Autophagy News and Research

RSS

Autophagy is a normal process in which a cell destroys proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm (the fluid inside the cell membrane but outside the nucleus), which may lead to cell death. Autophagy may prevent normal cells from developing into cancer cells, but it may also protect cancer cells by destroying anticancer drugs or substances taken up by them.

Enzyme SSH1 impairs the disposal of damaged tau and neurotoxic mitochondria

In a healthy brain, the multistep waste clearance process known as autophagy routinely removes and degrades damaged cell components - including malformed proteins like tau and toxic mitochondria.

12 Oct 2020

Blocking the self-destruction process of enzymes can mitigate age-related diseases

Stopping the cannibalistic behavior of a well-studied enzyme could be the key to new drugs to fight age-related diseases, according to a new study published online in Nature Cell Biology.

30 Sep 2020

Discovery of specific kinase as a novel drug target against SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses

By using a modern genome-wide knockout approach to single out coronavirus host factors in human cells, researchers from Rega Institute in Belgium discovered a potential new target that might be exploited for developing drugs against the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, but also future outbreaks of highly pathogenic coronaviruses

29 Sep 2020

Study shows how Zika virus degrades key protein involved in neurological growth

In a study published in Autophagy, researchers at the University of Maryland (UMD) shed new light on how Zika virus hijacks our own cellular machinery to break down a protein that is essential for neurological development and cellular communication, getting it to "eat itself."

29 Sep 2020

Study unravels how lysosomal damage response pathways prevent kidney injury

Human cells need to work like well-oiled machines to keep our bodies running as they should. Waste products such as misfolded proteins, damaged cellular components, and carbohydrates get in the way and must be quickly disposed of.

28 Sep 2020

Special formulation of inhaled niclosamide may be effective against SARS-CoV-2

Now in new research published on the preprint server bioRxix*, a novel formulation of the drug Niclosamide (NIC) is observed to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 and MERS-CoV in mouse models; it also protects against methicillin-resistance Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia and inflammatory lung damage.

28 Sep 2020

Anti-N-protein IgG may predict severity of COVID-19

A recent study by researchers at the University of Miami, Miami VA Healthcare System and Express Gene and published on the preprint server medRxiv in September 2020 reports on the prognostic significance of the anti-N Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

28 Sep 2020

CRISPR screening identifies human host pathways that facilitate coronavirus infection

The human coronavirus family consists of 7 known pathogens, for which there are no approved vaccines or specific therapeutic options. Although the seasonal human coronaviruses - OC43, HKU1, 229E, and NL63 – only cause mild respiratory infections, three highly pathogenic coronaviruses that emerged in the last two decades revealed the pandemic potential of this family of viruses.

27 Sep 2020

Chaperone-mediated autophagy could be a new therapeutic target for spinocerebellar ataxia

A research team from Kumamoto University, Japan has developed an animal model that reproduces motor dysfunction and cerebellar neurodegeneration similar to that in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) by inhibiting chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) in cerebellar neurons.

23 Sep 2020

Diabetes leads to drastic reduction in the kidney's potential to clean itself

The kidneys often become bulky and dysfunctional in diabetes, and now scientists have found that one path to this damage dramatically reduces the kidney's ability to clean up after itself.

22 Sep 2020

Researchers receive $16 million NIH grant to study link between autophagy and Alzheimer's disease

Age is the most significant risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. In the United States, approximately 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 have the disease, and the odds increase to nearly 1 in 3 for those over 85. However, the mechanisms by which aging increases risk are unknown.

9 Sep 2020

Ghrelin may help protect the elderly population from muscle loss

The hormone, ghrelin, may help protect the elderly population from muscle loss, according to a study being presented at e-ECE 2020. The study found that administering a particular form of ghrelin to older mice helped to restore muscle mass and strength.

8 Sep 2020

A potential new way of treating Alzheimer’s Disease

In this interview, Dr. Brad. L. Heckman speaks to News-Medical about a new pathway that could potentially treat Alzheimers disease.

7 Sep 2020

Scientists reconstruct factors involved in the formation of autophagosomes

Autophagy, from the Greek for 'self-eating', is an essential process that isolates and recycles cellular components under conditions of stress or when resources are limited.

4 Sep 2020

Congenital disorder of fat metabolism can cause chronic hyperreaction of the immune system

Scientists at the University of Bonn identify previously unknown disease mechanism. A congenital disorder of the fat metabolism can apparently cause chronic hyperreaction of the immune system.

24 Aug 2020

New insights into how high-protein diet protects against fatty liver

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common chronic liver disease in the world, with sometimes life-threatening consequences.

18 Aug 2020

Study shows how aging fat cells lead to lifestyle diseases

No matter how much we try and fight it, aging is a part of life. High cholesterol, diabetes, and fatty liver, the collection of conditions referred to as lifestyle diseases, all become more commonplace as we get older.

18 Aug 2020

Researchers identify new therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital are advancing understanding of a potential Alzheimer's disease treatment.

18 Aug 2020

Discovery of enzyme could provide new route for treating Huntington's disease

Scientists at EPFL's Brain Mind Institute have identified an enzyme that can play a central role in developing a new route of treatment for Huntington's Disease.

5 Aug 2020

Can Vitamin D help combat the coronavirus?

In a new report published in The Lancet, a team of researchers discussed the possibility that vitamin D could offer protection against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials performed from 2007 to 2020.

4 Aug 2020