Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center

About: Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center is a education organization based out in Lubbock, Texas, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Cancer. The organization has 8184 authors who have published 11864 publications receiving 305798 citations. The organization is also known as: TTUHSC.

Sniffing neuropeptides: a transnasal approach to the human brain

Abstract: Neuropeptides act as neuronal messengers in the brain, influencing many neurobehavioral functions1. Their experimental and therapeutic use in humans has been hampered because, when administered systemically, these compounds do not readily pass the blood–brain barrier, and they evoke potent hormone-like side effects when circulating in the blood2,3. We administered three peptides, melanocortin(4–10) (MSH/ACTH(4–10)), vasopressin and insulin, intranasally and found that they achieved direct access to the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within 30 minutes, bypassing the bloodstream.

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)

Abstract: In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field.