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The proteasome is the vital center for a cellular protein-cleaving pathway that prepares peptides for presentation. How proteasomes and other enzymes contribute to the fragmentation of proteins from both exogenous and intracellular sources is described in this month's special focus on Making Peptides for Presentation (free online for July 2004). The four reviews and other additional content can be found online (nature.com/natureimmunology/focus/peptides/). Cover by Lewis Long.
The spiraling costs of asthma treatment seem set to continue rising, given the equivocal performance of the latest generation of specific anti-inflammatory drugs in trials in adult asthmatics. We argue that the continuation of this trend is inevitable unless there is a substantial realignment of entrenched drug development policy in the pharmaceutical industry and a parallel shift in licensing policy by regulatory authorities to encourage the development of drugs capable of halting the progression from acute to chronic asthma when the disease first manifests in childhood. The theoretical framework for such an approach, including proof-of-principle data from studies in children with early-stage disease and a range of candidate drugs, already exists. What is needed is informed debate on the risks versus potential benefits of this approach.
How do cells fend off intracellular viruses that slip in below extracellular defensive 'radar screens'? The identification of a cytoplasmic RNA helicase that signals through CARD interactions links viral detection to the interferon-β induction pathway.
A hierarchy of stem cells has been identified within leukemias, providing a more complex view of how these self-renewing populations parallel the normal stem cell compartment. As the resemblance between normal and malignant stem cells deepens, new opportunities for understanding and treating malignancy emerge.
For lymphocytes to function properly, they must move to and recognize precise anatomical locations. To do so, lymphocytes must decipher cues from a panoply of competing traffic signals.
Immune surveillance requires constant sampling of cellular peptides by T cells. Here, we present four reviews describing the generation of antigenic peptide epitopes and the cellular enzymes responsible.