(Press-News.org) Cytoskeletal dysregulation underlies Buruli ulcer formation
Mycobacterium ulcerans infects the skin and subcutaneous tissues and secretes a lipid toxin, mycolactone, which causes open skin lesions, known as Buruli ulcers. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Caroline Demangel at the Pasteur Institue in Paris investigated the molecular actions of mycolactone and found that it dysregulates the cellular skeleton (cytoskeleton) through activation of a protein known as N-WASP. They found that excessive N-WASP activity caused defects in cell adhesion and migration that impaired the integrity of the skin. Demangel and colleagues demonstrated that they could block the degradation process by administration of the N-WASP inhibitor wiskostatin. These results reveal the molecular pathogenesis of M. ulcerans and suggest that drugs that disrupt mycolactone/N-WASP interaction could be used to treat Buruli ulcers.
TITLE:
Mycolactone activation of Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome proteins underpins Buruli ulcer formation
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Caroline Demangel
Institut Pasteur, Paris Cedex 15, FRA
Phone: 33 1 40 61 30 66; E-mail: demangel@pasteur.fr
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/66576?key=27d03cca761796d4a69e
Sorting out fertility after childhood cancer
As success rates in treating childhood cancers have improved, greater emphasis is being placed on quality of life issues following successful treatment. Many cancer treatments can lead to infertility, but there are few methods to preserve the fertility of children who have not entered puberty. Spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs), which produce sperm cells, are present prior to the start of puberty. In theory, SSCs could be removed via biopsy prior to the start of treatment and then retransplanted following remission; however, there is a potential risk of reintroducing malignant material during transplantation. To overcome this hurdle, Serena Dovey and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh characterized the cell surface markers of human spermatogonia in testicular tissue from organ donors. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Dovey and colleagues report the development of a multi-parameter sorting approach to separate SSCs from cancerous cells. Sorted SSCs exhibited were able to function properly when transplanted into mice, but did not form tumors. These results suggest that SSC transplantation could be a viable method to preserve fertility in male childhood cancer survivors.
TITLE:
Eliminating malignant contamination from therapeutic human spermatogonial stem cells
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Kyle Orwig
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Phone: 412-641-2460; Fax: 412-641-3899; E-mail: orwigke@upmc.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/65822?key=92403084007f62aaa983
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE
TITLE:
Autocrine production of IL-11 mediates tumorigenicity in hypoxic cancer cells
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Giovanni Melillo
Bristol-Myers Squibb, Princeton, NJ, USA
Phone: 609-2526975; Fax: 609-252-7821; E-mail: Giovanni.Melillo@bms.com
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/59623?key=09427167d2ca471d63fb
TITLE:
Myeloid cell-specific serine palmitoyltransferase subunit 2 haploinsufficiency reduces murine atherosclerosis
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Xian-Cheng Jiang
SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY, USA
Phone: 718-270-6701; E-mail: xjiang@downstate.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/60415?key=2c47d954d23f558696b6
TITLE:
Tumor fibroblast-derived epiregulin promotes growth of colitis-associated neoplasms through ERK
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Clemens Neufert
Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, UNK, DEU
Phone: 49 9131 8535000; E-mail: clemens.neufert@uk-erlangen.de
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/63748?key=c6681cc88546bfff242d
TITLE:
GSK-3α is a central regulator of age-related pathologies in mice
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Thomas Force
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
E-mail: thomas.force@temple.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/64398?key=827027eeb251673d7eac
TITLE:
Epitope specificity determines pathogenicity and detectability in ANCA-associated vasculitis
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Aleeza Roth
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Phone: 9196198839; E-mail: ajroth@med.unc.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/65292?key=104b89aefe7b5eb7d6f3
TITLE:
Hepatic glucose sensing is required to preserve β-cell glucose competence
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Bernard Thorens
University of Lausanne, Lausanne, CHE
Phone: 41 21 692 3981; Fax: 41 21 692 3985; E-mail: bernard.thorens@unil.ch
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/65538?key=f5ec82cf2167aad8336d
TITLE:
Calcium influx through L-type CaV1.2 Ca2+ channels regulates mandibular development
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Geoffrey Pitt
Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA
Phone: 919-668-7641; E-mail: geoffrey.pitt@duke.edu
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/66903?key=ca855a0861b197867ade
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Arnhem, 11 March 2013 - A new study by British scientists reveals that motile Escherichia coli isolates demonstrated significant activation of NF-κB signaling suggesting that flagellin plays a key role in up-regulating the host innate defences against urinary tract infections (UTIs).
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BUFFALO, N.Y. – The first controlled clinical trial to test the safety and efficacy of interventional endovascular therapy on the symptoms and progression of multiple sclerosis has found that the intervention, sometimes called the "liberation treatment," which has attracted intense interest in the global MS community, does not improve patient outcomes. In a few cases, the treatment made symptoms worse.
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Scientists at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research (MPI-P) in Germany have created a new synthetic hybrid material with a mineral content of almost 90 percent, yet extremely flexible. They imitated the structural elements found in most sea sponges and recreated the sponge spicules using the natural mineral calcium carbonate and a protein of the sponge. Natural minerals are usually very hard and prickly, as fragile as porcelain. Amazingly, the synthetic spicules are superior to their natural counterparts in terms of ...
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SAN DIEGO - Telestroke programs substantially improve access to life-saving stroke care, extending coverage to less populated areas in an effort to reduce disparities in stroke care access. A new study by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, being presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 65th Annual Meeting in San Diego March 16-23, 2013, found that telemedicine programs in Oregon pushed stroke coverage into previously uncovered, less populated areas and expanded coverage by approximately 40 percent.
"Telestroke ...
EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Scientists have discovered a molecular process in the brain triggered by cocaine use that could provide a target for treatments to prevent or reverse addiction to the drug.
Reporting in the Journal of Neuroscience, Michigan State University neuroscientist A.J. Robison and colleagues say cocaine alters the nucleus accumbens, the brain's pleasure center that responds to stimuli such as food, sex and drugs.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Oil from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill acted as a catalyst for plankton and other surface materials to clump together and fall to the sea floor in a massive sedimentation event that researchers are calling a "dirty blizzard."
Jeff Chanton, the John Widmer Winchester Professor of Oceanography in the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science at Florida State University, is one of the members of the Deep-C Consortium who presented the dirty blizzard hypothesis at a recent conference in New Orleans that focused on the effects of the oil spill ...
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West Orange, NJ. March 15, 2013. Kessler Foundation scientists and their colleagues will discuss their progress in rehabilitation research at the upcoming 65th Annual American Academy of Neurology Conference at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, CA, March 16 – 23.
A.M. Barrett, MD, director of Stroke Rehabilitation at Kessler Foundation will present on Pharmacologic Enhancement of Stroke Rehabilitation on Friday March 22, 2013 as part of a Specialty in Focus session on Neurorehabilitation Enhancement Techniques. This session addresses the contribution of brain ...
