The present disclosure provides methods of correcting gene variants associated with Parkinson's Disease in pluripotent stem cells, and methods of lineage specific differentiation of such corrected pluripotent stem cells into floor plate midbrain progenitor cells, determined dopamine (DA) neuron progenitor cells, and/or DA neurons, or into glial cells, such as microglial cells, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, or ependymocytes. Also provided are compositions uses thereof, such as for treating neurodegenerative diseases and conditions, including Parkinson's disease.

An unprecedented mechanism of ubiquitination that is independent of E1 and E2 enzymes, instead relying on activation of ubiquitin by ADP-ribosylation, and which is mediated by members of the SidE effector family encoded by the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila is disclosed. The herein disclosed method demonstrates a method in which ubiquitination can be carried out by a single enzyme. In addition, the present disclosure also provides compositions that may be used in ubiquitination assays and/or methods of screening active substance that may inhibit the ubiquitination process.

Inhibitors of Ras protein, methods to modulate the activity of Ras protein, and methods of treatment of disorders mediated by Ras protein are provided. A method for regulating activity of a K-Ras, H-Ras or N-Ras mutant protein with a compound is described. Disorders that can be treated include cancer, such as hematological cancer, pancreatic cancer, MYH associated polyposis, colorectal cancer, or lung cancer.

Described herein are methods of preventing, arresting progression of or ameliorating vision loss and other conditions associated with retinitis pigmentosa and x-linked retinitis pigmentosa in a subject. The methods include administering to a subject an effective concentration of a composition comprising a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) carrying a nucleic acid sequence encoding a normal retinitis pigmentosa GTPase regulator (RPGR gene), or fragment thereof, under the control of regulatory sequences which express the product of the gene in the photoreceptor cells of the subject, and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.

Provided herein are rAAV and other vectors and compositions useful for treating a patient having CMT2 comprising: (a) a recombinant nucleic acid sequence encoding an engineered human mitofusin 2 coding sequence operably linked to regulatory sequences which direct expression thereof in a human target cell. Also provided are rAAV and other vectors and compositions useful for treating a patient having CMT2 comprising: (b) a nucleic acid sequence encoding at least one miRNA specific for an endogenous human mitofusin 2 sequence in a human CMT2A subject, wherein the miRNA coding sequence is operably linked to regulatory sequences which direct expression thereof in the subject. Further provided are compositions containing both the engineered hMfn2 coding sequence and the at least one miRNA coding sequence, wherein the engineered human mitofusin 2 coding sequence has a sequence which differs from endogenous human mitofusin 2 in the CMT2A patient in the target site of the encoded miRNA.

Provided herein are recombinant proteins comprising sets of polypeptides that may be used for measurement of protein levels.

The present invention relates to a mutant of a parent filamentous fungal cell, comprising: a polynucleotide encoding a polypeptide of interest; a racA gene encoding a Rho-GTPase RacA protein, wherein the racA gene is modified rendering the mutant partially or completely deficient in the production of the Rho-GTPase RacA protein; and a ras2 gene encoding a GTPase Ras2 protein, wherein the GTPase Ras2 protein is modified to produce a GTPase Ras2 variant comprising a substitution at a position corresponding to position 16 of SEQ ID NO: 11, wherein the combination of the modified racA gene and the Ras2 variant synergistically increases the productivity of the mutant in the production of the polypeptide of interest. The present invention also relates to a method of producing a polypeptide of interest with such a mutant.

The present invention relates to Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease 2A (CMT2A) harboring the p.Arg364Trp or p.His361Tyr Mfn2 mutation, whose human counterpart results in severe, early-onset axonal neuropathy for p.Arg364Trp Mfn2 mutation in fertilized rat eggs. Cohorts of mutants and wild type littermates were characterized with multiple motor deficits that worsened over time. Separate cohorts of mutant and wild type at 7, 40, and 48 weeks showed reduced density of myelinated axons and active axonal degeneration in distal but not proximal nerves, as well as axonal degeneration in the fasciculus gracilis of the cervical spinal cord at 40 and 48 weeks not present in 7-week-old cohort Mfn2 mutants, or wild type at 7 or 40 weeks. The p.His361Tyr Mfn2 mutation using CRISPR/Cas9 showed abnormalities in gait dynamics at 8 weeks and lengthening of gait cycle at 16 weeks. The invention provides progressive axonal neuropathy for examining pathogenesis and treatment of CMT2A.

Deacetylation of rat Miro1 on Lysine 105 attenuates axon growth on non-permissive substrates by making mitochondria more sensitive to Ca levels, depolarizing mitochondrial membranes and blocking mitochondrial transport; the current disclosure provides an antibody that specifically recognizes the lysine 105 acetylated and not the deacetylated Miro1 protein.

An unprecedented mechanism of ubiquitination that is independent of E1 and E2 enzymes, instead relying on activation of ubiquitin by ADP-ribosylation, and which is mediated by members of the SidE effector family encoded by the bacterial pathogen Legionella pneumophila is disclosed. The herein disclosed method demonstrates a method in which ubiquitination can be carried out by a single enzyme. In addition, the present disclosure also provides compositions that may be used in ubiquitination assays and/or methods of screening active substance that may inhibit the ubiquitination process.