PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

JCI early table of contents for Jan. 2, 2014

2014-01-02
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Corinne Williams
press_releases@the-jci.org
Journal of Clinical Investigation
JCI early table of contents for Jan. 2, 2014 Opioid tolerance and pain hypersensitivity associated with mTOR activation Currently, opioids are the standard treatment for chronic pain. Patients on opioids for long periods of time become desensitized to these drugs or become paradoxically hypersensitive to pain (hyperalgesia); however, the adaptive mechanisms are not well understood. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Yuan-Xiang Tao and colleagues from the New Jersey Medical School at Rutgers University report that the protein mTOR, which is a global regulator of translation, plays a major role in morphine tolerance. Using animal models of opioid exposure, the authors found that mTOR is highly expressed in neurons of the dorsal horn, which is where opioid desensitization and hyperalgesia are thought to originate. Inhibition of mTOR activity with the drug rapamycin prevented and treated opioid tolerance and hyperalgesia in rats that had been exposed to chronic morphine injections. Chronic morphine injection increased activity of mTOR and two of its target proteins in the neurons of the dorsal horn. Furthermore, the authors determined that mTOR links a key opioid receptor to downstream proteins that are known to be involved in morphine tolerance and hyperalgesia, and that blocking mTOR reduced the production of these proteins. This study details a potential mechanism that drives opioid desensitization and hyperalgesia and suggests that targeting the mTOR pathway may improve pain management. TITLE: Opioid receptor–triggered spinal mTORC1 activation contributes to morphine tolerance and hyperalgesia AUTHOR CONTACT: Yuan-Xiang Tao
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ, USA
Phone: 9739729812; Fax: 9739721664; E-mail: yt211@njms.rutgers.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/70236?key=8e6dfbd947463946789e Doxorubicin-associated mitochondrial iron accumulation promotes cardiotoxicity Doxorubicin is a widely used as a component of chemotherapy regimes; however, the use of doxorubicin is associated with severe cardiotoxicity. It is unclear exactly how doxorubicin promotes cardiotoxicity, but it has been proposed that doxorubicin-associated cardiomyopathy develops as the result of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and iron accumulation. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Hossein Ardehali and colleagues at Northwestern University determined that doxorubicin accumulates within the mitochondria of cardiomyocytes and this accumulation promotes mitochondrial ROS production and iron accumulation. In a mouse model of doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxicity, overexpression of a protein that enhances mitochondrial iron transport reduced mitochondrial iron, ROS, and protected animals from doxorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy. Treatment of animals with dexrazoxane, which attenuates doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity, decreased mitochondrial iron levels and reversed doxorubicin-induced cardiac damage. Furthermore, heart samples from patients undergoing doxorubicin therapy revealed higher levels of mitochondrial iron in patients with cardiomyopathies compared to patients without cardiac complications. These data suggest that therapies that limit mitochondrial iron accumulation have potential to limit doxorubicin-associated cardiotoxicity. TITLE: Cardiotoxicity of doxorubicin is mediated through mitochondrial iron accumulation AUTHOR CONTACT: Hossein Ardehali
Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
Phone: 312-503-2342; Fax: 312-503-0137; E-mail: h-ardehali@northwestern.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72931?key=9b3d0d3c914bc63e96f7 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE TITLE: Irradiation and anti–PD-L1 treatment synergistically promote antitumor immunity in mice AUTHOR CONTACT: Yang-Xin Fu
The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Phone: 773-702-0929; Fax: 773-834-8940; E-mail: yfu@midway.uchicago.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67313?key=01e06eba76dd83aad5fb TITLE: Positive feedback between NF-κB and TNF-α promotes leukemia-initiating cell capacity AUTHOR CONTACT: Mineo Kurokawa
Department of Hematology & Oncology, Graduate School of Medicine, Universit, Tokyo, , JPN
Phone: +81-3-58009092; Fax: +81-3-58408667; E-mail: kurokawa-tky@umin.ac.jp View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/68101?key=9641bb0687c996b39b04 TITLE: Erythropoietin promotes breast tumorigenesis through tumor-initiating cell self-renewal AUTHOR CONTACT: William Kim
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone: 919-966-4765; Fax: ; E-mail: wykim@med.unc.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/69804?key=6bc0c0f0192bf2f9b6e6 TITLE: Orexin neurons suppress narcolepsy via 2 distinct efferent pathways AUTHOR CONTACT: Michihiro Mieda
Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, , JPN
Phone: 81762652171; Fax: 81762344224; E-mail: mieda@med.kanazawa-u.ac.jp View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/71017?key=cc00eff4250e5b8f2900 TITLE: Sustained activation of SMAD3/SMAD4 by FOXM1 promotes TGF-β–dependent cancer metastasis AUTHOR CONTACT: Suyun Huang
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
Phone: (713) 834-6232; E-mail: suhuang@mdanderson.org View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/71104?key=319839e42c24c4354ad3 TITLE: OTX2 loss causes rod differentiation defect in CRX-associated congenital blindness AUTHOR CONTACT: Anand Swaroop
National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA
Phone: (301) 435-5754; E-mail: swaroopa@nei.nih.gov View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72722?key=546e0c6bec3baf2197c4
###
END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Opioid tolerance and pain hypersensitivity associated with mTOR activation

