SOCS-JAK-STAT inhibitors and SOCS mimetics as treatment options for autoimmune uveitis, psoriasis, lupus, and autoimmune encephalitis.

Autoimmune diseases arise from atypical immune responses that attack self-tissue epitopes, and their development is intricately connected to the disruption of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, where SOCS proteins play crucial roles. Conditions such as autoimmune uveitis, psoriasis, lupus, and autoimmune encephalitis exhibit immune system dysfunctions associated with JAK-STAT signaling dysregulation. Emerging therapeutic strategies utilize JAK-STAT inhibitors and SOCS mimetics to modulate immune responses and alleviate autoimmune manifestations.

-An Emerging Master Regulator of Autoimmunity and Neurodegeneration.

CLEC16A is emerging as an important genetic risk factor for several autoimmune disorders and for Parkinson disease (PD), opening new avenues for translational research and therapeutic development. While the exact role of CLEC16A in health and disease is still being elucidated, the gene plays a critical role in the regulation of autophagy, mitophagy, endocytosis, intracellular trafficking, immune function, and in biological processes such as insulin secretion and others that are important to cellular homeostasis. As shown in both human and animal modeling studies, CLEC16A hypofunction predisposes to both autoinflammatory phenotype and neurodegeneration.

Inducible knockout of Clec16a in mice results in sensory neurodegeneration.

CLEC16A has been shown to play a role in autophagy/mitophagy processes. Additionally, genetic variants in CLEC16A have been implicated in multiple autoimmune diseases. We generated an inducible whole-body knockout, Clec16a mice, to investigate the loss of function of CLEC16A.

JAK/STAT inhibitor therapy partially rescues the lipodystrophic autoimmune phenotype in Clec16a KO mice.

CLEC16A is implicated in multiple autoimmune diseases. We generated an inducible whole-body knockout (KO), Clec16a mice to address the role of CLEC16A loss of function. KO mice exhibited loss of adipose tissue and severe weight loss in response to defective autophagic flux and exaggerated endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and robust cytokine storm.

Mitochondrial DNA Haplogroups and Susceptibility to Neuroblastoma.

Background: Neuroblastoma is a childhood malignancy that arises from the developing sympathetic nervous system. Although mitochondrial dysfunctions have been implicated in the pathophysiology of neuroblastoma, the role of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has not been extensively investigated.

Methods: A total of 2404 Caucasian children diagnosed with neuroblastoma and 9310 ancestry-matched controls were recruited at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.