By using structural methods to screen compounds for their ability to interact with amyloid beta, researchers have identified small molecules that stabilize amyloid fibers and reduce the toxic effect of smaller aggregates on cells.
Proteins implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, including amyloid precursor protein and ApoE receptors, interact with each other and with a signalling molecule called agrin to influence the development of the neuromuscular junction.
A chemical screen reveals that a compound used to treat a parasitic disease can trigger pluripotent stem cells to become neurons, uncovering a novel mechanism behind neuronal development.
Yashar Sadian, Christos Gatsogiannis ... Stefan Raunser
Imaging with electron microscopy and cryo-electron tomography reveals that competition between Cdc42 and Gic1 for the same subunit within septins controls the formation and breakdown of septin filaments.
Smita Cherry, Eugene Jennifer Jin ... P Robin Hiesinger
Mutations that reduce the functioning of rab7 may underlie the degeneration of sensory and motor nerves in Charcot-Marie-Tooth 2B disease, which suggests increasing endolysosomal function as a therapy.
PTBP2 ensures that adult protein variants are expressed only in mature neurons through regulation of alternative splicing during early neuronal development.
Senthil K Radhakrishnan, Willem den Besten, Raymond J Deshaies
The enzyme p97/VCP regulates the activity of the transcription factor Nrf1 to promote increased transcription of genes that encode proteasome subunits following inhibition of the proteasome.
