Mitochondria–cGAS–STING axis is a potential therapeutic target for senescence-dependent inflammaging-associated neurodegeneration

The word “senescence” comes from the Latin senescens, meaning “to begin to age”, and is characterized by a long-lasting but reversible block in proliferation, resulting from stress-induced cell cycle arrest of previously replication-competent cells.

Glial regenerative response in the imaginal discs of Drosophila melanogaster

Glial cells play a key role during nervous system development and actively participate in all the cellular processes involved in maintaining its structural robustness and functional plasticity.In response to neuronal damage,glial cells proliferate,migrate to the injured region and change their morphology,function,and behavior(Gallo and Deneen,2014;Kato et al.,2018).This glial regenerative response is associated with the repairing function of these cells and is found across species,suggesting that it may reflect a common underlying genetic mechanism(Kato et al.,2018).

A 3R-Tau-mediated mechanism in oligodendrocytes:could it be the key for neuroprotection after stroke?

Anoverview of cerebral ischemia:Cerebrovascular accident or stroke have a high global incidence.The most common types of stroke are ischemic,accounting for 87%of the total number,and they are triggered by a reduction or interruption of blood flow to the central nervous system,usually caused by a thrombus,embolus or atherosclerotic plaque.The severity of brain damage caused by this kind of stroke is directly related to the size of the vessel that is occluded and the duration of occlusion.

Interplay among cellular polarization,lipoprotein metabolism and hepatitis C virus entry

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects more than three million new individuals worldwide each year. In a high percent age of patients, acute infections become chronic, eventually progressing to fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Given the lack of effective prophylactic or therapeutic vaccines, and the limited sustained virological response rates to current therapies, new approaches are needed to prevent, control, and clear HCV infection.Entry into the host cell, being the first step of the viral cycle, is a potential target for the design of new antiviral compounds. Despite the recent discovery of the tight junction-associated proteins claudin-1 and occludin as HCV co-receptors, which is an important step towards the understanding of HCV entry, the precise mechanisms are still largely unknown. In addition, increasing evidence indicates that tools that are broadly employed to study HCV infection do not accurately reflect the real process in terms of viral particle composition and host cell phenotype. Thus, systems that more closely mimic natural infection are urgently required to elucidate the mechanisms of HCV entry, which will in turn help to design antiviral strategies against this part of the infection process.

A Novel Cellular Autoaggregative Developmentally CRP Regulated Behaviour Generates Massively Chondrule-Like Formations over Surface of Old <i>Escherichia coli</i>K-12 Macrocolony Biofilms

How Escherichia coli bacteria develop a particular colonial, 3-D biofilm morphological pattern is still a poorly understood process. Recently, we reported a new E. coli K-12 morphotype exhibited by old macrocolonies described as volcano-like. The formative developmental process of this morphotype has been presented as a suitable experimental model for the study of 3D patterning in macrocolony biofilms. Here, we report the optical microscopy observations and genetic analysis that have unveiled the existence of a novel autoaggregative behaviour which generates massive lumpiness over the surface of the volcano-like macrocolonies. These lumpy formations are generated by the autoaggregation and strong interaction of tightly packed bacterial cells in structures with a chondrule-like appearance which give the colony’s surface its characteristic microscopic lumpy phenotype. Furthermore, they exhibit different levels of maturation from the edge to the center of the colony. Hence, its generation appears to follow a spatiotemporal program of development during the macrocolony’s morphogenesis. Interestingly, the agar’s hardness influences the morphology exhibited by these formations, with high agar concentration (1.5%, 15 g/L) suppressing its development. This new auto-aggregative E. coli’s behaviour does not require the activity of the biofilm master regulator CsgD, the adhesiveness of flagella, pili type 1, adhesin Ag43, β-1,6-N-acetyl-D-glucosamine polymer-PGA, cellulose or colanic acid, but it is under glucose repression and the control of cAMP receptor protein (CRP). The possible physiological role of these chondrule-like formations in the adaptability of the colony to different stressful environmental conditions is discussed.

Taurine as a possible therapy for immunosenescence and inflammaging

In their recent Science article,Singh et al.identified taurine as an endogenously produced anti-inflammatory,anti-immunosenescence,and anti-aging molecule.The authors also show that restoring taurine to its“youthful”levels prevents inflammation,boosts the immune response,and delays inflammaging/aging.

Nanostructured biohybrid material with wide-ranging antiviral action

Respiratory pathogens kill more people than any other infectious agent each year worldwide.Development of novel,economically friendly,sustainable,and highly efficient materials against viruses is a major challenge.Herein,we describe a nanostructured material composed of very small crystalline phosphate copper nanoparticles synthesized using a new biohybrid technology that employs a biological agent for its formation at room temperature in aqueous media.The evaluation of different enzymes in the final preparation of the nanomaterial or even in synthetic methods was performed.Biochemical characterization revealed the formation of Cu species in the protein network.The best biomaterial synthesized using a lipase called BioCuNPs showed excellent inhibition capacity against functional proteins of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2);for example,assent 3-chymotrypsin like protease(3CLpro)complete inhibition was achieved by using 5µg/mL,or acetone(ACE)–spike protein interaction was inhibited by more than 80%in the presence of 400µg/mL of BioCuNPs.Taking these in vitro results into account,an efficacy analysis against human coronavirus 229E(HCoV-E229)coronavirus was performed.A virus reduction of 99%was obtained in 5 min.Additionally,SARS-CoV-2 virus was tested to demonstrate high efficiency,with>99%inhibition in 15 min using 500 microgram of material.To determine the wide applicability of this nanohybrid against viruses,an evaluation was carried out against a non-enveloped virus such as Human Rhinovirus(HRV-14),obtaining a virus reduction of 99.9%in 5 min.Finally,the virucidal capacity against different bacteriophages was also evaluated,obtaining an excellent inhibition effect against PhageΦX174(99.999%reduction in 5 min).

A new player in the beneficial effects of exercise on the aged brain

In a recent article in Science,Horowitz et al.identify glycosylphosphatidylinositol(GPI)-degrading enzyme Gpld1 as the most critical player in the blood that can transfer the effects of exercise on adult neurogenesis and cognition to sedentary aged mice.They also demonstrate the importance of this liver-to-brain axis in ameliorating age-related regenerative and cognitive impairments.

SDHA: a key player in T cell-mediated intestinal disease severity

In their recent article in Nature Immunology,Fujiwara et al.identified reduced mitochondrial respiration and increased succinate levels in intestinal epithelial cells(IECs)from several distinct models of T cell-mediated colitis.Their observations point to a specific link between alterations in the mitochondrial complex II component SDHA and the severity of T cell-mediated intestinal diseases and suggest that SDHA dysfunction could be a diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarker in T cell-mediated immunopathology.