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.
 | Cancer stem cells: When good cells Wnt bad
Deletion of the tumor suppressor PTEN in mouse intestine leads to hyperproliferation of intestinal stem cells.
Original research paper: Nature Genetics 39, 189-198 (2007) |
 | Rheb GEF: Flies gotta have it
Translationally controlled tumor protein (TCTP) is essential for Drosophila development and has nucleotide exchange activity towards Rheb, a Ras-related small GTPase.
Original research paper: Nature 445, 785-788 (2007) |
 | p27: Stable during stressful times
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mediated phosphorylation of the CDK inhibitor p27kip1 promotes its stabilization and induces autophagy in response to cellular stress.
Original research paper: Nature Cell Biology 9,218-224 (2007) |
 | Cell fate: Small RNAs make big decisions
Micro RNAs may have a crucial role in the signaling processes that govern vertebrate cell fate decisions.
Original research paper: Nature Genetics 39, 259-263 (2007) |
 | A universal or cargo-selective transport company?
The activity of Rac1 and a Rac GTPase activating protein (RacGAP) are required for efficient nuclear import and function of the STAT3 and STAT5 (signal transducers and activators of transcription) transcription factors.
Original research paper: J. Cell Biol. 175, 937 – 946, (2006) |
 | Fat gets picky with macrophages
A series of studies elucidate differences in gene expression in monocytes and macrophages isolated from wild-type and obese or atherosclerotic mice.
Original research paper: J. Clin. Invest. 117, 195 – 205, (2007) |
 | In brief: February 2007
Dendritic cells | Macrophages | T-cell responses | Antiviral immunity | Tumorigenesis | Therapy | Senescence | Epigenetics | Gene expression | Neurodegenerative disorders | Food microbiology | Proteomics | Spectroscopy |
 | TLR signalling not required
In contrast to immunology dogma, a recent report shows that signaling through Toll-like receptors is not required for T-cell or B-cell response to antigen.
Original research paper: Science 314, 1936 – 1938, (2006) |
 | Timing the switch
Nicotinic and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors cooperate to control the switch between excitory and inhibitory GABA-dependent neurotransmission, as well as other aspects of neuronal development.
Original research paper: Science 314, 1610 – 1613, (2006) |
 | Escaping inhibition
Human epidermal growth factor receptor-3 (HER3) can activate Akt signaling in tumors when HER2 function is incompletely blocked by tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment.
Original research paper: Nature 445, 437 – 441 (2007) |
 | Therapy: Restraint required
Systematic activation of p53 in Mdm2-null mice is deadly, raising concerns about the potential efficacy of p53 agonists as anti-cancer agents.
Original research paper: Cancer Cell 10, 501 – 514, (2006) |
 | From genetic interactions to pathway architecture
A new method for constructing a genetic interaction network in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has the potential to identify signaling pathway proteins and sort out pathway hierarchy in an unbiased manner.
Original research paper: Nature Genet. 39, 199 - 206 (2007) |
 | Tinkering with the fly genome
P[acman], a new approach for generating transgenic fruit flies, allows researchers to insert over 100 kilobases of DNA at specific loci, and represents a tremendous advance in Drosophila transgene technology.
Original research paper: Genetics 166, 1775 – 1782, (2004) |
 | Cartography of an organelle
A detailed proteomic map of the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi provides new insight into the subcellular localization and trafficking of proteins.
Original research paper: Cell 127, 1265 – 1281, (2006) |
 | Stressed? Time to vesiculate...
Perturbation of the σE stress response pathway in E. coli and other gram-negative bacteria promotes vesiculation, which likely functions to sequester toxic or misfolded proteins.
Original research paper: Mol. Microbiol. 63, 545 – 558, (2007) |
 | Chemical detectors or polarity cues?
Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase γ and the phosphatase SHIP1 cooperatively regulate phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate during cell migration.
Original research paper: Nature Cell Biol. 9, 36 – 44, (2007) |
 | A centrosome-integrity checkpoint
A p38-p53 signaling cascade inhibits G1 to S phase transition upon detection of defective centrosomes.
Original research paper: Nature Cell Biol. 9, 160 – 170 (2006) |
 | Breaking and entering
The transcriptional regulator nuclear factor κB contributes to bone metastasis in vivo by inducing the expression of granulocyte–macrophage colony stimulating factor (GMCSF).
Original research paper: Nature Med. 13, 62–69 (2006) |
 | Therapy: Foxing liver cancer
Pharmacological inhibition of forkhead box M1 (FOXM1) with a peptide derived from the tumor suppressor ARF reduces proliferation and increases apoptosis of liver cancer cells.
Original research paper: J. Clin. Invest. 117, 99 – 111, (2007) |
 | Learning through Trk-ing
The phospholipase C docking site on TrkB receptors, but not the Shc site, is involved in learning and long-term potentiation in the mouse hippocampus.
Original research paper: Learn. Mem. 14, 54 – 62, (2007) |
 | FRETting for a more detailed interactome
By combining fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) researchers have established a powerful high-throughput method to screen for protein-protein interactions in yeast and mammalian cells.
Original research paper: Nat. Biotechnol. 23, 355 – 360, (2005) |
 | An epigenetic effector
The Shigella flexneri protein effector OspF acts as a dual-specificity phosphatase that prevents histone H3 phosphorylation and subsequent transcription of NF?B-regulated genes.
Original research paper: Nature Immunol. 8, 47 – 56, (2007) |
 | Solving a MYSTery
Two studies have identified a new post-translational modification in the DNA-binding domain of p53 that has an important role in determining cell fate during the p53-mediated DNA damage response.
Original research paper: Mol. Cell 24, 827 – 839, (2006) |
 | Staying in character
Five papers identify some of the key target genes for the transcription factor FOXP3 (forkhead box P3) and confirm its important role in maintaining CD4+CD25+ regulatory T-cell characteristics.
Original research paper: Nature 445, 771 – 775 (2007) |
 | Less is more
New research indicates that inhibition of the Notch pathway paradoxically increases endothelial cell proliferation and tumor vascular density but inhibits tumor growth.
Original research paper: Nature 444, 1032 – 1037, (2006) |
 | Jagged little pill?
Preclinical studies indicate that the inhibition of Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP1) can specifically induce cell death of BRCA1- and BRCA2-deficient breast cancer tumor cells owing to the accumulation of unrepairable DNA damage.
Original research paper: Oncogene 4, 421 – 440, (2006) |
 | New syndrome reconciles theories of ageing
A programmed response to DNA damage accumulation mediated by the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) pathway is associated with ageing.
Original research paper: Nature 444, 1038 – 1044, (2006) |
 | ApoE receptor 2: a double-edged sword
ApoE receptor 2 (ApoE-R2) regulates neuronal survival both during aging and after injury, however, the alternatively spliced exon 19 must be present for this process to occur.
Original research paper: Curr. Biol. 16, 2446 – 2452, (2006) |
