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Lipid droplets (LDs) are structures that store fat within cells and change size based on energy availability. However, LDs do not function on their own: they require the help of proteins to carry out their metabolic duties. , researchers from the ӳý, Harvard Medical School, and Yale School of Medicine sought to determine what factors influence the composition of such proteins. Results showed that a process known as “molecular crowding” — in which proteins fall off the surface of LDs as they shrink — could be responsible.

Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM) at the University of Helsinki and the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research at ӳý of MIT and Harvard, together with its international partners, are initiating major new sample collections in several regions and countries. The goal is to collect up to 50,000 samples from schizophrenia patients across the globe.

The first collection will be established in Finland, where the researchers plan to collect samples of genetic material and study genes from 10,000 Finnish patients with schizophrenia.

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) genes encode proteins found on the surface of cells, which help regulate our immune systems. These genes vary tremendously within the population, and such variations can lead to a high risk for, or protection from, autoimmune disorders. In a , a team led by ӳý researcher Soumya Raychaudhuri and Paul de Bakker of University Medical Center Utrecht (Netherlands) showed evidence that two different versions of certain HLA genes may work together to heighten the risk of autoimmune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, and celiac disease — potentially explaining differences between individuals with these diseases.

Researchers studying Lassa virus.

Between 2013 and 2015, an outbreak of Ebola virus killed more than 11,000 people. ӳý researchers quickly deployed real-time sequencing efforts that confirmed that the virus was primarily spreading through human-to-human contact rather than between animals and humans and that the viral genome was mutating. This work had a profound impact on how public health officials diagnosed the disease and developed strategies to contain it.

Human genetic studies have implicated the regulation of autophagy (the process by which cells break themselves down) in inflammation, neurodegeneration, infection, and autoimmunity. This has led scientists to search for small-molecules that might enhance autophagy in order to shed light on its role in disease. In the , ӳý researchers described one such effort: the team screened nearly 60,000 small molecules and found one, BRD5631, that affects several cellular disease phenotypes linked to autophagy. The researchers believe that studying the molecule’s mechanism of action may reveal therapeutically beneficial ways to modulate autophagy in the context of disease.