This press release contains:
• Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Genetics: Genetic variant associated with migraine
Immunology: Unraveling causes of severe asthma
Immunology: You give me fever
And finally…Genetics: Apple genome sequenced
• 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.
Warning: This document, and the Nature journal papers to which it refers, may contain information that is price sensitive (as legally defined, for example, in the UK Criminal Justice Act 1993 Part V) with respect to publicly quoted companies. Anyone dealing in securities using information contained in this document, or in advance copies of a Nature journal’s content, may be guilty of insider trading under the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
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NOTE: Once a paper is published, the digital object identifier (DOI) number can be used to retrieve the abstract and full text from the journal web site (abstracts are available to everyone, full text
is available only to subscribers). To do this, add the DOI to the following URL: http://dx.doi.org/ (For example, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng730). For more information about DOIs and Advance Online Publication, see http://www.nature.com/ng/aop/.
HYPE: We take great care not to hype the papers mentioned on our press releases, but are sometimes accused of doing so. If you ever consider that a story has been hyped, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected], citing the specific example.
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.
[1] Genetics: Genetic variant associated with migraine
DOI: 10.1038/ng.652
The first genome wide association study for migraine risk factors is reported online in this week’s issue of Nature Genetics. The associated variant is located near genes encoding proteins involved in glutamate—a neurotransmitter in the brain—homeostasis, but further studies will be needed to confirm links between the identified variant and glutamate regulation Migraine is a costly neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent attacks of severe headache. There are approximately 300 million people worldwide who undergo a migraine attack daily. Though genome-wide association studies are often used to understand genetic susceptibility in various diseases, neurological disorders are underrepresented in such studies.
Aarno Palotie and colleagues scanned the genomes of approximately 5,000 European people who had been diagnosed with various forms of migraines and identified an associated genetic variant on chromosome 8q22.1.
Author contact:
Aarno Palotie (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK)
Tel: +44 1223 49 6848
E-mail: [email protected]
[2] Immunology: Unraveling causes of severe asthma
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1926
Clues as to why some individuals develop severe allergic asthma are presented in a report published
this week in Nature Immunology.
Why asthma patients with more severe disease have higher numbers of neutrophils—a type of immune cell—in their lungs exhibit was previously unclear. Marsha Wills-Karp and colleagues have discovered some mice strains develop more severe asthma compared to others and this increase is associated with neutrophil infiltration. The authors found that mice with more severe disease express more interleukin 17 (IL-17) and IL-23—inflammatory molecules linked to neutrophil recruitment and activation.
They also noted that strain differences in IL-17 and IL-23 production were surprisingly attributed to an ancient antimicrobial pathway called complement. Complement activation involves activation of proteases that sequentially release alarm molecules C3a followed by C5a and triggers other immune responses. Wills-Karp and her team find reciprocal regulation by C3a and C5a effects the production of both interleukins, with C3a activating more severe disease and C5a protecting against it.
This new work suggests new therapeutic angles to lessen the severity of neutrophil-dominated forms of asthma.
Author contact:
Marsha Wills-Karp
(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH, USA)
Tel: +1 513 636 7641
E-mail: [email protected]
[3] Immunology: You give me fever
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1925
How the “fevervmolecule” interacts with its receptors is reported online this week in Nature Immunology. These findings could potentially lead to the development of new anti-inflammatory treatments.
A key inflammatory molecule, interleukin 1 (IL-1), has been called the “fever molecule” because its release triggers increases in body temperature in addition to activating immune cells to fight infection. Prolonged IL-1 exposure can likewise wreak tissue damage, as seen in many autoinflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.
Xinquan Wang and colleagues have deduced how IL-1beta, a major form of IL-1, binds to its activating receptor IL-1RI—which promotes inflammation signalling—and inhibitory receptor IL-1RII—which reduces inflammation signaling. Insights from the molecular nature of these
interactions could lead to development of compounds that uniquely target IL-1RI but not IL-1RII and thereby function as anti-inflammatory agents.
