A method for the analysis of the oligomerization profile of the Huntington's disease-associated, aggregation-prone mutant huntingtin protein by isopycnic ultracentrifugation.

Conformational diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases as well as ataxias and fronto-temporal disorders, are part of common class of neurological disorders characterised by the aggregation and progressive accumulation of mutant proteins which display aberrant conformation. In particular, Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by mutations leading to an abnormal expansion in the polyglutamine (poly-Q) tract of the huntingtin protein (HTT), leading to the formation of inclusion bodies in neurons of affected patients. Furthermore, recent experimental evidence is challenging the conventional view of the disease by revealing the ability of mutant HTT to be transferred between cells by means of extracellular vesicles (EVs), allowing the mutant protein to seed oligomers involving both the mutant and wild type forms of the protein.

Activation of Non-Canonical Autophagic Pathway through Inhibition of Non-Integrin Laminin Receptor in Neuronal Cells.

To fight neurodegenerative diseases, several therapeutic strategies have been proposed that, to date, are either ineffective or at the early preclinical stages. Intracellular protein aggregates represent the cause of about 70% of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease. Thus, autophagy, i.

An optimized step-by-step protocol for isolation of nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, and end plate cells from the mouse intervertebral discs and subsequent preparation of high-quality intact total RNA.

Intervertebral disc degeneration is the most significant, and least understood, cause of chronic back pain, affecting almost one in seven individuals at some point of time. Each intervertebral disc has three components; central nucleus pulposus (NP), concentric layers of annulus fibrosus (AF), and a pair of end plate (EP) that connects the disc to the vertebral bodies. Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of intervertebral disc growth, health, and aging will generate significant information for developing therapeutic approaches.

Common Signal Transduction Molecules Activated by Bacterial Entry into a Host Cell and by Reactive Oxygen Species.

An increasing number of pathogens are acquiring resistance to antibiotics. Efficient antimicrobial drug regimens are important even for the most advanced therapies, which range from cutting-edge invasive clinical protocols, such as robotic surgeries, to the treatment of harmless bacterial diseases and to minor scratches to the skin. Therefore, there is an urgent need to survey alternative antimicrobial drugs that can reinforce or replace existing antibiotics.

Effect of naive and cancer-educated fibroblasts on colon cancer cell circadian growth rhythm.

Opportunistic modification of the tumour microenvironment by cancer cells enhances tumour expansion and consequently eliminates tumour suppressor components. We studied the effect of fibroblasts on the circadian rhythm of growth and protein expression in colon cancer HCT116 cells and found diminished oscillation in the proliferation of HCT116 cells co-cultured with naive fibroblasts, compared with those co-cultured with tumour-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) or those cultured alone, suggesting that TAFs may have lost or gained factors that regulate circadian phenotypes. Based on the fibroblast paracrine factor analysis, we tested IL6, which diminished HCT116 cell growth oscillation, inhibited early phase cell proliferation, increased early phase expression of the differentiation markers CEA and CDX2, and decreased early phase ERK5 phosphorylation.

Aging of mouse intervertebral disc and association with back pain.

With the increased burden of low back pain (LBP) in our globally aging population there is a need to develop preclinical models of LBP that capture clinically relevant features of physiological aging, degeneration, and disability. Here we assess the validity of using a mouse model system for age-related LBP by characterizing aging mice for features of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration, molecular markers of peripheral sensitization, and behavioral signs of pain. Compared to three-month-old and one-year-old mice, two-year-old mice show features typical of IVD degeneration including loss of disc height, bulging, innervation and vascularization in the caudal lumbar IVDs.

Formation of the sacrum requires down-regulation of sonic hedgehog signaling in the sacral intervertebral discs.

In humans, the sacrum forms an important component of the pelvic arch, and it transfers the weight of the body to the lower limbs. The sacrum is formed by collapse of the intervertebral discs (IVDs) between the five sacral vertebrae during childhood, and their fusion to form a single bone. We show that collapse of the sacral discs in the mouse is associated with the down-regulation of sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling in the nucleus pulposus (NP) of the disc, and many aspects of this phenotype can be reversed by experimental postnatal activation of hedgehog (HH) signaling.

JNK2 controls fragmentation of the Golgi complex and the G2/M transition through phosphorylation of GRASP65.

In mammalian cells, the Golgi complex is composed of stacks that are connected by membranous tubules. During G2, the Golgi complex is disassembled into isolated stacks. This process is required for entry into mitosis, indicating that the correct inheritance of the organelle is monitored by a 'Golgi mitotic checkpoint'.

Cep126 is required for pericentriolar satellite localisation to the centrosome and for primary cilium formation.

Background Information: The centrosome is the primary microtubule-organising centre of animal cells and it has crucial roles in several fundamental cellular functions, including cell division, cell polarity, and intracellular transport. The mechanisms responsible for this are not completely understood.

Results: The poorly characterised protein CEP126 localises to the centrosome, pericentriolar satellites and the base of the primary cilium.