Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aigli G. Vakrakou, Anastasia Alexaki, Maria-Evgenia Brinia, Maria Anagnostouli, Leonidas Stefanis, Panos Stathopoulos
Summary: This article summarizes the evidence on the role of mammalian targets of rapamycin (mTOR) complex pathways in multiple sclerosis (MS), including autophagy, inflammasome activation, immune responses, and neuronal toxicity. There is robust evidence that mTOR inhibitors, such as rapamycin, improve the clinical course of MS animal models. New research highlights the effects of mTOR on T cells and myeloid cells, providing insight into MS pathogenesis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nastaran Daneshgar, Peter S. Rabinovitch, Dao-Fu Dai
Summary: mTOR signaling plays a crucial role in regulating cellular metabolism and aging by controlling key cellular processes such as protein synthesis, autophagy, and mitochondrial function. Dysregulation of mTOR signaling has been associated with various age-related pathologies, including heart failure and age-related cardiac dysfunction.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Wei Zhao, Cong Xie, Xu Zhang, Ju Liu, Jinzhi Liu, Zhangyong Xia
Summary: Epilepsy is a common and serious brain syndrome that has adverse effects on a patient's wellbeing and quality of life. The dysregulation of the mTOR pathway is believed to play a significant role in the development and progression of epilepsy. This review discusses the role of the mTOR signaling pathway in epilepsy pathogenesis and the potential use of mTOR inhibitors for treatment.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Fredrick J. Rosario, Johann Urschitz, Theresa L. Powell, Thomas L. Brown, Thomas Jansson
Summary: This study demonstrated that overexpression of SLC7A5 increases the uptake of essential amino acids and activates mTOR signaling in primary human trophoblast cells. The findings suggest that changes in the activity of placental amino acid transporter may contribute to fetal amino acid availability and growth alterations in pregnancies with IUGR and fetal overgrowth.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Romain Ragimbeau, Leila El Kebriti, Salwa Sebti, Elise Fourgous, Abdelhay Boulahtouf, Giuseppe Arena, Lucile Espert, Andrei Turtoi, Celine Gongora, Nadine Houede, Sophie Pattingre
Summary: BAG6 is a nucleocytoplasmic shuttling protein involved in protein quality control and has been shown to play a crucial role in mitophagy by regulating PINK1/PARKIN signaling in a LIR-dependent manner. Its localization in the mitochondria and interaction with LC3 suggest that BAG6 acts as a novel mitophagy receptor or adaptor.
Article
Cell Biology
Bojun Wang, Tiantian Wang, Huimin Zhu, Rong Yan, Xinru Li, Chengqian Zhang, Wanyu Tao, Xisong Ke, Piliang Hao, Yi Qu
Summary: In this study, it was found that beta-Catenin is not stabilized upon ubiquitylation depletion but is quickly stabilized by neddylation inhibition. The inhibition of neddylation also enhances the interaction between beta-Catenin and TCF4. Beta-TrCP2 is associated with the neddylation and destruction of beta-Catenin.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nunzia Caporarello, Jisu Lee, Tho X. Pham, Dakota L. Jones, Jiazhen Guan, Patrick A. Link, Jeffrey A. Meridew, Grace Marden, Takashi Yamashita, Collin A. Osborne, Aditya Bhagwate, Steven K. Huang, Roberto F. Nicosia, Daniel J. Tschumperlin, Maria Trojanowska, Giovanni Ligresti
Summary: Vascular dysfunction plays a significant role in aging and chronic diseases, but its involvement in lung repair and fibrosis remains unclear. In this study, the authors identified the endothelial transcription factor ERG as a mediator of vascular repair, whose function declines in aged lungs, resulting in sustained fibrosis. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the mechanisms underlying vascular dysfunction in lung fibrosis and provide potential targets for therapeutic interventions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Guangda Zheng, Juanxia Ren, Lu Shang, Yanju Bao
Summary: Pain is a complex physiological and psychological activity, and existing treatments for pain are not satisfactory. This article reviews the recent studies on the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway and its involvement in various pain-related diseases. Dysregulation of the Shh signaling pathway has been observed in conditions such as pancreatic cancer pain, bone cancer pain, chronic post-thoracotomy pain, degenerative lumbar disc disease, and toothache. Further research on the Shh signaling pathway may lead to new therapeutic options for pain management.
NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Delphine Sehedic, Loris Roncali, Amel Djoudi, Nela Buchtova, Sylvie Avril, Michel Cherel, Frank Boury, Franck Lacoeuille, Francois Hindre, Emmanuel Garcion
Summary: The study investigates a novel method for the formulation of safe rapamycin nanocarriers and confirms its potential in cancer treatment. Results show that LNC-rapa selectively inhibits the mTORC1 signaling pathway in the U87MG glioblastoma model. Additionally, there are differences in the mTOR inhibition response to rapamycin under different oxygen concentration conditions.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Yu-Fei Luo, Xiao-Xia Ye, Ying-Zhao Fang, Meng-Die Li, Zhi-Xuan Xia, Jian-Min Liu, Xiao-Shan Lin, Zhen Huang, Xiao-Qian Zhu, Jun-Jie Huang, Dong-Lin Tan, Yu-Fei Zhang, Hai-Ping Liu, Jun Zhou, Zu-Cheng Shen
Summary: The study revealed that the mTORC1 signaling pathway is critically involved in mediating synapse loss induced by chronic stress, and contributes to the behavioral effects of antidepressant treatment.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Qian Wu, Qianyu Lv, Xiao'an Liu, Xuejiao Ye, Linlin Cao, Manshi Wang, Junjia Li, Yingtian Yang, Lanlan Li, Shihan Wang
Summary: Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that is a major cause of cardiovascular diseases. The activation of the mechanistic/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is closely associated with the risk of AS. The mTOR signaling pathway contributes to AS progression through regulating autophagy, cell senescence, immune response, and lipid metabolism. Botanical drugs and their functional compounds have shown anti-AS effects by modulating the activity of the mTOR signaling pathway. This review summarizes the pathogenesis of AS based on the mTOR signaling pathway and recent advances in natural compounds to inhibit the mTOR signaling pathway and delay AS development, providing a new perspective on the mechanisms and precision treatments of AS.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Linxuan Li, Tingting Zhu, Yun Song, Li Feng, Philip James Kear, Rooallah Saberi Riseh, Mahmoud Sitohy, Raju Datla, Maozhi Ren
Summary: This study explored the potential mechanisms of salicylic acid (SA) as a biofungicide by using the highly pathogenic Fusarium oxysporum as a model system. The results showed that SA could inhibit key targets of the pathogen, modify the metabolic activity within pathogen cells, and induce pathogen cell death. This research provides insights into the application of SA in controlling various fungal diseases by targeting the SNF1-TORC1 pathway of pathogens.
JOURNAL OF ADVANCED RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yan Wang, Sixu Zhou, Xujiao Song, Shanshan Ding, Baogui Wang, Jiangfeng Wen, Chunlin Chen
Summary: Crocin, a monomer extracted from saffron, exhibits a significant antidepressant effect by improving cell survival rate and synaptic growth, alleviating depressive behavior, and promoting the expression of specific proteins. However, its antidepressant effects are inhibited when used in conjunction with rapamycin. This suggests that the mechanism of crocin's antidepressant effect may be related to the mTOR signaling pathway.
NEUROCHEMICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Review
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Xin-Yi Dai, Lin Liu, Fan-He Song, Shao-Jie Gao, Jia-Yi Wu, Dan-Yang Li, Long-Qing Zhang, Dai-Qiang Liu, Ya-Qun Zhou, Wei Mei
Summary: Chronic pain is a significant health concern due to its common occurrence, long-lasting nature, and associated mental stress. The JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway has been found to play a crucial role in different stages of chronic pain, and inhibitors targeting this pathway show therapeutic potential. Activation of JAK2/STAT3 triggers chronic pain by interacting with microglia and astrocytes, releasing proinflammatory cytokines, inhibiting anti-inflammatory cytokines, and affecting synaptic plasticity. Retrospective analysis of pharmacological inhibitors for JAK2/STAT3 reveals their promising effect in treating different types of chronic pain.
Article
Immunology
Juan Li, Shirong Ruan, Jinhui Jia, Qian Li, Rumeng Jia, Li Wan, Xing Yang, Peng Teng, Qilin Peng, Ya-dan Shi, Pan Yu, Yinbing Pan, Man-lin Duan, Wen-Tao Liu, Li Zhang, Liang Hu
Summary: This study confirms for the first time that hydrogen can be used as a therapeutic agent to alleviate postoperative pain through the Trx1/ASK1/MMP9 signaling pathway. MMP-9 and ASK1 may be the target molecules for relieving postoperative pain.
JOURNAL OF NEUROINFLAMMATION
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Irene Sanchez-Rodriguez, Souhail Djebari, Sara Temprano-Carazo, David Vega-Avelaira, Raquel Jimenez-Herrera, Guillermo Iborra-Lazaro, Javier Yajeya, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2020)
Correction
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Irene Sanchez-Rodriguez, Sara Temprano-Carazo, Alberto Najera, Souhail Djebari, Javier Yajeya, Agnes Gruart, Jose M. Delgado-Garcia, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Immunology
Jesus Gonzalez-Rubio, Carmen Navarro-Lopez, Elena Lopez-Najera, Ana Lopez-Najera, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez, Alberto Najera
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Biology
Jennifer Mayordomo-Cava, Guillermo Iborra-Lazaro, Souhail Djebari, Sara Temprano-Carazo, Irene Sanchez-Rodriguez, Danko Jeremic, Agnes Gruart, Jose Maria Delgado-Garcia, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez
Review
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Danko Jeremic, Irene Sanchez-Rodriguez, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez
Summary: GirK channels play a crucial role in the central nervous system by regulating membrane potential and neurotransmission, and are associated with a variety of diseases.
