Search results for "Pathogenesis."

Gene transfer approaches for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.

2003

The pathogenesis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, the two major forms of inflammatory bowel disease, involves a complex interplay between certain genetic, environmental and immunological factors. Considerable research progress in the last decade defined key inflammatory pathways in the inflamed gut and identified new potential therapeutic targets. Since the current medical treatment with corticosteroids and anti-inflammatory drugs is often associated with undesired side effects and cannot completely cure IBD, these current advances in our understanding of intestinal pathology may now allow the development of new biologic treatment strategies including gene therapy. In this review,…

Cholesterol and Amyloid-β: Evidence for a Cross-Talk between Astrocytes and Neuronal Cells.

2011

Accumulating data supports the concept that alterations of cholesterol metabolism might influence the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain. Changes in the neuronal production of Aβ have been described as a function of cholesterol levels, thus suggesting a causal link between cholesterol homeostasis dysregulation and AD pathogenesis. Under physiological conditions, cholesterol uptake in the brain is efficiently prevented by the blood-brain barrier, and mature neurons are thought to rely on glial cells for their cholesterol supply. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis t…

Fatal neuroinvasion and SARS-CoV-2 tropism in K18-hACE2 mice is partially independent on hACE2 expression

2022

ABSTRACTAnimal models recapitulating distinctive features of severe COVID-19 are critical to enhance our understanding of SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis. Transgenic mice expressing human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (hACE2) under the cytokeratin 18 promoter (K18-hACE2) represent a lethal model of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The precise mechanisms of lethality in this mouse model remain unclear. Here, we evaluated the spatiotemporal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 infection for up to 14 days post-infection. Despite infection and moderate pneumonia, rapid clinical decline or death of mice was invariably associated with viral neuroinvasion and direct neuronal injury (including brain and spinal neurons). Neuroinv…

Friedreich Ataxia: An Update on Animal Models, Frataxin Function and Therapies

2009

Friedreich ataxia (FRDA) is an autosomal recessive progressively debilitating degenerative disease that principally affects the nervous system and the heart. Although FRDA is considered a rare disease, is the most common inherited ataxia. It is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the FXN gene, mainly an expanded GAA triplet repeat in the intron 1. The genetic defect results in the reduction of frataxin levels, a protein targeted to the mitochondria. Frataxin deficiency leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative damage and iron accumulation. Studies of the yeast and animal models of the disease have led to propose several different roles for frataxin. Animal models have also been impo…

Desmin‐related Myopathies

2006

Outstanding progress in elucidating the pathology of muscular disorders at light and electron microscopic levels has allowed the identification of proteins involved in pathological alterations. This, in turn, has led to discoveries of multiple genes and mutations associated with previously poorly understood conditions. An unexpected result is that phenotypically similar and pathogenetically related neuromuscular disorders are associated with mutations in one or the other of several interacting proteins. Keywords: desmin-related myopathy; distal myopathy; cardiomyopathy; desmin and alpha-B crystallin gene mutations; functional analysis; molecular pathogenesis; genotype–phenotype correlations

Multiple infection dynamics has pronounced effects on the fitness of RNA viruses

2001

Several factors play a role during the replication and transmission of RNA viruses. First, as a consequence of their enormous mutation rate, complex mixtures of genomes are generated immediately after infection of a new host. Secondly, differences in growth and competition rates drive the selection of certain genetic variants within an infected host. Thirdly, but not less important, a random sampling occurs at the moment of viral infectious passage from an infected to a healthy host. In addition, the availability of hosts also influences the fate of a given viral genotype. When new hosts are scarce, different viral genotypes might infect the same host, adding an extra complexity to the comp…

P051 DNA methylation signatures associated with pathogenesis Crohn's disease-related genes

2019

Pathogenic DDX3X mutations impair RNA metabolism and neurogenesis during fetal cortical development

2018

AbstractDe novo germline mutations in the RNA helicase DDX3X account for 1-3% of unexplained intellectual disability (ID) cases in females, and are associated with autism, brain malformations, and epilepsy. Yet, the developmental and molecular mechanisms by which DDX3X mutations impair brain function are unknown. Here we use human and mouse genetics, and cell biological and biochemical approaches to elucidate mechanisms by which pathogenic DDX3X variants disrupt brain development. We report the largest clinical cohort to date with DDX3X mutations (n=78), demonstrating a striking correlation between recurrent dominant missense mutations, polymicrogyria, and the most severe clinical outcomes.…

2006

On the basis of their biological function, potential genetic candidates for susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis can be postulated. IFNGR1, encoding the ligand-binding chain of the receptor for interferon gamma, IFNγR1, is one such gene because interferon gamma is involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. In the coding sequence of IFNGR1, two nucleotide positions have been described to be polymorphic in the Japanese population. We therefore investigated the association of those two IFNGR1 single nucleotide polymorphisms with rheumatoid arthritis in a case-control study in a central European population. Surprisingly, however, neither position was polymorphic in the 364 individuals exami…

Tumor Hypoxia and Malignant Progression

2004

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses tumor hypoxia and malignant progression. Hypoxic (or anoxic) areas arise as a result of an imbalance between the supply and the consumption of oxygen. Whereas in normal tissues or organs the O2 supply matches the metabolic requirements, in locally advanced solid tumors the O2 consumption rate of neoplastic as well as stromal cells may outweigh an insufficient oxygen supply and result in the development of tissue areas with very low O2 levels. Major pathogenetic mechanisms involved in the emergence of hypoxia in solid tumors are (a) severe structural and functional abnormalities of the tumor microvessels (b) a deterioration of the diffusion geometry, …