After such a great summer and relaxing holidays, most of us are slowly getting back to business. However, during the vacation, science kept rolling on, and also in our case, as we were luckily able to publish 1 review and 2 collaborative original papers:
1. Beyond epilepsy: The expanding role of valproic acid in Alzheimer's disease therapy - a review (link) in prestigious Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (JPET), together with our Polish collaborator Magdalena Markowicz-Piasecka (Medical University of Lodz), in which we summarized the preclinical and clinical findings supporting the use of epileptic drug, valproic acid, as a potential neurpprotective agent to treat Alzheimer's disease.
2. Oxidative modulation of Piezo1 channels (link) in the high-quality journal called Redox Biology, together with Prof. Tarja Malm's research group at the UEF, where we found that the reduced activity of the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel in the oxidative environment is determined by oxidation of both cysteines and methionines, which are enriched in intracellular domains, with methionines playing a predominant role. Since Piezo1 channels play a great role in the pathophysiology of numerous disorders, including neurodegenerative diseases, the redox modulation of these mechanosensors could be a significant drug target under conditions where oxidative stress is involved.
3. Biological evaluation of a glucose-based boron carrier as a potential agent for boron neutron capture therapy (link) in the appreciated International Journal of Cancer, together with Prof. Jarkko Rautio (UEF), and Mirkka Sarparanta and Filip Ekholm (University of Helsinki), and the rest of the BCNT consortium. In this study, we utilized glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) to achieve superior cellular uptake in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and more favorable pharmacokinetic parameters compared to clinically used boron carriers, BPA and BSH (L-p-boronophenylalanine and sodium mercaptoundecahydrododeca borate).
