TTR has been shown to cleave a blood compound called apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I), which can produce structures called fibrils that are shaped like strands and accumulate in blood vessels. These fibrils have been observed in people with a mutation of the gene that makes ApoA-I, but whether cleavage by TTR promotes the formation of such fibrils has not been assessed yet.
Monica Mendes Sousa and colleagues determined that when ApoA-I is cleaved by TTR, it tends to form fibrils faster than the uncleaved ApoA-I. This discovery may provide new ways to treat people with atherosclerosis by stopping TTR from cleaving ApoA-I and slowing down the formation of fibrils in blood vessels
Article: ApoA-I cleaved by transthyretin has reduced ability to promote cholesterol efflux and increased amyloidogenicity, by Marcia Almeida Liz, Claudio M. Gomes, Maria Joao Saraiva, and Monica Mendes Sousa
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with over 11,900 members in the United States and internationally. Most members teach and conduct research at colleges and universities. Others conduct research in various government laboratories, nonprofit research institutions and industry. The Society's student members attend undergraduate or graduate institutions.
Founded in 1906, the Society is based in Bethesda, Maryland, on the campus of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. The Society's purpose is to advance the science of biochemistry and molecular biology through publication of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Lipid Research, and Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, organization of scientific meetings, advocacy for funding of basic research and education, support of science education at all levels, and promoting the diversity of individuals entering the scientific work force.
asbmb
The team of researchers found, among other things, that adenovirus type 21 infections, may cause more disease and have become more common.
The researchers found that 50% of the clinical adenovirus isolates among civilians were associated with hospitalization, about 20% with a chronic disease condition, 11% with bone marrow or solid organ transplantation, and 4% with a cancer diagnosis.
The scientists say children under seven years of age, people with an underlying chronic disease, and those with recent organ transplantation are at greater risk of adenovirus infection and disease.
A considerable number of transplantation patients were found to have infections with multiple adenovirus isolates over time and the researchers say quickly recognizing the adenovirus type is the key to starting the appropriate antiviral therapy, controlling outbreaks and understanding the association of adenoviruses with a number of chronic disease conditions.
Funding for the study was provided by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health and it is published in the November edition of Clinical Infectious Diseases.