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A new approach to personalized drug treatment emerges in a study examining the metabolic profile of rats. The profile, which is a measurement of small molecules such as sugars and amino acids, is used to predict the response to drugs that are toxic to the liver. This study proposes the extension of this concept into humans as a way of predicting the outcome of a therapy for a given profile.
A common bacterium, group A Streptococcus, mysteriously causes a range of diseases from benign strep throat to 'flesh-eating' wounds. The difference between pharyngeal and invasive disease is now traced to mutations in two regulatory genes.
A promising approach to treating ischemic stroke, inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), may need to be rethought. Previous work suggested that inhibitors of MMPs could protect the brain, but now it seems that such inhibitors might contribute to damage (pages 441–445).
Sunlight can treat tuberculosis, a phenomenon observed more than a century ago. The mechanism now becomes more clear, and it involves induction of a microbe-fighting peptide by vitamin D.
An enzyme that modifies protein structure seems to help keep Alzheimer disease at bay. The enzyme affects two proteins thought to be key to disease pathology: amyloid precursor protein (APP) and the microtubule-binding protein tau.
Intracellular oxidants may contribute to overall lifespan, in part by affecting stem cells. The connection between oxidants and aging now gains strength in a study of hematopoietic stem cells, which respond to oxidants by activating a pathway leading to stem cell exhaustion (pages 446–451).
A small peptide administered into the brain of rats seems to abolish the rewarding effects of nicotine and THC. The peptide disrupts the interaction between a receptor for serotonin on dopamine-containing neurons and the tumor suppressor PTEN (pages 324–329).
Mutations in components of the RAS-MAPK pathway provide a unifying mechanism for several phenotypically overlapping, yet clinically distinct human 'neuro-cardio-facial-cutaneous' (NCFC) syndromes. These rare diseases may provide new insights into the regulation of this pathway and its role in various cancers.
The neurotransmitter orexin regulates motivated behaviors such as arousal and feeding—and is now implicated in behaviors associated with addiction in rats. The release of orexin onto dopamine cells enables cocaine to induce the neuronal changes that lead to addiction-like behavior.
During chronic viral infections, CD8+ T cells lose much of their ability to proliferate, produce cytokines and kill. A new discovery shows how to restore their antiviral function.
A peptide fragment derived from extracellular matrix collagen attracts inflammatory cells by mimicking the activity of a chemokine—potentially contributing to lung injury (pages 317–323).
Stem cells are mobilized from the bone marrow to the peripheral blood as a source of stem cells for transplantation in cancer and genetic diseases. Exactly how the mobilization-inducing drugs operate has not been clear—but the answer may lie partly with the stimulation of bone-forming cells by signals from the sympathetic nervous system.
