Volume 24 Issue 3, March 2018

Studies in metastatic melanoma, non-small-cell lung carcinoma and renal cell carcinoma indicate certain bacteria within the gut microbiota enhance clinical responses to checkpoint blockade.

Stem cell–derived human motor neurons were used to investigate the cellular mechanisms underlying C9ORF72-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

In a nonhuman primate model of Zika virus infection, structural and cellular pathology deficits that could have a long-lasting impact on neural development and neurocognitive function are detected in offspring of infected mothers.

An active immunosuppressive pathway is identified in colon cancer that confers immune evasion by the cancer and can be targeted to synergize with immunotherapies.

A negative regulator of the Wnt pathway secreted by tumor cells promotes immune evasion by suppressing lymphocyte cytotoxicity.

A large proportion of basal cell carcinomas develop resistance independently of the canonical mutations in genes encoding hedgehog pathway components. An unbiased analysis investigating alternative pathways of resistance uncovers the role of cytoskeletal signaling in driving noncanonical activation of hedgehog signaling through nuclear translocation of SRF and MKL1. These results advance understanding of the mechanisms underlying drug resistance and provide new actionable insights for clinical translation.

Combining the kinase inhibitor sorafenib with allogeneic stem cell transplantation boosts immune responses against a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia, suggesting potential clinical benefit.

Nrf1-mediated proteosome activity in brown fat is required for the normal thermogenic behavior of this tissue in mice.

The conserved long noncoding RNA MeXis has anti-atherosclerotic effects in mice by acting with the nuclear hormone receptor LXR in macrophages to promote cholesterol efflux.

Human ALS/FTD patient iPSC-derived neurons are used to uncover mechanisms by which C9ORF72 mutations cause neurodegeneration.

Degeneration of pericytes causes toxic fibrin(ogen) accumulation, cell death and microcirculation dysfunction in CNS white-matter axon tracts.

Screening for small-molecule epigenetic modulators identifies HDAC3 inhibitors that promote peripheral myelin repair after nerve injury in rodents.

Optimal T cell activation requires signaling through the T cell receptor (signal 1), a co-stimulatory receptor (signal 2) and a cytokine receptor (signal 3), yet most chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) lack a domain to transduce signal 3. Kagoya et al. now report their development of a new CAR that incorporates a JAK–STAT cytokine signaling domain and mediates potent antitumor effects.

A small-molecule antagonist of PPAR-γ expands human cord blood HSPCs via downregulation of fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase expression, thereby enhancing glycolysis.

Zika virus infection of pregnant nonhuman primates results in the loss of fetal neuronal progenitor cells, even in the absence of overt microcephaly.