Alzheimer’s disease is a very common illness that affects older people worldwide, and it is one of the main causes of dementia. Researchers have been working for more than twenty years to find out what causes Alzheimer’s, but they have not yet discovered the exact reason, and there is no cure for the disease.
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. The resulting polyglutamine (polyQ) tract alters the function of the HTT protein. Although HTT is expressed in different tissues, the medium spiny projection neurons (MSNs) in the striatum are particularly vulnerable in HD. Thus, we sought to define the proteome of human HD patient–derived MSNs. We differentiated HD72 induced pluripotent stem cells and isogenic controls into MSNs and carried out quantitative proteomic analysis. Using data-dependent acquisitions with FAIMS for label-free quantification on the Orbitrap Lumos mass spectrometer, we identified 6,323 proteins with at least two unique peptides. Of these, 901 proteins were altered significantly more in the HD72-MSNs than in isogenic controls. Functional enrichment analysis of upregulated proteins demonstrated extracellular matrix and DNA signaling (DNA replication pathway, double-strand break repair, G1/S transition) with the highest significance. Conversely, processes associated with the downregulated proteins included neurogenesis-axogenesis, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor-signaling pathway, Ephrin-A: EphA pathway, regulation of synaptic plasticity, triglyceride homeostasis cholesterol, plasmid lipoprotein particle immune response, interferon-γ signaling, immune system major histocompatibility complex, lipid metabolism and cellular response to stimulus. Moreover, proteins involved in the formation and maintenance of axons, dendrites, and synapses (e.g., Septin protein members) were dysregulated in HD72-MSNs. Importantly, lipid metabolism pathways were altered, and using quantitative image, we found analysis that lipid droplets accumulated in the HD72-MSN, suggesting a deficit in the turnover of lipids possibly through lipophagy. Our proteomics analysis of HD72-MSNs identified relevant pathways that are altered in MSNs and confirm current and new therapeutic targets for HD.
Improving the seasonal influenza vaccine and public health specialists’ ability to predict pandemic potential in new flu strains may be possible, due to new findings from scientists at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The key is the stability of a viral protein that gains entry into human cells. The findings were published today in Science Advances.
“We found that the protein flu viruses use to enter cells, hemagglutinin, needs to be relatively stable and resistant to acid in an effective H3N2 flu vaccine,” said senior and co-corresponding author Charles Russell, Ph.D., St. Jude Department of Infectious Diseases. “We found a mutation in hemagglutinin that makes the virus grow better in eggs also causes a mismatch in the vaccine. The mutation makes the virus unstable and makes it look less human-like.”
The H3N2 virus is a subtype of Influenza A and is one of the culprits behind the seasonal flu. Many flu vaccines are made by growing the virus in chicken eggs, but the virus can gain mutations during that process. Some of those changes, like the one uncovered by the St. Jude group, make the vaccine less effective in generating the ideal immune response. At the same time, other mutations have more beneficial impacts.
A large case-control study by international researchers at the RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences (IMS) in Japan has found that people who carry certain genetic risk factors for gastric (stomach) cancer have a much greater risk if they have also been infected by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, could contribute to the development of tailored genomic medicine for treating stomach cancer.
Stomach cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death worldwide and has both environmental and genetic risk factors. Environmentally, infection by H. pylori increases the risk of stomach cancer. Because the virulence of H. pylori in East Asia is high, the incidence of stomach cancer is higher in countries like Japan. Genetically, while hereditary gene variation is why we have different colored eyes and are unique as individuals, sometimes gene variants are associated with the risk of disease. For example, individuals who carry a certain hereditary pathogenic variant of the CDH1 gene have an increased risk of gastric cancer.
Testing for the presence of pathogenic variants is now one of several measures being taken for cancer prevention, surveillance, and treatment selection. However, because large-scale, case-control studies are lacking, and because those that exist have not assessed how the risk for stomach cancer changes when pathogenic variants interact with environmental factors like H. pylori, it remains unclear what actual clinical measures can be taken. To address this issue, researchers therefore evaluated the risk of gastric cancer in a large case-control study of Japanese people, considering whether they were carriers of pathogenic variants and whether they had been infected by H. pylori.
Jennifer Garrison is an assistant professor at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and also holds appointments in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the Davis School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California.
Over 321 books from 170 plus interviews over 5 years.
Over 321 books from 170 interviews over 5 years for autodidacts
Jennifer Garrison Links.
https://www.buckinstitute.org/lab/garrison-lab/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjennifergarrison.
https://twitter.com/jenngarrison?lang=en.
PODCAST INFO:
The Learning With Lowell show is a series for the everyday mammal. In this show we’ll learn about leadership, science, and people building their change into the world. The goal is to dig deeply into people who most of us wouldn’t normally ever get to hear. The Host of the show – Lowell Thompson-is a lifelong autodidact, serial problem solver, and founder of startups.
