Striking at Synuclein by Driving Degradation

RESEARCH NEWS 2009-03-03 Research News Accumulation of the α-synuclein protein spells death for neurons in Parkinson disease and other synucleinopathies. Mutation in the α-synuclein gene or even modest elevations in the normal protein can be pathogenic. Now, two new studies look

Sachi Jain

United States

Michelle Tucci

Northport, United States

John Stanford

University of Kansas Medical Center
Kansas City, United States

Takaomi Saido on Neprilysin overexpression inhibits plaque formation but fails to reduce pathogenic Abeta oligomers and associated cognitive deficits in human amyloid precursor protein transgenic mice.

COMMENT The authors are well known for their sound experimental procedures. In this study, they crossbred Tg mice that overexpress APP and NEP. The transgene expression was driven by PDGF and CamKII promoters, respectively. This overexpression paradigm employed i

BJ Macy

United States

Jeffrey D. Rothstein on New Gene for ALS: RNA Regulation May Be Common Culprit

COMMENT This is an extremely exiting story in the understanding of ALS pathogenesis. It actually it dates back to 1998—with the first description of mRNA processing errors in sporadic ALS (Lin et al., 1998), which, interestingly, was made not in the SOD1 mouse mo

Jeffrey D. Rothstein

Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States

PAPER Lin CL, Bristol LA, Jin L, Dykes-Hoberg M, Crawford T, Clawson L, Rothstein JD

Aberrant RNA processing in a neurodegenerative disease: the cause for absent EAAT2, a glutamate transporter, in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Neuron. 1998 Mar;20(3):589-602. PubMed: 9539131

Andrea Fuso on Epigenetic changes in Alzheimer's disease: decrements in DNA methylation.

COMMENT Methylation changes in AD are becoming more and more studied. The paper by Mastroeni and colleagues evidences that changes in DNA methylation are particularly evident in specific (sensitive) neurons. It is very good that different researchers apply differ

Mary Reid on Keystone: Death Receptor Ligand—New Role for APP, New Model for AD? PAPER RETRACTED.

COMMENT It's interesting that an androgen receptor coactivator interacts with DR6 and that androgen induces the expression of APP. emaryreid 0 Androgen receptor coregulator ARA267-alpha interacts with death receptor-6 revealed by the yeast two-hybrid. Amyloi

PAPER Mai T, Wang X, Zhang Z, Xin D, Na Y, Guo Y

Androgen receptor coregulator ARA267-alpha interacts with death receptor-6 revealed by the yeast two-hybrid.

Sci China C Life Sci. 2004 Oct;47(5):442-8. PubMed: 15623156

Chad Dickey on Garbage BAG2 Takes Out the Tau

COMMENT This is a very informative paper from Carretierro et al. describing a novel relationship between BAG2 and tau. It further demonstrates the growing complexity of the chaperone network, moving us away from the idea that the chaperones are merely housekeepin

PAPER Koishi M, Yokota S, Mae T, Nishimura Y, Kanamori S, Horii N, Shibuya K, Sasai K, Hiraoka M

The effects of KNK437, a novel inhibitor of heat shock protein synthesis, on the acquisition of thermotolerance in a murine transplantable tumor in vivo.

Clin Cancer Res. 2001 Jan;7(1):215-9. PubMed: 11205912

PAPER Yokota S, Kitahara M, Nagata K

Benzylidene lactam compound, KNK437, a novel inhibitor of acquisition of thermotolerance and heat shock protein induction in human colon carcinoma cells.

Cancer Res. 2000 Jun 1;60(11):2942-8. PubMed: 10850441