NF-κB subunits RelA and c-Rel selectively control CD4+ T cell function in multiple sclerosis and cancer.

The outcome of cancer and autoimmunity is often dictated by the effector functions of CD4+ conventional T cells (Tconv). Although activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway has long been implicated in Tconv biology, the cell-autonomous roles of the separate NF-κB transcription-factor subunits are unknown. Here, we dissected the contributions of the canonical NF-κB subunits RelA and c-Rel to Tconv function.

Keeping Cell Death Alive: An Introduction into the French Cell Death Research Network.

Since the Nobel Prize award more than twenty years ago for discovering the core apoptotic pathway in , apoptosis and various other forms of regulated cell death have been thoroughly characterized by researchers around the world. Although many aspects of regulated cell death still remain to be elucidated in specific cell subtypes and disease conditions, many predicted that research into cell death was inexorably reaching a plateau. However, this was not the case since the last decade saw a multitude of cell death modalities being described, while harnessing their therapeutic potential reached clinical use in certain cases.

Abnormal accumulation of lipid droplets in neurons induces the conversion of alpha-Synuclein to proteolytic resistant forms in a Drosophila model of Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by alpha-synuclein (αSyn) aggregation and associated with abnormalities in lipid metabolism. The accumulation of lipids in cytoplasmic organelles called lipid droplets (LDs) was observed in cellular models of PD. To investigate the pathophysiological consequences of interactions between αSyn and proteins that regulate the homeostasis of LDs, we used a transgenic Drosophila model of PD, in which human αSyn is specifically expressed in photoreceptor neurons.

Chronic Exposure to Paraquat Induces Alpha-Synuclein Pathogenic Modifications in .

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive accumulation of neuronal intracellular aggregates largely composed of alpha-Synuclein (αSyn) protein. The process of αSyn aggregation is induced during aging and enhanced by environmental stresses, such as the exposure to pesticides. Paraquat (PQ) is an herbicide which has been widely used in agriculture and associated with PD.

Spen modulates lipid droplet content in adult Drosophila glial cells and protects against paraquat toxicity.

Glial cells are early sensors of neuronal injury and can store lipids in lipid droplets under oxidative stress conditions. Here, we investigated the functions of the RNA-binding protein, SPEN/SHARP, in the context of Parkinson's disease (PD). Using a data-mining approach, we found that SPEN/SHARP is one of many astrocyte-expressed genes that are significantly differentially expressed in the substantia nigra of PD patients compared with control subjects.