THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 13 May 2007. This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
• Summaries of newsworthy papers:
A little sugar for the brain – Nature Chemical Biology
Nanotubes sort out their left and right – Nature Nanotechnology
Gene combinations influence AIDS progression – Nature Genetics
Another immune evasion strategy by HIV – Nature Immunology
Protein structures from micrograms of material – Nature Methods
• Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
• Geographical listing of authors
PDFs of all the papers mentioned on this release can be found in the relevant journal’s section of http://press.nature.com. Press contacts for the Nature journals are listed at the end of this release.
PICTURES: To obtain artwork from any of the journals, you must first obtain permission from the copyright holder (if named) or author of the research paper in question (if not).
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PLEASE CITE THE SPECIFIC NATURE JOURNAL AND WEBSITE AS THE SOURCE OF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS. IF PUBLISHING ONLINE, PLEASE CARRY A HYPERLINK TO THE APPROPRIATE JOURNAL’S WEBSITE.
******************** NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY *******************
(http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[1] A little sugar for the brain
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio881
The amount of sugar on proteins inside neural cells changes in response to brain stimulation, which implicates sugar modification as a new player in brain signalling, according to a paper in the June issue of Nature Chemical Biology. Changes in the levels of phosphorylation of serine and threonine residues have a well-known role in cell signalling. Although most glycosylation, or modification of proteins by the attachment of sugars, occurs on proteins outside the cell, one sugar modification, called O-GlcNAc, can be attached to serine or threonine residues of proteins inside cells. Because phosphorylation and O-GlcNAc modifications occur on exactly the same amino acid side chains, O-GlcNAc could be critical in cellular signalling. However, a lack of tools to identify the precise positions of O-GlcNAc modifications in vivo has made it difficult to investigate this hypothesis.
Linda Hsieh-Wilson and colleagues have now developed a proteomic method that uses mass spectrometry to determine in vivo O-GlcNAc levels. When rats were injected with an excitatory stimulus, the authors identified changes in the sugar levels at specific sites of proteins found in the brain. With this information, it will now be possible to investigate the exact role O-GlcNAc plays in brain function.
Author contact:
Linda Hsieh-Wilson (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA)
Tel: +1 626 395 6101; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Chemical Biology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[2] Diarylquinolines target subunit c of mycobacterial ATP synthase
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio884
*********************NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY *******************
[3] Nanotubes sort out their left and right
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.142
Left- and right-handed carbon nanotubes can be separated from one another, according to a paper to be published online in Nature Nanotechnology this week. Although nanotubes have previously been sorted on the basis of their diameter or length, this method is the first to discriminate between those with opposite helical twists.
Some molecules, which are known as ‘chiral’, can exist as mirror-image forms that cannot be superimposed on each other. Louis Pasteur was, in 1849, the first to separate such molecules, by meticulously sorting asymmetric crystals of tartaric acid by hand, using tweezers and a microscope. Following in his footsteps, Naoki Komatsu and co-workers designed pairs of chemical ‘nano-tweezers’ that can selectively pluck either left- or right-handed nanotubes from a mixture.
The ability to separate carbon nanotubes — one of nanotechnology’s most promising building blocks — in this way will lead to a better understanding of their optical properties, and may offer unique opportunities for photonics and quantum optics.
Author contact:
Naoki Komatsu (Shiga University of Medical Science, Otsu, Japan)
Tel: +81 77 548 2102; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Nanotechnology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[4] Imaging active topological defects in carbon nanotubes
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2007.141
*************************NATURE GENETICS *********************
(http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[5] Gene combinations influence AIDS progression
DOI: 10.1038/ng2035
Different combinations of genetic variants of two modulators of the innate human immune system strongly influence AIDS progression in HIV-positive individuals, according to a study to be published online this week in Nature Genetics.
