JCI early table of contents for Feb. 1, 2013
2013-02-01
(Press-News.org) A gut feeling about neural stem cells
Proper function of the digestive system requires coordinated contraction of the muscle in the wall of the intestinal tract, regulated by the enteric nervous system. Damage or loss of these neurons can result in intestinal motility disorders, such as Hirschsprung's disease, for which there is a dearth of effective treatments. In principle, disorders of the enteric nervous system could be treated by cell therapy, but it was previously unknown whether transplanted stem cells could migrate to the appropriate location in the gut and then become neurons that could properly innervate the bowel. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Heather Young and colleagues at the University of Melbourne, isolated neural stem cells from mice, cultured them to promote the formation of neural precursor cells, and implanted them into the muscle in the colons of recipient mice. Young and colleagues found that these cells were able to migrate away from the transplantation site and develop into neurons that provided stimulation to the portions of the gut the regulate motility. These findings suggest that the transplantation of neural stem cells is a promising therapeutic avenue for the treatment of gastrointestinal motility disorders.
TITLE:
Transplanted progenitors generate functional enteric neurons in the postnatal colon
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Heather Young
University of Melbourne, Parkville, UNK, AUS
Phone: +61383440007; E-mail: h.young@unimelb.edu.au
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/65963?key=022ab1c35b2caee56d0e
A cellular adhesion protein protects against inflammation
Cellular inflammation is mediated by a group of proteins known as the inflammasome. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Ziad Mallat and colleagues at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, England, identified a protein, MFGE8, that blocks inflammasome activity. Using a mouse model of stroke, Mallat and colleagues determined that expression of MFGE8 inhibited the production of pro-inflammatory products and limited the area of injury after stroke. These results identify MFGE8 as an important regulator of inflammation that could potentially serve as a useful therapeutic target in inflammatory disease.
TITLE:
MFGE8 inhibits inflammasome-induced IL-1β production and limits post-ischemic cerebral injury
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Ziad Mallat
University of Cambridge, Cambridge, GBR
Phone: +44 (0)1223 746720; E-mail: zm255@medschl.cam.ac.uk
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/65167?key=9c368b2173b91a4a0e01
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
TITLE:
IQGAP1 suppresses TβRII-mediated myofibroblastic activation and metastatic growth in liver
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Ningling Kang
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Rochester, MN, USA
Phone: 5075387552; E-mail: kang.ningling@mayo.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/64742?key=5c508faefc60a69bb7a1
TITLE:
Virus-induced hepatocellular carcinomas cause antigen-specific local tolerance
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Thomas Blankenstein
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, DEU
Phone: 49-30-9406-2816; Fax: 49-30-9406-2453; E-mail: tblanke@mdc-berlin.de
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/64742?key=5c508faefc60a69bb7a1
TITLE:
Host immunity contributes to the anti-melanoma activity of BRAF inhibitors
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Mark J. Smyth
Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute, Victoria, AUS
Phone: 61 3 96563728; Fax: 61 3 92561411; E-mail: Mark.Smyth@petermac.org
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/66236?key=b2940314699742354322
TITLE:
Adeno-associated virus capsid antigen presentation is dependent on endosomal escape
AUTHOR CONTACT:
R. Jude Samulski
The Gene Therapy Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone: 919.962.3285; Fax: 919-966-0907; E-mail: rjs@med.unc.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/66611?key=2230ec7324c7af802573
TITLE:
Two-photon imaging of phagocyte-mediated T cell activation in the CNS
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Naoto Kawakami
*Ludwig Maximilians Universität München, Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunol, Munich, DEU
Phone: +49 89 7095 8386; Fax: +49 89 7095 8380; E-mail: Naoto.Kawakami@med.uni-muenchen.de
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67233?key=e9bf7e5b2d653d95812f
TITLE:
p53 centrosomal localization diagnoses ataxia-telangiectasia homozygotes and heterozygotes
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Silvia Soddu
Regina Elena Cancer Institute, Rome, ITA
Phone: +39 065266 2492; Fax: +39 065266 2505; E-mail:soddu@ifo.it
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67289?key=e370c09cca244ec50c53>http://www.jci.org/articles/view/67289?key=e370c09cca244ec50c53
###
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2013-02-01
On April 14, 2003 a map of the human genome was completed, ushering in a new era of genetics in medicine with applications that include genetic testing; newborn screening; susceptibility to diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, or psychiatric conditions; screening, diagnosis and monitoring of disease; and treatment planning. A special Genomics Issue, including an evidence review by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), published by Wiley in the Journal of Nursing Scholarship on behalf of the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International, ...
