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

JCI early table of contents for Feb. 10, 2014

2014-02-10
(Press-News.org) Researchers identify unique regulatory T cell population in human skin Regulatory T cells (Tregs) dampen the immune response against self antigens and contribute to the prevention of autoimmunity. A skin-specific population of Tregs (mTreg) has been described in mice that has properties similar to memory T cells. In mice, some mTregs are maintained in the skin for long periods of time and suppress cutaneous autoimmunity. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Michael Rosenblum and colleagues at the University of California San Francisco analyzed the mTreg population in human skin, and found that human mTregs have unique features and localize to hair follicles. mTregs isolated from human skin did not appear to recognize the same antigens as memory T cells isolated from blood. In healthy skin, mTregs were relatively static; however, this population was greatly expanded in skin from psoriasis patients, suggesting that these cells are dysfunctional in inflamed skin. TITLE: Memory regulatory T cells reside in human skin AUTHOR CONTACT: Michael D. Rosenblum
UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone: +14153537800; E-mail: rosenblummd@derm.ucsf.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72932?key=dfa6e0f9c00d116b3ce5 Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-associated mutation damages DNA and alters RNA splicing Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FALS) is a neurological disease that has been linked to mutations in several different genes, including the gene encoding the DNA/RNA binding protein FUS. It is unclear how FUS mutations promote FALS-associated symptoms. In the issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Eric Huang and colleagues of the University of California San Francisco developed a transgenic mouse model of FUS-associated FALS. FUS-R521C mice exhibited phenotypes similar to patients, such as neurological dysfunction and pronounced DNA damage. The authors identified brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) as a target of mutant FUS. Treatment of FUS-R521C neurons with BNDF only partially restored dendrite function. Evaluation of spinal cords from FUS-R521C revealed that there were multiple defects in the transcription and splicing of genes associated with dendrite growth and function. TITLE: ALS-associated mutation FUS-R521C causes DNA damage and RNA splicing defects AUTHOR CONTACT: Eric Huang
University of California San Francisco UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
Phone: 415-476-8525; Fax: 415-514-0878; E-mail: eric.huang2@ucsf.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72723?key=bee22d69afd746aef369 ALSO IN THIS ISSUE TITLE: Optogenetic stimulation of the auditory pathway AUTHOR CONTACT: Tobias Moser
University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, , DEU
Phone: 551-39-8968; E-mail: tmoser@gwdg.de View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/69050?key=74465b973953e5ba1dd3 TITLE: B cells mediate chronic allograft rejection independently of antibody production AUTHOR CONTACT: Geetha Chalasani
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone: (412) 383-5924; Fax: (412) 383-9990; E-mail: gec12@pitt.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/70084?key=e22afdb8ee7de68e72ed TITLE: 5′RNA-Seq identifies Fhl1 as a genetic modifier in cardiomyopathy AUTHOR CONTACT: Christine Edry Seidman
Brigham & Women's Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Phone: 617-432-7838; Fax: 617-432-7832; E-mail: cseidman@genetics.med.harvard.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/70108?key=f64e28fb026d750a312d TITLE: CXCL5-secreting pulmonary epithelial cells drive destructive neutrophilic inflammation in tuberculosis AUTHOR CONTACT: Stefan Kaufmann
Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, , DEU
E-mail: kaufmann@mpiib-berlin.mpg.de View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72030?key=1d74463dd0b5db358c19 TITLE: IL-15 regulates memory CD8+ T cell O-glycan synthesis and affects trafficking AUTHOR CONTACT: John Harty
University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Phone: 319-335-9720; Fax: 319-335-9006; E-mail:john-harty@uiowa.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72039?key=d0407b540a1c644da93b TITLE: An AXL/LRP-1/RANBP9 complex mediates DC efferocytosis and antigen cross-presentation in vivo AUTHOR CONTACT: Ira A. Tabas
Rm PH 8-East 105F, New York, NY, USA
Phone: 212-305-9430; Fax: 212-305-4834; E-mail: iat1@columbia.edu View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/72051?key=b5676b497b6cff5d0770 INFORMATION: END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Obesity, type 2 diabetes epidemics spreading to developing world as more own TVs, computer

2014-02-10
Lower income countries may soon be facing the same obesity and diabetes epidemics as their higher income counterparts. Ownership of televisions, cars and computers was recently found to be associated with increased rates of obesity and diabetes in lower and middle income countries, according to an international study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). "Although we found no trend between household devices ownership and obesity or diabetes in high income countries, there was a stronger relation as the level of country income decreased. This relation ...

