Unc-51-like autophagy-activating kinases 1 and 2 (ULK1/2) are enzymes that play a key role in initiating and regulating autophagy, with ULK1/2 autophagy being an adaptive stress response to multiple cancer therapies, supporting cell proliferation and tumor progression. At the recently concluded ACS meeting in New Orleans, Deciphera Pharmaceuticals LLC presented the discovery of a first-in-class ULK1/2 inhibitor as a potential new anticancer agent.
The degradation pathways of cellular components can be shared by different molecules or selectively replace different substances and organelles. In the brain, synaptic transmission involves signaling pathways for a wide range of molecules, vesicles and receptors that require constant recycling. A proteomic study from the University of Lausanne and the University of Fribourg sheds light on brain autophagy-selective routes in adolescent, adult and aged brains.
Autophagy plays a critical role in the regulation of skeletal muscle integrity; however, the molecular mechanisms regulating autophagy are not fully understood. In a recently published study, researchers from McGill University Health Centre and affiliated organizations aimed to investigate these mechanisms and identify novel regulators of autophagy and skeletal muscle integrity.
Lymphatic malformation (LM), a vascular anomaly originating from lymphatic endothelial cells, can progress to malignant lymphangiosarcoma (LAS) in a fraction of patients. Scientists from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine recently conducted a study to unveil the mechanisms underlying LM malignant transformation to LAS and found that inhibiting autophagy can prevent this malignant transformation.
Researchers led by Congcong He at Northwestern University have found that exercise caused contracting muscles to secrete a glycoprotein called fibronectin (FN1) that induced autophagy in the liver which, in turn, drove insulin sensitization. They reported their findings online in Cell Metabolism on Feb. 21, 2023. He is an assistant professor of cell and developmental biology at the Feinberg School of Medicine.
Paq Therapeutics Inc. closed a $30 million series A round to take forward a novel approach to the targeted degradation and removal of a wide range of molecular substrates and defective organelles by developing drug molecules that can tap into autophagy, the cell’s general waste disposal and recycling system.
In the past 10 years, the advances in understanding the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases have been dramatic. “The development of novel biomarkers and other tools as well are key in aiding diagnostic potential and the ability to track disease progression have been phenomenal,” Isaac Veinbergs, CEO of newly created Libra Therapeutics Inc., told BioWorld.
In the more than two years since Casma Therapeutics Inc. raised its series A and completed its new $50 million series B, the company has advanced its agonist program for treating muscular dystrophy and identified new targets.
Investigators at Weill Cornell Medical College have demonstrated that mitochondrial DNA drives the abscopal antitumor response to radiation, which can be boosted by autophagy inhibition.