neurodegenerative disease tagged posts

Senescent cells (represented here in green) no longer function but can broadcast inflammatory signals to the cells around them. These cells are implicated in a number of age-related diseases.
Credit: Image courtesy of Mayo Clinic

Zombie cells are the ones that can’t die but are equally unable to perform the functions of a normal cell. These zombie, or senescent, cells are implicated in a number of age-related diseases. And with a new letter in Nature, Mayo Clinic researchers have expanded that list.

In a mouse model of brain disease, scientists report that senescent cells accumulate in certain brain cells prior to cognitive loss. By preventing the accumulation of these cells, they were able to diminish tau protein aggregation, neuronal death and memory loss.

“Senescent cells are known to ac...

Image reveals Purkinje cells (gray) and their dendrites, as well as an accumulation of protein deposits (red dots). Credit: Ackerman Lab/UC San Diego

Protein ‘proofreading’ errors lead to neurodegenerative disease. UCSD researchers found that the ‘Ankrd16’ gene acts like a failsafe in proofreading and correcting errors to avoid the abnormal production of improper proteins. Usually, the information transfer from gene to protein is carefully controlled – biologically “proofread” and corrected – to avoid the production of improper proteins...

This is a model of the structure of clathrin, a protein that researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio used to study how a heat shock protein disassembles protein complexes. Credit: Drs. Eileen Lafer and Rui Sousa/UT Health Science Center at San Antonio

Heat shock proteins ram into other proteins, generating force that is beneficial. Studies at The University of Texas Health Science Center are providing basic new understanding about “heat shock proteins,” also called “chaperone proteins.” These proteins, first identified in cells subjected to heat, are very important under many stressful and non-stressful metabolic conditions. They maintain proper protein function and, importantly, prevent the inappropriate accumulation of damaged proteins...