Purine molecules in Parkinson's disease: Analytical techniques and clinical implications.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects patients over the age of 65. PD is characterized by loss of neurons in the substantia nigra and dopamine deficiency in the striatum. Once PD is clinically diagnosed by the observation of motor dysfunction, the disease is already in its advance stages.

Magnitude of stimulation dictates the cannabinoid-mediated differential T cell response to HIVgp120.

Approximately 25% of immunocompromised HIV patients smoke marijuana for its putative therapeutic benefit. The goal of these studies was to test the hypothesis that marijuana-derived cannabinoids have immunomodulatory effects on HIV antigen-specific T cell effector function. A surrogate mouse model to induce polyclonal T cell responses against HIV(gp120) was established.

Mitochondrial C1-tetrahydrofolate synthase (MTHFD1L) supports the flow of mitochondrial one-carbon units into the methyl cycle in embryos.

Mitochondrial folate-dependent one-carbon (1-C) metabolism converts 1-C donors such as serine and glycine to formate, which is exported and incorporated into the cytoplasmic tetrahydrofolate (THF) 1-C pool. Developing embryos depend on this mitochondrial pathway to provide 1-C units for cytoplasmic process such as de novo purine biosynthesis and the methyl cycle. This pathway is composed of sequential methylene-THF dehydrogenase, methenyl-THF cyclohydrolase, and 10-formyl-THF synthetase activities.