A recent collaboration between NCMIR and the Center for Neuroscience and Aging at the Burnham Institute demonstrated a unique form of cross-talk between nitric oxide and zinc apoptotic signal transduction pathways that may contribute to neurodegeneration.

Nitric oxide and zinc are implicated in the pathogenesis of cerebral ischemia and neurodegenerative diseases. The results of this study help explain their relationship and the molecular mechanism of their neurotoxic effects, which until recently have been unclear. This study was published in the journal Neuron and was featured in News in Alzheimer Research Forum.

The above image illustrates the effect of nitric oxide and zinc on overexcited neurons. A zinc-treated neuron is shown in the upper left corner, and an untreated neuron is pictured in the lower right. Four views of a mitochondrion perturbed by zinc (middle diagonal) were reconstructed using electron tomography. This composite image was created by NCMIR collaborator Ella Bossy-Wetzel and NCMIR scientists Guy Perkins and Tom Deerinck.