Experiments with Snails Add to Our Knowledge about the Role of aPKC Subfamily Kinases in Learning

Single Cell Proteogenomics - Immediate Prospects

Recent technical advances in genomic technology have led to the explosive growth of transcriptome-wide studies at the level of single cells. The review describes the first steps of the single cell proteomics that has originated soon after development of transcriptomics methods. The first studies on the shotgun proteomics of single cells that used liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry have been already published. In these works, the cells were separated by the methods used in transcriptomics studies (e.g., cell sorting) and analyzed by modified mass spectrometry with tandem mass tags. The new proteogenomics approach involving integration of single cell transcriptomics and proteomics data will provide better understanding of the mechanisms of cell interactions in normal development and disease.

aPKC in neuronal differentiation, maturation and function

The atypical Protein Kinase Cs (aPKCs)—PRKCI, PRKCZ and PKMζ—form a subfamily within the Protein Kinase C (PKC) family. These kinases are expressed in the nervous system, including during its development and in adulthood. One of the aPKCs, PKMζ, appears to be restricted to the nervous system. aPKCs are known to play a role in a variety of cellular responses such as proliferation, differentiation, polarity, migration, survival and key metabolic functions such as glucose uptake, that are critical for nervous system development and function. Therefore, these kinases have garnered a lot of interest in terms of their functional role in the nervous system. Here we review the expression and function of aPKCs in neural development and in neuronal maturation and function. Despite seemingly paradoxical findings with genetic deletion versus gene silencing approaches, we posit that aPKCs are likely candidates for regulating many important neurodevelopmental and neuronal functions, and may be associated with a number of human neuropsychiatric diseases.