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.
 | Metastasis: On the edge
Unlike previous studies, which have concentrated on using either molecular markers or functional assays to investigate lymphangiogenesis, new research combines the two approaches.
26 July 2002 |
 | Anti-inflammatories: Fishing for COX inhibitors
FitzGerald and colleagues describe how the zebrafish could provide crucial insights into the biology and pharmacology of the target for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
26 July 2002 |
 | In brief: July 2002: Part 1
DNA repair | Haematopoiesis | T-Cell responses | Melanoma | Development | Neurodegenerative diseases | Ligand-gated ion channels |
| In brief: July 2002: Part 2
DNA segregation | T-Cell signalling | Tumour Suppressors | Angiogenesis | Cell biology of the neuron | Neuromodulation | Rational drug design |
 | Immune regulation: Place your T-BET on Crohn's disease
The transcription factor T-bet seems to be a master regulator of T-helper type 1 cells (TH1), and as such is a useful therapeutic target for diseases mediated by TH1 cells, such as Crohn's disease.
26 July 2002 |
 | Immunodeficiency: Natural killers need NEMO
In addition to defining a new molecular pathway in natural killer-cell activity, a new study highlights a potential therapy to restore antiviral innate immunity in hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia with immunodeficiency (HED-ID) patients.
26 July 2002 |
 | Cytoskeleton: Formin' filaments
Pruyne and colleagues report that formins might directly nucleate unbranched actin filaments.
26 July 2002 |
 | Neurological disorders: The alpha and beta of protein folding
Data from Sadqi et al. indicates that paired helical filaments — the main intraneuronal aggregate in Alzheimer's disease — have an a-helical conformation.
26 July 2002 |
 | Synaptic physiology: It's all in the rhythm
Two studies highlight the relevance of vesicle recycling to synaptic efficacy, a field that remains to be explored in detail.
26 July 2002 |
 | Oncogenes:
Fusion power
In Nature Medicine, Bryan Linggi et al. report that AML1–ETO can repress transcription of the ARF tumor suppressor.
26 July 2002 |
 | Oncogenes: A flying start
The Cancer Genome Project is already making progress towards the goal of identifying new oncogenes and tumour suppressors with the discovery that BRAF is freqently mutated in melanoma.
19 July 2002 |
 | Tolerance: T-cell turn-off
A new study shows that nuclear factor of activated T cells - a transcription factor that has a central role in full T-cell activation - can also initiate a genetic programme that leads to anergy.
19 July 2002 |
 | Haematopoiesis: The origin of HSCs
Two recent studies published in Immunity provide clues as to the cellular origin of the haematopoietic stem cells that develop during mammalian embryogenesis, and their location within the embryonic tissues from which they emerge.
19 July 2002 |
 | Chromatin: HIRA order
A new report uncovers an independent chromatin-assembly pathway that is not coupled to DNA replication.
19 July 2002 |
 | Sumoylation: On the move
Firtel's group now show that MAPK and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) kinase - MEK - SUMOylation and ubiquitylation are necessary for regulating chemotaxis.
19 July 2002 |
 | Neurotechnique: Pure and simple
Rathjen et al. seem to have circumvented a problem by developing a new protocol that enables them to bypass the embryoid body stage to generate a virtually pure neuroectoderm from mouse embryonic stem cells.
19 July 2002 |
 | Neurological disorders: Synaptic X-changes
According to new results, fragile X mental retardation protein might have an important role in regulating synaptic plasticity. These findings could be a first step towards identifying potential therapeutic targets in fragile X syndrome.
19 July 2002 |
 | Cell biology of the neuron: Curling the curl in coincidence detection
It is well known that the calcium channel InsP3R opens in response to Ins(1,4,5)P3 and calcium, but is signaling through this pathway more complex than we previously thought?
19 July 2002 |
 | Oncogenesis: The many faces of MYC
Two groups have reported that c-MYC can induce the accumulation of reactive oxygen species, with very different results.
12 July 2002 |
 | G-Protein-coupled receptors: Easing the path to the surface
Bouvier and colleagues describe how membrane-permeable G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) ligands can facilitate maturation and endoplasmic reticulum export of GPCRs, a phenomenon that could have significant implications for drugs that target GPCRs and other membrane proteins.
12 July 2002 |
 | Protein modification: Remove to move
In Nature, Yao and co-workers report that a member of the histone deacetylase family - HDAC6 - is a tubulin deacetylase, and that the HDAC6-mediated deacetylation of tubulin can increase cell movement.
12 July 2002 |
 | Ubiquitylation: Dual control
Hunter and colleagues report that ERK1/2 protein levels can be controlled by MEK kinase 1 (MEKK1)-mediated ubiquitylation.
12 July 2002 |
 | Apoptosis: Protect and survive
A new study by Rubio et al. provides convincing evidence that heat-shock cognate 70 protects neural precursor cells from apoptosis.
12 July 2002 |
 | Psychiatric disorders: On an even keel
Two drugs used to treat manic depression have similar effects on the dynamic properties of sensory neuron growth cones. New findings implicate inositol depletion in the mechanism of action of these drugs, and provide clues to the molecular basis of the disorder.
12 July 2002 |
 | Epithelial–mesenchymal transition: A deadly combination
New findings from Allan Balmain's group may offer the opportunity for the design of small-molecule inhibitors to prevent the spread of tumors.
5 July 2002 |
 | Metabolic diseases: Giving nature a helping hand
As three recent clinical or preclinical studies indicate, enhancing the body's normal homeostatic mechanisms could represent a promising new strategy for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and associated disorders.
5 July 2002 |
 | Neurodegenerative diseases: TAU goes wild in Drosophila
George Jackson and colleagues have created a Drosophila melanogaster model of tauopathies that does not rely on mutant TAU, but rather on modulation of human wild-type TAU expression.
5 July 2002 |
 | Sex determination: Secrets of masculinity
Blanche Capel and colleagues provide evidence that the Desert Hedgehog-Patched 1 pathway triggers Leydig cell differentiation.
5 July 2002 |
 | Autoimmunity: Sometimes it's hard to be a woman
Betty Diamond's group shows that oestrogen can modulate the survival of immature B cells, leading to a more autoreactive B-cell repertoire.
5 July 2002 |
 | Development: Hedgehog in growth...
Mutations that activate the Hedgehog signaling pathway have been linked to tumour formation. Now, the discovery of a direct link between Hedgehog signaling and key regulators of the cell cycle might explain what's behind this link.
5 July 2002 |
 | Development: Class distinction
Little is known about the factors that specify the different neuronal subtypes, but two groups now report that the transcription factor Lbx1 seems to have an important role.
5 July 2002 |
