122 results match your criteria: "VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research[Affiliation]"

Heterotypic amyloid interactions: Clues to polymorphic bias and selective cellular vulnerability?

Curr Opin Struct Biol

February 2022

Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium; Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, 3000, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address:

The number of atomic-resolution structures of disease-associated amyloids has greatly increased in recent years. These structures have confirmed not only the polymorphic nature of amyloids but also the association of specific polymorphs to particular proteinopathies. These observations are strengthening the view that amyloid polymorphism is a marker for specific pathological subtypes (e.

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Monogenic Adult-Onset Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Front Immunol

February 2022

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Transplantation, Allergy and Clinical Immunology Research Group, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Inborn errors of immunity (IEI) are a heterogenous group of disorders driven by genetic defects that functionally impact the development and/or function of the innate and/or adaptive immune system. The majority of these disorders are thought to have polygenic background. However, the use of next-generation sequencing in patients with IEI has led to an increasing identification of monogenic causes, unravelling the exact pathophysiology of the disease and allowing the development of more targeted treatments.

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It is still unclear why pathological amyloid deposition initiates in specific brain regions or why some cells or tissues are more susceptible than others. Amyloid deposition is determined by the self-assembly of short protein segments called aggregation-prone regions (APRs) that favour cross-β structure. Here, we investigated whether Aβ amyloid assembly can be modified by heterotypic interactions between Aβ APRs and short homologous segments in otherwise unrelated human proteins.

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Cerebral Microbleeds and Treatment Effect of Intravenous Thrombolysis in Acute Stroke: An Analysis of the WAKE-UP Randomized Clinical Trial.

Neurology

January 2022

From the Klinik und Hochschulambulanz für Neurologie (L.S., T.B.B., M. Endres, C.H.N.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humbold-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health; Center for Stroke Research Berlin (L.S., T.B.B., I.G., J. Fiebach, M. Ebinger, M. Endres, C.H.N.), Charité-Universitätsmedizin; Berlin Institute of Health (L.S., T.B.B., M. Endres, C.H.N.), Germany; Hospices Civils de Lyon (F.B.), Service de Biostatistique; Université Lyon 1 and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (F.B.), UMR 5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, Equipe Biostatistique-Santé, Villeurbanne, France; Department of Neurology (J.V.), University Hospital Bern, Switzerland; Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie (M.J., B.C., G.T., C.G.), Kopf- und Neurozentrum, Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Neurology (C.Z.S.), Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark; Department of Stroke Medicine (T.-H.C.), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, and Hospices Civils de Lyon, France; Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology (J. Fiehler), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Department of Radiology (J.P., S.P.), Doctor Josep Trueta University Hospital, Department of Radiology (IDI) (J.P., S.P.), Girona Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBGI), Spain; Department of Neurology (V.T.), Austin Health, Heidelberg, Australia; Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow (K.M.), UK; Department of Stroke Medicine (N.N.), Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, and Hospices Civils de Lyon, France; Department of Neurology (M. Ebinger), Medical Park Berlin Humboldtmühle; German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) (M. Endres, C.H.N.), Partner Site Berlin; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) (M. Endres, C.H.N.), Partner Site Berlin; ExcellenceCluster NeuroCure (M. Endres), Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Department of Neurology (R.L.), University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences (R.L.), Experimental Neurology, KU Leuven-University of Leuven; and VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research (R.L.), Laboratory of Neurobiology, Leuven, Belgium.

Background And Objectives: Cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) are common in patients with acute ischemic stroke and are associated with increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) after intravenous thrombolysis. Whether CMBs modify the treatment effect of thrombolysis is unknown.

Methods: We performed a prespecified analysis of the prospective randomized controlled multicenter Efficacy and Safety of MRI-Based Thrombolysis in Wake-Up Stroke (WAKE-UP) trial including patients with acute ischemic stroke with unknown time of symptom onset and diffusion-weighted imaging-fluid-attenuated inversion recovery mismatch on MRI receiving alteplase or placebo.

