Volume 21 Issue 8, August 2015

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a debilitating autoimmune disorder, the etiology of which is poorly understood. A new study reveals dysbiosis in gut and oral microbiomes of affected individuals, potentially providing a basis for patient stratification and clues to pathophysiological mechanisms of RA onset and progression.

A new study shows that astrocytes are involved in the development of chronic itch in a mouse model. This is dependent on upregulation of lipocalin 2 (LCN2) by the transcription factor STAT-3 and astrogliosis.

Engraftment of progenitor cells to effect repair of injured lungs has been a major challenge. A new study combines a conditioning strategy adopted from bone marrow transplantation with a lung injury model to bring this potential therapeutic approach closer to reality.

Aging is a major risk factor for cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. A new study identified β2-microglobulin as a blood-borne factor that detrimentally influences the brain during the aging process.

In this Perspective, attendees of the Herrenhausen Tumour Heterogeneity meeting discuss the challenges in understanding tumour heterogeneity and propose ways forward for overcoming these hurdles.

In this Perspective, the authors discuss the importance of intrinsic and extrinsic factors in muscle regeneration, and they conclude that both are necessary for the action of muscle stem cells in the aging process.

A small clinical trial shows that short-term cold acclimation to moderately-cold temperature improves the glucose homeostasis of individuals with type 2 diabetes, without an appreciable activation of their brown adipose tissue.

Lineage tracing shows that, contrary to a recent report, c-kit⁺ cells take on a vascular endothelial cell fate, not an epithelial one, after lung injury or during normal homeostasis.

Preconditioning the niche after lung injury allows better engraftment by fetal lung tissue and repair.

Neutrophils infiltrate the CNS and promote Alzheimer's disease–like pathology and memory loss.

Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase acts through its product, N¹-methylnicotinamide, to stabilize Sirt1 and thus regulate hepatic glucose and lipid metabolism.

The gut and oral microbiomes are altered in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis, and these changes can be used to stratify individuals for diagnostic and prognostic purposes.

AIM2 suppresses colon tumorigenesis, independently of the inflammasome and IL-1β, by interacting with DNA-PK and inhibiting Akt activation.

Carl June and colleagues report the results of a phase I/II trial of adoptively transferred engineered T cells in patients with advanced multiple myeloma.

Clinical testing of BCR inhibition on DLBCL reveals determinants of response.

In response to signals from afferent TRPV1⁺ C-fibers, STAT3-dependent upregulation of LCN2 in reactive astrocytes of the spinal dorsal horn amplifies itch signaling in multiple rodent models of atopic and contact dermatitis.

Circulating β2-microglobulin, a component of MHC I, increases with age, promoting age-related cognitive decline and decreased neurogenesis.

A searchable pan-cancer resource generated using data from nearly 18,000 human tumors reveals links between tumor infiltration by particular leukocyte subsets, tumor expression of particular gene signatures, and patient prognosis.

Genomic profiling of carcinogen-induced skin tumors in mice provides a comprehensive characterization of their mutational landscape.

Intravenous administration of a fluorescently labeled c-Met–binding peptide enables visualization of polyps not detected using white light.