Publications by authors named "D Diaz-Lucena"
Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare, low-grade metastasizing disease characterized by cystic lung destruction. LAM can exhibit extensive heterogeneity at the molecular, cellular, and tissue levels. However, the molecular similarities and differences among LAM cells and tissue, and their connection to cancer features are not fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTriggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) is an innate immune cell surface receptor that regulates microglial function and is involved in the pathophysiology of several neurodegenerative diseases. Its soluble form (sTREM2) results from shedding of the TREM2 ectodomain. The role of TREM2 in prion diseases, a group of rapidly progressive dementias remains to be elucidated.
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- Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by progressive motor issues and the death of specific neurons, mainly due to mutations in the huntingtin gene, which creates toxic proteins and RNA.
- Recent research shows that small RNAs derived from mutant huntingtin RNA contribute to HD pathology, and experiments in mice suggest that these small RNAs can induce symptoms similar to those in human HD.
- Additionally, high levels of certain tRNA fragments were found in HD patients that show neurotoxic effects, indicating that multiple types of small RNAs may play a role in HD and could be targets for new treatments.
Background: Differential diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementia is currently supported by biomarkers including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tests. Among them, CSF total-tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and β-amyloid42 (Aβ42) are considered core biomarkers of neurodegeneration. In the present work, we hypothesize that simultaneous assessment of these biomarkers together with CSF α-synuclein (α-syn) will significantly improve the differential diagnostic of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
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- The study explored cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) lipocalin 2 (LCN2) as a potential biochemical marker for diagnosing vascular dementia (VaD), which lacks specific markers.
- Results showed significantly higher levels of LCN2 in VaD patients compared to controls and those with Alzheimer's disease (AD) or other dementias, indicating its effectiveness in distinguishing between VaD and AD.
- Pathological analyses revealed an association of LCN2 with increased macrophages and damaged blood vessels in multi-infarct dementia, supporting its role as a promising diagnostic marker for VaD.