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Cell-to-cell tunnels rescue neurons from degeneration

Tiny cellular tubes between neurons and brain cells called microglia serve as conduits for the export of toxic protein aggregates from neurons and the import of healthy organelles, keeping neurodegeneration at bay.
  1. Julia F. Riley

    1. Julia F. Riley is in the Physiology Department, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and the Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

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  2. Erika L. F. Holzbaur

    1. Erika L. F. Holzbaur is in the Physiology Department, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, and the Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

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Long-term maintenance of neuronal health is essential because neurons that have died cannot be replaced. The devastating effects of neuronal loss can be seen in people with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. These degenerative conditions are characterized by the accumulation of protein aggregates, which are aberrant clumps of protein that neurons are unable to break down and recycle1. The composition of these protein aggregates is disease specific2,3, but their persistence is generally thought to wreak havoc on crucial neuronal processes, including the function of energy-generating organelles called mitochondria1. In a paper in Neuron, Scheiblich et al.4 report the identification of an intercellular response that combats neuronal damage caused by protein aggregates to slow neuronal death.

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Nature 634, 38-40 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02862-z

References

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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