@MDiamond_Lab

Neurodegeneration Research. Thoughts expressed are my own.

 UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX
utsouthwestern.edu/labs/diamond/
Joined July 2020
  • Tweets40
  • Following92
  • Followers446
11Media
Diamond Lab at UT Southwestern retweeted
David W. Sanders!@DavidWSanders214 Jul 2023
(1/6) @meladenosine and I are thrilled to announce that the Sanders Lab will launch in November 2023 at UT Southwestern (primary, @UtsWcand; secondary, @UTSWMolBiol and @UTSWBrain). We will pursue curiosity-driven science related to RNA-protein assemblies and diseases of aging!
53
19
3
260
68,098
An elegant McKnight lab paper: bit.ly/3O3AF4o. Pauling H-bonds and aa sequence govern cross-beta-mediated phase separation and tau fibril formation. Beautiful, definitive, biologically plausible.
1
1
7
I’m immensely proud and happy to share our first paper, an outstanding team effort of a junior lab, in the middle of a pandemic, and starting with limited #cryoEM expertise. A thread. biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/… – at San Fernando, Spain

Structural polymorphism of amyloid fibrils in cardiac ATTR amyloidosis revealed by cryo-electron...

ATTR amyloidosis is a fatal disease associated with the accumulation of transthyretin (ATTR) fibrils that lead to organ failure and death. Mutations in the TTR gene or aging may accelerate the...

biorxiv.org
17
30
12
166
A story emerges: tau seeds dock via HSPGs, and directly translocate into the cytoplasm, either at the membrane or from the inside of an endosome. Factors that slow endolysosomal trafficking will increase tau entry into the cytoplasm, as observed also in pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3550…

Cholesterol determines the cytosolic entry and seeded aggregation of tau - PubMed

Assemblies of tau can transit between neurons, seeding aggregation in a prion-like manner. To accomplish this, tau must cross cell-limiting membranes, a process that is poorly understood. Here, we...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
1
6
Meanwhile, tau assemblies penetrate the plasma membrane (and/or vesicle membrane) like the TAT peptide, requiring HSPGs, recapitulated in vitro using giant plasma membrane vesicles (biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…)
1
10
Cell basis of tau seeding explored... Seeds traffic to the endolysosome and cytoplasm (where seeding happens), with NO EVIDENCE that tau is toxic to endosomes (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3552…).

The dual fates of exogenous tau seeds: Lysosomal clearance versus cytoplasmic amplification - PubMed

Tau assembly movement from the extracellular to intracellular space may underlie transcellular propagation of neurodegenerative tauopathies. This begins with tau binding to cell surface heparan...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
1
7
Two terrific students graduated from the #MDiamond_Lab: Michael LaCroix, Ph.D. (now in med school), and Amy Zwierzchowski-Zarate, Ph.D. Michael found tau seeding in healthy brain (biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/…); Amy discovered RNA induces specific tau strains (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3570…)

Tau seeding without tauopathy

Neurodegenerative tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are caused by brain accumulation of tau assemblies. Evidence suggests tau functions as a prion, and cells and animals efficiently...

biorxiv.org
18
Two #tauprotein publications out after a lot of work. RNA specifically induces tau strains pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3570…, and seeds traffic two ways into the cell, but only one leads to amplification pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3552….

RNA induces unique tau strains and stabilizes Alzheimer's disease seeds - PubMed

Tau aggregation underlies neurodegenerative tauopathies, and transcellular propagation of tau assemblies of unique structure, i.e., strains, may underlie the diversity of these disorders. Polyanions...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
11
52
Back from Keystone: #Neurinflammation and #Neurodegeneration Conference. Lucky see amazing lab alumna Siling Du, currently in the @jonykipnis lab at Washington University.
1
22
What if #tau #prions are not purely pathological, and instead serve a physiologic function? New work by #UTSW #MSTP Michael LaCroix with a conformational #tauantibody finds seeds in healthy control brain! bit.ly/3orbpeg

Tau seeding without tauopathy

Neurodegenerative tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are caused by brain accumulation of tau assemblies. Evidence suggests tau functions as a prion, and cells and animals efficiently...

biorxiv.org
1
15
4
66
Congrats to Anthony Vega, Charles White, Satwik Rajaram, Rati Chekheidze, working with #CAND to bring AI to sort out #tauoapathies in a new paper: bit.ly/3vJC3BG. We hope to use knowledge of #tau #strain composition and AI to create tools to improve neuropathology.
1
4
1
17
Congrats to Sarah Kaufman, Sarah Svirsky, Jon Cherry, and Ann McKee for a groundbreaking new study of CTE pathology (shorturl.at/xGU47). Despite a lot of cortical p-tau, seeding predominates in limbic structures, which may explain unique clinical features of CTE.
5
Loved the #FASEB meeting on #amyloid last week. So interesting to think about functional vs. non-functional amyloid, and how disease results from too much of one kind. Will we find evidence that #tau actually is EVOLVED to form fibrils and propagate like a #prion?
14
Thanks @priyanka_runwal and @natgeo for a thoughtful article on the issues surrounding #aduhelm. Appreciate being consulted! #amyloid #alzheimers #FDA #tau #neurodegeneration on.natgeo.com/3pM3S9m
1
3
5
Corollary: Imagine a weight loss drug that caused an average of 1 pound loss in a population of 1000 people. Statistically but not clinically significant! Similar effects for #aduhelm. Beware of statistics in science.
3
We are #hiring! Looking for an experienced research scientist to join our team of basic and #translational researchers working on new therapies for #neurodegenerative diseases. tinyurl.com/wa46hxye #neurotwitter #neurojobs #prion #tau #amyloid
9
15
Good science doesn't use statistics to get a yes/no answer, and before spending billions we ought to be pretty sure a drug works. Binary tests should have an obvious result. nyti.ms/3x2P1tx

F.D.A. Approves Alzheimer’s Drug Despite Fierce Debate Over Whether It Works (Published 2021)

Aducanumab, or Aduhelm, is the first new Alzheimer’s treatment in 18 years and the first to attack the disease process. But some experts say there’s not enough evidence it can address cognitive...

nytimes.com
1
4
Congratulations to Michael Heneka!
Stéphane Pallage@SPallage2 Jun 2021
Welcome Michael Heneka to the University of Luxembourg ! @uni_lu @BelvalNews
2
Congratulations to #CAND PI @saelicesl (a.k.a. Lorena Saelices, Ph.D.) for receiving a prestigious American Heart Association grant to study #ATTR #amyloidosis. She is figuring out how to discriminate distinct #TTR #fiber #polymorphs for better #therapy.
1
15
We are accomplishing a lot with high frequency #focusedultrasound AKA #HiFu and Bhavya Shah and Rajiv Chopra are leading the way! Stay tuned for HiFu+#tau #imaging!
Bhavya R. Shah, MD@BhavyaRShahMD3 Jun 2021
Made it on the front page of the Center Times! What an incredible honor!! Grateful to an awesome team and thankful for the support of incredible mentors!! #UTSWNeuroHIFU #MultiDDreamTeam @BillDauerNeuro @MDiamond_Lab @DrMazElkurd @drpouratian @RofskyMD @UTSW_Radiology @UTSWBrain
5
Load more