Review
Cell Biology
Behnam Mohammadi, Feizhi Song, Andreu Matamoros-Angles, Mohsin Shafiq, Markus Damme, Berta Puig, Markus Glatzel, Hermann Clemens Altmeppen
Summary: This review provides a comprehensive overview of the shedding process of the prion protein (PrP) and discusses its role in regulating cellular functions, neurodegenerative diseases, intercellular communication, and the need for improved research tools. Deeper mechanistic insight into PrP shedding and its resulting fragment may lead to improved diagnostics and therapeutic approaches in brain and other diseases.
CELL AND TISSUE RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Garyfallia Pantelaiou-Prokaki, Oliver Reinhardt, Nadine S. Georges, David J. Agorku, Olaf Hardt, Evangelos Prokakis, Iga K. Mieczkowska, Wolfgang Deppert, Florian Wegwitz, Frauke Alves
Summary: Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is the most aggressive and heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer. Chemotherapy induces stemness acquisition in BLBC cells, leading to therapeutic resistance. AXL plays a crucial role in chemotherapy-induced cancer stem cell properties and poor response to conventional therapies. Inhibition of AXL sensitizes BLBC cells to cytotoxic treatment.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Peter Hermann, Matthias Schmitz, Maria Cramm, Stefan Goebel, Timothy Bunck, Julia Schuette-Schmidt, Walter Schulz-Schaeffer, Christine Stadelmann, Jakob Matschke, Markus Glatzel, Inga Zerr
Summary: This study evaluated the application of CSF real-time quaking-induced conversion in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance, investigating its test accuracy, influencing factors, and associations with disease incidence. The results showed that the overall sensitivity of the test for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease was 90% and the specificity was 99%. Lower sensitivity was associated with early disease stage and longer survival, while false positives were more common in patients with inflammatory CNS diseases. The surveillance improved after the amendment of diagnostic criteria, with no significant changes in incidence during the COVID-19 pandemic.
JOURNAL OF NEUROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biology
Simran Goel, Rosario Oliva, Sadasivam Jeganathan, Verian Bader, Laura J. Krause, Simon Kriegler, Isabelle D. Stender, Chadwick W. Christine, Ken Nakamura, Jan -Erik Hoffmann, Roland Winter, Joerg Tatzelt, Konstanze F. Winklhofer
Summary: NEMO is the key regulator of the inhibitor of KB kinase complex, and its phase separation induced by M1-linked ubiquitin chains plays a crucial role in IL-113-induced NF-KB activation. Both the binding and linkage to linear ubiquitin chains are necessary for NEMO phase separation.
LIFE SCIENCE ALLIANCE
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Francisco Lopera, Claudia Marino, Anita S. Chandrahas, Michael O'Hare, Nelson David Villalba-Moreno, David Aguillon, Ana Baena, Justin S. Sanchez, Clara Vila-Castelar, Liliana Ramirez Gomez, Natalia Chmielewska, Gabriel M. Oliveira, Jessica Lisa Littau, Kristin Hartmann, Kyungeun Park, Susanne Krasemann, Markus Glatzel, Dorothee Schoemaker, Lucia Gonzalez-Buendia, Santiago Delgado-Tirado, Said Arevalo-Alquichire, Kahira L. Saez-Torres, Dhanesh Amarnani, Leo A. Kim, Randall C. Mazzarino, Harper Gordon, Yamile Bocanegra, Andres Villegas, Xiaowu Gai, Moiz Bootwalla, Jianling Ji, Lishuang Shen, Kenneth S. Kosik, Yi Su, Yinghua Chen, Aaron Schultz, Reisa A. Sperling, Keith Johnson, Eric M. Reiman, Diego Sepulveda-Falla, Joseph F. Arboleda-Velasquez, Yakeel T. Quiroz
Summary: This case report describes an individual heterozygous for a rare RELN-COLBOS variant that confers resilience to Alzheimer's disease. Comparison with a previously reported case revealed common features, including high amyloid plaque burden and limited Tau tangle burden. The individual carried a rare variant in the RELN gene and showed stronger activation of Dab1 and reduced Tau phosphorylation. This genetic variant suggests a role for RELN signaling in resilience to dementia.
