Macroautophagy without LC3 conjugation?

A recent study makes the surprising observation that autophagosomes can still form in the absence of the core conjugation machinery. Furthermore, while such autophagosomes can fuse with lysosomes, their degradation is delayed, and this is associated with delayed destruction of the inner autophagosomal double membrane, highlighting a new role for proteins thought to act exclusively in the formation of autophagosomes in late stages of the autophagic itinerary within autolysosomes

Corrosion Resistance Behaviour of recycled AlSi10Mg alloy: Surface Morphology and Acoustic Emission Investigation

The corrosion resistance behaviour of recycled AlSi10Mg alloy prepared using Selective Laser Melting (SLM) process is investigated. The specimens are exposed to salt solution attack (5% NaCl) atomized in uniform droplets, inside a controlled Salt Spray Test (SST) chamber for 1000 h. The surface morphology of the specimens exposed to different predefined exposure times (0 h, 6 h, 48 h, 168 h, 480 h and 1000 h) are investigated under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The SEM micrographs shows the salient features of the corrosion attack such as the formation both of pits and corrosion products on samples surface in different exposure times in the SST chamber. Similarly, the Acoustic Emission (AE) signals generated during the corrosion process are recorded for the different exposure times. The AE waveforms are studied using advanced waveform processing techniques. The waveforms, in their time-frequency domain, provide detailed information on the characteristic features of the acoustic source. The different AE sources have been characterized from the time-frequency analysis of the waveforms

XAV939-mediated ARTD activity inhibition in human MB cell lines

Diphtheria toxin-like ADP-ribosyltransferases 1 and 5 (ARTD-1, ARTD-5) are poly ADP-ribose enzymes (PARP) involved in non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), which is the major pathway of double-strand break (DSB) repair. In addition, ARTD-5, or Tankyrase (TNKS), is a positive regulator of the WNT signaling implicated in the development and biological behavior of many neoplasms, such as Medulloblastoma (MB), in which radiotherapy is an essential part of the treatment. The use of radiosensitizing agents may improve the therapeutic index in MB patients by increasing the efficacy of radiotherapy, while reducing toxicity to the neuroaxis. ARTD-5 seems to be a good molecular target for improving the current treatment of MB. In this study, we used the small molecule XAV939, a potent ARTD-5 inhibitor with a slight affinity for ARTD-1, in different human MB cell lines. XAV939 inhibited the WNT pathway and DNA-PKcs in our MB cells, with many biological consequences. The co-administration of XAV939 and ionizing radiations (IR) inhibited MB cells proliferation and clonogenic capacity, decreased their efficacy in repairing DNA damage, and increased IR-induced cell mortality. In conclusion, our in vitro data show that XAV939 could be a very promising small molecule in MB treatment, and these results lay the basis for further in vivo studies with the aim of improving the current therapy available for MB patients