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Volume 6 Issue 9, September 2000

Bone formation by osteoblasts is essential for skeletal growth and remodeling. On page 980, Jochum et al. show that the c-Fos-related transcription factor, Fra-1, increases bone formation in mice by promoting osteoblast differentiation. The cover image shows a longitudinal section of bone trabeculae (yellow) from transgenic mice overexpressing Fra-1. Modulating expression of transcription factors in humans might provide a novel therapeutic approach to stimulating bone formation in pathological conditions.

Volume 6 Issue 9

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Editorial

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Commentary

  • Using recent advances in biological and medical sciences, a new candidate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) vaccine has been developed and tailor-designed for a phase III clinical trial in Kenya. It has two components, DNA and MVA (an attenuated poxvirus), used in a prime-boost vaccination protocol. Both of these vaccine vehicles express a common ‘chimeric’ protein derived from small parts of the HIV genome. The vaccine focuses on the induction of cell-mediated immune responses.

    • Tomas Hanke
    • Andrew J. McMichael
    Commentary

  • Whereas federal expenditure in the United States on the development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine is approximately $250 million, only $25 million is spent on research and development for a malaria vaccine. It is not malaria but tuberculosis (TB) that is the poor relation. Government funds for a vaccine to fight this disease are in single figure millions. Stefan Kaufmann of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology examines obstacles in addition to funding that hinder the development of a new TB vaccine.

    • Stefan H. E. Kaufmann
    Commentary
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Book Review

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News & Views

  • Statins, commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs, have also been identified as anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatories and now, as angiogenic agents. Elucidation of the statin signal transduction pathway should reveal how one class of drugs can have so many activities (pages 1004–1010).

    • Michael Simons
    News & Views

  • The use of dendritic cells to immunize against tumor antigens is improving the prospects for cancer vaccines. However, caution must be taken to avoid activating autoimmunity against normal cells (pages 1011–1017).

    • Arya Biragyn
    • Larry W. Kwak
    News & Views

  • Disruption of the Sp1-related transcription factor HF-1b leads to alterations in the cardiac conduction system that result in ventricular arrhythmias and sudden death. What does this tell us about how ventricular cardiomyocytes differentiate into the specialized cells that form the heart's conductance system?

    • Jeffrey Robbins
    • Gerald W Dorn II
    News & Views

  • Overexpression of two members of the AP-1 transcription factor family has dramatic effects on bone development, raising the question: why are there so many molecules that affect bone remodeling (pages 980–984 and 985–990)

    • Gerard Karsenty
    News & Views

  • Mounting evidence suggests that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be useful in reducing the risk of Alzheimer disease. After much study, the mechanism by which these drugs reduce the amyloid deposition associated with the disease is still open to speculation.

    • Tony Wyss-Coray
    • Lennart Mucke
    News & Views

  • Combination therapies involving inhibitors of the epidermal growth factor and cyclooxygenase signaling prevent colorectal adenomas in mice. This synergistic effect may be due to the convergance of these two signaling pathways (pages 1024–1028).

    • Rajnish A. Gupta
    • Raymond N. DuBois
    News & Views

  • Correlational data and mathematical modeling suggest that increased division rate of naïve T cells, not reduced thymic output, lowers the frequency of original thymic emigration among these cells in HIV infected individuals. But are there alternate explanations for these data? (pages 1036–1042)

    • Zvi Grossman
    • William E. Paul
    News & Views

  • Although several excellent drugs are available to treat tuberculosis, their mechanisms are not well understood. Identification of the target of the tuberculosis drug pyrazinamide underscores the role that lipids play in disease pathogenesis, and reveals new avenues for drug design (pages 1043–1047).

    • Philip Draper
    News & Views

    • Kristine Novak
    • John MacFarlane
    • Kimberly Gavin
    News & Views
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