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Volume 23 Issue 6, June 2013

Research Highlight

  • Two recent papers in Science illustrate how the prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas immune system machinery, which typically targets invasive genetic elements such as viruses and plasmids, can be converted into a sophisticated molecular tool for next-generation human genome editing. The versatile Cas9 RNA-guided endonuclease can be readily reprogrammed using customizable small RNAs for sequence-specific single- or double-stranded DNA cleavage.

    • Philippe Horvath
    • Rodolphe Barrangou
    Research Highlight

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  • Paramyxoviruses evade antiviral immune response using a small nonstructural protein, V, which binds to the host dsRNA sensor MDA5 and prevents it from activating the interferon signaling pathway. A recent crystal structure of the V protein in complex with MDA5, published in Science, revealed that V disrupts the structure of MDA5 and is integrated into the MDA5 protein fold, providing an intriguing new example of viral mimicry as a countermeasure against the host immune system.

    • Bin Wu
    • Sun Hur
    Research Highlight
  • The casein kinase 1 (CK1) family, a major intracellular serine/threonine kinase, is implicated in multiple pathways; however, understanding its regulation has proven challenging. A recent study published in Science identifying allosteric activation of CK1 by the DEAD-box RNA helicase DDX3 expands our understanding of the control of this abundant kinase family.

    • Daniel GR Yim
    • David M Virshup
    Research Highlight
  • Emerging evidence suggests that the ability of p53 to regulate metabolism is important for its tumor suppressor activity. A recent study published in Nature reveals a novel connection between p53 and metabolism: p53 transcriptionally represses the expression of malic enzymes and associated NADPH production, which in turn triggers a positive feedback loop resulting in sustained p53 activation, cellular senescence, and tumor suppression.

    • Dadi Jiang
    • Laura D Attardi
    Research Highlight
  • FBW7 tumor suppressor suppresses the growth and survival of tumor cells by promoting the degradation of several oncoproteins, and induces endothelial differentiation by modulating the NF1/RAS axis. A recent study in this issue of Cell Research showed that FBW7 further regulates endothelial functions via degrading transcription factor KLF2.

    • Yongchao Zhao
    • Yi Sun
    Research Highlight
  • Three recently published reports, including one in Cell Research, generated Ssb1 knockout mice and demonstrated critical roles of this protein in regulating skeletogenesis, telomere homeostasis and tumor suppression.

    • Amanda L Bain
    • Wei Shi
    • Kum Kum Khanna
    Research Highlight
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