title: Signaling dynamics and peroxisomes.
abstract: Peroxisomes are remarkably responsive organelles. Their composition, abundance and even their mechanism of biogenesis are influenced strongly by cell type and the environment. This plasticity underlies peroxisomal functions in metabolism and the detoxification of dangerous reactive oxygen species. However, peroxisomes are integrated into the cellular system as a whole such that they communicate intimately with other organelles, control signaling dynamics as in the case of innate immune responses to infectious disease, and contribute to processes as fundamental as longevity. The increasing evidence for peroxisomes having roles in various cellular and organismal functions, combined with their malleability, suggests complex mechanisms operate to control cellular dynamics and the specificity of cellular responses and functions extending well beyond the peroxisome itself. A deeper understanding of the functions of peroxisomes and the mechanisms that control their plasticity could offer opportunities for exploiting changes in peroxisome abundance to control cellular function.
authors.affiliation: Center for Infectious Disease Research, formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, USA; Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, USA.
authors.forename: Fred D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Mast
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rachubinski
authors.affiliation: Center for Infectious Disease Research, formerly Seattle Biomedical Research Institute, Seattle, USA; Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, USA. Electronic address: John.Aitchison@CIDResearch.org.
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Aitchison
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D020675:Peroxisomes / Q000378:metabolism*; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species