Failure to Thrive: Impaired BDNF Transport along the Cortical-Striatal Axis in Mouse Q140 Neurons of Huntington's Disease.

Boosting trophic support to striatal neurons by increasing levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been considered as a target for therapeutic intervention for several neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease (HD). To aid in the implementation of such a strategy, a thorough understanding of BDNF cortical-striatal transport is critical to help guide its strategic delivery. In this manuscript, we investigate the dynamic behavior of BDNF transport along the cortical-striatal axis in Q140 primary neurons, a mouse model for HD.

In Silico Protein Folding Prediction of COVID-19 Mutations and Variants.

With its fast-paced mutagenesis, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has threatened many societies worldwide. Strategies for predicting mutagenesis such as the computational prediction of SARS-CoV-2 structural diversity and its interaction with the human receptor will greatly benefit our understanding of the virus and help develop therapeutics against it. We aim to use protein structure prediction algorithms along with molecular docking to study the effects of various mutations in the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the SARS-CoV-2 and its key interactions with the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptor.