CD38 is the main NAD+-hydrolyzing enzyme, and it also catabolizes nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) and other extracellular NAD+ precursors prior to their intracellular transport for NAD+ biosynthesis.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a form of anovulatory infertility characterized by hyperandrogenemia, irregular menses and polycystic ovarian morphology. Apart from experiencing reproductive-related symptoms, women with PCOS face an increased risk of obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Researchers based at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have discovered that a lack of contact between mitochondria and lysosomes in the cells of patients with a genetic form of Parkinson’s disease likely contributed to their symptoms.
The 16p11.2 duplication is a copy number variant that has been previously identified to confer risk for diverse neuropsychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, intellectual disability and epilepsy. Researchers from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine aimed to assess disease networks associated with this broad phenotypic spectrum.
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.
Researchers at Northwestern University and COUR Pharmaceutical Development Company Inc. have shown that biodegradable carboxylated poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles containing encapsulated Ag (tolerance-inducing microparticles [TIMPs] or COUR nanoparticles [CNPs]) are able to prevent and treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) induced by transfer of monospecific diabetogenic CD4 and CD8 transgenic T cells to NOD.scid mice.
Investigators at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine have used a new mouse model of Parkinson’s disease to confirm a causal role for mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. More surprisingly, the same model has called into question previously uncontroversial notions about the motor features that are PD’s most conspicuous feature.
New medical instruments with integrated soft electronics could improve diagnosis and treatment of cardiac conditions. The surgical tools use soft materials that conform to the body’s tissue and permit a single catheter to combine diagnostic and therapeutic functions while providing real-time feedback and electrophysiological information.