Autophagy News and Research

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Autophagy is a normal process in which a cell destroys proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm (the fluid inside the cell membrane but outside the nucleus), which may lead to cell death. Autophagy may prevent normal cells from developing into cancer cells, but it may also protect cancer cells by destroying anticancer drugs or substances taken up by them.

Study: PINK1 and Parkin work together to induce selective autophagy

Researchers at TMIMS have revealed that PINK1 (a serine/threonine kinase) and Parkin (a ubiquitin ligating enzyme: E3) work together to ubiquitylate the outer membrane proteins of damaged mitochondria to induce selective autophagy called mitophagy.

10 Jul 2020

Bacteria-induced cell fusion provokes the immune system and causes host cell destruction

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a bacterium in the soil that causes melioidosis, a tropical disease with high morbidity and mortality.

9 Jul 2020

Researchers identify osmotic stress as stimulator of cellular waste disposal

Cellular waste disposal, where autophagy and lysosomes interact, performs elementary functions, such as degrading damaged protein molecules, which impair cellular function, and reintroducing the resulting building blocks such as amino acids into the metabolic system.

29 Jun 2020

Scientists study how cancer cells in the liver react to magnetic nanoparticles

Scientists from the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University and National University of Science and Technology "MISiS" have studied how magnet nanoparticles affect cancer cells in the human liver.

26 Jun 2020

Study reveals mechanism by which propionic acid induces brain disorders

Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI, headed by Suh Pann-ghill) announced on the 11th that the research team led by Dr. Mun Ji-young revealed the mechanism of autism induced by an imbalance of human gut microorganisms.

19 Jun 2020

Human stem cell models reveal neurodegeneration in glaucoma

Glaucoma, a serious eye condition responsible for causing vision loss, affects over three million Americans.

12 Jun 2020

Excessive degradation of mitochondria causes severe disease in children

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that excessive degradation of the power plants of our cells plays an important role in the onset of mitochondrial disease in children.

12 Jun 2020

Study identifies new pathway to attack tumor cells

A study led by the Institut de Neurociències describes a new strategy to tackle cancer, based on inducing a potent stress in tumor causing cell destruction by autophagy.

10 Jun 2020

Research team discovers proteins that regulate interorganelle communication

Korea Brain Research Institute (KBRI headed by Suh Pann-ghill) announced on the 2nd that the joint research team of KBRI (team led by Dr. Mun Ji-young), Seoul National University, and Pohang University of Science and Technology discovered the proteins that engage in the formation of MAM, which is the cellular signaling hub.

4 Jun 2020

Warwick researchers discover how cells respond to fasting and activate autophagy

As modern life-styles and high-calorie diets drive the UK's obesity levels up, researchers from the University of Warwick have found how cells respond to fasting and activate the process called autophagy, which means a healthier lifestyle can be promoted to help people maintain a healthy body weight.

From The University of Warwick 28 May 2020

New tool shows how microbes influence health and promote diseases

Scientists from the Quadram Institute and Earlham Institute have developed a unique tool that is helping them to translate the complex communication that takes place between the body and the microbiome.

25 May 2020

Researchers uncover additional genetic cause for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

In Germany about 18 million people suffer from non-alcoholic fatty liver. The causes of this disease are manifold and include environmental as well as genetic factors.

19 May 2020

Researchers discover a key regulating factor for alternative autophagy

Autophagy can be described as a housekeeping process using which cells eliminate dysfunctional contents to stabilize the energy sources during stressful situations.

18 May 2020

Pancreatic tumors hijack basic cell mechanism for immune evasion

Pancreatic cancer cells use a normal waste removal process to hide tags on their surfaces that would otherwise let the immune system destroy them, a new study finds. Published online April 22 in Nature, the study results help to answer a longstanding question: why are pancreatic cancers so resistant to immunotherapies, which use the body's own immune defenses to fight cancer?

24 Apr 2020