Dysfunction in the mitochondria contributes to the development of acute liver injury (ALI). There is emerging evidence indicating the mitochondria is key to maintain liver homeostasis and survival; thus, controlling its functioning is important for the treatment of liver diseases. Recent findings have identified transcription factor zinc-finger and homeoboxes 2 (ZHX2) to be a critical modulator of liver postnatal gene expression, cell proliferation and lipid homeostasis in the liver.
REV-ERBα (NR1D1) is a circadian transcriptional repressor that plays a role in the regulation of lipid metabolism and macrophage function, and the global deletion of REV-ERBα has been previously linked to increased microglial activation and mitigation of amyloid plaque formation. In the current study, researchers from Washington University in St Louis and affiliated organizations aimed to explore the cell-autonomous effects of microglial REV-ERBα on tau pathology.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disorder that leads to progressive muscle weakness and loss of muscle control due to affectation of the motor neurons. Increasing evidence points to defects in the nuclear envelope, which leads to disease progression.
A recognized link exists between oxidative stress, obesity and atrial fibrillation (AF). NADPH oxidase 2 (NOX2) serves as a significant contributor to reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in the heart, and it is known to be elevated in obese mice.
F-box/WD repeat-containing protein 7 (FBXW7) is known to regulate the protein stability of key metabolic transcription factors, including the major transcriptional regulator of lipid biosynthesis, SREBP1, the overactivation of which has been previously linked to elevated lipogenesis.
Gliomas are the most common brain tumors. Adult gliomas frequently present molecular alterations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and its associated signaling pathways. In recent work, researchers from the Centre de Biophysique Moléculaire (France) and collaborators demonstrated the role of the serotonin 5-HT7 receptor (5-HT7R) in a larval Drosophila model of glioma, showing that it may act as a tumor suppressor.
Researchers working at with Seoul National University together with GPCR Therapeutics Inc. have focused on targeting pairs of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) starting with the CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), which is well known to serve hematopoietic and early developmental functions, while also being required for cancer metastasis.
The ALDH2 gene encodes mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), a major acetaldehyde-metabolizing enzyme. Approximately 36% of East Asians (around 560 million people) carry an inactivating E504K missense mutation of the ALDH2 gene, which reduces ALDH2 enzymatic activity. This inactivating mutation has been correlated with several diseases and is strongly associated with type 2 diabetes, body mass index and serum lipids in East Asians.
Dominantly inherited mutations in the MAPT gene, which encodes the tau protein, result in a subset of tauopathies named frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau pathology (FTLD-tau). However, the mechanisms by which MAPT mutations cause disease remain unclear. In a recent study, researchers from Washington University in St. Louis aimed to investigate the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and the impact of MAPT mutations on lncRNA in tauopathy.
Recently, researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, in collaboration with colleagues in Japan, have developed a human vascular organoid model that accurately mimics the vascular damage caused by SARS-CoV-2.
