Biochemical basis of skin disease Mal de Meleda: SLURP-1 mutants differently affect keratinocyte proliferation and apoptosis

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Biochemical basis of skin disease Mal de Meleda: SLURP-1 mutants differently affect keratinocyte proliferation and apoptosis

Journal of Investigative Dermatology. 2021. P. 1–9.

Shulepko M., Bychkov M., Shenkarev Z., Kulbatskii D., Makhonin A., Paramonov A., Chugunov A., Kirpichnikov M., Lyukmanova E.

Mal de Meleda is an autosomal recessive palmoplantar keratoderma associated with mutations in a gene encoding SLURP-1. SLURP-1 controls growth, differentiation, and apoptosis of keratinocytes by interaction with α7-type nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. SLURP-1 has a three-finger structure with a β-structural core (head) and three prolonged loops (fingers). To determine the role of SLURP-1 mutations, we produced 22 mutant variants of the protein, including those involved in Mal de Meleda pathogenesis. All mutants except R71H, R71P, T52A, R96P, and L98P were produced in the folded form. SLURP-1 reduces the growth of Het-1A keratinocytes; thus, we studied the influence of the mutations on its antiproliferative activity. Mutations in loops I and III led to the protein inactivation, whereas most mutations in loop II increased SLURP-1 antiproliferative activity. Alanine substitutions of R96 and L98 residues located in the protein head resulted in the appearance of additional pro-apoptotic activity. Our results agree with the diversity of Mal de Meleda phenotypes. Using obtained functional data, the SLURP-1/α7 type nicotinic acetylcholine receptor complex was modeled in silico. Our study provides functional and structural information about the role of the SLURP-1 mutations in Mal de Meleda pathogenesis and predicts SLURP-1 variants, which could drive the disease.

Research target: Chemistry Biology

Publication based on the results of:

Supercomputer technologies for atomistic modeling of physical processes in condensed matter (2021)

Peptide language pragmatic analysis and two-stage hierarchical learning framework for therapeutic peptide prediction

Shaitan A., Ke Y., Shutao C. et al., BMC Biology 2026 No. 24 Article 181

Background Therapeutic peptides exert pivotal effects in diverse biological processes, and have attracted significant interest in the field of biomedicine in recent years. However, most existing methods often fail to adequately capture the intricate interactions among amino acid residues and the contextual dependencies within peptide sequences, which hampers the extraction of deep semantic representations and ...

Added: September 18, 2026

A functional systems view on neural tracking of natural speech

Anton Rogachev, Sysoeva O., Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience 2025 Vol. 19 Article 1658243

Added: September 17, 2026

Neural tracking of natural speech in children in relation to their receptive speech abilities

Rogachev A.O., Sysoeva O. V., Cognitive Systems Research 2024 Vol. 86 Article 101236

Receptive speech is the ability to understand speech addressed to a person. It is a crucial process for a child’s cognitive development. We examine the relationship between receptive speech and neural tracking of natural speech in 52 children aged 3–8 years to infer the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying speech development. We registered a 32-channel electroencephalogram (EEG) ...

Added: September 17, 2026

Vague stimulating ideas, images and metaphors in scientific thinking: researchers' work with horizons of unclear knowledge

Poddiakov A., / Series Social Science Research Network "Social Science Research Network". 2026. No. 7437658.

Clarity of knowledge and reasoning is necessary in many cases. Yet vagueness in scientific thinking related to surprise, curiosity, "ability to engage with not-knowing" (de Freitas) and abductive reasoning is also a crucially important source of scientific creativity which supplements combinatorial logic when dealing with the already known. Starting from studies by C. S. Peirce ...

