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Brain DNA methylation, APOE genotype and Alzheimer's disease neuropathology in a large postmortem cohort

2 weeks ago
DNA methylation (DNAm) plays a critical role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Previous epigenome-wide association studies using 450K arrays captured limited CpG coverage and often focused on a single neuropathological measure. Here we profiled DNAm in 1,250 postmortem prefrontal cortex samples from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease cohorts using the Infinium MethylationEPIC v2 array (~930,000 CpGs) and performed epigenome-wide association studies of multiple neuropathologic measures, including AD...
Guanhong Miao

Endothelial cell-microglia crosstalk mediates heart failure-associated synaptic loss and cognitive impairment in male mice

2 weeks ago
Cognitive impairment affects 30%-80% of patients with heart failure, yet the mechanisms beyond reduced brain blood flow remain poorly defined. Here we show that circulating factors released during heart failure trigger senescence of brain blood-vessel endothelial cells, which in turn drives synaptic loss and cognitive decline through crosstalk between endothelial cells and microglia, the brain's immune cells. Using a pressure-overload model (transverse aortic constriction) combined with plasma...
Mengdan Wang

Chronic loneliness and isolation phenotypes and physical and mental health in older adults

2 weeks ago
Chronic social deficits (persistent feelings of being lonely or isolated) have been linked to premature mortality, yet the underlying physical and mental pathways remain unclear. This study used data from 4,090 older adults in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a longitudinal panel study. Using outcome-wide analyses, we assessed how the chronicity of social deficits was associated with 17 health outcomes across physical, mental, cognitive and behavioural health domains. Regression models...
Yuteng Ma

Mitigating tin ion migration and reinforcing buried interface via synergistic polymer-modified tin oxide

2 weeks ago
The buried interface between the charge transport layer and the overlying perovskite absorber is critical yet difficult to probe in perovskite solar cells. Because light enters through the transparent substrate and is predominantly absorbed near this region, photo-induced degradation processes are partially initiated at the hidden buried interface. Here, we reveal that instability at the buried SnO(2)/perovskite interface triggers structural and chemical decomposition of the perovskite layer. To...
Wenxin Yang

The histone variant H2A.Z regulates sex differences in Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology

2 weeks ago
Alzheimer's disease (AD) disproportionately affects women, yet mechanisms underlying this sex difference remain unclear. Histone variants are overrepresented components of aging neuronal chromatin, but their contribution to AD is unknown. Here, we identify the histone variant H2A.Z as a sex-specific regulator of AD in the postmortem human hippocampus and in 5xFAD mice. H2A.Z occupancy decreased in female but increased in male AD patients. In females, reduced H2A.Z occupancy at the transcription...
Luca A Hategan

Exercise, DNA methylation, and Alzheimer's disease: Mechanistic links and future directions in intergenerational research

2 weeks ago
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and remains without a cure; recently introduced disease-modifying therapies provide only modest slowing in selected patients. Physical exercise is associated with better cognitive and functional outcomes, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these benefits remain incompletely understood. DNA methylation is a potential interface linking environmental stimuli to gene regulation and neural function. This narrative review examines...
Gabriel Said

Humanin attenuates neuronal cellular senescence and preserves neurotransmitter release in differentiated PC12 cells

2 weeks ago
Cellular senescence, characterized as a permanent arrest of cell proliferation, is triggered by various types of stress. Senescent cells are identified by markers, including senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity and the secretion of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors. These senescent phenotypes have been observed in neurons, suggesting that cellular senescence may contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Humanin (HN), an endogenous...
Miki Tanahashi

The histone variant H2A.Z regulates sex differences in Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology

2 weeks ago
Alzheimer's disease (AD) disproportionately affects women, yet mechanisms underlying this sex difference remain unclear. Histone variants are overrepresented components of aging neuronal chromatin, but their contribution to AD is unknown. Here, we identify the histone variant H2A.Z as a sex-specific regulator of AD in the postmortem human hippocampus and in 5xFAD mice. H2A.Z occupancy decreased in female but increased in male AD patients. In females, reduced H2A.Z occupancy at the transcription...
Luca A Hategan