Supreme Court of Canada ruling on life support has wider impact: Hassan Rasouli

2014-02-10
In the debate over whether to withdraw life support for patients who have no hope of recovery, the recent judgment by the Supreme Court of Canada on the Hassan Rasouli case in Ontario has broader implications for health care in the country, argue authors in a commentary in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in October 2013 that physicians who recommend withdrawing life support over the wishes of substitute decision-makers must apply to Ontario's Consent and Capacity Board, "regardless of whether they feel ongoing treatment falls ...

Researchers call for more study into impact of repetitive heading in soccer

Researchers call for more study into impact of repetitive heading in soccer
2014-02-10
TORONTO, Feb. 10, 2014—Soccer is the most-popular and fastest-growing sport in the world and, like many contact sports, players are at risk of suffering concussions from collisions on the field. But researchers warned in a paper published today that not enough attention has been given to the unique aspect of soccer – the purposeful use of the head to control the ball – and the long-term consequences of repetitive heading. The literature review by Dr. Tom Schweizer, director of the Neuroscience Research Program of St. Michael's Hospital, was published in the journal ...

Conserved nuclear envelope protein uses a shuttle service to travel between job sites

Conserved nuclear envelope protein uses a shuttle service to travel between job sites
2014-02-10
KANSAS CITY, MO—Researchers at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research have glimpsed two proteins working together inside living cells to facilitate communication between the cell's nucleus and its exterior compartment, the cytoplasm. The research provides new clues into how a crucial protein that is found in organisms from yeast to humans does its work. The study, led by Stowers Investigator Sue Jaspersen, Ph.D., focused on a protein called Ndc1, which controls when and where a cell inserts holes into the double-walled membrane that surrounds its nucleus. In yeast, ...

Weakness exposed in most common cancer gene

2014-02-10
NYU Langone Medical Center researchers have found a biological weakness in the workings of the most commonly mutated gene involved in human cancers, known as mutant K-Ras, which they say can be exploited by drug chemotherapies to thwart tumor growth. Mutant K-Ras has long been suspected of being the driving force behind more than a third of all cancers, including colon, lung, and a majority of pancreatic cancers. Indeed, Ras cancers, which are unusually aggressive, are thought of as "undruggable" because every previous attempt to stall their growth has failed. Reporting ...

Transcendental Meditation significantly reduces PTSD in African refugees within 10 days

Transcendental Meditation significantly reduces PTSD in African refugees within 10 days
2014-02-10
African civilians in war-torn countries have experienced the threat of violence or death, and many have witnessed the abuse, torture, rape and even murder of loved ones. Many Congolese living in Ugandan refugee camps are suffering from severe posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). New research shows that Congolese war refugees who learned the Transcendental Meditation® technique showed a significant reduction in posttraumatic stress disorder in just 10 days, according to a study published today in the February 2014 issue of the Journal of Traumatic Stress (Volume 27, ...

Nanomotors are controlled, for the first time, inside living cells

Nanomotors are controlled, for the first time, inside living cells
2014-02-10
For the first time, a team of chemists and engineers at Penn State University have placed tiny synthetic motors inside live human cells, propelled them with ultrasonic waves and steered them magnetically. It's not exactly "Fantastic Voyage," but it's close. The nanomotors, which are rocket-shaped metal particles, move around inside the cells, spinning and battering against the cell membrane. "As these nanomotors move around and bump into structures inside the cells, the live cells show internal mechanical responses that no one has seen before," said Tom Mallouk, Evan ...

