Progress in molecular biology and translational science
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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a progressive and fatal interstitial lung disease leading to respiratory failure. Mutations in telomerase complex genes (TERT or TERC) and short telomeres are genetic risk factors for the development of familial or sporadic idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Up to 15% of familial cases and approximately 5% of sporadic cases carry a heterozygous mutation in one of the genes, and patients' cells retain approximately 50% of telomerase activity. ⋯ Short telomeres even in the absence of telomerase mutations are a feature of most patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Telomerase mutations also have been linked to pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema syndrome. Although short telomeres have been clearly linked to idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, the mechanisms of disease are still unclear.
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Although all neurons carry the same genetic information, they vary considerably in morphology and functions and respond differently to environmental conditions. Such variability results mostly from differences in gene expression. Among the processes that regulate gene activity, epigenetic mechanisms play a key role and provide an additional layer of complexity to the genome. ⋯ It discusses the role of epigenetic processes in behavioral plasticity triggered by environmental experiences. A particular focus is placed on learning and memory where the importance of epigenetic modifications in brain circuits is best understood. The relevance of epigenetics in memory disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease is also addressed, and promising perspectives for potential epigenetic drug treatment discussed.
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The discovery that, in addition to mediating G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) desensitization and endocytosis, arrestins bind to diverse catalytically active nonreceptor proteins and act as ligand-regulated signaling scaffolds led to a paradigm shift in the study of GPCR signal transduction. Research over the past decade has solidified the concept that arrestins confer novel GPCR-signaling capacity by recruiting protein and lipid kinase, phosphatase, phosphodiesterase, and ubiquitin ligase activity into receptor-based multiprotein "signalsome" complexes. ⋯ While many arrestin-bound kinases and phosphatases are involved in the control of cytoskeletal rearrangement, vesicle endocytosis, exocytosis, and cell migration, other signals reach into the nucleus, affecting cell proliferation, apoptosis, and survival. Indeed, the kinase/phosphatase network regulated by arrestins may be fully as diverse as that regulated by heterotrimeric G proteins.
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Our growing appreciation of the pluridimensionality of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) efficacy, coupled with the phenomenon of orthosteric ligand "bias," offers the prospect of drugs that selectively modulate different aspects of GPCR function for therapeutic benefit. As the best-studied non-G protein effectors, arrestins have been shown to mediate a wide range of GPCR signals, and arrestin pathway-selective ligands have been identified for several receptors. ⋯ Yet, when examined in vivo, the limited data available suggest that biased ligand effects can diverge from their conventional counterparts in ways that cannot be predicted from their in vitro efficacy profile. While some widely conserved arrestin-regulated biological processes are becoming apparent, what is lacking at present is a rational framework for relating the in vitro efficacy of a "biased" agonist to its in vivo actions that will aid drug discovery programs in identifying "biased" ligands with the desired biological effects.
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Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is cerebrovascular amyloid deposition. It is classified into several types according to the cerebrovascular amyloid proteins involved [amyloid β-protein (Aβ), cystatin C (ACys), prion protein (APrP), transthyretin (ATTR), gelsolin (AGel), ABri/ADan, and AL]. Sporadic Aβ-type CAA is commonly found in elderly individuals and patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). ⋯ It has been proposed that cerebrovascular Aβ originates mainly from the brain and is transported to the vascular wall through a perivascular drainage pathway, where it polymerizes into fibrils on vascular basement membrane through interactions with extracellular components. CAA would be promoted by overproduction of Aβ40 (a major molecular species of cerebrovascular Aβ), a decrease of Aβ degradation, or reduction of Aβ clearance due to impairment of perivascular drainage pathway. Further understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of CAA would lead to development of disease-modifying therapies for CAA and CAA-related disorders.