Natural killer cells are part of the antiviral immune response, and their activity is controlled by receptors called KIRs that are present on the cell surface. The KIR receptors that inhibit natural killer cell activity (KIR3DL1) are triggered by HLA-B molecules, which are presented by other cells of the immune system. Mary Carrington and colleagues examined variation in the genes encoding KIR3DL1 and HLA-B in more than 1,500 HIV-positive individuals, and found that particular combinations of variants conferred protection against AIDS progression.
These results may explain at least part of the variability in progression of the disease in infected individuals. The authors also note that the observed rapid evolution of these genes may be driven by pathogens such as HIV.
Author contact:
Mary Carrington (National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD, USA)
Tel: +1 301 846 1390; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Genetics to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[6] Variation in FTO contributes to childhood obesity and severe adult obesity
DOI: 10.1038/ng2048
[7] Root tip contact with low-phosphate media reprograms plant root architecture
DOI: 10.1038/ng2041
*********************** NATURE IMMUNOLOGY **********************
(http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[8] Another immune evasion strategy by HIV
DOI: 10.1038/ni1470
Interaction of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) with dendritic cells—a specialized type of immune cell—circumvents immune activation and greatly enhances infection of T lymphocytes, reports a study to be published in the June issue of Nature Immunology.
Dendritic cells are required to initiate immune responses, and as targets of HIV infection, these cells are important contributors to HIV pathogenesis. Alison Simmons and colleagues evaluated the effect of HIV interaction with DC-SIGN, a protein receptor found largely on the surface of dendritic cells. HIV binding to DC-SIGN elicited a signalling pathway that prevented dendritic cells from actively stimulating subsequent immune responses. In addition, the authors show that HIV–DC-SIGN interaction can lead to transfer of virus to nearby T lymphocytes that then become infected leading to a burst of HIV production.
These results reveal how HIV can both evade dendritic cell immune activity and amplify its own replication. With nearly 40 million people world-wide currently living with HIV-AIDS, understanding the myriad ways that HIV can modulate immune responses is of paramount importance.
Author contact:
Alison Simmons (Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, Oxford, UK)
Tel: +44 1865 222 616; E-mail: [email protected]
Additional contact for comment:
Anthony Cunningham (Westmead Millennium Institute, Australia)
Tel: +61 2 9845 9005; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Immunology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[9] Cell surface 4-1BBL mediates sequential signaling pathways 'downstream' of TLR and is required for sustained TNF production in macrophages
DOI: 10.1038/ni1471
***********************NATURE METHODS************************
(http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[10] Protein structures from micrograms of material
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth1051
A paper published online in Nature Methods this week demonstrates that it is possible to solve three-dimensional protein structures by NMR spectroscopy using only minute amounts of material. This could aid researchers in solving the structures of proteins which are challenging to produce in sufficient quantities for conventional structure solution by NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) or protein crystallography.
Gaetano Montelione and colleagues used a 1 millimeter microcoil NMR probe to solve the three-dimensional structure of a small protein (68 amino acids) using only 72 micrograms of material. This contrasts with a more typical amount of 1,600 micrograms of material usually required to obtain a structure with a conventional, 5 millimeter NMR probe. With these microcoil probes more proteins will have their three-dimensional structures solved with NMR spectroscopy.
