17.06.2021

Abstract The voltage-gated calcium channel subunit  alpha(2)delta plays a fundamental role in propagation of excitatory signals associated with release of glutamate and neuropeptides substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related protein (CGRP). It can be selectively inhibited by gabapentinoids. Hence, investigation of the alpha(2)delta subunit may predict the efficacy of gabapentinoid therapy in neuropathic pain. Since sensory processing underlies significant age-related changes, this study was conducted in order to elucidate the role...

11.06.2021

Abstract Signaling between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria regulates a number of key neuronal functions, many of which are perturbed in Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, damage to ER-mitochondria signaling is seen in cell and transgenic models of Alzheimer's disease. However, as yet there is little evidence that ER-mitochondria signaling is altered in human Alzheimer's disease brains. ER-mitochondria signaling is mediated by interactions between the integral ER protein VAPB and the outer mitochondrial membrane prot...

02.07.2021

Abstract The development of in vitro amplification systems allows detecting femtomolar amounts of prion protein scrapie (PrP(Sc)) in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We performed a CSF study to determine the effects of prion disease type, codon 129 genotype, PrP(Sc) type, and other disease-related factors on the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) response. We analyzed times to 10,000 relative fluorescence units, areas under the curve and the signal maximum of RT-QuIC response as seeding parameters of interest. Interestingly, ty...

03.06.2021

Abstract Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of hypoxic-ischemic (HI)-induced brain injury. Activation of melanocortin-1 receptor (MC1R) has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects in several neurological diseases. In the present study, we have explored the role of MC1R activation on neuroinflammation and the potential underlying mechanisms after neonatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in rats. This study demonstrates that activation of MC1R with BMS-470539 attenuated neuro...

17.05.2021

Abstract The immature phenotype of human induced pluripotent stem cell derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) is a major limitation to the use of these valuable cells for pre-clinical toxicity testing and for disease modeling. Here we tested the hypothesis that human perinatal stem cell derived extracellular matrix (ECM) promotes hiPSC-CM maturation to a greater extent than mouse cell derived ECM. We refer to the human ECM as Matrix Plus (Matrix Plus) and compare effects to commercially available mouse ECM (Matrigel). hiPSC-CMs cultured on Mat...

14.05.2021

Abstract Neural stem cell (NSC) populations persist in the adult vertebrate brain over a lifetime, and their homeostasis is controlled at the population level through unknown mechanisms. Here, we combine dynamic imaging of entire NSC populations in their in vivo niche over several weeks with pharmacological manipulations, mathematical modeling, and spatial statistics and demonstrate that NSCs use spatiotemporally resolved local feedback signals to coordinate their decision to divide in adult zebrafish brains. These involve No...

05.05.2021

Abstract The host cell serine protease TMPRSS2is an attractive therapeutic target for COVID-19 drug discovery. This protease activates theSpike protein of Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeCoronavirus 2 (SARS...

06.05.2021

Abstract Progress in nanomedicine depends on the development of nanomaterials and targeted delivery methods. In this work, we describe a method for the preferential targeting of gold nanoparticles to a tumor in a mouse model. The method is based on the use of the pH Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP), which targets various imaging agents to acidic tumors. We compare tumor targeting by nonfunctionalized nanogold particles with nanogold–pHLIP conjugates, where nanogold is covalently attached to the N terminus of pHLIP. Our most important fi...

30.04.2021

The ability of tumor cells to evade immune detection plays a critical role in tumor development. Although mechanisms of immune evasion have been characterized, understanding of how tumor cells avoid detection by the immune system and acquire resistance to immunotherapy remains incomplete. Utilizing Bio X Cell’s anti-mouse PD-1 (clone J43) antibody, researchers discovered that expression of the intergenic long noncoding RNA (lincRNA) EPIC1 helps cancer...

23.04.2021

In Brief: SARS-CoV-2 spike undergoes large conformational changes during cell fusion. Gobeil et al. identify a subdomain anchor that limits large motions in the receptor binding subunit of the pre-fusion spike from propagating to its fusion subunit. They demonstrate that theD614G mutation increases the rate off urin cleavage, which may impact infectivity. Jackson ImmunoResearch´s Peroxidase-AffiniPure Goat Anti-Human IgG, Fc gamma Fragment Specific JIM-109-035-098 was used...