RESUMO
The COVID-19 pandemic has posed and is continuously posing enormous societal and health challenges worldwide. The research community has mobilized to develop novel projects to find a cure or a vaccine, as well as to contribute to mass testing, which has been a critical measure to contain the infection in several countries. Through this article, we share our experiences and learnings as a group of volunteers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, Spain. As members of the ORFEU project, an initiative by the Government of Catalonia to achieve mass testing of people at risk and contain the epidemic in Spain, we share our motivations, challenges and the key lessons learnt, which we feel will help better prepare the global society to address similar situations in the future.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Teste para COVID-19 , Genômica , Humanos , Pandemias , SARS-CoV-2 , VoluntáriosRESUMO
Ocular neovascular diseases are a leading cause of blindness. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) blockade improves vision, but not all individuals respond to anti-VEGF treatment, making additional means to prevent neovascularization necessary. Slit-family proteins (Slits) are ligands of Roundabout (Robo) receptors that repel developing axons in the nervous system. Robo1 expression is altered in ocular neovascular diseases, and previous in vitro studies have reported both pro- and anti-angiogenic effects of Slits. However, genetic evidence supporting a role for Slits in ocular neovascularization is lacking. Here we generated conditional knockout mice deficient in various Slit and Robo proteins and found that Slit2 potently and selectively promoted angiogenesis via Robo1 and Robo2 in mouse postnatal retina and in a model of ocular neovascular disease. Mechanistically, Slit2 acting through Robo1 and Robo2 promoted the migration of endothelial cells. These receptors are required for both Slit2- and VEGF-induced Rac1 activation and lamellipodia formation. Thus, Slit2 blockade could potentially be used therapeutically to inhibit angiogenesis in individuals with ocular neovascular disease.
Assuntos
Peptídeos e Proteínas de Sinalização Intercelular/metabolismo , Proteínas do Tecido Nervoso/metabolismo , Receptores Imunológicos/metabolismo , Neovascularização Retiniana , Animais , Apoptose , Movimento Celular/genética , Proliferação de Células , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Células Endoteliais/citologia , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento , Células Endoteliais da Veia Umbilical Humana , Humanos , Pulmão/metabolismo , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Knockout , Neovascularização Patológica , RNA Mensageiro/metabolismo , Retina/embriologia , Retina/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/efeitos dos fármacos , Fator A de Crescimento do Endotélio Vascular/metabolismo , Proteínas RoundaboutRESUMO
Polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases represent a neuropathologically heterogeneous group of disorders. The common theme of these disorders is an elongated polyQ tract in otherwise unrelated proteins. So far, only symptomatic treatment can be applied to patients suffering from polyQ diseases. Despite extensive research, the molecular mechanisms underlying polyQ-induced toxicity are largely unknown. To gain insight into polyQ pathology, we performed a large-scale RNAi screen in Drosophila to identify modifiers of toxicity induced by expression of truncated Ataxin-3 containing a disease-causing polyQ expansion. We identified various unknown modifiers of polyQ toxicity. Large-scale analysis indicated a dissociation of polyQ aggregation and toxicity.