Volume 22 Issue 7, July 2016

As part of the World Health Organization (WHO) R&D Blueprint initiative, leading stakeholders on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) convened to agree on strategic public-health goals and global priority research activities that are needed to combat MERS-CoV.

Two recent studies provide novel insights into the mechanism of action of thalidomide analogs in multiple myeloma and del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome. They show that the role of the chaperone function of cereblon, and a calcium- and calpain-dependent pathway, are important in anticancer functions.

A new study provides the first insights into epigenetic heterogeneity in AML. The study highlights a striking independence of genetic and epigenetic variation, and links the kinetics of epigenetic change to clinical outcome.

A recent study has shown that a single dose of fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 1 into the central nervous system (CNS) of various mouse and rat models of type 2 diabetes results in profound and exceptionally long-lasting reductions in blood glucose. This work raises the possibility of truly revolutionary therapies for individuals with type 2 diabetes that target the brain FGF system.

Reservoirs of virally infected cells that are resistant to standard antiretroviral therapy make HIV-1 infection an incurable disease. A new study shows that follicular T helper cells in lymph node germinal centers are prime niches for HIV-1 persistence during antiviral therapy.

In mouse models of patient-derived breast cancer brain metastases, combined inhibition of PI3K and mTOR resulted in regression, and therapeutic response was correlated with a reduction in 4EBP1 phosphorylation.

Lenalidomide, which is used to treat myelodysplastic syndrome, kills mutation-bearing hematopoietic cells by increasing expression of the G-protein-coupled receptor GPR68, leading to increased intracellular calcium concentrations and calpain activation.

Thalidomide and its derivatives lenalidomide and pomalidomide, which are used to treat multiple myeloma and del(5q) myelodysplastic syndrome, have antitumor and teratogenic effects through a mechanism involving destabilization of the CD147 and MCT1 proteins.

In Trp53-mutated hepatocellular carcinoma, conformation-changing aurora kinase A inhibitors disrupt aurora kinase A–MYC interactions, resulting in MYC degradation and suppression of tumor growth.

Matthieu Perreau and colleagues show that HIV-infected lymph node PD-1⁺ and follicular helper T cells account for the major source of replication-competent HIV-1 in individuals who have been treated with antiretroviral drugs.

Vaccari et al. report that SIV vaccines formulated with two different adjuvants elicit distinct immune responses and effects on SIV acquisition in rhesus macaques.

Genetic analysis in mice selected for leanness has identified thiosulfate sulfurtransferase as a target for the treatment of diabetes.

The co-repressor GPS2 acts in macrophages to regulate their activation in obesity-induced inflammation, and appropriate GPS2 function is required to maintain insulin sensitivity in mice and humans with obesity.

Genome-wide methylome sequencing of serial samples obtained from patients with acute myeloid leukemia reveals that epigenetic alleles and genetic alleles follow independent courses during disease evolution.

A single injection of FGF1 into the hypothalamic region of the brain in rodents with diabetes achieves sustained normalization of blood glucose levels in these animals.

Li et al. show that the retinoic acid derivative acitretin activates HIV-1 transcription in latently infected T cells and induces RIG-I signaling, which leads to cell death and suggests an approach to reduce the HIV reservoir.

Mice bearing ossicles containing human bone marrow stromal cells enable improved leukemia engraftment and detection of high frequencies of human leukemia-initiating cells.