Carlos Moraes, PhD, on Digging Deeper Into Neuromuscular Disease Biology

“Eric Wang from the University of Florida [talked] about how RNA travels in the muscle. So, RNA is made in the nucleus and exported outside of the nucleus to be translated into a protein, but it has to travel to the ribosomes and usually the proteins are made close to where they have to be, so the proteins themselves don't have to travel too much. So, both the RNA and the protein travel around and Eric Wang is going to be talking about the traveling of mRNA.”

While the field of neuromuscular disease has seen a number of clinical stage advances and milestone approvals in recent years, research into basic science and disease biology must continue to enrich our understanding of neuromuscular diseases.

Sessions at the 2024 Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Clinical and Scientific Conference, held March 3-6, in Orlando, Florida, reflected this mindset, with one such session entitled Dysfunction in Cellular Organelles and Trafficking in Neuromuscular Disorders.The session, one of a number focused on disease biology and mechanisms, was chaired by Carlos Moraes, PhD, Lichtenstein professor of neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

CGTLive® spoke with Moraes to learn more about the talks given during the session, by Eric Wang, PhD; Giovanni Manfredi MD, PhD; Vandana Gupta, PhD, MSc; Raghavendra Singh, PhD; and Daniel Christopher Bittel, PhD. The topics included RNA and protein transport in muscle, understanding mitochondrial function in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, calcium dysregulation in the mitochondria, and vesicle formation and muscle fiber repair.

Click here to view more coverage of the 2024 MDA Conference.

REFERENCE

Moraes C. Dysfunction in Cellular Organelles and Trafficking in Neuromuscular Disorders. Session. Presented at: 2024 MDA Clinical and Scientific Conference; March 3-6; Orlando, FL.