NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 04 January 2009
This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Methods: A chip for efficient cell fusion
Nature: Arrestin’ insulin resistance
Genetics: New mechanism for genetic hair loss
· 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.
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[1] Methods: A chip for efficient cell fusion
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1290
A device that enables efficient pairing and fusion of cells and allows easy observation of the process is presented in a study online in Nature Methods this week. The authors use the device to reprogram mouse fibroblasts by fusion to embryonic stem cells.
A differentiated cell, such as a fibroblast, carries many modifications or marks on its DNA that determine which genes are expressed and consequently establishes the cell type. One way to erase these marks, in a process called reprogramming, is to fuse a differentiated cell with an embryonic stem cell. We understand little about this process of reprogramming and methods that allow high-throughput fusion of cells belonging to defined populations are needed. One challenge is to physically pair and fuse two cells efficiently while allowing observation of the process.
Joel Voldman and Rudolf Jaenisch designed a microfluidic device that increases pairing efficiency. Cells that are to be paired are consecutively trapped in mini capture cups that only have space for two cells, thus increasing the probability that the two cell types one wants to fuse will be trapped together. After pairing, membrane fusion is initiated and the whole fusion process can easily be observed microscopically.
While the study of reprogramming is a particularly interesting application for this device, it may also be useful for other techniques that rely on cell fusion, such as the production of monoclonal antibodies.
Author contacts:
Joel Voldman (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 253 2094; E-mail: [email protected]
Rudolf Jaenisch (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 258 5186; E-mail: [email protected]
[2] Nature: Arrestin’ insulin resistance
DOI: 10.1038/nature07617
The protein beta-arrestin-2 helps ensure efficient insulin signalling by scaffolding key enzymes to the insulin receptor, a Nature paper reveals. The study offers insights into the molecular events that contribute to insulin resistance, and may aid the development of new therapies for type 2 diabetes.
Insulin resistance, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, occurs when normal insulin levels cannot stimulate insulin receptor signalling. Gang Pei and colleagues show that beta-arrestin-2 is downregulated in mouse models of diabetes, as well as in type 2 diabetes patients. Loss of beta-arrestin-2 leads to insulin resistance, whereas administration of the same protein restores insulin sensitivity.
Insulin stimulates the formation of a new beta-arrestin-2 complex, which is critical for mediating insulin signalling. Loss of beta-arrestin-2 disrupts the signal complex and so contributes to the development of insulin resistance and the progression of type 2 diabetes.
Author contact:
Gang Pei (Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China)
Tel: +86 21 54921371; E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Genetics: New mechanism for genetic hair loss
DOI: 10.1038/ng.276
Mutations that reduce the function of a small, previously unknown peptide cause a rare form of genetic hair loss, according to a study published online this week in Nature Genetics. The authors suggest that this peptide offers a new target for the development of drugs to treat some forms of human hair loss.
Investigators showed ten years ago that mutations in a gene called HR are responsible for a rare form of hair loss called congenital atrichia, in which hair is completely shed during the first year of life and never re-grows. A related form of hair loss, Maria Unna hereditary hypotrichosis, or MUHH, with a slightly different course had been mapped to a small region containing HR, but mutations in the gene had not been identified.
A team led by Xue Zhang has now shown that a sequence immediately adjacent to HR encodes a small peptide, and that mutations affecting the function of this peptide are found in 19 different families with MUHH. Interestingly, the peptide seems to function by inhibiting HR production, such that mutations in the peptide result in increased levels of HR. The authors conclude that HR levels must be maintained in a certain range to prevent hair loss.