Added: September 15, 2026

Water confined in heterogeneous clay–quartz pores: Structure and dynamics from atomistic simulations

Glushak A., Tararushkin E., Smirnov G., Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects 2027 Vol. 752 Article 141756

The molecular-scale behavior of water in heterogeneous clay–quartz systems is critical for understanding cementation processes in natural soils and compacted bentonite, which is crucial for oil recovery and nuclear waste disposal barriers construction. Here we investigate how heterogeneity of mixed Na-montmorillonite and α-quartz surfaces affect water structure and dynamics in nanopores of 2.5 to 60 Å ...

Added: September 15, 2026

Coordination-driven assemblies of thioindigo and phthalocyanine chromophores: tuning optical absorption and magnetic interactions

Kolin N., Nazarov D., Krivenko K. et al., Dyes and Pigments 2026 Vol. 254 Article 113957

Interaction of thioindigo dianions with metal phthalocyanines, MPc, where M = MgII, MnII, AlIIICl and SiIVCl2, in the presence of cryptand[2.2.2] produces anionic and neutral complexes: {Crypt(K+)}2{(trans-thioindigo2−)⋅(MgIIPc)2}2−⋅2C6H4Cl2 (1); {Crypt(Cs+)}2{(trans-thioindigo2−)⋅(MnIIPc)2}2− (2), {Crypt(K+)}{(cis-Hthioindigo−)2⋅(AlIIIPc)}− (3) and {(cis-Hthioindigo−)2⋅(SiIVPc)} (4). Bidentate thioindigo2− ligand forms symmetric binuclear dimers in 1 and 2 with short M-O(thioindigo2−) bonds of 1.899(2) and 1.984(6) Å length for ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Doubly Reduced Phthalocyanine Complexes of V(IV), Cu(II), and Sn(II): Synthesis, Structure, and Spin Dynamics

Faraonov M., Romanenko N., Ivanov T. et al., Dalton Transactions 2026 Vol. 55 No. 24 P. 9428–9438

Doubly reduced phthalocyanine complexes remain largely unexplored despite their potential relevance for molecular spin-based applications. Herein, we report the synthesis of a series of crystalline complexes, {cryptand(Cs + )} 2 [M(Pc) 4– ] 2–. ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Binuclear and trinuclear 3d-metal complexes of HATNA and HAT(CN)6 with unique magnetic behavior: from extremely strong antiferromagnetic coupling to opposite sign of zero-field splitting in the same complex

Mikhailenko M., Astakhova T., Timokhina E. N. et al., Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers 2026 Vol. 13 No. 14 P. 6145–6156

series of anionic bi- and trinuclear complexes of Co II , Fe II , and Mn II with hexaazatrinaphthylene (HATNA) and hexaazatriphenylenehexacarbonitrile (HAT(CN) 6 ), incorporating paramagnetic Cp* 2 Fe + cations ( S = 1/2), were obtained and investigated. ...

Added: September 14, 2026

1D and 2D coordination polymers based on ring-reduced freebase and copper-containing meso-tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrins and M(III) (TMHD) 3 units (M = Dy, Tb and Gd; TMHD: 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate)

Nazaro D. I., Yakushev I. A., Kuzmin A. V. et al., Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers 2026 Vol. 13 No. 11 P. 5039–5050

Reduced tetra(4-pyridyl)porphyrins (H 2 TPyP and Cu II TPyP) form polymers with M III (TMHD) 3 (M = Dy, Tb and Gd). Folded zigzag 2D and linear 1D polymers are obtained. Their structure, optical and magnetic properties are investigated. ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Singlet–Triplet Transitions in the Dianionic Complex of Fullerene C 60 with Iron Carbonyl: (TBA + ) 2 {[Fe 2 (CO) 6 ]-η 2 ,η 2 -C 60 } 2–

Sobov P. A., Yakushev I. A., Shestakov A. et al., Inorganic Chemistry 2026 Vol. 65 No. 16 P. 9107–9115

