PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Protein build-up leads to neurons misfiring

Imaging technique offers novel way to monitor neurodegenerative disorders in live animal models of Parkinson's disease

2012-07-19
(Press-News.org) Using a two-photon microscope capable of peering deep within living tissue, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found new evidence that alpha-synuclein protein build-up inside neurons causes them to not only become "leaky," but also to misfire due to calcium fluxes.

The findings – the first recorded in vivo using a transgenic mouse model of Parkinson's disease – are published in the July 18 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience and provide new insights into how Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders known as synucleinopathies work and progress at the cellular level.

Previous in vitro studies using cell cultures had suggested abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein dysregulated intracellular handling and movement of calcium, which is used as a signaling molecule and neurotransmitter. It was unclear, however, whether calcium alterations occurred in more complex, living animals.

"This is the first time we've been able to verify the role of alpha-synuclein aggregates in vivo," said senior author Eliezer Masliah, MD, professor of neurosciences and pathology.

"The aggregates affect the cell membrane of neurons, making them more porous. They also affect the membranes of organelles inside neurons, such as the mitochondria that are part of the cell's machinery for generating energy. Energy is necessary to pump calcium in and out of the cell. If mitochondria membranes are compromised, calcium accumulates, further damaging the neuron and causing it to misfire."

Masliah said the new revelations, made using imaging technologies developed by first author Anna Devor, PhD, associate adjunct professor of neuroscience, may help scientists and doctors quantify and repair neuronal damage caused by alpha-synuclein accumulation.

"We have already started to utilize this discovery as a bio-marker and reporter of neuronal damage," said Masliah. "We have compounds developed in collaboration with others to 'plug' the holes in the neurons and mitochondria and prevent the abnormal calcium currents. We can monitor in real-time in live animals how our drugs revert the toxic effects of alpha-synuclein. This represents a unique and fast strategy to evaluate novel compounds."

###

Co-authors are Lidia Reznichenko, Qun Cheng, Krystal Nizar, Payam A. Saisan, Edward M. Rockenstein, Tanya Gonzalez, Christina Patrick, Brian Spencer and Paula Desplats, Department of Neurosciences, UCSD; Sergey L. Gratiy, Department of Radiology, UCSD; Anders M. Dale, departments of Neurosciences and Radiology, UCSD; Anna Devor, departments of Neurosciences and Radiology, UCSD; and Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.

Funding for this research came, in part, from the National Institute on Aging (grant AG-02270), The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grants NS-051188, NS-057198 and NS-0507096), the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (grants EB-009118 and EB-000790) and the Short Family Fund.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Leaf litter and soil protect acorns from prescribed fire

2012-07-19
U.S. Forest Service scientists have found that prescribed fires with the heat insulation of leaf litter and soil can help restore oak ecosystems. Forest Service researchers are helping land managers find the best time to use prescribed fire when oak regeneration from acorns is a concern. "Acorns inside the leaf litter or in the soil are for the most part protected from fire," says Cathryn Greenberg, Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) researcher and lead author of the study published in July in the journal Forest Ecology and Management. "However, when acorns ...

Environmental concerns increasing infectious disease in amphibians, other animals

2012-07-19
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Climate change, habitat destruction, pollution and invasive species are all involved in the global crisis of amphibian declines and extinctions, researchers suggest in a new analysis, but increasingly these forces are causing actual mortality in the form of infectious disease. Amphibians are now, and always have been hosts for a wide range of infectious organisms, including viruses, bacteria and fungi, scientists said in a review published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. But in recent decades, disease seems to have taken a more ...

A stronger doctor-patient relationship for the costliest patients

2012-07-19
Patients who are frequently hospitalized account for a disproportionate amount of health care spending in the United States. Working with a $6.1 million grant, a new University of Chicago Medicine program will test whether an updated version of the traditional general practitioner can reduce spending while also improving care for these patients. Under the new model, funded by a Health Care Innovation Award from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation, multidisciplinary teams led by a comprehensive care physician (CCP) will care for patients in both outpatient and ...