2013-02-01
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) ― A study of more than 12,000 children from emergency departments throughout the country in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) has identified seven factors that can help physicians determine the need for a computed tomography (CT) scan following blunt trauma to the abdomen. Because CT scans pose radiation hazards for youngsters, the findings may enable doctors to determine which children do not need to be exposed to such tests after a traumatic injury.
The study, titled "Identifying children at very low risk of clinically ...
2013-02-01
Alexandria, VA — Cartilage tympanoplasty can be performed successfully in 95 percent of young children when appropriate conditions exist, according to a study in the February 2013 issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery.
"Pediatric tympanoplasty is a frequently performed procedure with varying reported success rates ranging between 35 percent and 94 percent. In general, tympanic membrane repair success in children is often perceived as lagging behind what is typically achieved in adults having similar underlying risk factors," the authors write.
The study was ...
2013-02-01
Bethesda, MD—Smoking tobacco might be bad for your health, but a genetically altered version of the plant might provide a relatively inexpensive cure for the deadly rabies virus. In a new research report appearing in The FASEB Journal, scientists produced a monoclonal antibody in transgenic tobacco plants that was shown to neutralize the rabies virus. This new antibody works by preventing the virus from attaching to nerve endings around the bite site and keeps the virus from traveling to the brain.
"Rabies continues to kill many thousands of people throughout the developing ...
2013-02-01
(Boston) – In a study of communities in Massachusetts with high numbers of opioid overdose deaths, the implementation of overdose education and naloxone distribution (OEND) was associated with a significant reduction in opioid overdose death rates. Led by researchers at Boston Medical Center (BMC), Boston University Schools of Medicine (BUSM) and Public Health (BUSPH) in collaboration with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) and published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), this study provides observational evidence that OEND is an effective public health ...
2013-02-01
According to a study in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, the use of volume-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) to deliver intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to prostate cancer patients results in an overall reduction in treatment time of approximately 14 percent. The study was performed at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta.
Treatment with IMRT is increasingly standard for prostate cancer. However, although the benefits of IMRT in the treatment of prostate cancer are ample, it remains a complex and time-consuming ...
2013-02-01
A worldwide review of global rainfall data led by the University of Adelaide has found that the intensity of the most extreme rainfall events is increasing across the globe as temperatures rise.
In the most comprehensive review of changes to extreme rainfall ever undertaken, researchers evaluated the association between extreme rainfall and atmospheric temperatures at more than 8000 weather gauging stations around the world.
Lead author Dr Seth Westra said, "The results are that rainfall extremes are increasing on average globally. They show that there is a 7% increase ...
2013-02-01
URBANA – Increased levels of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide (CO2), have been associated with the burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, cultivation of grasslands, drainage of the land, and land use changes. Concerns about long-term shifts in climate patterns have led scientists to measure soil organic carbon (SOC) in agricultural landscapes and to develop methods to evaluate how changes in tillage practices affect atmospheric carbon sequestration. University of Illinois professor of soil science Kenneth Olson has used data collected over a 20-year period ...
2013-02-01
Theoretical physicist Moumita Maiti and colleagues at the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research in Bangalore, India, have now implemented an algorithm for analysing void space in sphere packing, where the spheres need not all be the same size. This method, about to be published in EPJ E, could be applied to analyse the geometry of liquids present between multi-sized spheres that are akin to a model for porous material. This provides a tool for studying the flow of such fluids through porous material. More importantly, it can also be used to study the ...
2013-02-01
Coral reefs are predicted to decline under the pressure of global warming. However, a number of coral species can survive at seawater temperatures even higher than predicted for the tropics during the next century. How they survive, while most species cannot, is being investigated by researchers at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS) and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD).
We tend to associate coral reefs with tropical seas of around 28 degrees, where even slight warming can have devastating effects on corals. But in the Arabian/Persian Gulf, corals ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] JCI early table of contents for Feb. 1, 2013
