Relevance of gutmicrobiota in cognition, behaviour and Alzheimer's disease.

Approximately 95% of the symbiotic microbes in human body are located in the gut. This microbioma is involved in important homeostatic processes, not only related to gastrointestinal function but also to several complex modulatory processes, such as glucose and bone metabolism, inflammation and immune response, peripheral (enteric) and central neurotransmission. For that reason, recent studies proposed that abnormalities in gut microbiota may play a role in systemic and central nervous system (CNS) conditions.

Chronic Lithium Treatment Increases Telomere Length in Parietal Cortex and Hippocampus of Triple-Transgenic Alzheimer's Disease Mice.

Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of cell aging, and its shortening has been linked to several age-related diseases. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), telomere shortening has been associated with neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. The majority of studies on TL in AD were based on leucocyte DNA, with little information about its status in the central nervous system.

HOXB7 mRNA is overexpressed in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas and its knockdown induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis.

Background: Human homeobox genes encode nuclear proteins that act as transcription factors involved in the control of differentiation and proliferation. Currently, the role of these genes in development and tumor progression has been extensively studied. Recently, increased expression of HOXB7 homeobox gene (HOXB7) in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDAC) was shown to correlate with an invasive phenotype, lymph node metastasis and worse survival outcomes, but no influence on cell proliferation or viability was detected.

Neurobiological pathways to Alzheimer's disease: Amyloid-beta, TAU protein or both?

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive cognitive decline, including memory loss, behavioral and psychological symptoms and personality changes. The neuropathological hallmarks of AD are the presence of neuritic (senile) plaques (NP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), along with neuronal loss, dystrophic neurites, and gliosis. Neuritic plaques are extracellular lesions and their main constituent is the amyloid-β peptide (Aβ).