Journal of Clinical and Cellular Immunology
Open Access

James W. Simpkins

Publications

• Short Communication
  TNF-α and Beyond: Rapid Mitochondrial Dysfunction Mediates TNF-α-Induced Neurotoxicity
  Author(s): Ashley E. Russell, Danielle N. Doll, Saumyendra N. Sarkar and James W. SimpkinsAshley E. Russell, Danielle N. Doll, Saumyendra N. Sarkar and James W. Simpkins
  
  This short communication describes our research which demonstrates that TNF-α causes a rapid decline in mitochondrial function, leading to neuronal cell death. As such, this neurotoxic proinflammatory cytokine may play a role in brain damage from stroke and neurodegeneration in chronic conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease. We have extended this initial observation by demonstrating that TNF-α stimulates a microRNA (miR-34a) which we have shown reduces five key proteins in the mitochondrial electron transport chain through base-pair complementarity. miR-34a is increased in affected brain regions of Alzheimer’s patients and transgenic AD mouse models. We have further shown that oligomeric amyloid beta 42 (oAβ42) stimulates miR-34a. Collectively, these data suggest that TNF-α, oAβ42, and miR-34a participate in a .. Read More»
  DOI: 10.4172/2155-9899.1000467

  Abstract PDF

Relevant Topics