and Autophagy: Evidence from Studies on Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy in HepG Cancer Cells.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most prevalent primary liver cancer in Sub-Saharan African countries, including South Africa (SA). Given the limitations in current HCC therapeutics, there is an increasing need for alternative adjuvant therapeutic options. As such, several cell survival mechanisms, such as autophagy, have been identified as potential adjuvant therapeutic targets in HCC treatment.

The Hepatoprotective Effects of against Antiretroviral-Induced Cytotoxicity in HepG Cells: A Review.

The untreated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a lentivirus species that attacks immune cells (CD4+ T cells), causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). HIV-positive people manage HIV/AIDS by using antiretroviral therapy (ART). The ART treatment regimen contains two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) and one non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor/integrase strand transfer inhibitor.

Neurons die with heightened but functional macro- and chaperone mediated autophagy upon increased amyloid-ß induced toxicity with region-specific protection in prolonged intermittent fasting.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative condition with significant socio-economic impact that is exacerbated by the rapid increase in population aging, particularly impacting already burdened health care systems of poorly resourced countries. Accumulation of the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide, generated through amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing, manifesting in senile plaques, is a well-established neuropathological feature. Aβ plays a key role in driving synaptic dysfunction, neuronal cell loss, glial cell activation and oxidative stress associated with the pathogenesis of AD.

New Insights Into Autophagy Dysfunction Related to Amyloid Beta Toxicity and Neuropathology in Alzheimer's Disease.

The fine control of neuronal proteostasis is an essential element that preserves cell viability. Advancing age is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and autophagy is thought to dictate normal and pathological aging through intricate molecular machinery controlling protein aggregation. Although the role of autophagy dysfunction in AD is known, the dynamic changes during the progression of the disease remain unclear.

EIF4G1 R1205H and VPS35 D620N mutations are rare in Parkinson's disease from South Africa.

The R1205H mutation in the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4G1 (EIF4G1) gene and the D620N mutation in the vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) gene were recently found in patients with autosomal dominant or sporadic forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). In the present study, 418 South African PD patients and 528 control subjects of diverse ethnicities were screened using the KASP (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) genotyping assay. The mutations were not found in our study, suggesting that they are not a common cause of PD in South African patients.