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The most common form of inherited peripheral neuropathy results from overexpression of a single gene. Simple application of an antiprogesterone drug can reduce gene expression and alleviate symptoms in a rat model (pages 1533–1537).
Bone marrow cells can reconstitute muscle, but which cells contribute to the process, and how do they do it? Two studies trace the journey of a single hematopoietic stem cell into muscle tissue (pages 1520–1527 and 1528–1532).
Infection of tissues outside the nervous system occurs in a number of prion diseases, but sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans has not been considered one of them. A clinical study of Swiss patients with sporadic disease reconsiders this assumption, and a second study examines the spread of infection between follicular dendritic cells and nerves.
A new study strengthens the view that heat-shock proteins serve as alarm bells for the immune system. Hsp70 appears to influence the immune response to endogenous stimuli, and may serve as a trigger for autoimmunity (pages 1469–1476).
Nitric oxide has achieved fame as a regulator of numerous physiological processes, far outshining its humbler cousins, nitrate and nitrite. Now, nitrite steps into the spotlight. It appears that this ion may provide a source of NO during the regulation of blood flow under stressful conditions (pages 1498–1505).
A new immunosuppressive agent makes its debut in primate models of kidney transplantation. The drug has the potential to join the ranks of immunosuppressants currently used in transplantation.
A new animal model for macular degeneration begins to reveal the inner workings of the delicate system of inflammatory checks and balances underlying this form of vision loss (pages 1390–1397).
One approach to developing antiobesity drugs is to shift the energy balance in the body in favor of burning fat. A transcriptional coactivator is now assigned this task.
Glucose transport into the cell is a delicate process that is highly responsive to insulin. A newly identified protein that may tether to the glucose transporter helps keep glucose traffic running smoothly in human cells.
Effective cancer vaccines targeted against specific antigens have eluded researchers for decades. When combined with a drug, one such vaccine now shrinks tumors in a mouse model of promyelocytic leukemia (pages 1413–1417).
M. tuberculosis persists in the body, sequestered inside macrophages and subverting the phagocytic machinery to create a membrane-bound home. Microarray profiling studies reveal how the bacterium settles into its new environment.
Molecules that regulate contraction in skeletal muscle have now found a place in the axon. In response to injury, the ryanodine receptor mediates the release of internal calcium stores, which contributes to axonal damage.
Artemin reverses pain and neurochemical changes after nerve injury in an animal model. The molecule could potentially treat neuropathic pain, in which even the slightest touch can hurt (pages 1383–1389).