Two Distinct Modes of DNA Binding by an MCM Helicase Enable DNA Translocation.
Meagher M, Myasnikov A, Enemark EJ.
Int. J. Mol. Sci.

De novo methylation of histone H3K23 by the methyltransferases EHMT1/GLP and EHMT2/G9a.
Vinson DA, Stephens KE, O’Meally RN, Bhat S, Dancy BCR, Cole RN, Yegnasubramanian S, Taverna SD.
Epigenetics Chromatin.

Enteroviral 2C protein is an RNA-stimulated ATPase and uses a two-step mechanism for binding to RNA and ATP.
Yeager C, Carter G, Gohara DW, Yennawar NH, Enemark EJ, Arnold JJ, Cameron CE.
Nucleic Acids Res.

A randomized phase II trial of bevacizumab vs. bevacizumab and erlotinib as first-line consolidation after carboplatin, paclitaxel, and bevacizumab in newly diagnosed patients with mullerian tumors.
Campos S, Matulonis U, Berlin S, Horowitz N, Liu J, Krasner C, Hang L, Zarwan C, Barry W, Colella T, Whalen C, Shoni M, Lundquist C, Birrer MJ, Penson R.
Int J Clin Oncol.

Effects of Gamma-Tocotrienol on Partial-Body Irradiation-Induced Intestinal Injury in a Nonhuman Primate Model.
Garg S, Garg TK, Miousse IR, Wise SY, Fatanmi OO, Savenka AV, Basnakian AG, Singh VK, Hauer-Jensen M.
Antioxidants (Basel).

Alzheimer’s disease-associated U1 snRNP splicing dysfunction causes neuronal hyperexcitability and cognitive impairment
Ping-Chung Chen, Xian Han, Timothy I Shaw, Yingxue Fu, Huan Sun, Mingming Niu, Zhen Wang, Yun Jiao, Brett J W Teubner, Donnie Eddins, Lauren N Beloate, Bing Bai, Joseph Mertz, Yuxin Li, Ji-Hoon Cho, Xusheng Wang, Zhiping Wu, Danting Liu, Suresh Poudel, Zuo-Fei Yuan, Ariana Mancieri, Jonathan Low, Hyeong-Min Lee, Mary H Patton, Laurie R Earls, Elizabeth Stewart, Peter Vogel, Yawei Hui, Shibiao Wan, David A Bennett, Geidy E Serrano, Thomas G Beach, Michael A Dyer, Richard J Smeyne, Tudor Moldoveanu, Taosheng Chen, Gang Wu, Stanislav S Zakharenko, Gang Yu, Junmin Peng
Nature Ageing

A phase II evaluation of temsirolimus with carboplatin and paclitaxel followed by temsirolimus consolidation in clear cell ovarian cancer: An NRG oncology trial.
Farley JH, Brady WE, O’Malley D, Fujiwara K, Yonemori K, Bonebrake A, Secord AA, Stephan JM, Walker JL, Nam JH, Birrer MJ, Gershenson DM.
Gynecol Oncol.

Hepatitis C virus non-structural protein NS3 unfolds viral G-quadruplex RNA structures.
Belachew B, Gao J, Byrd AK, Raney KD.
J Biol Chem.

Anti-glioblastoma activity of monensin and its analogs in an organoid model of cancer.
Urbaniak A, Reed MR, Heflin B, Gaydos J, Piña-Oviedo S, Jędrzejczyk M, Klejborowska G, Stępczyńska N, Chambers TC, Tackett AJ, Rodriguez A, Huczyński A, Eoff RL, MacNicol AM.
Biomed Pharmacother. 2022

Small molecule SJ572946 activates BAK to initiate apoptosis.
Sekar G, Singh G, Qin X, Guibao CD, Schwam B, Inde Z, Grace CR, Zhang W, Slavish PJ, Lin W, Chen T, Lee RE, Rankovic Z, Sarosiek K, Moldoveanu T.
iScience. 2022

Improving Risk Assessment for Metastatic Disease in Endometrioid Endometrial Cancer Patients Using Molecular and Clinical Features: An NRG Oncology/Gynecologic Oncology Group Study.
Casablanca Y, Wang G, Lankes HA, Tian C, Bateman NW, Miller CR, Chappell NP, Havrilesky LJ, Wallace AH, Ramirez NC, Miller DS, Oliver J, Mitchell D, Litzi T, Blanton BE, Lowery WJ, Risinger JI, Hamilton CA, Phippen NT, Conrads TP, Mutch D, Moxley K, Lee RB, Backes F, Birrer MJ, Darcy KM, Maxwell GL.
Cancers (Basel).