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Objectives: Patients waking up with stroke symptoms are often excluded from intravenous thrombolysis with alteplase (IV-tpa). The WAKE-UP trial, a European multicenter randomized controlled trial, proved the clinical effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging-guided IV-tpa for these patients. This analysis aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of the intervention compared to placebo.

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The cellular modifier MOAG-4/SERF drives amyloid formation through charge complementation.

EMBO J

November 2021

European Research Institute for the Biology of Ageing, University of Groningen, University Medical Centre Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Article Synopsis
  • - The study investigates how certain proteins, like MOAG-4 and SERF2, contribute to age-related diseases by promoting protein aggregation and cytotoxicity, which are not fully understood yet.
  • - Researchers discovered that SERF2 binds to specific segments of amyloid proteins that are rich in negatively charged and hydrophobic amino acids, and altering these interactions can reduce protein toxicity.
  • - Using the nematode worm model, the modification of MOAG-4 to neutralize its charge showed that it can effectively suppress both protein aggregation and the resulting toxicity, suggesting that targeting charge interactions could help mitigate age-related protein issues.
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Protein structure and aggregation: a marriage of necessity ruled by aggregation gatekeepers.

Trends Biochem Sci

March 2022

VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address:

Protein aggregation propensity is a pervasive and seemingly inescapable property of proteomes. Strikingly, a significant fraction of the proteome is supersaturated, meaning that, for these proteins, their native conformation is less stable than the aggregated state. Maintaining the integrity of a proteome under such conditions is precarious and requires energy-consuming proteostatic regulation.

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Lysosomal signaling facilitates the migration of immune cells by releasing Ca2+ to activate the actin-based motor myosin II at the cell rear. However, how the actomyosin cytoskeleton physically associates to lysosomes is unknown. We have previously identified myosin II as a direct interactor of Rab7b, a small GTPase that mediates the transport from late endosomes/lysosomes to the trans-Golgi network (TGN).

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Wild-type FUS corrects ALS-like disease induced by cytoplasmic mutant FUS through autoregulation.

Mol Neurodegener

September 2021

Mécanismes centraux et périphériques de la neurodégénérescence, Centre de Recherches en Biomédecine, Université de Strasbourg, Inserm, UMR-S1118, Strasbourg, France.

Mutations in FUS, an RNA-binding protein involved in multiple steps of RNA metabolism, are associated with the most severe forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Accumulation of cytoplasmic FUS is likely to be a major culprit in the toxicity of FUS mutations. Thus, preventing cytoplasmic mislocalization of the FUS protein may represent a valuable therapeutic strategy.

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The Dementia UK Ecosystem: a call to action.

Lancet Neurol

September 2021

UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London W1T 7NF, UK; VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research, and Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address:

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Enhanced cGAS-STING-dependent interferon signaling associated with mutations in ATAD3A.

J Exp Med

October 2021

Université de Paris, Imagine Institute, Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Neuroinflammation, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Unité mixte de recherche 1163, Paris, France.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has been suggested to drive immune system activation, but the induction of interferon signaling by mtDNA has not been demonstrated in a Mendelian mitochondrial disease. We initially ascertained two patients, one with a purely neurological phenotype and one with features suggestive of systemic sclerosis in a syndromic context, and found them both to demonstrate enhanced interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression in blood. We determined each to harbor a previously described de novo dominant-negative heterozygous mutation in ATAD3A, encoding ATPase family AAA domain-containing protein 3A (ATAD3A).

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The interphase nuclear envelope (NE) is extensively remodeled during nuclear pore complex (NPC) insertion. How this remodeling occurs and why it requires Torsin ATPases, which also regulate lipid metabolism, remains poorly understood. Here, we show that Drosophila Torsin (dTorsin) affects lipid metabolism via the NEP1R1-CTDNEP1 phosphatase and the Lipin phosphatidic acid (PA) phosphatase.

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A modern day light microscope has evolved from a tool devoted to making primarily empirical observations to what is now a sophisticated , quantitative device that is an integral part of both physical and life science research. Nowadays, microscopes are found in nearly every experimental laboratory. However, despite their prevalent use in capturing and quantifying scientific phenomena, neither a thorough understanding of the principles underlying quantitative imaging techniques nor appropriate knowledge of how to calibrate, operate and maintain microscopes can be taken for granted.

