Organisms respond to their environment by changing how several proteins look and interact. These changes, which are called post-translational modifications, are important in the regulation of most biological processes in health and disease.

In a recent study, a team from the laboratory of Mattias Truttmann, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology examined the role of a new post-translational modification called AMPylation, using the round worm Caenorhabditis elegan.

They found that AMPylation is important to control the function of a group of proteins called Transforming Growth Factor-β (TGF-β) in the worm’s neurons. They also showed that too much AMPylation stops the growth of worms, impacts reproduction, and blunts their sense of smell.

Like humans, worms rely on their sense of smell to obtain information about their environment. Worms that showed high levels of AMPylation were no longer able to avoid harmful food sources.

Importantly, AMPylation is also happening in humans and TGF-β proteins are involved in several human diseases, including cancer and dementia. By discovering how AMPylation controls TGF-β proteins in worms, we can thus learn new information relevant to human health.

Paper cited: “The AMPylase FIC-1 modulates TGF-β signaling in Caenorhabditis elegans,” Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2022.912734