Nora Calcaterra | Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) Argentina (original) (raw)

Papers by Nora Calcaterra

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Jan 30, 2023

RNA guanine quadruplexes (G4s) regulate RNA functions, metabolism, and processing. G4s formed wit... more RNA guanine quadruplexes (G4s) regulate RNA functions, metabolism, and processing. G4s formed within precursors of microRNAs (pre-miRNAs) may impair pre-miRNAs maturation by Dicer, thus repressing mature miRNA biogenesis. As miRNAs are essential for proper embryonic development, we studied the role of G4s on miRNA biogenesis in vivo during zebrafish embryogenesis. We performed a computational analysis on zebrafish pre-miRNAs to find putative G4 forming sequences (PQSs). The precursor of the miRNA 150 (pre-miR-150) was found to contain an evolutionarily conserved PQS formed by three G-tetrads and able to fold in vitro as G4. MiR-150 controls the expression of myb, which shows a well-defined knock-down phenotype in zebrafish developing embryos. We microinjected zebrafish embryos with in vitro transcribed pre-miR-150 synthesized using either GTP (G-pre-miR-150) or 7-Deaza-GTP, a GTP analogue unable to form G4s (7DG-pre-miR-150). Compared to embryos injected with G-pre-miR-150, embryos injected with 7DG-pre-miR-150 showed higher levels of miRNA 150 (miR-150) and lower levels of myb mRNA and stronger phenotypes associated with myb knock-down. The incubation of pre-miR-150 prior to the injection with the G4 stabilizing ligand pyridostatin (PDS) reverted gene expression variations and rescued the phenotypes related to myb knock-down. Overall, results suggest that the G4 formed in pre-miR-150 functions in vivo as a conserved regulatory structure competing with the stem-loop structure necessary for miRNA biogenesis.

Nature Communications

NADP(H) is a central metabolic hub providing reducing equivalents to multiple biosynthetic, regul... more NADP(H) is a central metabolic hub providing reducing equivalents to multiple biosynthetic, regulatory and antioxidative pathways in all living organisms. While biosensors are available to determine NADP+ or NADPH levels in vivo, no probe exists to estimate the NADP(H) redox status, a determinant of the cell energy availability. We describe herein the design and characterization of a genetically-encoded ratiometric biosensor, termed NERNST, able to interact with NADP(H) and estimate ENADP(H). NERNST consists of a redox-sensitive green fluorescent protein (roGFP2) fused to an NADPH-thioredoxin reductase C module which selectively monitors NADP(H) redox states via oxido-reduction of the roGFP2 moiety. NERNST is functional in bacterial, plant and animal cells, and organelles such as chloroplasts and mitochondria. Using NERNST, we monitor NADP(H) dynamics during bacterial growth, environmental stresses in plants, metabolic challenges to mammalian cells, and wounding in zebrafish. NERNST...

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Mar 2, 2023

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative... more This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY

Hoy es posible modificar a voluntad la secuencia de aminoacidos de una proteina: agregarle o quit... more Hoy es posible modificar a voluntad la secuencia de aminoacidos de una proteina: agregarle o quitarle uno de ellos, substituir uno por otro o, incluso, fundir dos o mas proteinas para generar un producto polifuncional. Pero la cuestion crucial no es tanto como construir nuevas proteinas sino como disenarlas de un modo racional para que cumplan funciones determinadas.

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - General Subjects, 2021

This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.

Biochemical Pharmacology, 2019

This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service... more This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Proteasomal inhibition attenuates craniofacial malformations in a zebrafish model of Treacher Collins Syndrome.

Mechanisms of Development, 2018

During animal development, gene expression is orchestrated by specific and highly evolutionarily ... more During animal development, gene expression is orchestrated by specific and highly evolutionarily conserved mechanisms that take place accurately, both at spatial and temporal levels. The last decades have provided compelling evidence showing that chromatin state plays essential roles in orchestrating most of the stages of development. The DNA molecule can adopt alternative structures different from the helical duplex architecture. G-rich DNA sequences can fold as intrastrand quadruple helix structures called G-quadruplexes or G4-DNA. G4 can also be formed in RNA molecules, such as mRNA, lncRNA and pre-miRNA. Emerging evidences suggest that G4s have crucial roles in a variety of biological processes, including transcription, recombination, replication, translation and chromosome stability. In this review, we have collected recent information gathered by various laboratories showing the important role of G4 DNA and RNA structures in several steps of animal development.

ABSTRACTGuanine-rich DNA strands can fold into non-canonical four-stranded secondary structures n... more ABSTRACTGuanine-rich DNA strands can fold into non-canonical four-stranded secondary structures named G-quadruplexes (G4s). G4s folded in proximal promoter regions (PPR) are associated either with positive or negative transcriptional regulation. Given that single nucleotide variants (SNVs) affecting G4 folding (G4-Vars) may alter gene transcription, and that SNVs are associated with the human diseases’ onset, we undertook a comprehensive study of the G4-Vars genome-wide (G4-variome) to find disease-associated G4-Vars located into PPRs. We developed a bioinformatics strategy to find disease-related SNVs located into PPRs simultaneously overlapping with putative G4-forming sequences (PQSs). We studied five G4-Vars disturbing in vitro the folding and stability of the G4s located into PPRs, which had been formerly associated with sporadic Alzheimer’s disease (GRIN2B), a severe familiar coagulopathy (F7), atopic dermatitis (CSF2), myocardial infarction (SIRT1), and deafness (LHFPL5). Res...

