α-Synuclein is the major component of neuronal cytoplasmic aggregates called Lewy bodies, the main pathological hallmark of Parkinson disease. Although neurons are the predominant cells expressing α-synuclein in the brain, recent studies have demonstrated that primary astrocytes in culture also express α-synuclein and regulate α-synuclein trafficking. Astrocytes have a neuroprotective role in several detrimental brain conditions; we therefore analyzed the effects of the overexpression of wild-type α-synuclein and its A30P and A53T mutants on autophagy and apoptosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQuinolinic acid (QUIN) is a glutamate agonist which markedly enhances the vulnerability of neural cells to excitotoxicity. QUIN is produced from the amino acid tryptophan through the kynurenine pathway (KP). Dysregulation of this pathway is associated with neurodegenerative conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBbKI is a kallikrein inhibitor with a reactive site sequence similar to that of kinins, the vasoactive peptides inserted in kininogen moieties. This structural similarity probably contributes to the strong interaction with plasma kallikrein, the enzyme that releases, from high-molecular weight kininogen (HMWK), the proinflammatory peptide bradykinin, which acts on B(2) receptors (B(2)R). BbKI was examined on smooth muscle contraction and Ca(2+) mobilization, in which the kallikrein-kinin system is involved.
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