Highlights: Many lupus patients suffer from depression, the biological causes of which are not fully understood. Removing cells in an arrested state known as senescence from the brains of lupus mice reduces depression-like behavior. Senolytic compounds, drugs that target and remove senescent cells, could help treat depression in lupus patients. Senolytic compounds are an exciting… Continue reading Japanese Researchers Show Fisetin Alleviates Depression
Category: Immunity
Increasing NAD⁺ levels May Bolster Innate Immunity to Coronaviruses
Coronavirus genomes, which contain the instructions for constructing and assembling the virus, lack the ability to encode enzymes required for energy production and the generation of biological building blocks. Thus, the assembly of these viruses is dependent on the utilization of infected host cell processes. The viral genome-encoded processes for energy production and the generation… Continue reading Increasing NAD⁺ levels May Bolster Innate Immunity to Coronaviruses
Researchers Propose that Cellular NAD+ Levels Play Key Roles in the Immune Response to COVID-19
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a critical player in an array of processes from creating energy for and maintaining the health of cells as well as controlling cell behaviors, such as immune responses to viral infections. In both animals and people, levels of NAD+ diminish with age. This reduction comes as a cost to our… Continue reading Researchers Propose that Cellular NAD+ Levels Play Key Roles in the Immune Response to COVID-19
Activating Immune Cells with a Common Vitamin to Fight Off Deadly Brain Cancer
Uncontrollably growing cells can form tumors, and when tumors form, they are confronted and invaded by the body’s defense–the immune system. Yet tumors often disarm our protective immune cells, which renders them ineffective and eliminates their cancer cell killing capabilities. This is true for the deadly and highly incurable brain cancer called glioblastoma. So, finding… Continue reading Activating Immune Cells with a Common Vitamin to Fight Off Deadly Brain Cancer