Publications by authors named "C Tapia-Rojas"

Mitochondria produces energy through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS), maintaining calcium homeostasis, survival/death cell signaling mechanisms, and redox balance. These mitochondrial functions are especially critical for neurons. The hippocampus is crucial for memory formation in the brain, which is a process with high mitochondrial function demand.

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  • Wnt signaling is linked to synaptic plasticity, but the exact mechanisms and components involved are not fully understood.
  • Researchers found that exposure to the Wnt-5a ligand changes the threshold for inducing synaptic plasticity, promoting long-term potentiation (LTP) while inhibiting long-term depression (LTD) in hippocampal CA3-CA1 synapses.
  • The study highlights that Wnt-5a signaling enhances synaptic efficacy by increasing excitatory postsynaptic potentials and involves complex interactions with JNK and NMDAR, which can be blocked by the antagonist sFRP-2.
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  • Aging research increasingly focuses on memory impairment and the role of mitochondrial dysfunction, which is linked to age-related changes and overall health.
  • In a study, two different diets—one high in saturated fat (Cocoa diet) and another high in unsaturated fat (South Beach diet)—were tested on mice to assess their impacts on oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, and memory.
  • Surprisingly, while the Cocoa diet seemed to reduce oxidative stress without harming memory, the South Beach diet caused increased oxidative damage and impaired cognitive abilities, illustrating that diets considered healthy can have negative effects on aging and memory in younger animals.
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Aging is a multifaceted biological process characterized by progressive molecular and cellular damage accumulation. The brain hippocampus undergoes functional deterioration with age, caused by cellular deficits, decreased synaptic communication, and neuronal death, ultimately leading to memory impairment. One of the factors contributing to this dysfunction is the loss of mitochondrial function.

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In this study, we investigated the inter-organelle communication between the Golgi apparatus (GA) and mitochondria. Previous observations suggest that GA-derived vesicles containing phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PI(4)P) play a role in mitochondrial fission, colocalizing with DRP1, a key protein in this process. However, the functions of these vesicles and potentially associated proteins remain unknown.

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