Rational design of structure-based vaccines targeting misfolded alpha-synuclein conformers of Parkinson's disease and related disorders.

Synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD), multiple system atrophy (MSA), and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), are neurodegenerative disorders caused by the accumulation of misfolded alpha-synuclein protein. Developing effective vaccines against synucleinopathies is challenging due to the difficulty of stimulating an immune-specific response against alpha-synuclein without causing harmful autoimmune reactions, selectively targeting only pathological forms of alpha-synuclein. Previous attempts using linear peptides and epitopes without control of the antigen structure failed in clinical trials.

Multienzyme activity profiling for evaluation of cell-to-cell variability of metabolic state.

In solid organs, cells of the same "type" can vary in their molecular phenotype. The basis of this state variation is being revealed by characterizing cell features including the expression pattern of mRNAs and the internal distribution of proteins. Here, the variability of metabolic state between cells is probed by enzyme activity profiling.

Liver and plasma lipid changes induced by cyclic fatty acid monomers from heated vegetable oil in the rat.

Cyclic fatty acid monomers (CFAM) generated through domestic or industrial heating of vegetable oils may alter liver enzymes and induce hepatomegaly and steatosis, but the underlying mechanisms are not clearly understood. This study aimed to assess the effects of CFAM on liver and plasma lipids and to determine whether these effects are modulated by dietary lipids. Thirty-six (36) male Wistar rats were fed either of the four isoenergetic diets consisting of canola oil or soybean oil with/without 500 mg/100 g CFAM of total fat for 28 days.