Author contact:
Xinquan Wang (Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)
Tel: +86 10 6278 9401
E-mail: [email protected]
[4] And finally…Genetics: Apple genome sequenced
DOI: 10.1038/ng.654
The genome sequence of the apple is published in this week’s issue of Nature Genetics. A high-quality draft genome sequence of the ‘Golden Delicious’ apple variety is reported.
The domesticated apple appeared in the Near East approximately 4,000 years ago. The apple crop is the main fruit crop of temperate regions and worldwide apple production now exceeds 60 million metric tons, or approximately 20 pounds of apples per year per person.
Riccardo Velasco and colleagues sequenced and assembled the domesticated apple genome, which is approximately 742.3 million base pairs long. The genome assembly covers approximately 81.3% of the genome sequence.
The data could prove a useful resource for breeding improved apple varieties in the future.
Author contact:
Riccardo Velasco (Instituto Agrario San Michele all'Adige Research and Innovation Centre, Trento, Italy)
Tel: +39 461 615 257
E-mail: [email protected]
***********************************************************
Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
NATURE
[5] Identification of a quality-control mechanism for mRNA 59-end capping
DOI: 10.1038/nature09338
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
[6] Monoclonal antibodies isolated without screening by analyzing the variable-gene repertoire of plasma cells
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1673
[7] High-throughput generation, optimization and analysis of genome-scale metabolic models
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1672
[8] De novo identification and biophysical characterization of transcription-factor binding
sites with microfluidic affinity analysis
DOI: 10.1038/nbt.1675
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
[9] Engineered diubiquitin synthesis reveals Lys29-isopeptide specificity of an OTU deubiquitinase
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.426
[10] Tah18 transfers electrons to Dre2 in cytosolic iron-sulfur protein biogenesis
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio.432
NATURE CHEMISTRY
[11] Direct enantio-convergent transformation of racemic substrates without racemization or symmetrization
DOI: 10.1038/nchem.801
NATURE GENETICS
[12] The ratio of human X chromosome to autosome diversity is positively correlated with genetic distance from genes
DOI: 10.1038/ng.651
[13] Identity-by-descent filtering of exome sequence data identifies PIGV mutations in
hyperphosphatasia mental retardation syndrome
DOI: 10.1038/ng.653
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY
[14] The transcription cofactor Hopx is required for regulatory T cell function in dendritic cell-mediated peripheral T cell unresponsiveness
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1929
NATURE MEDICINE
[15] Adaptation of HIV-1 envelope gp120 to humoral immunity at a population level
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2203
[16] Clinical microfluidics for neutrophil genomics and proteomics
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2205
[17] Hypothalamic AMPK and fatty acid metabolism mediate thyroid regulation of energy balance
DOI: 10.1038/nm.2207
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
[18] In vitro assembly of cubic RNA-based scaffolds designed in silico
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2010.160
[19] Nanoscale mapping of ion diffusion in a lithium-ion battery cathode
DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2010.174
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE
[20] Intrinsic biophysical diversity decorrelates neuronal firing while increasing information content
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2630
[21] Plk2 attachment to NSF induces homeostatic removal of GluR2 during chronic overexcitation
DOI: 10.1038/nn.2624
NATURE PHOTONICS
[22] A generator for unique quantum random numbers based on vacuum states
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2010.197
[23] Ultrafast Rabi flopping and coherent pulse propagation in a quantum cascade laser
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2010.205
[24] Hacking commercial quantum cryptography systems by tailored bright illumination
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2010.214
