Contents
Vol 2007, Issue 416
Contents
Perspectives
- Type I Interferons as Anti-Inflammatory Mediators
Type I interferons reduce inflammation by inhibiting proinflammatory gene expression and inducing immunosuppressive protein production.
- Putting on the RITz
The small GTPase Rit promotes axonal growth while inhibiting dendritic growth.
- A Discrete Signaling Function for an Inositol Pyrophosphate
IP7 is involved in responding to low-phosphate conditions in yeast, but the physiological relevance of protein pyrophosphorylation remains less clear.
Editors' Choice
- Follow the Leader
Squamous carcinoma cells follow tracks laid down by cancer-associated fibroblasts that invade and remodel a matrix.
- Place Spindle Here
Proper orientation of the spindle parallel to the substratum in cultured adherent nonpolarized cells requires phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate.
- Protecting the Liver from Death
IGFBP1 binds BAK at the mitochondria, blocking p53 from triggering BAK oligomerization and inducing apoptosis.
- c-Myc to Melanoma Cells: Drop Dead?
Proteasome inhibitor-induced cell death in melanoma cells is mediated by c-Myc.
- Pain in the Brain
A mechanism is revealed for the effects of noradrenaline on pain sensation in the brain.
- Learn from Your Mistakes
A gene variant that leads to fewer dopamine receptors also prevents people from learning from their mistakes and inhibits feedback to a brain area that registers bad outcomes.
- Drugs, Psychosis, and Schizophrenia
A psychosis-inducing drug activates a brain inflammatory enzyme system that produces superoxide, which decreases activity in certain GABA-containing interneurons.
- Identification of a Deubiquitinating Enzyme
Interferon secretion in response to viral infection is reduced by an enzyme that removes ubiquitin chains from proteins, an effect that could inhibit autoimmune disease.
- Making the Right Cut
Open and closed structures of an intramembrane protease reveal that it has six segments spanning the membrane and that its zinc active site is accessible only when it is open.
- Avoiding Resistance
Bt toxin, a natural insecticide engineered into plants, can be modified to overcome insect resistance by forming damaging pores in pests independently of its normal receptor.