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Case Report: VEXAS Syndrome: From Mild Symptoms to Life-Threatening Macrophage Activation Syndrome.

Front Immunol

October 2021

Laboratory of Adaptive Immunology, Immunology and Transplantation, Department of Microbiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.

Recently, a novel disorder coined VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome was identified in patients with adult-onset inflammatory syndromes, often accompanied by myelodysplastic syndrome1. All patients had myeloid lineage-restricted somatic mutations in UBA1 affecting the Met41 residue of the protein and resulting in decreased cellular ubiquitylation activity and hyperinflammation. We here describe the clinical disease course of two VEXAS syndrome patients with somatic UBA1 mutations of which one with a mild phenotype characterized by recurrent rash and symmetric polyarthritis, and another who was initially diagnosed with idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease and developed macrophage activation syndrome as a complication of the VEXAS syndrome.

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The active zone of a presynaptic nerve terminal defines sites for neurotransmitter release. Its protein machinery may be organized through liquid-liquid phase separation, a mechanism for the formation of membrane-less subcellular compartments. Here, we show that the active zone protein Liprin-α3 rapidly and reversibly undergoes phase separation in transfected HEK293T cells.

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I scream for ice cream - TRPC5 as cold sensor in teeth.

Cell Calcium

May 2021

KU Leuven, Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Signaling, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Campus Gasthuisberg O&N1 bus 802, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address:

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In vitro studies of autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease implicate longer amyloid-β peptides in disease pathogenesis; however, less is known about the behaviour of these mutations in vivo. In this cross-sectional cohort study, we used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to analyse 66 plasma samples from individuals who were at risk of inheriting a mutation or were symptomatic. We tested for differences in amyloid-β (Aβ)42:38, Aβ42:40 and Aβ38:40 ratios between presenilin 1 (PSEN1) and amyloid precursor protein (APP) carriers.

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Genomic sequence variation within enhancers and promoters can have a significant impact on the cellular state and phenotype. However, sifting through the millions of candidate variants in a personal genome or a cancer genome, to identify those that impact -regulatory function, remains a major challenge. Interpretation of noncoding genome variation benefits from explainable artificial intelligence to predict and interpret the impact of a mutation on gene regulation.

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TRPM3 in Brain (Patho)Physiology.

Front Cell Dev Biol

February 2021

Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary.

Already for centuries, humankind is driven to understand the physiological and pathological mechanisms that occur in our brains. Today, we know that ion channels play an essential role in the regulation of neural processes and control many functions of the central nervous system. Ion channels present a diverse group of membrane-spanning proteins that allow ions to penetrate the insulating cell membrane upon opening of their channel pores.

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Noradrenaline is a major neuromodulator in the central nervous system (CNS). It is released from varicosities on neuronal efferents, which originate principally from the main noradrenergic nuclei of the brain - the locus coeruleus - and spread throughout the parenchyma. Noradrenaline is released in response to various stimuli and has complex physiological effects, in large part due to the wide diversity of noradrenergic receptors expressed in the brain, which trigger diverse signaling pathways.

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Reactive astrocytes are astrocytes undergoing morphological, molecular, and functional remodeling in response to injury, disease, or infection of the CNS. Although this remodeling was first described over a century ago, uncertainties and controversies remain regarding the contribution of reactive astrocytes to CNS diseases, repair, and aging. It is also unclear whether fixed categories of reactive astrocytes exist and, if so, how to identify them.

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Article Synopsis
  • Oxytocin is a special chemical that helps control how we feel and act with others by affecting brain circuits.
  • In a specific area of the brain called the central amygdala, oxytocin can lower fear and anxiety levels, making us feel calmer.
  • Scientists discovered that certain brain cells called astrocytes, which were thought to just support neurons, actually have oxytocin receptors and help manage emotions, especially during tough times like chronic pain.
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Dementia and COVID-19: a health and research funding crisis.

Lancet Neurol

February 2021

VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease Research, and Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Belgium; UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London WC1E 6BT, London, UK. Electronic address:

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