The cell permeable peptide strategy is a promising new tool for the prevention of neurodegeneration.
Extract: Neurons are constantly subjected to changes in their environment and consequently they are continuously adapting to these variations. During recent years, important advances have been made in understanding the molecular events underlying the neuronal responses to extracellular signals. The Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases (MAPKs) are enzymes (catalytic proteins) activated by a variety of extracellular stimuli or signals, that add phosphate groups to specific amino acids within a specific protein. These enzymes form signal transduction cascades within cells. In biology, signal transduction is any process by which a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another, via a sequence of biochemical reactions inside the cell. The MAPKs are the most important cytoplasmic signal transduction enzymes that are involved in many aspects of cellular regulation. The MAPKs signaling event propagates and amplifies the external stimuli, from the plasma membrane to the cytoplasm and finally to the nucleus, with a delicately regulated mechanism, which is organized in sequential steps and involves three different key enzymes.
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Tiziana
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Biology and Neurodegenerative Disorders Laboratory, Istituto di ricerche Farmacologiche: "Mario Negri", Via Eritrea 62, 20157 Milano, Italy.