Publications by authors named "Cara A Reynolds"
Restoration of LAMP2A expression in old mice leads to changes in the T cell compartment that support improved immune function.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2024
Article Synopsis
- Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) is important for cellular health, but its activity decreases with age, particularly in the immune system due to lower levels of LAMP2A.
- * Researchers found that increasing LAMP2A in T cells can counteract some age-related declines in their function and improve immune responses.
- * The study suggests that maintaining CMA activity might be a promising strategy to enhance T cell effectiveness in older individuals, potentially using small molecule activators.
Article Synopsis
- Chaperone-mediated autophagy is like a cleanup crew in our cells that helps protect against damage but gets weaker as we get older.
- The researchers discovered how certain special activators can boost this cleanup crew and even created new versions that can be taken as medicine and reach the brain.
- They found that these activators help improve eye health in mice with a disease that makes them lose their vision, showing that this could be a promising way to treat similar problems in humans.
Choroid Plexus-Infiltrating T Cells as Drivers of Murine Neuropsychiatric Lupus.
Arthritis Rheumatol
November 2022
Objective: T cells are critical in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in that they secrete inflammatory cytokines, help autoantibody production, and form autoreactive memory T cells. Although the contribution of T cells to several forms of organ-mediated damage in SLE has been previously demonstrated, the role of T cells in neuropsychiatric SLE (NPSLE), which involves diffuse central nervous system manifestations and is observed in 20-40% of SLE patients, is not known. Therefore, we conducted this study to evaluate how behavioral deficits are altered after depletion or transfer of T cells, to directly assess the role of T cells in NPSLE.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObesity is associated with changes in the immune system that significantly hinder its ability to mount efficient immune responses. Previous studies have reported a dysregulation of immune responses caused by lipid challenge; however, the mechanisms underlying that dysregulation are still not completely understood. Autophagy is an essential catabolic process through which cellular components are degraded by the lysosomal machinery.
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