Structural and functional alterations of neurons derived from sporadic Alzheimer's disease hiPSCs are associated with downregulation of the LIMK1-cofilin axis.

Background: Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of pathological proteins and synaptic dysfunction. This study aims to investigate the molecular and functional differences between human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from patients with sporadic AD (sAD) and age-matched controls (healthy subjects, HS), focusing on their neuronal differentiation and synaptic properties in order to better understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying AD pathology.

Methods: Skin fibroblasts from sAD patients (n = 5) and HS subjects (n = 5) were reprogrammed into hiPSCs using non-integrating Sendai virus vectors.

LCM-RNAseq Highlights Intratumor Heterogeneity and a lncRNA Signature from Archival Tissues of GH-Secreting PitNETs.

Background: This study explores the potential for hidden variations within seemingly uniform regions of growth hormone-secreting pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (GH-PitNETs). We employed archived tissue samples using Laser Capture Microdissection Sequencing (LCM-RNAseq) to probe the molecular landscape of these tumors at a deeper level.

Methods: A customized protocol was developed to extract, process, and sequence small amounts of RNA from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues derived from five patients with GH-secreting PitNETs and long-term follow-up (≥10 years).

Non-Coding RNAs as Potential Diagnostic/Prognostic Markers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

The increasing incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), together with the poor effectiveness of the available treatments, make early diagnosis and effective screening of utmost relevance. Liquid biopsy represents a potential novel approach to early HCC detection and monitoring. The identification of blood markers has many desirable features, including the absence of any significant risk for the patients, the possibility of being used as a screening tool, and the ability to perform multiple tests, thus allowing for the real-time monitoring of HCC evolution.

Inhibition of zDHHC7-driven protein S-palmitoylation prevents cognitive deficits in an experimental model of Alzheimer's disease.

Protein post-translational modifications (PTM) play a crucial role in the modulation of synaptic function and their alterations are involved in the onset and progression of neurodegenerative disorders. S-palmitoylation is a PTM catalyzed by zinc finger DHHC domain containing (zDHHC) S-acyltransferases that affects both localization and activity of proteins regulating synaptic plasticity and amyloid-β (Aβ) metabolism. Here, we found significant increases of both zDHHC7 expression and protein S-palmitoylation in hippocampi of both 3×Tg-AD mice and post-mortem Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients.

Olfactory stimulation with multiple odorants prevents stress-induced cognitive and psychological alterations.

Acute and chronic stress markedly affects behavior by triggering sympathetic nervous system activation and several hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal-dependent responses. Brain regions of the limbic system are responsible for the regulation of stress response, and different reports have demonstrated that their activity can be influenced by olfactory stimuli. Here we report that, in mice exposed to acute restraint stress, olfactory stimulation employing a combination of three odorants, i.