[25] From quantum multiplexing to high-performance quantum networking
DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2010.213
NATURE PHYSICS
[26] Identifying influential spreaders in complex networks
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1746
[27] Spontaneous formation and optical manipulation of extended polariton condensates
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1750
[28] Quantum critical states and phase transitions in the presence of non-equilibrium noise
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1754
[29] High-temperature superconductivity in iron-based materials
DOI: 10.1038/nphys1759
NATURE STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
[30] Solid-state NMR and SAXS studies provide a structural basis for the activation of aB-crystallin oligomers
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1891
[31] Human HDAC1 and HDAC2 function in the DNA-damage response to promote DNA nonhomologous end-joining
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1899
[32] Structural basis of quinolone inhibition of type IIA topoisomerases and target-mediated resistance
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1892
[33] Chemical-genomic dissection of the CTD code
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb.1900
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
Brisbane: 1
Sydney: 13
BELGIUM
Ghent: 4
Liege: 1
CANADA:
Toronto: 1, 13
CHINA
Beijing: 3, 8
DENMARK
Glostrup: 1
Lyngby: 22
Roskilde: 1
FINLAND
Espoo: 17
Helsinki: 1
Vaasa: 1
FRANCE
Aubiere: 27
Beaucouze: 4
Marcoussis: 27
Paris: 27
Toulouse: 31
GERMANY
Berlin: 13, 30
Bonn: 1
Cologne: 1
Erlangen: 22, 24
Essen: 1, 13
Hamburg: 13
Kiel: 1
Marburg: 10
Munich: 1, 22, 33
Neuherberg: 1
Ulm: 1
ISRAEL
Ramat Gan: 8, 26
Rehovot: 28
ITALY
Bologna: 4
Lodi: 4
Milan: 4
Padua: 4
Trento: 4
Verona: 1
JAPAN
Osaka: 13
Saitama: 11
Sapporo: 11
Tokyo: 25
MEXICO
Guanajuato: 24
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 15
Leiden: 1, 15
Nijmegen: 13
Rotterdam: 1
NEW ZEALAND
Auckland: 4
Havelock North: 4
Palmerston North: 4
NORWAY
Kjeller: 24
Oslo: 1
Trondheim: 1, 24
SPAIN
Madrid: 27
Santiago de Compostela: 17
SWEDEN
Molndal: 17
Stockholm: 26
SWITZERLAND
Geneva: 1, 28
UKRAINE
Kiev: 19
UNITED KINGDOM
Bristol: 25
Cambridge: 1, 9, 17, 1
London: 17
Oxford: 1
Southampton: 27
Stevenage: 32
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Arizona
Tucson: 12
California
Berkeley: 23
La Jolla: 18, 26
Palo Alto: 8, 16, 23
San Francisco: 8, 12, 33
Santa Barbara: 18
Connecticut
Branford: 4
New Haven: 14
District of Columbia
Washington: 21
Florida
Gainesville: 16
Illinois
Argonne: 7
Chicago: 7
West Lafayette: 19
Iowa
Iowa City: 17
Maryland
Bethesda: 21
Chevy Chase: 8
College Park: 29
Frederick: 18
Massachusetts
Boston: 1, 16, 17, 26
Cambridge: 23, 28
Michigan
Ann Arbor: 23
Holland: 7
Missouri
St Louis: 16
New Jersey
Piscataway: 5
New York
New York: 5, 26
Rochester: 16
North Carolina
Chapel Hill: 14
Ohio
Cincinnati: 2
Pennsylvania
Collegeville: 32
Pittsburgh: 20
Tennessee
Oak Ridge: 19
Texas
Austin: 6
Utah
Salt Lake City: 4
Washington
Pullman: 4
Richland: 16
Seattle: 1, 30
Wisconsin
Madison: 33
Milwaukee: 21
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]
Neda Afsarmanesh (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)
Michael Francisco
Tel: +1 212 726 9288
E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Chemical Biology (Boston)
Sarah Daniels
Tel: +1 617 475 9241
E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Chemistry (London)
Stuart Cantrill
Tel: +44 20 7014 4018
E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Genetics (New York)
Myles Axton
Tel: +1 212 726 9324
E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Geoscience (London)
Heike Langenberg
Tel: +44 20 7843 4042
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 Nanotechnology (London)
Peter Rodgers
Tel: +44 20 7014 4019
Email: [email protected]
Nature Neuroscience (New York)
Kalyani Narasimhan
Tel: +1 212 726 9319
E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Photonics (Tokyo)
Oliver Graydon
Tel: +81 3 3267 8776
E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Physics (London)
Alison Wright
Tel: +44 20 7843 4555
E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (New York)
Sabbi Lall
Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: [email protected]
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