2014-01-02
Opioid tolerance and pain hypersensitivity associated with mTOR activation Currently, opioids are the standard treatment for chronic pain. Patients on opioids for long periods of time become desensitized to these drugs or become paradoxically hypersensitive ...

Doxorubicin-associated mitochondrial iron accumulation promotes cardiotoxicity

2014-01-02
Doxorubicin-associated mitochondrial iron accumulation promotes cardiotoxicity Doxorubicin is a widely used as a component of chemotherapy regimes; however, the use of doxorubicin is associated with severe cardiotoxicity. It is unclear exactly how doxorubicin ...

Biologists discover solution to problem limiting development of human stem cell therapies

2014-01-02
Biologists discover solution to problem limiting development of human stem cell therapies Biologists at UC San Diego have discovered an effective strategy that could prevent the human immune system from rejecting the grafts derived from human embryonic ...

Study on pregnancy and alcohol fails to take psychological factors into account

2014-01-02
Study on pregnancy and alcohol fails to take psychological factors into account "It is OK to drink a little bit of alcohol during pregnancy" or "a pregnant woman should not touch alcohol at all during her pregnancy". These statements represent the ...

Brain training works, but just for the practiced task, say Oregon researchers

2014-01-02
Brain training works, but just for the practiced task, say Oregon researchers Revealing pattern of changes detected in brain using MRI as 'trained' subjects show improved self-control EUGENE, Ore. -- Search for "brain training" on the Web. You'll find online exercises, ...

Mass spectrometer detection of 10 protein spots after acute high-altitude HBI

2014-01-02
Mass spectrometer detection of 10 protein spots after acute high-altitude HBI Hypobaric hypoxia can cause severe brain damage and mitochondrial dysfunction, and is involved in hypoxic brain injury. Dr. Jianyu Li and colleagues from Logistics College of Chinese ...

Differences in brain structure in patients with distinct sites of chronic pain

2014-01-02
Differences in brain structure in patients with distinct sites of chronic pain Accumulating evidence indicates that chronic pain of different etiologies is often associated with distinct gray matter volume reductions in multiple brain regions associated with ...

Diffusion tensor MRI-based tractography in evaluation of nerve root function

2014-01-02
Diffusion tensor MRI-based tractography in evaluation of nerve root function If bulging or protruding intervertebral discs occupies the intervertebral foramen, and nerve roots are compressed. The cross-sectional area of nerve root fibers is reduced, fiber bundles ...

Under pressure

2014-01-02
Under pressure A harness for guide dogs must suit both dog and owner Guide dogs lend their eyes to blind people, enabling them to find their way around in an environment they cannot see. Guide dogs require about four ...

Scientists uncover hidden river of rubbish threatening to devastate wildlife

2014-01-02
Scientists uncover hidden river of rubbish threatening to devastate wildlife Thousands of pieces of plastic have been discovered, submerged along the river bed of the upper Thames Estuary by scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London and ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Are lifetimes of big appliances really shrinking?

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

[Press-News.org] JCI early table of contents for Jan. 2, 2014