Green plants reduce city street pollution up to 8 times more than previously believed

2012-07-19
Trees, bushes and other greenery growing in the concrete-and-glass canyons of cities can reduce levels of two of the most worrisome air pollutants by eight times more than previously believed, a new study has found. A report on the research appears in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology. Thomas Pugh and colleagues explain that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and microscopic particulate matter (PM) — both of which can be harmful to human health — exceed safe levels on the streets of many cities. Past research suggested that trees and other green ...

All-they-can-eat diet for lab mice and rats may foster inaccurate test results

2012-07-19
The widespread practice of allowing laboratory rats and mice to eat as much as they want may be affecting the outcome of experiments in which scientists use these "test-tubes-on-four-feet" to test new drugs and other substances for toxicity and other effects. That's the conclusion of a new analysis published in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. Laboratory mice and rats serve as stand-ins for people for research that cannot be done on humans. In the article, Gale Carey and Lisa Merrill point out that the millions of lab rodents used in laboratory studies each ...

Enhanced royal jelly produces jumbo queen bee larvae

2012-07-19
Scientists have discovered a way to make worker bees produce an enhanced version of royal jelly (RJ) – the super-nutritious substance that dictates whether larvae become workers or queens, and that is also renowned as a health supplement for people. Their study, which found that the super RJ that makes queen bee larvae grow 2-3 times larger than normal, appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Chia-Nan Chen and colleagues explain that royal jelly is a thick liquid made up of proteins, sugars and fats that is secreted by glands in the throats and jaws ...

The taste and fragrance of orange, vanilla, rose and more — courtesy of bacteria and yeast

2012-07-19
Suppliers of the orange, vanilla and other flavor and fragrance ingredients used in hundreds of foods, beverages and personal care products are putting their faith in microbes as new sources for these substances. That migration away from the natural plant oils used for centuries to delight the taste buds and nose is the topic of a story in the current edition of Chemical & Engineering News. C&EN is the weekly newsmagazine of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society. Melody M. Bomgardner, C&EN senior business editor, points out that manufacturers ...

Botanical compound could prove crucial to healing influenza

2012-07-19
Building on previous work with the botanical abscisic acida, researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory (NIMML) have discovered that abscisic acid has anti-inflammatory effects in the lungs as well as in the gut. The results will be published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. "While the immune effects of abscisic acid are well understood in the gut, less was known about its effects in the respiratory tract. We've shown definitively that not only does abscisic acid ameliorate disease activity and lung inflammatory pathology, it ...

Social identification, not obedience, might motivate unspeakable acts

2012-07-19
What makes soldiers abuse prisoners? How could Nazi officials condemn thousands of Jews to gas chamber deaths? What's going on when underlings help cover up a financial swindle? For years, researchers have tried to identify the factors that drive people to commit cruel and brutal acts and perhaps no one has contributed more to this knowledge than psychological scientist Stanley Milgram. Just over 50 years ago, Milgram embarked on what were to become some of the most famous studies in psychology. In these studies, which ostensibly examined the effects of punishment on ...

Special issue of Cell Transplantation features research presented at IANR

2012-07-19
Putnam Valley, NY. (July 18 , 2012) – Meeting in Amman, Jordan April 27-30, 2011, members of the International Association of Neurorestoratology (IANR) presented research aimed at improving the lives of people with neurological conditions such as amytrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy, stroke and muscular dystrophy through a variety of therapies, including cell transplantation. The field of neurorestoratology has emerged as a new discipline in neuroscience, exploring the impact of cell transplantation and other factors on neurological recovery. This ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

New discovery reveals dopamine operates with surgical precision, not as a broad signal

New AI tool gives a helping hand to x ray diagnosis

New Leicester study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

[Press-News.org] Protein build-up leads to neurons misfiring
Imaging technique offers novel way to monitor neurodegenerative disorders in live animal models of Parkinson's disease