Antibody News

By Victoria Osinski

The outbreak of COVID-19 resulting from the transmission of the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in many cases of illness typically manifesting in minor to severe respiratory symptoms. However, additional cardiovascular complications have been observed in a subset of patients as well, prompting further inquiry into the mechanisms of infection and response to SARS-CoV-2. While advancements have been made into answering these questions, it is still...

By Jamshed Arslan, Pharm D, PhD

There is good news and bad news related to COVID-19, a disease caused by SARS-COV-2 infection. Good news first: the vast majority of otherwise healthy individuals remain asymptomatic. The bad news though is that even the asymptomatic population is at risk for COVID-19-related brain damage called NeuroCOVID. The neurological manifestations related to COVID-19 may be less severe and less frequent in milder cases as compared to the hospitalized patients. This article will outline the mechanism behind NeuroCOVID and COVID-19-related neuropsychological...

By Jamshed Arslan, Pharm. D., PhD.

December 1 is the World AIDS Day. Despite the combination antiretroviral therapy, 10-25% of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)-positive individuals report neurocognitive impairments, especially those taking addictive stimulants like methamphetamine. HIV disrupts mitophagy and...

By Jamshed Arslan, Pharm. D., PhD.

Receptor interacting protein kinases (RIPKs) in necroptosis

Death is perhaps inevitable. Cell death can be programed and immunologically silent (apoptosis), unprogrammed and inflammatory (necrosis), or both programmed and inflammatory (necroptosis). Ligands like TNF, FasL and...

By Rosa Moreno, PhD.

As the race for developing a vaccine to tackle the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic evolves, scientists at NIH, CDC and Harvard Medical School continue to make strides in understanding the often-unpredictable pathology and immune response associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections. Several recent studies shed light on the organ and tissue distribution of the virus following infection, the predominant tissue damage induced by the virus, and the immune responses triggered by infection. These findings, the product of studies with animal models and...

By Jamshed Arslan, Pharm. D., PhD.

What is STAT6?

The cellular pathway comprising tyrosine kinase Janus Kinase (JAK) and the transcription factor STAT connect extracellular signals from various cytokines, hormones and growth factors with the nuclear transcription machinery. Four JAK proteins (JAK1, JAK2, JAK3, TYK2) and seven...

By Christina Towers, PhD

What is Mitophagy?

The selective degradation of mitochondria via double membrane autophagosome vesicles is called mitophagy. Damaged mitochondria can generate harmful amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), accumulate damaged mitochondrial DNA, and induce cell death. Mitophagy functions in coordination with mitochondrial biogenesis and changes in mitochondrial dynamics to maintain...

By Jamshed Arslan, Pharm. D., PhD.

The most common chronic liver disorder worldwide is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This obesity-linked disorder can manifest as hepatic fat accumulation (steatosis) with inflammation called non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NASH can progress to fibrosis, cirrhosis and cancer. Stress conditions and impaired autophagy can contribute to steatosis and fibrosis. Stressors like ...

By Christina Towers, PhD

Mitochondrial turn over via the lysosome, otherwise known as mitophagy, involves engulfment of mitochondria into double membrane autophagosomes and subsequent fusion with lysosomes. Much is already known about this process including the canonical and non-canonical mechanisms of action, the critical machinery involved, as well as the...

By Michalina Hanzel, PhD

The microbiota-gut-brain axis is a bidirectional relationship between the central and enteric nervous systems, which is heavily influenced by the microorganisms living in the gut. Accumulating evidence has pointed to the microbiome, composed mostly of bacteria, but also including archaea, fungi and viruses, as instrumental in maintaining human physiological functions.¹ Importantly, the brain is influenced by various bacterial metabolites,...

By Christina Towers, PhD

Over the last two decades the field of autophagy has exploded! Innovative techniques, comprehensive analysis and disease-relevant models have yielded basic and clinical discoveries of consequence. The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi in 2016, for his ground-breaking work in yeast to identify many of the core autophagy proteins. Since then, the field has only expanded. In just the past year, the field has produced numerous...

By Jennifer Sokolowski, MD, PhD.

Gut-microbiome interactions

On and in our bodies, microbes outnumber our cells by about ten-to-one. Studies have revealed that the microbiome influences neurogenesis, cognition, and stress responses, leading to increased interest in identifying factors that affect the gut microbiota, and a drive to understand pathways involved in the gut-brain axis.¹

The composition of microbiota in the gut affects the immune...