Doctor of Philosophy students who passed their candidacy exams in the last year received their white coats at the Graduate School Research Induction Ceremony. Students from the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department who received their white coats were Clara Stiefel and Jessica Kelliher, both mentored by Justin Leung, Ph.D., Matthew Thompson, mentored by Alicia Byrd, Ph.D., Haven Griffin, mentored by Giulia Baldini, M.D., Ph.D., and Jake Edmonson, mentored by Alan Tackett, Ph.D. and Brian Koss, Ph.D. Congratulations to all!

Similar 5F-APINACA Metabolism between CD-1 Mouse and Human Liver Microsomes Involves Different P450 Cytochromes.
Crosby SV, Ahmed IY, Osborn LR, Wang Z, Schleiff MA, Fantegrossi WE, Nagar S, Prather PL, Boysen G, Miller GP.
Metabolites.

Monitoring helicase-catalyzed unwinding of multiple duplexes simultaneously.
Thompson MD, Malone EG, Byrd AK.
Methods Enzymol.

Alignment of helicases on single-stranded DNA increases activity.
Ozaslan D, Byrd AK, Belachew B, Raney KD.
Methods Enzymol.

Targeting a Novel G-Quadruplex in the CARD11 Oncogene Promoter with Naptho(2,1-b)furan-1-ethanol,2-nitro- Requires the Nitro Group.
Swafford K, Acharya B, Xu YZ, Raney T, McCrury M, Saha D, Frett B, Kendrick S.
Genes (Basel).

Adaptive Control of the Meiotic Recombination Landscape by DNA Site-dependent Hotspots With Implications for Evolution.
Protacio RU, Davidson MK, Wahls WP.
Front Genet.

Bioactivation and Reactivity Research Advances – 2021 year in review.
Jackson KD, Argikar UA, Cho S, Crouch RD, Driscoll JP, Heck C, King L, Maw HH, Miller GP, Seneviratne HK, Wang S, Wei C, Zhang D, Khojasteh SC.
Drug Metab Rev.

The National Institutes of Health has awarded $11.5 million in Phase II funding to the Arkansas Children’s Research Institute based on the successes of the Center for Translational Pediatric Research, established five years ago under the leadership of Alan Tackett, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The center applies a cutting-edge systems biology approach to understand how diseases like cancer form in children’s developing bodies. Read More

A 2019 paper in the Journal of Endocrinology by Dr. Giulia Baldini, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Dr. Kevin Phelan, Professor of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, continues to provide obesity researchers with important insights and context. Their review article, “The melanocortin pathway and control of appetite-progress and therapeutic implications,” was one of the most highly cited articles in the Journal of Endocrinology in 2021 and is now being showcased in the journal’s Impact Factor Collection. Congratulations, Dr. Baldini and Dr. Phelan!

Congratulations to Drs. Reine Protacio, Tresor Mukiza, Mari Davidson and Wayne Wahls in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The significance of their recent Genetics paper on the plasticity of meiotic recombination – a component of evolution of species – was just highlighted in the prestigious journal Nature Reviews Genetics. These accolades were featured with top billing on the home page of the journal and will appear in the August print issue (volume 23, issue 8).  The discoveries made by Protacio et al. were also the topic of an invited perspective article in Frontiers in Genetics.

Dr. Kevin Raney, Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, notes that this is the tenth time that a scientific publication from Dr. Wahls’ laboratory has been discussed in a commentary, editorial, highlight or editors’ choice of top papers published during the year. “This is a remarkable achievement,” said Dr. Raney. “It reflects the sustained high quality of fundamental, basic science research conducted by a group of talented UAMS scientists.”

The Wahls laboratory uses a model experimental organism, fission yeast, to discover mechanisms for chromosome dynamics in meiosis, which is an essential component of the sexual life cycle of eukaryotes. Their research has provided insight into how chromosomes are transmitted faithfully between generations, how genetic recombination is positioned within genomes, and how meiotic processes contribute to the evolution of species.

Research in the Wahls laboratory is currently supported by a $1.7 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which is the basic sciences institute of the National Institutes of Health.