Professor Julia Bailey-Serres and colleagues from the University of California, Riverside have identified transcription factors involved in the synthesis and modulation of suberin in plants. These transcription factors can be gene-edited or otherwise engineered in rice or other monocot crops to alter suberin production – which can lead to development of new rice cultivars with enhanced tolerance to stresses ranging from increased soil salinity to drought to pest. Fig 1: Fluorol Yellow (FY) staining of rice crown roots for suberin in longitudinal views of the exodermis and radial cross sections under environmental conditions of well-watered (CON) or water deficit (WD).

Professor Min Xue and his lab at the University of California, Riverside have developed a novel hydrophilic endocytosis-promoting peptide (EPP6) rich in hydroxyl groups with no positive charge that may be used for drug delivery purposes. This peptide is non-toxic and has been shown to transport a wide array of small-molecule cargos into a diverse panel of cells. It enables oral administration and absorption through the intestinal lining, and crosses the BBB in vivo. UCR EPP6 is advantageous over existing technologies since it is nontoxic, efficiently enables oral absorption and transport across the BBB.  Fig 1: A) Structure of the UCR EPP. B) Confocal images showing that EPP6 was able to transport different cargo molecules into the cells. C) Orally administered EPP6 is absorbed by the intestines, entering the blood circulation and reaching the brain.  

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) in collaboration Nationwide Children’s Hospital  have developed and characterized small peptidomimetics that act as EphA4 agonists. Given ALS is a heterogeneous disease, astrocytes reprogrammed from the fibroblasts of patients with sporadic and SOD1-linked ALS (iAstrocytes) were cultured with MNs and the UCR/Nationwide EphA4 agonists.  As seen in Fig. 1, these small agonistic peptidomimetics decrease MN death in iAstrocytes derived from sporadic ALS (sALS) cells.     

Researchers at UC Irvine have discovered a novel mechanism by which restoration of protective nerve coverings fails in degenerative disease like multiple sclerosis. While therapeutics to slow disease progression exist, there are currently none aimed at preventing or restoring damage to nerve coverings.

Researchers at UC Irvine have developed a program for the integration and processing of data generated by the QUIVERING (quantifying individual voluntary exercise running in group housing) system. This software will allow researchers to interpret the effects of exercise on the brain without the confounds of social isolation and invasive microchip identification surgery.

Brief description not available

Brief description not available

Brief description not available