genes. Previously described cases are reviewed, attempting to delineate a genotype-phenotype correlation.

Cyclic nucleotide signalling in malaria parasites

The cyclic nucleotides 3′, 5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and 3′, 5′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) are intracellular messengers found in most animal cell types. They usually mediate an extracellular stimulus to drive a change in cell function through activation of their respective cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinases, PKA and PKG. The enzymatic components of the malaria parasite cyclic nucleotide signalling pathways have been identified, and the genetic and biochemical studies of these enzymes carried out to date are reviewed herein. What has become very clear is that cyclic nucleotides play vital roles in controlling every stage of the complex malaria parasite life cycle. Our understanding of the involvement of cyclic nucleotide signalling in orchestrating the complex biology of malaria parasites is still in its infancy, but the recent advances in our genetic tools and the increasing interest in signalling will deliver more rapid progress in the coming years.

PDE 2015: cAMP Signaling, Protein Kinase A (PKA) and Phosphodiesterases (PDEs): How Genetics Changed the Way We Look at One of the Most Studied Signaling Pathways

This special issue of Hormone and Metabolic Research presents the proceedings of the 4th international workshop (PDE 2015) on cyclic AMP (cAMP)/protein kinase A (PKA) signaling and phosphodiesterases (PDEs). The meeting took place at Erciyes University, in Kayseri, Turkey, (Fig. 1) and followed the previous workshops that were held in Paris, France, and in Bethesda, MD 1 2. We are indebted to the host, one of the newest and most advanced universities in Turkey, an example of how science can be inclusive and bridge not only disciplines, but also cultures. We visited the historic Cappadocia region with its rich Greek heritage, and enjoyed the local food and traditions, as well as the beautiful Ottoman architecture of Kayseri and its surroundings.