Integrated mechanisms of the Gut-X axis and multi-organ injury in Sepsis

2 weeks ago
Sepsis is a life-threatening syndrome defined by infection-triggered dysregulation of the host response, and its persistently high mortality and marked clinical heterogeneity remain major barriers to early risk stratification and individualized management. While the gut is increasingly recognized as a key modulator of the systemic sepsis response, current evidence does not support a universal, upstream causal role for intestinal alterations in the initiation of multi-organ injury. In this...
Shiyang Zhang

Cellular senescence in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: Mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities

2 weeks ago
Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) contributes to nearly 50% of the global heart failure (HF) cases, and remains a major clinical challenge because of its heterogeneous pathophysiology, substantial residual morbidity, and limited mechanism-based treatment options. HFpEF is increasingly recognized as a heterogeneous multisystem syndrome closely associated with aging, cardiometabolic comorbidities, and chronic low-grade inflammation. Cellular senescence and the...
Jilu Wang

Humanin attenuates neuronal cellular senescence and preserves neurotransmitter release in differentiated PC12 cells

2 weeks ago
Cellular senescence, characterized as a permanent arrest of cell proliferation, is triggered by various types of stress. Senescent cells are identified by markers, including senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) activity and the secretion of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) factors. These senescent phenotypes have been observed in neurons, suggesting that cellular senescence may contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Humanin (HN), an endogenous...
Miki Tanahashi

Shedding light on left hippocampal mGlu5 in Alzheimer's disease

2 weeks ago
Metabotropic glutamate receptor 5 (mGlu5) is essential for synaptic plasticity and memory, making it a potential therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease (AD). While hemispheric asymmetries in hippocampal function have been observed in AD patients, the lateralized contribution of mGlu5 signaling to cognitive decline remains unclear. Here, we show a physiological left-right asymmetry in hippocampal mGlu5 expression in wild-type mice, with higher levels in the left hemisphere, consistent with...
Charleine Zussy

In mice, a population of male germ cells show characteristics of nonapoptotic cell death during G0 arrest

2 weeks ago
In mammals, a small population of spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) is established shortly after birth. These cells self-renew and produce sperm for the male's reproductive lifespan, passing the genome on to the next generation. Establishment of a population of SSCs with high genomic integrity is essential. SSCs are derived from a much larger precursor population of male germ cells (MGCs) that differentiate during fetal life. During the last third of gestation, MGCs undergo a prolonged period of...
Kara Stark

Robust and replicable effects of ageing on resting-state brain electrophysiology measured with MEG

2 weeks ago
Non-invasive recordings of brain electrophysiology provide credible insights into decline in neuronal functioning with age. New approaches are required to translate these results into compelling clinical metrics and meet the global challenge of preserving brain health in ageing. Changes in neuronal dynamics with ageing are observable in the power spectra of EEG and MEG recordings. Highly promising candidates for electrophysiological markers have been identified, but progress is hindered by...
Andrew J Quinn

Crosstalk Between the NRF2 Signaling Pathway and Heat Shock Proteins: Implications for Cellular Stress Response and Disease Therapy

2 weeks ago
Cells are continuously exposed to oxidative and proteotoxic stress that disrupt redox balance and protein homeostasis. Two major cytoprotective systems-the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF2) pathway and the heat shock response (HSR) mediated by heat shock factor 1 (HSF1) and heat shock proteins (HSPs)-form an interconnected stress-adaptation network that coordinates redox defense, proteostasis, and cellular survival. Although historically viewed as largely independent pathways,...
Milad Faraji

Popular weight loss drugs linked to a surprising fingernail problem

2 weeks ago
Popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, have been linked to unexpectedly high rates of nail detachment, hair loss, and scalp inflammation, with some problems occurring several times more frequently among users. Researchers found that weight loss alone could not fully explain the differences, suggesting there may be more to these overlooked symptoms.