Aurora magazine

The Zika virus uses Troy's horse strategy: first attacks the immune cells, then uses them to spread to the fetal brain. The discovery comes from researchers at the University of California, San Diego, and their Brazilian counterparts.

During the development of the embryo, the microglia cells developed into the veal sac, which then gave rise to macrophages. Their job is to keep the body clean, eliminating harmful agents and damaged cells. The Zika virus starts the infection right from the microglia cells. When they spread to the central nervous system, they carry the virus with it and facilitate its spread.

As it is now known, the Zika virus is harmless to adults and devastating to fetuses. It attacks the developing brain, killing neural stem cells and causing microcephaly. However, it was unclear how the virus was transmitted and spread in the fetal brain. Apparently the answer is in the newborn immune system, used as a troika horse from Zika.

To test their hypothesis, researchers used pluripotent stem cells induced. They have created microglia cells and neural progenitor cells, both of which are essential to fetal development. They then imitated the way the two types of cells interact and exposed them to the virus. The microglia cells immediately swallowed the Zika virus to eliminate it. However, the virus remained active and used microglia cells to reach progenitor cells.

The team tested a drug called Sofosbuvir, used against hepatitis C. The drug limits viral infection and decreases the number of dead stem cells. Additional tests will be needed, but the first results are encouraging.

Source: medicalxpress.com

Two Broad Institute and Harvard University teams have developed new extensions for CRISPR. The two techniques allow you to rewrite single letters or DNA bases and RNA.

The CRISPR genetic editing technique cuts a section of the double helix of the DNA, replaced by a healthy version. It's an effective but somewhat violent approach to DNA. Extensions, on the other hand, allow you to act in a more targeted manner. Instead of cutting the double helix, they use enzymes to change the order of bases that make up DNA and RNA. This way you get a new base without acting on the surrounding ones.

Findings are particularly relevant for genetic diseases with point mutations. They are illnesses caused by changes in single nucleotides, where a single base is put in the wrong place.

The technique developed by David Liu acts on the layout of the adenine atoms and turns them into guanine. In this way, the pair of A-T bases becomes a C-G pair. The procedure proved to be effective in 50% of cases and did not lead to collateral changes.

The second technique, discovered by the Feng Zhang team, acts on the RNA. The researchers turned the adenine into iosin. The components that produce cellular proteins read iosin as guanine. The method allows you to make a temporary change only because it acts on the RNA and not on the DNA. This means that you can repeat the process several times, even by making improvements.

Source: focus.it

Researchers at the University of Washington have found that a glass of red wine a week helps female fertility. It is likely that the merit of antioxidants that abound in red wine.

Resveratrol is a key molecule in grapes of red grapes, cocoa and blueberries. It protects cells from biological stress and helps them live more and better. It is present in many foods, but red wine is not particularly rich.

Scientists interviewed 135 women between the ages of 18 and 44 on alcohol consumption. Each of them had to score how many spirits consumed every month and what kind. The researchers also examined the health status of women's ovaries and the number of remaining oocytes.

Beyond factors such as age and health, women who regularly consumed red wine had more oocytes. The benefits would be particularly marked in women who consumed 1-5 glasses of wine per month. We talk about regular, but moderate, non-daily consumption.

The results must be taken with caution. A link is obvious, but it is not known whether the merit is all about red wine or whether there are other factors in play. It will be necessary to consider a wider sample of women, also considering other elements. It is also important to remember that even a minimal exposure to alcohol can be detrimental to an embryo in the early stages of development.

Source: independent.co.uk

Angelman's syndrome is a genetic disease that affects the central nervous system. It causes serious delays in development and permanent neurological damage. Children who suffer from it seem healthy at birth and the disease manifests in the 6 to 12 months.

At first, the baby suffering from Angelman's syndrome shows feeding problems and developmental delays. Between 2 and 3 years, the first epileptic seizures often occur. The child is hyperactive, with a low threshold of attention. Problems with him also in adulthood, sometimes accompanied by an abnormal curvature of the spine. Despite all these problems, Angelman sufferers have an average life expectancy.

The disease is caused by a defect in the maternal copy of the UBE3A gene. The gene contains information on a key enzyme for protein degradation. Its malfunction would be enough to cause the symptoms of the syndrome. In most cases, genetic abnormality is sporadic, but there are also cases of inheritance.

For the diagnosis, specific genetic tests are used to determine the presence or absence of chromosome abnormalities. Once the disease is confirmed, it is symptomatic. Epileptic attacks with specific drugs are monitored and physical and occupational activity is promoted. All this helps to improve the quality of life of patients.

Source: telethon.it