PHARMACOLOGY & THERAPEUTICS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
Jesus Gonzalez-Rubio, Carmen Navarro-Lopez, Elena Lopez-Najera, Ana Lopez-Najera, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez, Alberto Najera
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2020)
Article
Anesthesiology
Caroline E. Phelps, Bridget M. Lumb, Lucy F. Donaldson, Emma S. Robinson
Summary: Chronic pain is often associated with affective disorders, with partial nerve injury not affecting reward sensitivity similar to depression models. The impact of chronic pain on reward motivation and affective biases is not significant, but gabapentin may improve negative emotional states by inducing a positive affective state.
Article
Biology
Robert A. R. Drake, Kenneth A. Steel, Richard Apps, Bridget M. Lumb, Anthony E. Pickering
Summary: The loss of cortical control over the descending pain modulatory system after nerve injury contributes to the expression of neuropathic sensitisation.
Article
Biology
Charlotte Lawrenson, Elena Paci, Jasmine Pickford, Robert A. R. Drake, Bridget M. Lumb, Richard Apps, Roy Sillitoe
Summary: The periaqueductal grey plays a pivotal role in fear learning and encodes fear memory through signaling. The cerebellum also contributes to fear memory processes and dysfunctional interactions in the cerebellar-survival network may underlie fear-related disorders and comorbidities.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Irene Sanchez-Rodriguez, Sara Temprano-Carazo, Danko Jeremic, Jose Maria Delgado-Garcia, Agnes Gruart, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz
Summary: Synaptic plasticity is a cellular process involved in learning and memory, which adapts the synaptic strength and efficacy of neural transmission. The induction of synaptic plasticity is regulated by the balance between excitatory and inhibitory synaptic transmission. Limited studies have been done on long-lasting synaptic modifications during memory formation in freely moving animals. This study recorded field postsynaptic potentials in freely moving mice during an object recognition task and found that the synaptic plasticity of specific synapses in the dorsal hippocampus was enhanced when exploring novel objects.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sara Temprano-Carazo, Ana Contreras, Carlos A. Saura, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz
Summary: This study investigates the impact of GIRK channel expression on transgenic mice models of Alzheimer's disease during aging. The findings suggest that GIRK2 may contribute to the excitatory/inhibitory neurotransmission imbalance found in AD models, and training in a cognitive hippocampal-dependent task may reverse this effect.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Neurosciences
Guillermo Iborra-Lazaro, Souhail Djebari, Irene Sanchez-Rodriguez, Esther Gratacos-Batlle, Nuria Sanchez-Fernandez, Marija Radosevic, Nuria Casals, Juan de Dios Navarro-Lopez, David Soto del Cerro, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz
Summary: CPT1C is a neuron-specific protein that is widely distributed in the CNS and expressed in various brain regions. Its deficiency has been shown to disrupt dendritic spine maturation and AMPA receptor synthesis and trafficking, affecting synaptic plasticity and cognitive processes.
JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-LONDON
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Elena Paci, Bridget M. Lumb, Richard Apps, Charlotte L. Lawrenson, Rosalyn J. Moran
Summary: This study used dynamic causal models to investigate the effective connectivity between the cerebellar medial nucleus (MCN) and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) during conditioned fear extinction. The results showed that the strength of information flow from MCN to vlPAG was inversely related to freezing behavior during extinction. This suggests that the cerebellum plays a role in predictive processes that contribute to fear extinction.
FRONTIERS IN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Neurosciences
Ana Contreras, Souhail Djebari, Sara Temprano-Carazo, Alejandro Munera, Agnes Gruart, Jose M. Delgado-Garcia, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Juan D. Navarro-Lopez
Summary: Learning and memory occurrence require hippocampal long-term synaptic plasticity and neural activity orchestrated by brain network oscillations, both of which influence each other. The role of G-protein-gated inwardly rectifying potassium (GIRK) channels in hippocampal oscillatory activity in relation to synaptic plasticity induction was assessed. It was found that constitutive GIRK activity plays a key role in the tuning mechanism of hippocampal oscillatory activity during long-term synaptic plasticity processes, which underlies hippocampal-dependent cognitive functions.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jose Rafael Teran-Tinedo, Jesus Gonzalez-Rubio, Alberto Najera, Andrea Castany-Faro, Maria de las Nieves Contreras, Isabel Maria Garcia, Lourdes Lopez-Mellado, Miguel Lorente-Gonzalez, Patricia Perez-Garvin, Galaxia Sacristan-Crespo, Miguel Suarez-Ortiz, Juan Navarro-Lopez, Lydia Jimenez-Diaz, Pedro Landete
Summary: This study analyzed the clinical characteristics and evolution during hospitalization of COVID-19 pneumonia patients. The results showed that vaccinated patients were 84% less likely to be admitted to the hospital. Once hospitalized, vaccinated patients required less respiratory care compared to unvaccinated patients. The type of COVID-19 vaccine and compliance with vaccination recommendations were both important factors.