Cell Death tagged posts

Rapid Blood Test identifies COVID-19 patients at high risk of severe disease

WANDY BEATTYA new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests that measuring mitochondrial DNA in the blood of patients with COVID-19 can help predict which patients are at highest risk of severe disease, requiring more intensive care. Mitochondrial DNA levels are a measure of tissue damage. Pictured are damaged mitochondria (dark grey areas) released from human lungs. The small dark dots surrounding the mitochondria are magnetic beads that carry antibodies used to isolate and study unhealthy mitochondria that have been released from dying tissues.

Measuring mitochondrial DNA could predict who will need ICU care, intubation...

Read More

How Trans Fats Assist Cell Death

Trans-Fatty acids facilitate DNA damage-induced apoptosis through the mitochondrial JNK-Sab-ROS positive feedback loop
Authors: Yusuke Hirata, Aya Inoue, Saki Suzuki, Miki Takahashi, Ryo Matsui, Nozomu Kono, Takuya Noguchi, and Atsushi Matsuzawa
Journal: Scientific Reports
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-59636-6

Tohoku University researchers in Japan have uncovered a molecular link between some trans fats and a variety of disorders, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases. Their findings, published in the journal Scientific Reports, implicate their role in enhancing a mitochondrial signalling pathway that leads to programmed cell death.

“Accumulating evidence has associated the consumption of trans-fatty acids with various diseases, including some lifestyle d...

Read More