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The function of the protein alpha-synuclein is unknown. Scientists studying Parkinson's disease are interested in this protein because it is a major component of Lewy bodies, clumps of protein that can form in the brain and are one of the hallmarks of Parkinson's disease. Despite intensive efforts to characterize the protein's role in Parkinson's, there are still many questions about it.
A paper published online 23 December 2016 in Acta Neuropathologica now indicates that alpha-synuclein can travel from brain to gut. Moreover, vagal motor neurons and efferents seem to be involved in this process.

A team led by Jilin University, Heilongjiang Bayi Agricultural University and South Dakota State University in China has shown that rabbit polyclonal antibody is effective in treating Leptospira infections in hamster. The findings, published online in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, indicates that IgG polyclonal antibody may be a new treatment option for Leptospira infections in the future.
Leptospira is a genus of aerobic, finely coiled spirochete bacteria with hooked ends. The bacteria can lead to Leptospirosis, a disease of worldwide significance that affects both humans and animals. If left untreated, the disease can cause kidney damage, liver failure, and even death. The death rate is about 1%-5%. Patients are usually treated with antibiotics such as penicillin, ampicillin, amoxicillin, erythromycin and doxycycline depending on their disease phase. But antibiotic resistance is problem that should be taken into consideration. Leptospirosis is one of the most neglected tropical diseases. Drugs with less side-effects are in urgent need.

Research on a drug called tiplaxtinin shows that the drug hinders the migration of smooth muscle cells and thus stops blockage development in arteries. This drug works by inhibiting PAI-1, a protein known to control cell migration. Published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, the study indicates that pharmacological PAI-1 inhibitors may be used to prevent diseases associated with blocked blood vessels. CusAb provides proteins such as Recombinant PTPRA with premium quality.

Heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases are among the most widespread and costly health problems facing many countries. For America alone, these diseases lead to the death of 2,200 people each day.  Blocked blood vessels is the major cause of these diseases. Now, researchers at University of Missouri School of Medicine have found a way to stop blockage development in blood vessels.

Diabetes, the most common metabolic disease, affects many people, and the number is on the rise. Compounds that activate a nuclear receptor are promising to treat diabetes because this receptor regulate sugar metabolism. Research in Journal of Biological Chemistry details how these compounds interact with its target, which will accelerate the development of new diabetic drugs.

The orphan nuclear receptor liver receptor homolog 1 (LRH-1 or NR5A2) is known to regulate many important cellular activities, such as gene expression, sugar and fat metabolism, and cell replication. Earlier studies on the LRH-1 protein prove that it has great potential as a drug target for metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Activation of LRH-1 protein reduces liver fat accumulation and increases insulin sensitivity in mice. A lot of scientists are looking for compounds to activate this protein. But one problem is that mechanism through which LRH-1 protein is activated by the compounds remains elusive. In order to improve the efficacy of these LRH-1 activators, scientists modify the compounds but do not achieve satisfactory results.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a long-term disorder of the central nervous system that mainly occurs in older people. In most cases, the cause is unknown, while only a small portions of cases can be attributed to known genetic factors. One pathogenic feature of the disease is accumulation of α-synuclein in the brain, which causes damage to brain cells that produce dopamine, an important chemical that helps regulate movement and emotional responses. Some studies indicates that inflammation in the brain is implicated in PD.

New research in Acta Neuropathologica has shown how inflammation drives the development of PD. It reveals that a toll-like receptor, called TLR2, is increased in nerve cells in the brain tissues of PD patients, and activating the receptor induces inflammatory response that elevates the levels of α-synuclein, indicating that TLR2 may be a useful target for PD.

University of Southern California (USC) and Harvard Medical School researchers now have identified an approach for altering brain function. Don B Arnold from USC's Department of Biology is the corresponding author of the study, and Garrett G Gross is the first author. The findings have been published in Nature Methods.

Arnold's team used a protein named GFE3 to study the connections of the brain in order to determine how inhibitory synapses influence neuronal activity and brain function. Synapses are connections between neurons, or between neurons and other cells. Using the method, the researchers were able to control neural activity. These would facilitate the research on schizophrenia, cocaine addiction, and other disorders.

Dr Payam Piray at the Donders Institute has found that levodopa -- a drug used to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) patients --may lead to impulse control disorders. In PD, a protein called alpha-synuclein builds up and causes neurons in the substantia nigra of the brain to die, leading to a reduction in the production of dopamine, a chemical essential for brain function. Althouth there is no drug to prevent the protein deposits, some drugs can help supplement dopamine, which can relieve symptoms like stiffness, tremors, spasms and poor muscle control, to some extent. But such drugs like levodopa can induce adervese effects.

Levodopa, the most important first-line drug for PD management, is synthesized in the brain into dopamine. It can lead to side effects such as gambling or sexual addiction and other impulse control disorders. Dr Piray wanted to elucidate how PD medicines impact patients' behavior. They found that these dopamine-stimulating drugs cause patients unable to learn from the positive and negative consequences of their behaviour. For those with an impulsive personality, these drugs increase brain communication. In contrast, for those who are not impulsive, these drugs decrease brain communication. The results suggest that dopaminergic drugs have an impact on people's brain function and behavior.

Now scientists find that the pancreatic islet cells release intracellular autoantigens in exosomes, which may trigger antoimmune responses associated with diabetes.

As an organ-specific autoimmune disease, T1D is a disease caused by the lack of insulin. It occurs when the body's immune system attacks the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. But the exact cause of Type-1 diabetes (T1D) is unknown. 

Subunit vaccines are commonly used to combat viral infections. But to data no vaccine is available for Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a severe viral respiratory disease with mortality rate of 36%. MERS is caused by a virus called MERS‐CoV, and it was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. CusAb offers MERS‐CoV related proteins and polyclonal antibody for researchers doing related experiments.

Now, a new study appearing online in Nature Communications would open a door for the design and development of MERS vaccines. A multinational study led by scientists from University of Minnesota Medical School in the USA and Beijing Institute of Microbiology in China has found a way to improve MERS vaccines.