University of Texas Southwestern Labs: Where Breakthroughs Happen

Female sex hormones can significantly enhance the progression of the rare neurodegenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa (RP), according to a preclinical study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The findings, published in Science Advances, may lead to therapeutics to slow progression of the disease and help clinicians assess the risk of hormone therapies for female patients with genetic markers for the disease.

By using a genetic technique they developed that forces cells to rid themselves of mitochondria, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers are gaining new insights into the function of these critical organelles.

Fat cells genetically altered to overproduce a hormone called FGF21 resulted in improved metabolic health and an extended lifespan in mice that were fed a high-fat diet, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report. The findings, published in Cell Metabolism, could lead to new interventions that have the same positive effects in humans.

Diets rich in phosphate additives, commonly found in processed foods, can increase blood pressure by triggering a brain signaling pathway and overactivating the sympathetic nervous system that regulates cardiovascular function, UT Southwestern researchers discovered.

A new tool called PHOTON, developed by scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center, can identify RNA molecules at their native locations within cells – providing valuable clues to where different RNA species are distributed spatially in response to various cellular cues.