Nature view
Research highlights from the NPG family of journals.
Running low on oxygen
Mechanisms
to cope with the stress of low physiological oxygen levels (hypoxia) include
the response mediated by HIF-1 — a hypoxia-induced transcription
factor. This protein is at the centre of most pathways of the hypoxic
response, and causes changes in the transcriptional repertoire as oxygen
levels fall. Two review articles this month focus on HIF-1 as a therapeutic
drug target. In Nature Reviews Cancer, Gregg Semenza reviews targeting
HIF-1 for cancer therapy. In Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Amato
Giacca et al. explore the utility of HIF-1 as a target for cancer,
but also for pathologies such as heart disease and stroke.
reviews
Targeting HIF-1 for cancer therapy
G. L. SEMENZA .
Nature Reviews Cancer 3, 721; October 2003
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reviews
HIF-1 as a target for drug development
A. GIACCIA et al.
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 2, 803;
October 2003
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Everlasting batteries
Electrochemical
fuel cells could provide an elegant solution to energy generation and
waste disposal — by linking the two. A microbial fuel cell harvests
electrons produced during microbial metabolism and channels them to generate
an electric current. In this month's issue of Nature Biotechnology,
Swades Chaudhuri and Derek Lovley show that a metal-reducing bacterium,
Rhodoferax ferrireducens, provides a constant flow of electrons
to graphite electrodes with more than 80% efficiency. As growth is supported
by energy derived from the electron-transfer process, these fuel cells
result in self-renewing and impressively efficient long-term power production.
Fritz Scholz and Uwe Schröder provide context in an accompanying News and
Views article.
reviews
Electricity generation by direct oxidation of
glucose in mediatorless microbial fuel cells
S. K. CHAUDHURI AND D. R. LOVLEY
Nature Biotechnology 21, 1229; October 2003
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new and views
Bacterial batteries
F. SCHOLZ AND U. SCHRÖDER
Nature Biotechnology 21, 1151; October 2003
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Falling on deaf ears
The
main cause of age-related deafness is the loss of mechanosensory hair
cells in the coiled cochlea of the inner ear. In mammals, these hair cells
behave like neurons in that they show only a limited ability to regenerate
new cells. But most non-mammalian vertebrates generate new hair cells
throughout their lives — giving Huawei Li et al. the idea
that stem or progenitor cells that give rise to hair-cell precursors may
be either lost or in deep quiescence in the adult mammalian ear. In this
month's Nature Medicine they report the first findings of a type
of stem-like cell from the hair-cell sensory epithelia of adult mice.
Matthew Kelley reviews in a News and Views article.
articles
Pluripotent stem cells from the adult mouse
inner ear
H. LI et al.
Nature Medicine 9, 1293; October 2003
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new and views
Exposing the roots of hair cell regeneration in the ear
M. W. KELLEY
Nature Medicine 9, 1257; October 2003
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Mysterious cytokine regulator of innate immunity
The
binding of pathogen-associated molecular motifs to the receptors of immune
cells results in the release of numerous immunoregulatory molecules, including
cytokines. Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) was one of the
first cytokines to be identified in the late 1960's, but since then its
function has remained elusive. In this month's Nature Reviews Immunology,
Thierry Calandra and Thierry Roger emphasize the likely role of MIF as
a regulator of the innate immune and inflammatory responses, and discuss
the potential for MIF-directed therapies as new treatment opportunities
for human diseases in the future.
reviews
Macrophage migration inhibitory factor: a regulator of innate immunity
T. CALANDRA AND T. ROGER
Nature Reviews Immunology 3, 791; October 2003
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Gene Clue to Prostate Cancer?
Prostate
cancer is the most common cancer in men, and although its causes are not
yet clear, both environmental and genetic factors are believed to be involved.
Yu et al.’s study in the current issue of the British Journal
of Cancer looked at a possible association between prostate cancer
and polymorphisms in the CYP1B1 gene, previously evaluated as a candidate
gene for other cancers, due to its ability to turn certain hormones into
carcinogens. The team studied CYP1B1 polymorphisms in three groups: prostate
cancer patients with a familial background of the disease, patients without
this history, and a control group without the disease. Their results showed
that one cluster of variations was more common in the patients with no
hereditary background, suggesting that a particular CYP1B1 variant is
associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer.
articles
Polymorphisms in the CYP1B1 gene are associated with increased risk of prostate cancer
B L CHANG, S L ZHENG, S D ISAACS, A TURNER, G A HAWKINS, K E WILEY, E R BLEECKER, P C WALSH, D A MEYERS, W B ISAACS & J XU
British Journal of Cancer (2003) 89, 1524-1529.
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