Researchers with the Advanced Science Research Center at the CUNY Graduate Center (CUNY ASRC) have unveiled a critical mechanism that links cellular stress in the brain to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
The study, published in the journal Neuron, highlights microglia, the brain’s primary immune cells, as central players in both the protective and harmful responses associated with the disease.
Microglia, often dubbed the brain’s first responders, are now recognized as a significant causal cell type in Alzheimer’s pathology. However, these cells play a double-edged role: some protect brain health, while others worsen neurodegeneration.
Whenever a sink overflows, the flooding is usually caused by a blockage that has built up in the drains. Similarly, as we age, our bodies are flooded by aging, or senescent cells, which have stopped dividing but, instead of dying, remain active and build up in body tissues. Recent studies have shown that getting rid of these cells might delay age-related diseases, reduce inflammation and extend lives. Despite the great potential, however, there is currently no drug that can target these cells directly and efficiently.
Now, Weizmann Institute of Science researchers suggest an alternative approach. In a new study published in Nature Cell Biology, they reveal that senescent cells build up in the body by clogging up the immune system, thereby preventing their own removal.
The scientists demonstrated in mice how to unclog this blockage using immunotherapy, the new generation of treatments that is revolutionizing cancer therapy. These findings could pave the way for innovative treatment of age-related diseases and other chronic disorders.
Here’s one definition of science: it’s essentially an iterative process of building models with ever-greater explanatory power.
A model is just an approximation or simplification of how we think the world works. In the past, these models could be very simple, as simple in fact as a mathematical formula. But over time, they have evolved and scientists have built increasingly sophisticated simulations of the world as new data has become available.
A computer model of the Earth’s climate can show us temperatures will rise as we continue to release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Models can also predict how infectious disease will spread in a population, for example.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV), which causes a cold-like illness, can be spread in the same way as other viruses from person to person through body fluids such as blood, saliva and urine.
But the infection is present in up to 45 per cent of Alzheimer’s cases, US scientists have claimed.
Some people exposed to the bug may develop a chronic intestinal infection, allowing it to enter the bloodstream and travel to the brain.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder associated with a progressive decline in memory and mental abilities, which can significantly hinder people’s ability to complete daily tasks. Past studies found that patients diagnosed with AD, as well as some other neurodegenerative disorders, exhibit an abnormal accumulation of tau protein in their neurons.
Tau protein is a microtubule-associated protein (MAP) known to stabilize the internal structure of neurons, binding to microtubules. These are microscopic tubular structures that support the transport of nutrients, proteins and other vital molecules within individual neurons or other cells.
Recent findings suggest that tau proteins interact with extracellular vesicles (EVs), small membrane-bound particles secreted by cells that carry molecules and deliver them to other cells. While the research hints at a connection between these vesicles and tau proteins in AD, the link between the two is not yet fully understood.
Monitoring electrical potentials with high recording site density and micrometer spatial resolution in liquid is critical in biosensing. Organic electronic materials have driven remarkable advances in the field because of their unique material properties, yet limitations in spatial resolution and recording density remain. Here, we introduce organic electro-scattering antennas (OCEANs) for wireless, light-based probing of electrical signals with micrometer spatial resolution, potentially from thousands of sites. The technology relies on the unique dependence of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate light scattering properties to its doping level. Electro-optic characteristics of individual antennas varying in diameters and operating voltages were systematically characterized in saline solution. Signal-to-noise ratios up to 48 were achieved in response to 100-mV stimuli, with 2.5-mV detection limits. OCEANs demonstrated millisecond time constants and exceptional long-term stability, enabling continuous recordings over 10 hours. By offering spatial resolution of 5 μm and a recording density of 4 × 106 cm−2, OCEANs unlock new readout capabilities, potentially accelerating fundamental and clinical research.
Sci. Adv. 10, eadr8380 (2024). DOI:10.1126/sciadv.adr8380
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Bioconvergence — Bridging Science And Nature To Shape Tomorrow — Dr. Nina Siragusa Ph.D. — Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany
#NinaSiragusa #MerckGroup #Darmstadt.
Dr. Nina Siragusa, Ph.D., MBA, is the Strategy, Business, and Data & Digital Lead within the global R&D organization of Merck Healthcare KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. In this role, she leads strategic projects, manages business operations, and drives digital transformation.
Previously, she served as Chief of Staff to Dr. Laura Matz, Chief Science and Technology Officer at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. As part of the Science and Technology Office Leadership Team, she was responsible for fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, innovation, and digitalization across Merck’s three business sectors. She also spearheaded the company’s efforts in Bioconvergence, a multidisciplinary approach that synergizes biology, engineering, data, and digitalization. This initiative promises groundbreaking advancements in healthcare and the life sciences, heralding a new era of scientific collaboration for a healthier, more sustainable future.
Prior to that, Dr. Siragusa contributed to corporate innovation in several leadership roles:
One used AI to dream up a universe of potential CRISPR gene editors. Inspired by large language models—like those that gave birth to ChatGPT—the AI model in the study eventually designed a gene editing system as accurate as existing CRISPR-based tools when tested on cells. Another AI designed circle-shaped proteins that reliably turned stem cells into different blood vessel cell types. Other AI-generated proteins directed protein “junk” into the lysosome, a waste treatment blob filled with acid inside cells that keeps them neat and tidy.
Outside of medicine, AI designed mineral-forming proteins that, if integrated into aquatic microbes, could potentially soak up excess carbon and transform it into limestone. While still early, the technology could tackle climate change with a carbon sink that lasts millions of years.
It seems imagination is the only limit to AI-based protein design. But there are still a few cases that AI can’t yet fully handle. Nature has a comprehensive list, but these stand out.
How we classify cancer and spot it in its earliest stages could need an urgent rethink: researchers have found that even some healthy women carry cells with the key hallmarks of breast cancer.
These cells are known as aneuploid cells, and have an abnormal number of chromosomes. They’re common in invasive breast cancer, and it’s thought the chromosome imbalance enables cancer to spread and evade the body’s immune defenses.
Now it appears aneuploid cells might also be present even when there’s no cancer in sight. The researchers, from the University of Texas and the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, found them in breast tissue samples from 49 healthy women.