Interaction of fullerene C60 with Cs2Fe(CO)4 in the presence of two equivalents of tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI) yields the first dianionic coordination complex of fullerene: (TBA+)2{[Fe2(CO)6]-η2,η2-C60}2– (1). According to magnetic data and DFT calculations, complex 1 has a diamagnetic ground (S = 0) and a triplet excited state (S = 1) populated above 80 K. As ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Crystalline Trinuclear Exo- and Endocyclic Complexes of a Tetrapyrazinoporphyrazine Ligand with 3 d - and 4 f -Metals

Faraonov M., Romanenko N., Ivanov T. et al., Crystal Growth & Design 2026 Vol. 26 No. 7 P. 2792–2801

A redox-active tetrapyrazinoporphyrazine ligand was used as a platform for the design of multimetallic coordination complexes. The first paramagnetic homo- and heterotrimetallic complexes have been obtained as crystals through the reaction of iron(II) octaethyltetrapyrazinoporphyrazine, FeII(Et8TPyzPz), with 3d- (FeII, CoII) and 4f-metal (DyIII) iodides. In these conditions, tetrapyrazinoporphyrazine can coordinate to metals to form exo- and ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Complex of fullerene C60 with partial charge transfer: {(dppf)CpFe(CO)}+(C60)-⋅C6H4Cl2 (δ = 0.54–0.86), where dppf is bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene ligand

Sobov P. A., Khasanov S., Kuzmin A. V. et al., Inorganic Chemistry Communications 2026 Vol. 185 Article 116055

New complex {(dppf)CpFe(CO)}(C60)⋅C6H4Cl2 (1) was obtained when stoichiometric mixture of C60 and CoII(dppf)Cl2 is reduced by two equivalents of (Cs+){CpFe(CO)2−} (dppf: 1,1`-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene). CpFe(CO)2− anion reduces CoII(dppf)Cl2 and CpFe(CO)2 abstracts the dppf ligand from Co(dppf) forming (dppf)CpFeI(CO). Electron transfer from (dppf)CpFeI(CO) to C60 is observed. As a result, the state of {(dppf)CpFe(CO)}δ+(C60)δ−⋅C6H4Cl2 (δ = 0.54–0.86) is intermediate between ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Mono- and binuclear complexes of iron(II) and cobalt(II) with deprotonated trans-indigo anions. Effect of cationic surrounding on structure and magnetic properties.

Krivenko K., Kuzmin A. V., Mikhailenko M. et al., Dyes and Pigments 2026 Vol. 246 Article 113342

Mono- and binuclear complexes of FeII and CoII with deprotonated trans-indigo were obtained. Reduction of indigo by metallic iron in the presence of crystal violet (CV) yields (CV+)[(FeCl2)HIndigo]−⋅C6H4Cl2 (1). The reaction of FeI2 and CoI2 with one equivalent of decamethylchromocene (Cp∗2Cr) and one or half equivalent of indigo yields mononuclear (Cp∗2Cr+)[(CoI2)HIndigo]−⋅C6H4Cl2 (2), (Cp∗2Cr+)[(FeI2)HIndigo]−⋅ xC6H4Cl2, where ...

Added: September 14, 2026

A 36-Nuclear Wheel-Shaped Heterometallic Cluster: Self-Assembly of Mixed-Valent Pt II /Pt IV and Mn II Centers

Sosunov E., Skabitsky I. V., Churakov A. et al., Crystal Growth & Design 2026 Vol. 26 No. 4 P. 1775–1782

Polynuclear 5d–3d assemblies represent a promising class of systems for exploring the interplay among electronic structure, magnetism, and self-assembly. Here, we report the synthesis and structural characterization of the first heterometallic wheel-shaped Pt–Mn cluster, [PtIV12PtII6Mn18(OAc)72(μ3-O)12]·43C6H6(1), which incorporates 36 metal centers. The giant ring is constructed from alternating PtIIMnII paddlewheel fragments and PtIV2Mn2 oxo-acetate units, bridged ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Effect of the size of the substituents in triptycene (TPC-X) on the magnetic and conducting properties of the layered 2D organic metals (MDABCO+)(C60•−)·(TPC-X), where X = H, Br, and I

