Scientists in the Vollum Institute at OHSU have identified an enzyme that plays a crucial role in the degeneration of axons, the threadlike portions of a nerve cell that transmit signals within the nervous system. Axon loss occurs in all neurodegenerative diseases, so this discovery could open new pathways to treating or preventing a wide array of brain diseases.
The research team discovered a new role of the enzyme Axundead - or Axed - in promoting the self-destruction of axons. They found that when Axed function was blocked, injured axons not only maintained their integrity but remained capable of transmitting signals within the brain’s complex circuitry for weeks. Their research was published July 5 in the journal Neuron.
“If you target this pathway, you have a really good chance of preserving the functional aspects of neurons after a variety of types of trauma or injury,” said senior author Marc Freeman, Ph.D., director of the Vollum Institute at OHSU. “It’s a very attractive therapeutic target.”
Freeman conducted the work in the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He has since been recruited to head the Vollum Institute, which conducts cutting-edge basic research into how the nervous system works at a molecular level.
Severing axons, or axotomy, is a simple way to study the molecular basis of neurodegeneration as it leads to the activation of explosive axonal degeneration. In the laboratory, researchers using this technique can identify pro-degenerative genes with great specificity, especially when using sophisticated genetic approaches in the fruit fly Drosophila, Freeman’s primary research model organism. Drosophila shares these same pathways with humans. Previous work by Freeman’s lab identified another enzyme, a gene called SARM, which was the first shown to activate a process that causes axons to disintegrate when damaged.
In the current study, Freeman and colleagues identified Axed, showed that it functions downstream of SARM to execute axonal degeneration, and, surprisingly, that the protection afforded by blocking Axed was even stronger than SARM.
“There was really nothing we could do to kill axons where Axed function was blocked,” Freeman said.
From an evolutionary perspective, Freeman said SARM and Axed function are likely important in the peripheral nervous system after injury because programmed axon death allows for efficient packaging of damaged cellular materials for removal by immune cells. This process thereby clears the pathway for new neuronal processes to regrow, reinnervate tissues, and recover function.
From a therapeutic perspective, the goal of the work is to understand at the molecular level how axons degenerate, and block those pathways in patients to preserve nervous system function. In many nervous system injuries axons are not severed but become stretched or crushed, which activates the SARM-dependent death program and drives axon loss. In those cases, it’s imperative to block SARM and Axed signaling to preserve axon integrity, and in turn neuronal function. At the same time, Freeman and others have shown that SARM-dependent signaling pathways also drive axon loss in neurodegenerative conditions including glaucoma, traumatic brain injury and peripheral neuropathy. This suggests the notion of an ancient and conserved axon death signaling pathway that is widely activated to drive axon loss. Since axon loss is a universal feature of neurodegenerative diseases, it seems likely that blocking this pathway could have enormous therapeutic benefit.
“If we can find ways to block it, maybe we can preserve function in a wide array of patients who have lost axons through neurodegenerative diseases or other neural trauma,” Freeman said.
Starting 2018 with my very first studyblr post ft. my kitten
1 / 4 / 18
I’ve been working on my bullet journal and I’ve finished my monthly layout page for January! Please ignore the faded writing in the middle, that’s writing on the other side of the page.
I’m super happy with how this came out! I found a spread on Pinterest that I really liked and used some aspects of it for mine. Also on the far right is a little doodle I did of my best friend, who joked I should put her in my bullet journal. I love how it looks and will have a new one of her each month!
01/10/2017 :: Got a lot of work done this afternoon and went for a quick sprint session afterwards too.
Honestly, I’m a little shocked this happened. And a huuuuge shout out to my covenmates who put up with me over the last while as I prepared items and constantly pestered them for feedback.
To celebrate the opening of the shop, I’ll be hosting a giveaway, and there’s a sale! Everything is 10% off until April 3rd. Use the coupon code EQUINOX18 or follow the link.
*** this giveaway is not associated with Tumblr in any way ***
all images are copyright Hearth2Heart and may not be used without permission
All items in the giveaway are now available in my shop, Hearth 2 Heart
Premium Kit
3 handknit cotton dishcloths (you pick the color combination!) bottle of infused vinegar spell jar - for clean and bright energy in the home
Calming Incense
A blend of herbs taught to me by my teacher who learned it from her teacher, an Irish herbalist.
(sage, lavender, blue vervain)
Infused Cleaning Vinegar
a 6ox bottle of cedar, lemon, cloves infused into a concentrated vinegar
Calming Incense
A 90cc bottle of the incense blend.
Beeswax Candles
Pair of hand-dipped candles.
Not available for purchase outside of the kits.
How to Enter
Reblog or like this post!
You can reblog more than once, but DO NOT spam your followers.
The Rules
You need to be 18+
Must be following me (if you reblog with a sideblog, leave your main in the tags)
Live or have a mailing address in the USA
No giveaway blogs.
No terfs, racists, or bigots of other stripes
You must contact me within 24hrs of the winners being announced with your full name and address.
Do not tag this post as a giveaway
subject to change, be sure to follow me for any updates (unlikely to be needed, but I’ve never done this before!)
things i say that confuse and worry my coworkers:
“happy birthday” every time i hand them something
“well, that’s not ideal” whenever something is going wrong
“we are in the timeline that god abandoned” whenever i’m mildly inconvenienced
“can’t you see that your fighting is tearing this family apart?” whenever two or more coworkers are arguing
referring to taking medication as “eating medicine”
“time to go back to prison!” when putting animals back in their cages
referring to inanimate objects as (s)he, particularly when i break something and say “oh no, he’s dead.” this concerns them especially when i follow it up with “that’s not ideal”
“what are they gonna do, fire me?”
me: I’m so stressed!! When will I finally be finished with exams, there are so many things I could do?? Help?!?!
me, during holidays: I am so bored!! Wow!! What should I do with my life? Help???
“it’s alright, i’m here”
The giveaway includes: Red Jasper leather grimoire, Amethyst pendulum, Earth Power by Scott Cunningham, Ritual Loose Incense, Ritual Bath Soak, Tea drops (Citrus Ginger), Sage Smoke Cleansing set,Quartz formation, Labradorite, Rhodonite, Blue Quartz, Rose Quartz, Howlite
Rules for the giveaway:
Must be following me.
Must like and reblog this post, but do NOT spam!
Tag a friend for an extra entry
each reblog counts as an entry, but do not spam your followers and flood their page with this post!
I was tagged by @peachyboy-studies thanks mate
Rules: Answer 20 questions and tag 20 followers you would like to get to know better.
Name: Alex
Nickname: Aloo, Aflac
Zodiac sign: Picese
Height: 5'11
Orientation: Queer
Nationality: american
Faviorte fruits: Pears, grapes, peaches
Fav season: Autum or Winter
Fav scent: Mint, citrus
Fav colour: Bluue
Fav animal: I love polar bears and birds! I also would really want a snake!!!
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate: ahhh I love allll
Average hrs of sleep: I aim for 8 hours every night but it varies
Fav fictional character: oh my god I can't choose
No. of blankets you sleep with: 1
Dream trip: Greece
Blog created: late 2017
I tag @shrustudies @studyign @studywithinspo @mattystudies @bscn-studies @studyblr @emmastudies @rainy-days-of-studying @problematicprocrastinator @thecornercoffeeshop @tbhstudying @minastudying @caffestudy @onlytearsandpasta @determinationandcaffeine @studyquill @emmastudies @artofstudyblr @geek-emt @thomastudies
All of these blogs either inspire or are just my favorite blogs :) love all y'all and I hope we can learn a little bit about each other