LINKS
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/66eFLHQclKe5p3bMXsCTRH
RSS: https://www.learningwithlowell.com/feed/podcast/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzri06unR-lMXbl6sqWP_-Q
Youtube clips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-B5x371AzTGgK-_q3U_KfA
Website: https://www.learningwithlowell.com/
Shownotes/ Timestamps.
00:00 Introducing Jennifer Garrison.
01:20 Broken Science funding.
10:00 Progress and accountability.
12:10 Why don’t we have the Garrison system.
20:48 Cost to run a lab & cost of university and support systems.
25:18 Neuro peptides and aging.
30:40 Complexity of neuropeptides.
33:12 How do neuropeptides know where to go.
37:20 Human vs animal neuropeptide differences and divergences.
44:42 Reproductive system.
46:20 Regenerating reproductive systems and aging.
48:55 Women reproductive health support.
51:35 Women and diverse population in clinical trials.
53:54 The first domino.
58:15 Why you should care about women’s health even if not a women.
01:00:23 Turning Menopause on and off.
01:04:45 Causes of aging.
01:06:00 2023 projects and thoughts.
01:08:40 What help she needs to accelerate the future at buck.
01:13:30 OBGYN issues and problems women have.
01:20:10 Resources for women and doctors.
01:26:58 Books.
01:29:50 LzzyHalesLegs listener q for identifying opportunities to work on.
Social links.
Altered dystrophin expression was found in some tumors and recent studies identified a developmental onset of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Given that embryogenesis and carcinogenesis share many mechanisms, we analyzed a broad spectrum of tumors to establish whether dystrophin alteration evokes related outcomes. Transcriptomic, proteomic, and mutation datasets from fifty tumor tissues and matching controls (10,894 samples) and 140 corresponding tumor cell lines were analyzed. Interestingly, dystrophin transcripts and protein expression were found widespread across healthy tissues and at housekeeping gene levels. In 80% of tumors, DMD expression was reduced due to transcriptional downregulation and not somatic mutations. The full-length transcript encoding Dp427 was decreased in 68% of tumors, while Dp71 variants showed variability of expression.
A killer plant fungus infected a human and caused flu-like symptoms in what researchers say is a world-first case.
Chondrostereum purpureum causes silver leaf disease in flora, most commonly in species of rose.
Spread by airborne spores, it is named such because it gradually turns leaves silver — and is often fatal.
It was not known to infect humans, but medics in India have reported what they believe is the first ever case.
The patient was a 61-year-old man who received treatment at Consultant Apollo Multispecialty Hospitals in Kolkata, having experienced symptoms including a cough, fatigue, difficulty swallowing and a hoarse voice for three months.
The Last Of Us, the apocalyptic drama that started with a fungal outbreak, raised awareness among the masses of the potential dangers of human infection. The HBO series of course took plenty of dramatic liberties, but experts say it’s good for the public to take possible threats seriously.
Energy production in nature is the responsibility of mitochondria and chloroplasts, and is crucial for fabricating sustainable, synthetic cells in the lab. Mitochondria are “the powerhouses of the cell,” but are also one of the most complex intracellular components to replicate artificially.
In Biophysics Reviews, by AIP Publishing, researchers from Sogang University in South Korea and the Harbin Institute of Technology in China identified the most promising advancements and greatest challenges of artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts.
“If scientists can create artificial mitochondria and chloroplasts, we could potentially develop synthetic cells that can generate energy and synthesize molecules autonomously. This would pave the way for the creation of entirely new organisms or biomaterials,” author Kwanwoo Shin said.
In this weeks episode of The Futurists, cognitive scientist and AI researcher Ben Goertzel joins the hosts to talk the likely path to Artificial General Intelligence. Goertzel is the founder of SingularityNet, Chairman at OpenCog Foundation, and previously as the Chief Scientist at Hanson Robotics he helped create Sophia the robot. Goertzel is on a different level, get ready to step up. Follow @bengoertzel.
ABOUT SHOW
Subscribe and listen to TheFuturists.com Podcast where hosts Brett King and Robert TerceK interview the worlds foremost super-forecasters, thought leaders, technologists, entrepreneurs and futurists building the world of tomorrow. Together we will explore how our world will radically change as AI, bioscience, energy, food and agriculture, computing, the metaverse, the space industry, crypto, resource management, supply chain and climate will reshape our world over the next 100 years. Join us on The Futurists and we will see you in the future!
HOSTS
https://thefuturists.com/info/hosts-brett-king-robert-tercek/
https://twitter.com/BrettKing & http://brettking.com/
https://twitter.com/Superplex &https://roberttercek.com/
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GET EVEN MORE
One can only hope.
A former Google engineer has just predicted that humans will achieve immortality in eight years, something more than likely considering that 86% of his 147 predictions have been correct.
Ray Kurzweil visited the YouTube channel Adagio, in a discussion on the expansion of genetics, nanotechnology and robotics, which he believes will lead to age-reversing ‘nanobots’.
These tiny robots will repair damaged cells and tissues that deteriorate as the body ages, making people immune to certain diseases such as cancer.
