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Researchers use gene therapy to prevent learning, memory loss in Alzheimer s mouse model
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues elsewhere, have used gene therapy to prevent learning and memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer s disease (AD), a key step toward eventually testing the approach in humans with the neurodegenerative disease.
The findings are published online in advance of the June 11, 2021 issue of
Molecular Therapy-Methods & Clinical Development.
AD is characterized by the accumulation of clumps of misfolded proteins called amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles, both of which impair cell signaling and promote neuronal death. Current AD treatments targeting plaques and tangles address only symptoms, which the study s authors say suggests a reversal and cure of AD will likely require a combination of interventional approaches that both decrease aggregating toxins and promote neuronal and synaptic plasticity.
In the current study, DDR1 has been identified as a cancer-associated receptor tyrosine kinase that is highly expressed in several malignancies relative to normal tissues.
29 As an important receptor, DDR1 can bind all types of collagens and could influence their signalling upon collagen stimulation.
30 It has been reported that the phosphorylation of DDR1 could activate the WNT/β-catenin and AKT/mTOR signaling to drive cancer cell metastasis and progression.
31,32 We observed that pY792 DDR1, the active form of DDR1, was upregulated by COL5A2 overexpression in HCT116 and SW620 cells (Figure 4D).
These observations indicate that
COL5A2 expression upregulates WNT/β-catenin and PI3K/mTOR signaling via binding DDR1 with phosphorylation and activation of this receptor, which might contribute to CRC tumorigenesis or progression.
The nervous system In a new study, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have gained new insights into how signal molecules are transported in some of the longest cells in the nervous system. The discovery is made by examining the transport process in fruit flies. The researchers hope that the results can contribute to understanding human illnesses such as neuropathy and neurodegenerative disease. Photo: Colourbox The nervous system is the internet of the human body and can in the same way transfer signals over long distances very quickly. Some of the most important elements in this signaling are the axons. They are projections of the nerve cells which send signals to other nerve cells or muscles. For instance, axons that jut out from nerve cells in the spinal cord can be over one meter long.