Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder involving demyelination. The cuprizone model is commonly used to study MS by inducing oligodendrocyte stress and demyelination. The subventricular zone (SVZ) plays a key role in neurogenesis, while the neuronal/glial antigen 2 (NG2) is a marker for immature glial cells, involved in oligodendrocyte differentiation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) main protease (M) autocatalytically releases itself out of the viral polyprotein to form a fully active mature dimer in a manner that is not fully understood. Here, we introduce several tools to help elucidate differences between cis (intramolecular) and trans (intermolecular) proteolytic processing and to evaluate inhibition of precursor M. We found that many mutations at the P1 position of the N-terminal autoprocessing site do not block cis autoprocessing but do inhibit trans processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRhomboid proteases are ubiquitous intramembrane serine proteases that can cleave transmembrane substrates within lipid bilayers. They exhibit many and diverse functions, such as but not limited to, growth factor signaling, immune and inflammatory response, protein quality control, and parasitic invasion. Human rhomboid protease RHBDL4 has been demonstrated to play a critical role in removing misfolded proteins from the Endoplasmic Reticulum and is implicated in severe diseases such as various cancers and Alzheimer's disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Arterial hypertension is a primary risk factor for kidney disease. Recent advances have implied a potential link between the apelin system and renal homeostasis.
Materials And Methods: We used 6- and 12-month-old spontaneously hypertensive rats and age-matched normotensive controls to assess the changes in the renal expression of the apelin receptor by immunohistochemical method.
Angiogenesis, the natural mechanism by which fresh blood vessels develop from preexisting ones, is altered in arterial hypertension (AH), impacting renal function. Studies have shown that hypertension-induced renal damage involves changes in capillary density (CD), indicating alterations in vascularization. We aimed to elucidate the role of the apelin receptor (APLNR), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in hypertension-induced renal damage.
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