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Retinoic acid and arsenic induce the differentiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells and clinical responses in individuals with APL. Nasr and colleagues now show that by triggering the degradation of the PML-RARA oncogenic fusion protein retinoic acid and arsenic also deplete the leukemia initiating cells, accounting for disease remission in a mouse model of APL.
Mesenchymal stem cells have therapeutic effects in various different models of disease, but how they work is not always clear. Eva Mezey and her colleagues now propose that such cells may prove beneficial in sepsis—and they work by reprogramming innate immune cells (pages 18–20).
Glutamate NMDA receptors are involved in pain signaling, but inhibiting them would have too many side effects. These authors show that inhibiting the binding of NMDA receptors to Src, a molecule that is resposible for amplifying glutamate signaling, reduces inflammatory and neuropathic pain in mice and rats (pages 1313–1315).
In HIV research, new types of reagents are needed to target infected cells and overcome HIV's ability to vary its HLA-I-restricted antigens and escape from host cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Here Varela-Rohena and colleagues use phage display technology to generate high-affinity T-cell antigen receptors that recognize common epitope-escape variants of the immunodominant HLA-A*02-restricted, HIVgag-specific peptide SLYNTVATL (SL9).
The promise of engineered T cells for treating cancer has been mitigated by their poor persistence when transferred to patients. Pule et al. now show that dual-specific T cells that recognize an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigen and a tumor antigen survive longer in individuals with neuroblastoma. Engineering virus-specific T cells to recognize tumor antigens may improve the efficacy of this immunotherapy in latently infected cancer patients (pages 1148–1150).
siRNA is used to silence expression of a specific gene and, if modified by a triphosphate at the 5′ end, will also activate the helicase Rig-I, leading to interferon production. Poeck et al. now combine both of these activities in a single siRNA to kill melanoma cells by crippling a crucial tumor cell survival pathway and triggering an interferon-dependent antitumor immune response (pages 1152–1153).
Funds from the European Union are not the only source available to the continent's reproductive research community. Each country independently sponsors the work of these scientists, but, as illustrated by snapshots in the following pages, there are huge differences in the commitment of the various European nations to tackle the challenges of reproductive biomedicine.
Funds from the European Union are not the only source available to the continent's reproductive research community. Each country independently sponsors the work of these scientists, but, as illustrated by snapshots in the following pages, there are huge differences in the commitment of the various European nations to tackle the challenges of reproductive biomedicine.
In what direction is the field of reproductive biology moving? Do funding priorities match hot research areas? In this special focus, we try to find out.
Funds from the European Union are not the only source available to the continent's reproductive research community. Each country independently sponsors the work of these scientists, but, as illustrated by snapshots in the following pages, there are huge differences in the commitment of the various European nations to tackle the challenges of reproductive biomedicine.
Which papers have provided the most interesting advances in reproduction research over the past three or four years? Which new discoveries have been the most important to or are likely to have the highest impact on the field?
Funds from the European Union are not the only source available to the continent's reproductive research community. Each country independently sponsors the work of these scientists, but, as illustrated by snapshots in the following pages, there are huge differences in the commitment of the various European nations to tackle the challenges of reproductive biomedicine.