NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 4 June 2006
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This press release contains:
• Summaries of newsworthy papers:
Genetics: New class of small RNAs revealed - Nature
Urinary tract microbicide prevents infection - Nature Medicine
Meeting the demands of immune defense - Nature Immunology
• Mention of papers to be published at the same time with the same embargo
• Geographical listing of authors
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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***************************
(http://www.nature.com/nature)
[1] & [2] Genetics: New class of small RNAs revealed
DOI: 10.1038/nature04916
DOI: 10.1038/nature04917
Two groups of researchers have unearthed a whole new class of small RNA molecules manufactured by the mammalian genome. They might have a role in the production of sperm, and expand the growing range of functions attributed to non-protein-coding RNA. The two linked papers are published online by Nature this week.
Researchers are already familiar with microRNAs, 21–23-nucleotide fragments that can silence genes and act by binding to a group of Argonaute proteins. It was also known that a subgroup of Argonaute proteins, known as the Piwi family, is important in the production of germ cells.
The two teams, led by Thomas Tuschl and Gregory Hannon, show that certain members of the Piwi family in mice actually bind to a previously unknown class of slightly longer RNAs, somewhere between 26–31 nucleotides in length and abundant in developing sperm. These Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are common in the mouse genome and lie in clusters, suggesting that they are actually cut out of longer RNA transcripts. Similar piRNAs are generated from the human genome.
CONTACT
Thomas Tuschl (Howard Hughes Medical Instiute, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 212 327 7651; E-mail: [email protected]
Gregory Hannon (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, NY, USA)
Tel: +1 516 367 8889; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[3] Collinear activation of Hoxb genes during gastrulation is linked to mesoderm cell ingression
DOI: 10.1038/nature04838
*******************Nature MEDICINE******************
(http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[4] Urinary tract microbicide prevents infection
DOI: 10.1038/nm1407
When bacteria enter the urinary tract, cells there secrete antimicrobial factors to thwart infection, report researchers in the June issue of Nature Medicine.
Annelie Brauner and colleagues show that the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin, which is known to protect the skin from infection, is also made in the urinary tract of mice and humans when bacteria invade. The antimicrobial peptides kill most invading bacteria, and protect the urinary tract from infection. But bacterial strains that are resistant to cathelicidin can still cause infection, and are associated with severe urinary tract infections in humans.
These findings by Brauner and colleagues suggest that cathelicidin is an important endogenous factor in maintaining urinary tract health, and that some bacteria are more toxic because they are resistant to this microbicide.
Author contact:
Annelie Brauner (Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden)
Tel: +46 85177 3914; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Medicine to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[5] Soluble endoglin contributes to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia
DOI: 10.1038/nm1429
****************NATURE IMMUNOLOGY*******************
(http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[6] Meeting the demands of immune defense
DOI: 10.1038/ni1354
Distinct proteins regulate the development of granulocytes, a type of immune cell, when the body is under attack by pathogens, according to a paper in the July issue of Nature Immunology.
Daniel Tenen and colleagues demonstrate that different factors regulate granulocyte development in a healthy body versus an infected body. Granulocytes are short-lived cells that, as their name implies, are full of granules containing antimicrobial compounds and can kill invading bacteria, as seen in pus-filled lesions. During periods of health, fewer granulocytes are required, but during infection more must be rapidly produced to overcome the pathogen. These findings therefore suggest that the distinct factors identified by Tenen and colleagues dictate the fine control of granulocyte numbers during health and illness.
Author contact:
Daniel Tenen (Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 617 667 5561; E-mail: [email protected]
Other papers from Nature Immunology to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[7] Natural killer cell differentiation driven by Tyro3 receptor tyrosine kinases
DOI: 10.1038/ni1353
************************************************************
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)
[8] Melting of a 2D quantum electron solid in high magnetic field
DOI: 10.1038/nphys322
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[9] Complete shape retention in the transformation of silica to polymer micro-objects
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1659
[10] Solvent control of crack dynamics in a reversible hydrogel
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1666
NATURE CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/nchembio)
[11] Paradoxical hotspots for guanine oxidation by a chemical mediator of inflammation
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio796
Nature BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnolgy)
[12] Herbicide-resistance conferred by expression of a catalytic antibody in Arabidopsis thaliana
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1213
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[13] Mutations in the GlyT2 gene (SLC6A5) define a presynaptic component of human startle disease
DOI: 10.1038/ng1814
[14] The genetics of plant metabolism
DOI: 10.1038/ng1815
[15] Seborrhea-like dermatitis with psoriasiform elements caused by a mutation in ZNF750, encoding a putative C2H2 zinc finger protein
DOI: 10.1038/ng1813
[16] A mutation creating a potential illegitimate microRNA target site in the myostatin gene affects muscularity in sheep
DOI: 10.1038/ng1810
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[17] A cognitive signal for the proactive timing of action in macaque LIP
DOI: 10.1038/nn1716
[18] JNK mediates pathogenic effects of polyglutamine-expanded androgen receptor on fast axonal transport
DOI: 10.1038/nn1717
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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
Adelaide: 13
BELGIUM
Liege: 16
CANADA
Ontario: 13
Quebec: 11
Toronto: 5
Vancouver: 13
FRANCE
Castanet-Tolosan: 16
Limoges: 16
Paris: 2, 7, 10, 13
Saint-genes-Champanelle: 16
Strasbourg : 1
GERMANY
Cologne: 14
ICELAND
Reykjavik: 4
ISRAEL
Beer-Sheva: 15
Haifa: 12, 15
Petah Tikva: 15
Rehovot: 12
ITALY
Milan: 9
JAPAN
Kyoto: 6
Osaka: 1
NETHERLANDS
Amsterdam: 13
Groningen: 14
Leiden: 13
Wageningen: 14
NEW ZEALAND
Auckland: 13
SLOVAKIA
Bratislava: 4
Kosice: 4
SWEDEN
Stockholm: 4, 9
SWIZERLAND
Basal: 1
UNITED KINGDOM
Cardiff: 13
Glasgow: 13
London: 13
Swansea: 13
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 7
La Jolla: 7, 12
San Diego: 4
Illinois
Chicago: 18
Florida
Tallahasee: 8
Indiana
Lafayette: 8
Maryland
Bethesda: 5
College Park: 8
Rockville: 1
Massachusetts
Boston: 5, 6
Cambridge: 11, 16
Michigan
Detroit: 5
Missouri
Kansas City: 3
New Jersey
Murray Hill: 8
Princeton: 8
New York
Cold Spring Harbour: 2
New York: 1, 11
Texas
Dallas: 18
Houston: 8
Virginia
Richmond: 13
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 Biotechnology (New York)
Kathy Aschheim
Tel: +1 212 726 9346; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Cell Biology (London)
Bernd Pulverer
Tel: +44 20 7843 4892; E-mail: [email protected]
Nature Chemical Biology (Boston)
Beatrice Chrystall
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 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 9351; E-mail: [email protected]
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