These short, accessible 'Highlights' summarize and contextualize must-read papers related to cell signaling. These articles add background and context to summaries of primary research. 'In brief' articles emphasize key aspects of selected articles.
 | Bone diseases: Self control
A recent report in Nature reveals that osteoclasts might also keep themselves under strict control.
28 June 2002 |
 | Autoimmunity: MS microarrays
Microarray analysis of human multiple sclerosis lesions has revealed marked differences in gene expression between autopsy tissue from MS patients compared with similar tissue from individuals without MS.
28 June 2002 |
 | In brief: June 2002
Immunoregulation | Myeloid development | T-cell signalling | T-cell responses | Therapeutics | Tumour suppressors | Therapeutics |
 | HIV: Neutralizing antibodies revisited
Maxime Moulard and colleagues have isolated a neutralizing antibody that is broadly cross-reactive with HIV-1 isolates from various clades, and has implications for vaccine development.
28 June 2002 |
 | Cell cycle: Under arrest!
Reporting in Nature, Julie Reimann and Peter Jackson describe the long-sought mediator of CSF activity.
28 June 2002 |
 | Apoptosis: A marked CARD
One characteristic of apoptotic cell death is the extensive fragmentation of nuclear DNA, which depends on a DNase called CAD. However, this might not be the whole story.
28 June 2002 |
 | Development: All shapes and sizes
The small GTPase Rho is best known for its influence on cell shape, but a new report shows that it might control cell size too.
28 June 2002 |
 | Apoptosis: Getting rid of obstacles
A series of articles published in Nature Cell Biology shed light on the relationship between the essential components of the apoptotic pathway.
28 June 2002 |
 | Ion channels: The Sigma K Fraternity
Channel regulation by protein-protein interactions deserves further attention, as it adds degrees of freedom to the way in which ion channels govern neuronal function.
28 June 2002 |
 | Microarrays: Validation on target
In a study published in Nature Medicine, Lock and colleagues establish the power of the microarray approach by validating two genes as potential therapeutic targets in a mouse model of MS.
21 June 2002 |
 | T-cell signalling: SOCS and the TCR
Recent work from Banerjee and colleagues implicates SOCS3 in the negative regulation of TCR signalling.
21 June 2002 |
 | Cytokines: Linking innate and adaptive immunity
Reporting in Immunity, Kasaian et al. propose that the recently described cytokine interleukin-21 - which is produced by activated T cells - might contribute to the transition between innate and adaptive immune responses.
21 June 2002 |
 | Ubiquitylation: A supporting role
Pavletich and colleagues describe the 3.2-Å crystal structure of the Cul1–Rbx1–Skp1–F-boxSkp2 SCF complex.
21 June 2002 |
 | Neural induction: Tempting fate
New lines of evidence point towards Np63 acting in the ventral ectoderm, downstream of BMP signalling, to repress genes that promote neural cell-fate specification.
21 June 2002 |
 | Neurodegeneration: CREB, the cell-death solution
Two papers now detail a crucial role for CREB-family members in cell survival in vivo, in both the central and peripheral nervous systems.
21 June 2002 |
 | Adherens junction stability:
ROCK and Rho
Two of the proteins regulated by Rho – ROCK and Diaphanous (Dia) – have opposite effects on junctional stability.
21 June 2002 |
 | CD44–EZRIN DISSOCIATION:
Knowing when to let go
Clare Isacke and colleagues show that PKC triggers simultaneous dephosphorylation of CD44 at Ser 325 and phosphorylation at Ser 291.
21 June 2002 |
 | Obesity and diabetes: Slimming down without DGAT
Chen et al. show that obese mice that lack a key enzyme in the triglyceride synthesis pathway have increased sensitivity to insulin and to leptin.
14 June 2002 |
 | Anti-inflammatories: Heart of the matter
Increased risk for developing serious cardiovascular defects observed in the VIGOR trial could be a consequence of selective COX-2 inhibition.
14 June 2002 |
 | Genomics: Netting zebrafish genes
Reporting in Nature Genetics, Hopkins' group describe the first fruits of their labours to identify many of the genes that are required for the development of the zebrafish embryo.
14 June 2002 |
 | ?d T Cells: Stressed skin
A new study suggests that dendritic epidermal T cells that bear a ?dT-cell receptor might have an important role in wound repair.
14 June 2002 |
 | Membrane dynamics: Destination lipid rafts
According to a report by Roger Tsien's group, acylation is sufficient to preferentially localize fluorescent test proteins to lipid rafts.
14 June 2002 |
 | Apoptosis: Eat me!
Shigekazu and colleagues describe how the milk fat globule, EGF-factor 8, could act as a bridge between dying cells and phagocytes.
14 June 2002 |
 | Hypolipidaemic drugs: Antagonizing the bile-acid receptor
In Science, Moore and colleagues show that the molecular mechanism by which cholesterol is lowered is through antagonism of the farnesoid X receptor.
7 June 2002 |
 | Gene profiling: Validation on target
By doing microarray analysis on human biopsy samples, Lock and colleagues show that there are transcriptional differences between MS-associated lesions.
7 June 2002 |
 | Autoimmunity:
PKCd marks the path to anergy
PKCd-knockout mice have been engineered independently by two groups, who report their findings back-to-back in this week's Nature.
7 June 2002 |
 | Oncogenesis: A life or death situation
Stella Pelengaris et al. have shown that c-Myc-induced apoptosis can prevent tumour formation, and that switching off apoptosis allows the tumorigenic capability of c-Myc to proceed unchecked.
7 June 2002 |
 | Development: Fight to survive
A report in Nature indicates that cells in the developing wing disc of Drosophila compete for the survival factor Decapentaplegic.
7 June 2002 |
 | Behavioural neuroscience: Dipsomaniac mice?
Fancy a beer to help you cope with stress? This reaction might seem exclusive to humans but, as a recent paper in Science shows, something similar is observed in mice that lack a receptor for corticotropin-releasing hormone.
7 June 2002 |
 | Development: Sorted!
Type II cadherins are emerging as a possible link between transcription-factor expression and neuronal surface properties in motor pools.
7 June 2002 |