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Dominik Kylies, Marina Zimmermann, Fabian Haas, Maria Schwerk, Malte Kuehl, Michael Brehler, Jan Czogalla, Lola C. Hernandez, Leonie Konczalla, Yusuke Okabayashi, Julia Menzel, Ilka Edenhofer, Sam Mezher, Hande Aypek, Bernhard Dumoulin, Hui Wu, Smilla Hofmann, Oliver Kretz, Nicola Wanner, Nicola M. Tomas, Susanne Krasemann, Markus Glatzel, Christoph Kuppe, Rafael Kramann, Bella Banjanin, Rebekka K. Schneider, Christopher Urbschat, Petra Arck, Nicola Gagliani, Marc van Zandvoort, Thorsten Wiech, Florian Grahammer, Pablo J. Saez, Milagros N. Wong, Stefan Bonn, Tobias B. Huber, Victor G. Puelles
Summary: Expansion microscopy physically enlarges biological specimens to achieve nanoscale resolution, but its applicability is limited due to the requirement of laser-based systems. A computational method called super-resolution radial fluctuations (SRRF) has been developed as an alternative. In this study, we introduce a workflow called expansion-enhanced super-resolution radial fluctuations (ExSRRF), which provides a resolution of up to 25 nm using LED-based widefield microscopy. ExSRRF enables molecular profiling of subcellular structures in complex clinical and experimental specimens and shows potential application in identifying pathological features.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Meeting Abstract
Oncology
Lotte Stegat, Jenny L. Rohwer, Damian Stichel, Daniel Schrimpf, Roland Coras, Melanie Pages, Arnault Tauziede-Espariat, Pascale Varlet, Volkmar H. Hans, Jochen Meyer, Jens Schittenhelm, Ori Staszewski, Edmund Cheesman, Markus Glatzel, Simone Schmid, Pieter Wesseling, Andrey Korshunov, Alexandra Sexton-Oates, Ulrich Schueller, Lenne-Triin Korgvee, Sabine Mueller, Adriana Olar, Matija Snuderl, Leonille Schweizer, Eleonora Aronica, Felix Sahm, Andreas von Deimling, Ingmar Blumcke, David T. W. Jones, David Capper, Annika K. Wefers
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Marvin Petersen, Felix Leonard Naegele, Carola Mayer, Maximilian Schell, Elina Petersen, Simone Kuehn, Juergen Gallinat, Jens Fiehler, Ofer Pasternak, Jakob Matschke, Markus Glatzel, Raphael Twerenbold, Christian Gerloff, Goetz Thomalla, Bastian Cheng
Summary: Through comprehensive neuroimaging and neuropsychological assessments of 223 nonvaccinated individuals recovered from a mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection, it was found that there were significant differences in measures of white matter microstructure between the post-SARS-CoV-2 group and the matched controls. However, a mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection was not associated with neuropsychological deficits, significant changes in cortical structure, or vascular lesions several months after recovery.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Review
Neurosciences
Matthias Schmitz, Niccolo Candelise, Sezgi Canaslan, Hermann C. Altmeppen, Jakob Matschke, Markus Glatzel, Neelam Younas, Saima Zafar, Peter Hermann, Inga Zerr
Summary: Alpha-synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy, are neurodegenerative diseases characterized by intracellular inclusions of misfolded alpha-synuclein. The pathological overlap between Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies raises the question of whether they are the same or different diseases. Protein seeding assays, such as real-time quaking-induced conversion, can help distinguish between different types of alpha-synucleinopathies by analyzing the conversion properties of misfolded alpha-synuclein. Understanding the influence of different conformers of misfolded alpha-synuclein on disease progression and phenotype will be crucial for personalized medical treatment in the future.
TRANSLATIONAL NEURODEGENERATION
(2023)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Marcel S. Woo, Mohsin Shafiq, Antonia Fitzek, Matthias Dottermusch, Hermann Altmeppen, Behnam Mohammadi, Christina Mayer, Lukas C. Bal, Lukas Raich, Jakob Matschke, Susanne Krasemann, Susanne Pfefferle, Thomas Theo Brehm, Marc Luetgehetmann, Julia Schaedler, Marylyn M. Addo, Julian Schulze zur Wiesch, Benjamin Ondruschka, Manuel A. Friese, Markus Glatzel
Summary: The vagus nerves of COVID-19 patients were found to be affected, potentially leading to autonomic dysfunction and exacerbation of symptoms in long COVID. Histopathological characterization revealed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and inflammatory cell infiltration, primarily monocytes. RNA sequencing showed a strong inflammatory response in neurons, endothelial cells, and Schwann cells, correlating with SARS-CoV-2 RNA load. A clinical cohort study found a decreased respiratory rate in non-survivors of critical COVID-19, indicating a clinical phenotype of vagus nerve affection. These findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 induces inflammation in the vagus nerves, leading to autonomic dysfunction and contributing to severe disease courses and dysautonomia in long COVID.
ACTA NEUROPATHOLOGICA
(2023)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Peter C. Burger, Markus Glatzel
Article
Cell Biology
Evangelos Prokakis, Shaishavi Jansari, Angela Boshnakovska, Maria Wiese, Kathrin Kusch, Christof Kramm, Christian Dullin, Peter Rehling, Markus Glatzel, Klaus Pantel, Harriet Wikman, Steven A. Johnsen, Julia Gallwas, Florian Wegwitz
Summary: This study identifies the essential role of RNF40 in supporting the aggressive behavior of triple-negative breast cancer by regulating gene transcription and promoting specific signaling pathways. Targeting RNF40 may have high therapeutic value in combating the malignant behavior of TNBC.
CELL DEATH & DISEASE
(2023)
Review
Cell Biology
Andreu Matamoros-Angles, Behnam Mohammadi, Feizhi Song, Mohsin Shafiq, Santra Brenna, Berta Puig, Markus Glatzel, Hermann Altmeppen
Summary: The role of prion protein in neurodegenerative diseases, including prion diseases and common brain disorders like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, has been extensively studied. The misfolding and spreading of prion protein, as well as its interactions with other proteins, contribute to the development of these fatal and transmissible brain diseases. However, our understanding of the pathological and physiological roles of prion protein is still incomplete.
NEURAL REGENERATION RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Sashary Ramos, Janine Kamps, Simone Pezzotti, Konstanze F. Winklhofer, Joerg Tatzelt, Martina Havenith
Summary: Understanding the transition from protein-rich liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to solid aggregates is crucial for medical applications. Researchers have developed a vibrational THz spectroscopy approach to observe LLPS and liquid-solid phase separation (LSPS) in real-time and uncover the balance between protein and water interactions. By studying hydration water, they found that the subtle balance of hydrophobic and hydrophilic solvation contributions determines whether LLPS or LSPS occurs. This molecular understanding can inform the rational design of proteins.
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS
(2023)