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.
 | BMP signal inhibition by Noggin: The shape of things to come
Groppe et al. report the crystal structure of the antagonist Noggin bound to BMP-7, thus revealing the mechanism by which Noggin inhibits BMP signaling.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature 420, 636 - 642, (December 2002) |
 | The role of Semaphorin 1a in central synapse formation: A two way street
Godenschwege et al. show that Semaphorin 1a functions in synapse formation and mediates giant synapse assembly through bi-directional signaling. Semaphorin 1a may also function as a receptor in the central nervous system, signaling via Enabled.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature Neuroscience 5, 1294 - 1301, (December 2002) |
 | In brief: December 2002
Cell signalling | Nuclear transport | Apoptosis | Hiv | Immunotherapy | Therapeutics | Therapeutics |
 | Development: Cutting out a pattern
Zhu and Kirschner propose that correct dorso–ventral bone-morphogenetic protein patterning in the mesoderm during gastrulation depends on specifically timed proteolysis of Xom.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Dev. Cell 3, 557 - 568, (2002) |
 | Transcription: Release and relocate
Leonard Zon and colleagues now describe in Molecular Cell evidence that supports a transcriptional function for SUMO-1 proteases — the enzymes that hydrolyze SUMO-1-conjugated proteins.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Mol. Cell 10, 831 - 842, (2002) |
 | Apoptosis: Pour or pore?
A report by Donald Newmeyer and co-workers in Cell provides evidence that activated Bax can mediate the formation of supramolecular openings in the outer mitochondrial membrane.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Cell 111, 331 - 342, (2002) |
 | Autoimmunity: Come and get me!
In type 1 diabetes, cells contribute to their own destruction by secreting CXCL9 and CXCL10, which specifically attract CXCR3+ effector T cells to the islets of Langerhans.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature Med. 414, 792 - 298, (4 November 2002) |
 | Apoptosis: Escaping the rays
In Cancer Cell, Thomas Look and colleagues provide some insight into how developing hematopoietic cells might escape radiation-induced death.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Cancer Cell 2, 279 - 288, (2002) |
 | Angiogenesis: Stemming the flow
Andreas Niethammer and colleagues now report a novel antitumor approach by inhibiting the growth of endothelial cells in the tumor vasculature using an oral DNA vaccine.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature Med. AOP, (4 Nov 2002) |
 | Behavioural genetics: Worms gang up on bacteria
New work uncovers some of the neurons and genes that are involved in regulating social feeding behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans, and points to multiple systems of antagonistic signaling that control whether, and when, the worms aggregate into feeding groups.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature 419, 899 - 903, (2002) |
 | Synaptogenesis: Spinster directs the traffic
A study in Neuron by Sweeney and Davis provides evidence that misregulated growth factor signaling, resulting from defects in endosomal trafficking, can cause synaptic overgrowth.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Neuron 36, 403 - 416, (2002) |
 | Analgesics: Just what we wanted
A novel analgesic approach has arisen in the form of highly selective and efficacious agonists at the 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)1A receptor.
20 December 2002
Original research paper: Neuropharmacology 43, 945 - 958, (2002) |
 | Phosphorylation of Sam68: The splice of life
By investigating the nuclear RNA-binding protein Sam68, Matter et al. give an insight into the connection between signal transduction and the regulation of alternative splicing.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature 420, 691 - 695, (12 December 2002) |
 | Cancer: Know your place
Back-to-back reports in Cell by Clevers and colleagues offer us an understanding into how dysregulation of the Wnt pathway might cause colorectal cancer.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Cell 111, 241 - 250, (2002) |
 | Thymic development: FoxN1 gene regulation in the thymus
Balciunaite and colleagues now report that Wnt signaling pathways control the transcription of FoxN1 in thymic epithelial cells.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature Immunol. 1, 31 - 40, (15 October 2002) |
 | Signalling: A handle on the pre-BCR
A study in Immunity showed that PAX5-dependent activation of B-cell linker is a pivotal event in pre-BCR signaling. This discovery has led to the development of a new system to study the pre-BCR.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Immunity 17, 473 - 485, (2002) |
 | Cancer prevention: Supermice
A recent paper exposed a shortfall in plans to use p53 as a preventive agent against cancer. However, Manuel Serrano and colleagues, reporting in The EMBO Journal, show that this strategy is still worth pursuing, as they take a different approach to increase p53 activity.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: EMBO J. 21, 6225 - 6235, (2002) |
 | Functional genomics: The importance of networking
Lee et al. now present their tour de force approach to mapping transcriptional regulatory networks in the budding yeast. By using genome-wide location analysis, they define regulatory motifs, which when combined with global gene expression data allow them to construct a complete regulatory network.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Science 298, 799 - 804, (2002) |
 | Neural development: BuMPing oligodendrocytes in the cord
Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) appear to be negative regulators of oligodendrocyte precursor specification in the spinal cord.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Development 129, 5117 - 5130, (2002) |
 | Excitotoxicity: Blocking the pathway to excitotoxicity
Aarts and colleagues have used small peptides to block the interaction of NMDA receptors with the protein PSD95, which couples the receptors to the rest of the postsynaptic machinery and to excitotoxicity. This work presents exciting possibilities for developing new treatments for stroke.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Science 298, 846 - 850, (2002) |
 | Obesity: Dead end for NPY Y5-receptor antagonists?
Previous investigations have implicated Y5 and Y1 receptors as the most probable candidates for mediating the effects of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) on food intake. However, Turnbull et al. have now provided strong evidence that the Y5 receptor is not a significant regulator of feeding behavior.
13 December 2002
Original research paper: Diabetes 51, 2441 - 2449, (2002) |
 | WAVE it goodbye: WRPing up Rac signaling
Soderling et al. show that WRP, a novel Rac-selective GTPase-activating protein, binds to WAVE1 and may function as a signal terminator for Rac.
6 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature Cell Biology 4, 970 - 975, (December 2002) |
 | DNA repair: Molecular mimicry
New work shows that several point mutations in BRCA2, which have previously been linked to cancer, impair the ability of BRCA2 to bind RAD51. RAD51 would therefore be unable to repair damaged DNA, which could explain the development of cancer.
6 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature AOP, (2002) |
 | Cell adhesion: A FERM interaction
Two groups, led by De Camilli and Anderson, report in Nature that PtdInsPKI? is targeted by talin to focal adhesions, which defines a mechanism for the spatial generation of PtdIns(4,5)P2 at these sites.
6 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature 420, 85 - 89, (2002) |
 | Innate immunity: Untangling the TLRs
Two studies published in Nature show that the adaptor molecule TIRAP has a restricted role in a shared TLR2 and TLR4 signal-transduction pathway.
6 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature 420, 324 - 329, (2002) |
 | Apoptosis: Divide or die
Zaher Nahle, Scott Lowe and colleagues have investigated the mechanisms by which oncogenes induce cell death using E1A, and have found that the E2F transcription factor, which promotes replication and hence proliferation, has a key role in coordinating these processes.
6 December 2002
Original research paper: Nature Cell Biol. 4, 859 - 864, (2002) |
 | Ion channels: A new TASK for 14-3-3 proteins
Although 14-3-3 proteins are abundant in the brain, their function in neurons remains unclear. But new research by Rajan et al. gives us a clue to their role by showing that they might promote the membrane expression of KCNK potassium channels.
6 December 2002
Original research paper: J. Physiol. (Lond.) 27, 175 - 184, (September 2002) |
