Human cerebrospinal fluid promotes spontaneous gamma oscillations in the hippocampus in vitro.

Gamma oscillations (30-80 Hz) are fast network activity patterns frequently linked to cognition. They are commonly studied in hippocampal brain slices in vitro, where they can be evoked via pharmacological activation of various receptor families. One limitation of this approach is that neuronal activity is studied in a highly artificial extracellular fluid environment, as provided by artificial cerebrospinal fluid (aCSF).

Amyloid-β Peptide Targeting Peptidomimetics for Prevention of Neurotoxicity.

A new generation of ligands designed to interact with the α-helix/β-strand discordant region of the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) and to counteract its oligomerization is presented. These ligands are designed to interact with and stabilize the Aβ central helix (residues 13-26) in an α-helical conformation with increased interaction by combining properties of several first-generation ligands. The new peptide-like ligands aim at extended hydrophobic and polar contacts across the central part of the Aβ, that is, "clamping" the target.

Bri2 BRICHOS client specificity and chaperone activity are governed by assembly state.

Protein misfolding and aggregation is increasingly being recognized as a cause of disease. In Alzheimer's disease the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) misfolds into neurotoxic oligomers and assembles into amyloid fibrils. The Bri2 protein associated with Familial British and Danish dementias contains a BRICHOS domain, which reduces Aβ fibrillization as well as neurotoxicity in vitro and in a Drosophila model, but also rescues proteins from irreversible non-fibrillar aggregation.