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Scanning electron micrograph of Leishmania spp. Mureev et al. use species-independent translational leader sequences to develop a cell-free protein expression system based on Leishmania tarentolae cell extracts (p 747). Credit: Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.
The strategy outlined in the UK's Life Sciences Blueprint is unlikely to address the British biotech sector's woes or help it regain prominence and success.
Several drug programs aim to restore the balance between regulatory T cells and T helper 17 (Th17) cells in autoimmune disease. But as therapies advance in the clinic, new discoveries are challenging the fundamental principle that T-cell lineages, once established, don't change. Ken Garber reports.
Controlling the spatial organization of sequential metabolic enzymes may provide a general strategy for increasing the production of valuable compounds.
The safety of induced pluripotent stem cells seems to depend on how they were generated. Miura et al. examine the effects of the c-myc transgene, tissue of origin and selection method on the tumor-forming propensity of iPS-cell derivatives.
Initiation of translation is an obstacle in the development of eukaryotic systems for cell-free protein synthesis. Mureev et al. describe a translational leader sequence that efficiently drives protein production in cell lysates from several eukaryotes and prokaryotes and use this sequence to develop a cell-free system based on Leishmania tarentolae.
Engineered metabolic pathways are usually devoid of the regulatory mechanisms characteristic of natural metabolism. Using pathways not normally found in E. coli, Dueber et al. show that synthetic scaffolds built using protein-protein interaction domains can boost yields of mevalonate and glucaric acid.
Although new metabolic pathways are generally introduced into bacteria on plasmids, this approach is limited by declining productivity after several generations. Tyo et al. describe a method for chromosome engineering that enables sustained production of a biopolymer or a nutraceutical.
Although never demonstrated in humans, exchange of the antigen-binding regions of IgG4 antibodies with different specificities could complicate certain antibody therapies. Labrijn et al. show that Fab-arm exchange occurs in patients and propose that a single mutation can inhibit the process.