Matchmaking this Valentine's Day: How it can bring you the most happiness

2014-02-10
Austin – February 10, 2014 – With Valentine's Day around the corner, you may be thinking of pairing up two friends for a date. If you follow your instinct to play Cupid, it'll pay off in happiness – not necessarily for the new couple, but definitely for you. According to new research, matchmaking, a time-honored tradition, brings intrinsic happiness to the matchmaker. To maximize the psychological benefits of matchmaking, you should take care to introduce two people who not only seem compatible but who would be unlikely to meet otherwise, researchers say. "At some point, ...

Genetic discovery to keep crops disease-free

2014-02-10
Curtin University researchers have found a way to breed disease-resistant wheat with no downside, potentially bringing multi-million dollar savings to Australia's agricultural industry. According to John Curtin Distinguished Professor Richard Oliver, Director of the Australian Centre for Necrotrophic Fungal Pathogens (ACNFP) at Curtin, farmers can lose more than 0.35 tonnes per hectare in wheat yields to Yellow Spot, even after applying fungicide. For an average-sized farm of 4000 hectares, this could mean an almost $500,000 loss to disease per year – or about $212 ...

Slowing down the immune system when in overdrive

2014-02-10
Many people suffer from chronic inflammation because their immune systems overreact to 'self' tissue. Sydney scientists believe that a small molecule known as Interleukin 21 is a promising therapeutic target in such cases. Interleukin 21 (IL-21) is one of a group of chemical messengers known as 'cytokines', which affect the behaviour of immune cells. IL-21 is already well known to play an important role in autoimmune diseases such as Sjögren's syndrome and type 1 diabetes. The current study shows how much IL-21 contributes to inflammation. It also shows how important ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Oil spill still contaminating sensitive Mauritius mangroves three years on

Unmasking the voices of experience in healthcare studies

Pandemic raised food, housing insecurity in Oregon despite surge in spending

OU College of Medicine professor earns prestigious pancreatology award

Sub-Saharan Africa leads global HIV decline: Progress made but UNAIDS 2030 goals hang in balance, new IHME study finds

Popular diabetes and obesity drugs also protect kidneys, study shows

Stevens INI receives funding to expand research on the neural underpinnings of bipolar disorder

Protecting nature can safeguard cities from floods

NCSA receives honors in 2024 HPCwire Readers’ and Editors’ Choice Awards

Warning: Don’t miss Thanksgiving dinner, it’s more meaningful than you think

Expanding HPV vaccination to all adults aged 27-45 years unlikely to be cost-effective or efficient for HPV-related cancer prevention

Trauma care and mental health interventions training help family physicians prepare for times of war

Adapted nominal group technique effectively builds consensus on health care priorities for older adults

Single-visit first-trimester care with point-of-care ultrasound cuts emergency visits by 81% for non-miscarrying patients

Study reveals impact of trauma on health care professionals in Israel following 2023 terror attack

Primary care settings face barriers to screening for early detection of cognitive impairment

November/December Annals of Family Medicine Tip Sheet

Antibiotics initiated for suspected community-acquired pneumonia even when chest radiography results are negative

COVID-19 stay-at-home order increased reporting of food, housing, and other health-related social needs in Oregon

UW-led research links wildfire smoke exposure with increased dementia risk

Most U.S. adults surveyed trust store-bought turkey is free of contaminants, despite research finding fecal bacteria in ground turkey

New therapy from UI Health offers FDA-approved treatment option for brittle type 1 diabetes

Alzheimer's: A new strategy to prevent neurodegeneration

A clue to what lies beneath the bland surfaces of Uranus and Neptune

Researchers uncover what makes large numbers of “squishy” grains start flowing

Scientists uncover new mechanism in bacterial DNA enzyme opening pathways for antibiotic development

New study reveals the explosive secret of the squirting cucumber

Vanderbilt authors find evidence that the hunger hormone leptin can direct neural development in a leptin receptor–independent manner

To design better water filters, MIT engineers look to manta rays

Self-assembling proteins can be used for higher performance, more sustainable skincare products

[Press-News.org] JCI early table of contents for Feb. 10, 2014