Sobov P. A., Kuzmin A. V., Shevchun A. F. et al., Synthetic Metals 2025 Vol. 313 Article 117904

Modification of the neutral triptycene TPC-X molecule by increasing the size of the X substituent at the 9th position from X = H to Br and I affects the magnetic and conducting properties of the (MDABCO+)(C60•−)(TPC-X) salts (1–3, respectively), where MDABCO+ is N-methyldiazabicyclooctanium. These salts feature hexagonal fullerene layers composed of C60•−, which remain undimerized owing to ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Salts of Tetraselenatetracene and Bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene with Metal Hexafluoroacetylacetonate Anions: MnII(hfac)3–, CoII(hfac)2Cl–, and PrIII(hfac)4–

Flakina A. M., Nazarov D., Faraonov M. et al., Crystal Growth & Design 2025 Vol. 25 No. 15 P. 6332–6344

Oxidation of tetraselenatetracene (TSeT) and bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF) by p-chloranil in the presence of metal hexafluoroacetylacetonates: MnII(hfac)2, CoII(hfac)2 and PrIII(hfac)3 followed by precipitation of crystals by n-hexane produces (TSeT1.5)+{MnII(hfac)3–} (1), (TSeT1.5)+{PrIII(hfac)4–} (3), (TSeT2)+{CoII(hfac)2Cl–} (4), and (ET3)+{MnII(hfac)3–} (5). Thioindigo dye is introduced into (TSeT1.5)+ (Thioindigo1.5){MnII(hfac)3–} (2) due to the appearance of specific C═O···(Se–Se bond) interactions accompanied by ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Complex of copper(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate with photochromic spiropyran in the merocyanine form: Field-induced slow magnetic relaxation and quantum coherence for Cu(II) (S = 1/2) and photoswitching of spiropyran ligand

Osipov N., Faraonov M., Yakushev I. A. et al., Dalton Transactions 2025 Vol. 54 No. 32 P. 12180–12188

The interaction of photochromic 8-methoxy-1′,3′,3′-trimethyl-6-nitro-spiro[chromene-2,2′-indole] (MNSP) spiropyran with copper(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate yields a deep red–violet solution due to a coordination-induced transition of MNSP from its closed form to the colored, open merocyanine (MC) form. The crystal structure of {CuII(hfac)2·MNSP} (1) shows coordination of two oxygen atoms in MNSP to CuII, forming a distorted octahedral geometry with ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Complexes of d‐ and f‐metal Ions with Redox‐Active and Highly Symmetric Truxenone Ligand: Effect of Cations and Coordination on Distortions of Radical Anions and Singlet–Triplet Transition in Dianions

Krivenko K., Shestakov A., Faraonov M. et al., European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry 2025 Vol. 28 No. 14 Article e202400760

Truxenone (Tr) with high C3h symmetry forms crystalline radical anion and dianion salts. The {Bu3MeP+}(Tr⋅−) (1) and {Cp*2Co+)}(Tr⋅−)⋅2 C6H4Cl2 (2) show intense low‐energy absorption up to 2000 nm. Calculations predict Jahn–Teller distortions for Tr⋅−, which are enhanced by the asymmetric approach of cations to Tr⋅−, leading to C=O bond length alternation and EPR signal asymmetry in 2. ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Complexes (TBA+){(TMI-NPS)2·LnIIII4}− (Ln = Dy, Tb) with two axial photochromic spiropyran ligands: photoswitching and zero-field SIM behaviour with a high magnetization blocking barrier for the Dy complex

Osipov N., Faraonov M., Kuzmin A. V. et al., Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers 2025 Vol. 12 No. 5 P. 2092–2102

