A defective endosomal — lysosomal autophagy pathway (due to either a primary defect in this pathway or dysfunctional mitochondria) could be the common denominator in various forms of ALS. (pnas.org)
In this study, the researchers found that macrophages from mice lacking Smurf1 were unable to attach the death - tagging protein ubiquitin to intracellular bacteria, resulting in a failure of the autophagy pathway and runaway growth of the bacteria inside the cells. (sciencedaily.com)
«Finding ways to harness or enhance the autophagy pathway and Smurf1 could lead to new strategies to kill intracellular bacteria like those that cause TB,» he added. (sciencedaily.com)