Journal of Fish Biology, Feb 12, 2015

Juglans mandshurica Maxim. (Juglandaceae) is a deciduous tree that is widely distributed in north... more Juglans mandshurica Maxim. (Juglandaceae) is a deciduous tree that is widely distributed in northeastern China, as well as in some areas of Korea and the Russian Far East (Lu, 1982). However, the habitat of J. mandshurica is now seriously threatened by human activities (Wang et al., 2011). Juglans mandshurica has been used in folk medicine for many years, particularly in China and India (Xu et al., 2010). Its leaves, fruits, roots, stem bark, and seeds have also been used as traditional medicine for cancer treatment in Asia and Europe (Kim et al., 1998 ; Sun, 2004). The therapeutic benefi ts of J. mandshurica have been ascribed to its naphthoquinone content. Naphthoquinone is known to have various physiological properties including the induction of apoptosis effect (Kang et al., 2001). To date, there have been only a few reports on microsatellites in J. mandshurica (Qi et al., 2011). The molecular genetic diversity studies of J. mandshurica are limited to the work by Woeste et al. (2002) using dominant markers. Here, we used an improved technique for the isolation of codominant compound microsatellite markers (Lian et al., 2006) to isolate 20 polymorphic microsatellite loci from J. mandshurica. These polymorphic markers can be useful for the development of effective conservation programs of the species.

Molecular Ecology Resources, Mar 25, 2013

Tarentola mauritanica is known to be a complex of six distinct evolutionary lineages, with five o... more Tarentola mauritanica is known to be a complex of six distinct evolutionary lineages, with five of them occurring across the Mediterranean Basin. Therefore, the Mediterranean forms of this species-complex represent an ideal model to study patterns of gene flow and speciation mechanisms. We constructed a microsatellite library of 11 loci, which were designed to amplify all these lineages. Number of alleles ranged from 12 to 20, and the mean H o from 0.33 to 0.46 and the mean H e from 0.40 to 0.72. Within each lineage, substructure was observed.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2021

Context Iodide transport defect (ITD) (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man No. 274400) is an unco... more Context Iodide transport defect (ITD) (Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man No. 274400) is an uncommon cause of dyshormonogenic congenital hypothyroidism due to loss-of-function variants in the SLC5A5 gene, which encodes the sodium/iodide symporter (NIS), causing deficient iodide accumulation in thyroid follicular cells. Objective This work aims to determine the molecular basis of a patient’s ITD clinical phenotype. Methods The propositus was diagnosed with dyshormonogenic congenital hypothyroidism with minimal 99mTc-pertechnetate accumulation in a eutopic thyroid gland. The propositus SLC5A5 gene was sequenced. Functional in vitro characterization of the novel NIS variant was performed. Results Sanger sequencing revealed a novel homozygous missense p.G561E NIS variant. Mechanistically, the G561E substitution reduces iodide uptake, because targeting of G561E NIS to the plasma membrane is reduced. Biochemical analyses revealed that G561E impairs the recognition of an adjacent tryptoph...

Expression pattern of tbx2b and cnbp analyzed by w... more Expression pattern of tbx2b and cnbp analyzed by whole-mount in situ hybridization in 15 and 24-hpf-staged zebrafish embryos microinjected with mis-MO (A–D and I–L) or spl-MO (E-H and M–P) morpholinos. Anterior is at the left. Scale bar (200 µm) is represented in C and K. Tbx2b expression territories affected in morphant embryos are marked with dashed-line ovals. Number and percentages of morphant phenotypes are indicated for each embryo stage. Cnbp expression pattern in control embryos (microinjected with mis-MO) is coincident with that described elsewhere <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0063234#pone.0063234-Weiner1" target="_blank">[4]</a> and mainly overlapping with tbx2b expression in the eye territory. Morphant embryos showed a dramatically reduced cnbp expression level in those territories wherein it is normally expressed. vdc, ventral diencephalon; e, eye; ep, epiphysis; mhb, midbrain–hindbrain border; ov, otic vesicle; tg, trigeminal ganglion.</p

Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms, 2019

Abbreviations: microRNA (miRNA); precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA); neural crest (NC); neural crest cel... more Abbreviations: microRNA (miRNA); precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA); neural crest (NC); neural crest cells (NCC); hours post-fertilization (hpf); days post-fertilization (dpf); gene regulatory network (GRN); whole mount in situ hybridization (WISH)

The American Journal of Human Genetics, 2014

The neural crest is a multipotent cell population that develops from the dorsal neural fold of ve... more The neural crest is a multipotent cell population that develops from the dorsal neural fold of vertebrate embryos in order to migrate extensively and differentiate into a variety of tissues. A number of gene regulatory networks coordinating neural crest cell specification and differentiation have been extensively studied to date. Although several publications suggest a common role for microRNA-145 (miR-145) in molecular reprogramming for cell cycle regulation and/or cellular differentiation, little is known about its role during in vivo cranial neural crest development. By modifying miR-145 levels in zebrafish embryos, abnormal craniofacial development and aberrant pigmentation phenotypes were detected. By whole-mount in situ hybridization, changes in expression patterns of col2a1a and Sry-related HMG box (Sox) transcription factors sox9a and sox9b were observed in overexpressed miR-145 embryos. In agreement, zebrafish sox9b expression was downregulated by miR-145 overexpression. In...