Author contact:
Gaetano Montelione (Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA)
Tel: +1 732 235 5321; E-mail: [email protected]
********************************************************************
Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
Nature PHYSICS (http://www.nature.com/naturephysics)
[11] Entangled Andreev pairs and collective excitations in nanoscale superconductors
DOI: 10.1038/nphys621
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[12] Metallated conjugated polymers as a new avenue towards high-efficiency polymer solar cells
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1909
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[13] TH17 cells contribute to uveitis and scleritis and are expanded by IL-2 and inhibited by IL-27/STAT1
DOI: 10.1038/nm1585
[14] Heme oxygenase-1 and carbon monoxide suppress the pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria
DOI: 10.1038/nm1586
[15] The AKT-mTOR pathway plays a critical role in the development of leiomyosarcomas
DOI: 10.1038/nm1560
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[16] The dynamics of memory as a consequence of optimal adaptation to a changing body
DOI: 10.1038/nn1901
[17] RIM1 confers sustained activity and neurotransmitter vesicle anchoring to presynaptic Ca2+ channels
DOI: 10.1038/nn1904
NATURE CELL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturecellbiology)
[18] p73 supports cellular growth through c-Jun-dependent AP-1 transactivation
DOI: 10.1038/ncb1598
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[19] Swi3p control SWI/SNF assembly and ATP-dependent H2A-H2B displacement
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1238
[20] Mechanism for expanding the decoding capacity of transfer RNAs by modification of uridines
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1242
*******************************************************************
GEOGRAPHICAL LISTING OF AUTHORS
The following list of places refers to the whereabouts of authors on the papers numbered in this release. The listing may be for an author's main affiliation, or for a place where they are working temporarily. Please see the PDF of the paper for full details.
BELGIUM
Beerse: 2
CANADA:
Toronto: 9
CHINA
Hong Kong: 12
FRANCE
Bobigny: 6
Grenoble: 17
Lille: 6
Montpellier: 7
Paris: 6, 8
Sauzet: 7
St Paul-lez-Durance: 7
Val de Reuil: 2
Villejuif: 6
GERMANY
Cologne: 7
Leipzig: 6
HUNGARY
Debrecen: 14
INDIA
Guwahati: 3
JAPAN
Kanagawa: 17
Kyoto: 3, 17
Osaka: 3
Otsu: 3
Tokyo: 17
Tsukuba: 4
KOREA
Ulsan: 9
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 2
Delft: 11
POLAND
Lodz: 20
PORTUGAL
Lisbon: 14
Oeiras: 14
SINGAPORE
Singapore: 18
SPAIN
Barcelona: 19
Madrid: 11
SWEDEN
Goteborg: 6
SWITZERLAND
Lausanne: 5, 6
Winterhur: 6
UNITED KINGDOM
Cambridge: 20
Glasgow: 18
London: 6
Oxford: 8
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
La Jolla: 9
Los Angeles: 1
Pasadena: 1
San Diego: 1
San Francisco: 5
Stanford: 5
Illinois
Chicago: 5, 16
Iowa
Iowa City: 17
Maryland
Baltimore: 5, 16
Bethesda: 5, 13
Frederick: 5
Rockville: 5
Massachusetts
Billerica: 10
Boston: 5
Cambridge: 16
Worcester: 19
Montana
Hamilton: 5
New Jersey
Piscataway: 10
New York
New York: 15
North Carolina
Raleigh: 20
Wisconsin
Madison: 1
PRESS CONTACTS…
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals:
Helen Jamison (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail: [email protected]
Ruth Francis (Senior Press Officer, Nature, London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4562; E-mail: [email protected]
For media inquiries relating to editorial content/policy for the Nature Research Journals, please contact the journals individually:
Nature Cell Biology (London)
Bernd Pulverer
Tel: +44 20 7843 4892; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Chemical Biology (Boston)
Andrea Garvey
Tel: +1 617 475 9241, E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Genetics (New York)
Orli Bahcall
Tel: +1 212 726 9311; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Immunology (New York)
Laurie Dempsey
Tel: +1 212 726 9372; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Materials (London)
Maria Bellantone
Tel: +44 20 7843 4556; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Medicine (New York)
Juan Carlos Lopez
Tel: +1 212 726 9325; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Methods (New York)
Nicole Rusk
Tel: +1 212 726 9236; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Nanotechnology (London)
Peter Rodgers
Tel: +44 20 7014 4019; Email: [email protected]
Nature Neuroscience (New York)
Sandra Aamodt (based in California)
Tel: +1 530 795 3256; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Physics (London)
Alison Wright
Tel: +44 20 7843 4555; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (New York)
Michelle Montoya
Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: [email protected]
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