Absence of Apolipoprotein E is associated with exacerbation of prion pathology and promotes microglial neurodegenerative phenotype.

Prion diseases or prionoses are a group of rapidly progressing and invariably fatal neurodegenerative diseases. The pathogenesis of prionoses is associated with self-replication and connectomal spread of PrP, a disease specific conformer of the prion protein. Microglia undergo activation early in the course of prion pathogenesis and exert opposing roles in PrP mediated neurodegeneration.

Peroxiredoxin 6 mediates protective function of astrocytes in Aβ proteostasis.

Background: Disruption of β-amyloid (Aβ) homeostasis is the initial culprit in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. Astrocytes respond to emerging Aβ plaques by altering their phenotype and function, yet molecular mechanisms governing astrocytic response and their precise role in countering Aβ deposition remain ill-defined. Peroxiredoxin (PRDX) 6 is an enzymatic protein with independent glutathione peroxidase (Gpx) and phospholipase A2 (PLA) activities involved in repair of oxidatively damaged cell membrane lipids and cellular signaling.

Are novel objects perceived as stressful? The effect of novelty on heart rate.

Neophobia, or the fear of novel objects, is a behavior that is often found in wild animals. Neophobia appears to be related to the physiological stress response because individuals with higher glucocorticoid responses to stress often are more neophobic. The relationship between the heart rate response and novelty, however, has not been tested in a wild species.