Author contacts:
Xue Zhang (Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China)
Tel: +86 10 6510 5110; E-mail: [email protected]
Irwin McLean (University of Dundee, UK)
Tel: +44 1382 381048; E-mail: [email protected]
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Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature)
[4] Ca21/calmodulin regulates salicylic-acid-mediated plant immunity
DOI: 10.1038/nature07612
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[5] Characterization of human embryonic stem cells with features of neoplastic progression
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1516
[6] PeakSeq enables systematic scoring of ChIP-seq experiments relative to controls
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1518
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[7] A natural ribozyme with 3′,5′ RNA ligase activity
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.136
[8] Small molecule–mediated disruption of Wnt-dependent signaling in tissue regeneration and cancer
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.137
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[9] Ulcerative colitis–linked loci on chromosomes 1p36 and 12q15 found by genome-wide association study
DOI: 10.1038/ng.275
[10] A transcriptome atlas of rice cell types uncovers cellular, functional and developmental hierarchies
DOI: 10.1038/ng.282
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[11] Hypoxia-inducible factor–dependent induction of netrin-1 dampens inflammation caused by hypoxia
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1683
[12] The kinase PDK1 integrates T cell antigen receptor and CD28 coreceptor signaling to induce NF-kappaB and activate T cells
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1687
[13] Dectin-1 directs T helper cell differentiation by controlling noncanonical NF-kappaB activation through Raf-1 and Syk
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1692
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[14] Disrupting functional interactions between platelet chemokines inhibits atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic mice
DOI: 10.1038/nm.1898
[15] Development of a novel mouse glioma model using lentiviral vectors
DOI: 10.1038/nm.1863
[16] A stroma-related gene signature predicts resistance to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer
DOI: 10.1038/nm.1908
[17] Decreased levels of microRNA miR-122 in individuals with hepatitis C responding poorly to interferon therapy
DOI: 10.1038/nm.1902
NATURE METHODS (http://www.nature.com/nmeth)
[18] A genetically encoded fluorescent reporter of ATP:ADP ratio
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1288
[19] Genetically timed, activity sensor and rainbow transsynaptic viral tools
DOI: 10.1038/nmeth.1292
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[20] Collagen VI protects neurons against Abeta toxicity
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2240
[21] Wnt antagonism of Shh facilitates midbrain floor plate neurogenesis
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2243
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[22] The mechanism of pentabromopseudilin inhibition of myosin motor activity
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1542
[23] Ligands bind to Sortilin in the tunnel of a ten-bladed beta-propeller domain
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1543
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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.
AUSTRALIA
Melbourne: 3
AUSTRIA
Graz: 14
BELGIUM
Brussels: 16
CANADA:
Edmonton: 10
Hamilton: 5
Mississauga: 5
Montreal: 9
Quebec: 9
Toronto: 9
CHINA
Beijing: 3, 10
Hefei: 3
Shanghai: 2
Shenyang: 3
DENMARK
Aarhus: 14, 23
FRANCE
Bordeaux: 16
Caen: 16
Montpellier: 16
Paris: 3
Rouen: 16
Saint Cloud: 16
Saint Herbalin: 16
Strasbourg: 16
Toulouse: 3
GERMANY
Aachen: 14
Berlin: 11
Bonn: 3
Dresden: 22
Düsseldorf: 3
Hannover: 22
Tubingen: 11
HUNGARY
Szeged: 19
IRELAND
Dublin: 3
ITALY
Giovanni Rotondo: 9
Padua: 20
Rome: 3
JAPAN
Kobe: 12, 15
Kyoto: 21
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 13
Maastricht: 3, 14
NORWAY
Trondheim: 15
POLAND
Gdansk: 16
SWEDEN
Stockholm: 16
SWITZERLAND
Basel: 17, 19
Bellinzona: 16
Bern: 16
Geneva: 16
Lausanne: 3, 16
TAIWAN
Taipei: 20
UNITED KINGDOM
Bristol: 3
Dundee: 3
Edinburgh: 16
Glasgow: 3
Leeds: 16
Sheffield: 3
St Andrews: 16
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
La Jolla: 15
Los Angeles: 9
Pasadena: 10
San Francisco: 18
Stanford: 10, 20
Colorado
Boulder: 7
Denver: 11
Fort Collins: 4
Connecticut
New Haven: 6, 9, 10, 12
Illinois
Chicago: 3, 9, 21
Maryland
Baltimore: 9
Bethesda: 21
Massachusetts
Boston: 9, 10, 18
Cambridge: 1
Waltham: 5
Minnesota
Minneapolis: 14
New Jersey
Princeton: 4
New York
Manhasset: 9
Ohio
Cleveland: 9
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 14
Pittsburgh: 9
Texas
Dallas: 8
Washington
Pullman: 4
West Virginia
Morgantown: 20
PRESS CONTACTS…
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals:
Rachel Twinn (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4658; E-mail: [email protected]
Katherine Anderson (Nature New York)
Tel: +1 212 726 9231; E-mail: [email protected]
Ruth Francis (Head of Press, 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 Biotechnology (New York)
Peter Hare
Tel: +1 212 726 9284; 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 Medicine (New York)
Juan Carlos Lopez
Tel: +1 212 726 9325; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Methods (New York)
Hugh Ash
Tel: +1 212 726 9627; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Neuroscience (New York)
Kalyani Narasimhan
Tel: +1 212 726 9319; 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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