Two photochromic spiropyran molecules (1,3,3-trimethylindolino-β-naphthopyrylospiran, TMI-NPS) react in the open form with LnIII iodides (Ln = Dy, Tb) to form in the presence of TBAI crystalline (TBA+){(TMI-NPS)2·LnIIII4}−·0.5C6H4Cl2 (1 and 2, respectively). Two TMI-NPS ligands are coordinated to lanthanides (Ln) by oxygen atoms at the axial position, and four iodide anions located at the equatorial position ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Macrocycle- and metal-centered reduction of cobalt trithiadodecaazahexaphyrin (Hhp). Metal-to-ligand charge transfer in {(Co(I)2Co(II)O){Hhp(•4-))}(2-)

Nazarov D., Kuzmin A. V., Islyaikin M. et al., New Journal of Chemistry 2025 Vol. 49 No. 5 P. 1631–1639

Reduction of free-base trithiadodecaazahexaphyrin, H3Hhp, by potassium graphite in the presence of cobalt(II) acetylacetonate and cryptand[2.2.2] produces {Cryptand[2.2.2](K+)}2{(CoI2CoIIO)2+(Hhp˙4−)}2−·2C6H4Cl2 (1). Co atoms in Co3O have square-planar geometry with short Co–N and Co–O bonds of 1.852–1.898(3) Å length. A nearly planar shape of Hhp macrocycles in 1 with equal Nmeso–C bonds indicates the aromatic character of Hhp˙4−. ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Coordination complexes of iron(II) phthalocyanine with cationic, anionic and neutral ligands

Romanenko N., Faraonov M., Kuzmin A. V. et al., Journal of Porphyrins and Phthalocyanines 2024 Vol. 28 No. 09n10 P. A–k

A series of coordination complexes of iron(II) phthalocyanine (FeIIPc) with anionic, cationic and neutral ligands has been obtained in crystalline form. The salt of FeIIPc with MDABCO[Formula: see text] cations (MDABCO[Formula: see text][FeI(Pc[Formula: see text]][Formula: see text]⋅(I[Formula: see text]⋅2TPC⋅2C6H4Cl2 (1) contains FeIIPc reduced to [FeI(Pc[Formula: see text]][Formula: see text], and the FeI ion coordinates two ...

Added: September 14, 2026

Probing temperature and capsaicin-induced activation of TRPV1 channel via computationally guided point mutations in its pore and TRP domains

Лубова К., Chugunov A., Волынский П. et al., International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 2020 Vol. 158 P. 1175–1183

In a recent computational study, we revealed some mechanistic aspects of TRPV1 (transient receptor potential channel 1) thermal activation and gating and proposed a set of probable functionally important residues — “hot spots” that have not been characterized experimentally yet. In this work, we analyzed TRPV1 point mutants G643A, I679A + A680G, and K688G/P combining molecular modeling, ...

Added: June 10, 2020

Structural Insight into Specificity of Interactions between Non-conventional Three-Finger Toxin WTX and Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Lyukmanova E., Shenkarev Z., Shulepko M. et al., Journal of biological chemistry 2015 Vol. 290 P. 23616–23630

Weak toxin from Naja kaouthia (WTX) belongs to the group of nonconventional “three-finger” snake neurotoxins. It irreversibly inhibits nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and allosterically interacts with muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs). Using site-directed mutagenesis, NMR spectroscopy, and computer modeling, we investigated the recombinant mutant WTX analogue (rWTX) which, compared with the native toxin, has an additional N-terminal methionine residue. ...

Added: March 14, 2017

Central loop of non-conventional toxin WTX from Naja kaouthia is important for interaction with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Lyukmanova E., Shulepko M., Shenkarev Z. et al., Toxicon 2016 Vol. 119 P. 274–279

‘Three-finger’ toxin WTX from Naja kaouthia interacts with nicotinic and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs and mAChRs). Mutagenesis and competition experiments with 125I-α-bungarotoxin revealed that Arg31 and Arg32 residues from the WTX loop II are important for binding to Torpedo californica and human α7 nAChRs. Computer modeling suggested that loop II occupies the orthosteric binding site at α7 nAChR. The similar ...

Added: March 14, 2017