Category Health/Medical

Highlights
•Enterochromaffin (EC) cells are excitable and express voltage-gated ion channels
•EC cells use sensory receptors to detect irritants, metabolites, and catecholamines
•EC cell activation leads to voltage-gated Ca2+ channel-dependent serotonin release
•EC cells modulate sensory nerves via serotonin receptors and synaptic connections

Cells that alert nervous system to intestinal trouble could provide new target for gastrointestinal treatments. Specialized cells in the gut sense potentially noxious chemicals and trigger electrical impulses in nearby nerve fibers, according to a new study led by UC San Francisco scientists. “These cells are sensors, like a window looking into the contents of the gut,” said James Bayrer, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF.

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Versatile Barometer Biosensor Based on Au@Pt Core/Shell Nanoparticle Probe

When it comes to testing for cancer, environmental pollution and food contaminants, traditional sensors can help. The challenges are that they often are bulky, expensive, non-intuitive and complicated. Now, one team reports in ACS Sensors that portable pressure-based detectors coupled with smartphone software could provide a simpler, more affordable alternative while still maintaining sensitivity.

Current disease and contamination sensors require expensive readout equipment or trained personnel. Yuehe Lin, Yong Tang and colleagues propose a new detection system based on pressure changes...

A Systematic Strategy for Discovering a Therapeutic Drug for Alzheimer’s Disease and Its Target Molecule. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 2017; 8 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2017.00340

Japanese scientists have developed a method to isolate and identify active compounds in plant medicines, which accurately accounts for drug behavior in the body. Using the technique, they have identified several active compounds from Drynaria Rhizome, a traditional plant medicine, which improve memory and reduce disease characteristics in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.

Traditional plant medicines have been used by humans for a long time, and these therapies are still popular in many countries...

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (colored green) interacting with a human immune cell. This study shows that in conditions like toxic shock syndrome, toxins from such bacteria can trigger one type of immune cells (MAIT cells) to turn against the host. Credit: NIAID; CC-BY

A subpopulation of immune cells that normally fend off pathogens can turn against the host during certain infections, a new study publishing on June 20 in the open access journal PLOS Biology reveals. The researchers led by Dr...