Nature view

Research highlights from the NPG family of journals.

Unravelling the roles of p53

The transcription factor p53 stands at the nexus of sensing and integrating diverse growth and survival signals, and converting them into the highly coordinated gene-expression patterns required to maintain healthy cells. In cancer research, it is commonly thought that p53 inhibits tumour development — mainly by activating cell death. One way of elucidating the in vivo roles of p53 is to alter the protein so that it retains only some of its usual functions. In January's issue of Nature Genetics, Geng Liu and colleagues use this method to reveal the importance of p53 cell-cycle regulation in tumour suppression. Laura Attardi and Ronald DePinho provide context in an accompanying News and Views article.

letters
Chromosome stability, in the absence of apoptosis, is crucial for suppression of tumorigenesis in Trp53 mutant mice
G. LIU et al.
Nature Genetics 36, 63; January 2004
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news and views
Conquering the complexity of p53
L. D. ATTARDI AND R. A. DEPINHO
Nature Genetics 36, 7; January 2004
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Helping hand for cancer surgeons

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an increasingly popular strategy for determining whether a cancer has spread. This involves mapping the lymphatic drainage from a primary tumour site to the draining lymph
node(s), which are then removed for examination. But although conceptually simple, this surgical procedure is difficult to perform. In this month's Nature Biotechnology, Sungjee Kim and colleagues report a potential leap forward in the clinical application of SLNB. Their study demonstrates the visualization of sentinel lymph nodes through optical imaging of near-infrared fluorescence emitted by quantum dots. Roger Uren reviews this in an accompanying News and Views article.

letters
Near-infrared fluorescent type II quantum dots for sentinel lymph node mapping
S. KIM et al.
Nature Biotechnology 22, 93; January 2004
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news and views
Cancer surgery joins the dots
R. F. UREN
Nature Biotechnology 22, 38; January 2004
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Nuclear factor-_kB (NF-_kB) transcription factors play roles in numerous chronic and acute inflammatory diseases. Recent evidence suggests faulty regulation of NF-_kB could also underlie some autoimmune diseases and types of cancer. In a review available free online in this month's Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, Michael Karin and colleagues discuss recent progress in the development of drugs that inhibit NF-_kB activation, and consider their potential applications in a wide range of disorders.

reviews
The NF-_kB system: a treasure trove for drug development
M. KARIN et al.
Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 3, 17; January 2004
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Tumour immunity

Paraneoplastic neurological degenerations (PNDs) are neurological disorders triggered by an antitumour immune response against the antigens expressed in cancer cells. These disorders enable the study of immunity directed against specific sets of tumour antigens. In a review available free online in January's Nature Reviews Cancer, Matthew Albert and Robert Darnell consider what we have learnt about mechanisms of tumour immunity, and how these insights can generally be applied to patients with cancer.

reviews
Paraneoplastic neurological degenerations: keys to tumour immunity
M. L. ALBERT AND R. B. DARNELL
Nature Reviews Cancer 4, 36; January 2004
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A new tool for predicting bone cancer outcome

Osteosarcoma is the most common form of bone malignancy, representing more than half of all bone cancer cases diagnosed in patients under the age of 20. Chemotherapy is often effective, but a significant number of patients fail to respond and it is not currently possible to assess efficacy of treatment until after weeks of therapy. Fellenberg et al. investigate a new method for the early assessment of chemotherapy response. Using laser dissection, researchers isolated individual tumor cells from biopsy samples in order to gauge expression of Her-2/neu, a gene tentatively associated with osteosarcoma. Their findings, available online in Laboratory Investigation, indicate that Her-2/neu overexpression is a strong indicator of poor chemotherapy response, and may serve as a valuable prognostic marker.

research article
Evaluation of the predictive value of Her-2/neu gene expression on osteosarcoma therapy in laser-microdissected paraffin-embedded tissue
J. FELLENBERG et al.
Laboratory Investigation advance online publication 20 November 2003
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AIDS wasting: V-1 Immunitor treatment

AIDS-related wasting is a common complication of HIV infection and despite being recognised as one of the main predictors associated with subsequent debilitation and death, there is no standard treatment. In this month's European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jirathitikal et al. focus on V-1 Immunitor therapy for wasting as a safe, effective and most importantly affordable treatment developed in Thailand. They present their retrospective study of body weight changes in 650 antiretroviral-drug naïve AIDS patients treated with V-1 Immunitor. This article highlights the comprehensive success of V-1 Immunitor therapy; including the good clinical response shown in patients, the reversal of wasting through reduced rates of opportunistic infections, increase in appetite, sense of taste and the ability to eat solid foods, and importantly the relative affordability of the treatment.

original communications
Increased body weight and improved quality of life in AIDS patients following V-1 Immunitor administration
V. JIRATHITIKAL, O. METADILOGKUL & A. S. BOURINBAIAR
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 58, 110-115; January (2004)
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