NATURE AND THE NATURE RESEARCH JOURNALS PRESS RELEASE
For papers that will be published online on 2 July 2006
This press release is copyrighted to the Nature journals mentioned below.
This press release contains:
· Summaries of newsworthy papers:
A malaria drug for underdeveloped countries – Nature Chemical Biology
· 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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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 malaria drug for underdeveloped countries
DOI: 10.1038/nchembio806
Scientists have found a drug that can be used to control malaria infection. The research, to be reported in the August issue of Nature Chemical Biology, shows that the drug, astemizole, interferes with a key process of the parasite.
The malaria parasite P. falciparum causes the crystallization of heme molecules from the blood of victims. Some antimalarials, like chloroquine inhibit this reaction but there are strains of the disease that have become resistant to this drug. David Sullivan Jr. and colleagues examined the ability of over 2600 existing compounds that have entered phase II clinical trials. This screening revealed several compounds with antimicrobial and antimalarial properties, including the allergy drug astemizole. Astemizole has been shown to inhibit heme crystallization and could reduce parasitemia in mouse malaria models, by a mechanism that seems to be distinct from how chloroquine acts.
The ready availability of astemizole in generic form in malaria endemic countries such as Cambodia and Thailand make it an attractive choice for anti-malaria strategies. In addition, the unique pathway of inhibition by astemizole means that it could be used against chloroquine-resistant malaria strains.
Author contact:
David Sullivan Jr. (The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA)
Tel: +1 410 502 2522, 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)
[2] Rad54 protein promotes branch migration of Holliday junctions
DOI: 10.1038/nature04889
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[3] Monocrystalline spinel nanotube fabrication based on the Kirkendall effect
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1673
[4] Dynamic plasticity and failure of high-purity alumina under shock loading
DOI: 10.1038/nmat1689
Nature MEDICINE (http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[5] rAAV6-microdystrophin preserves muscle function and extends lifespan in severely dystrophic mice
DOI: 10.1038/nm1439
[6] Nogo-A–specific antibody treatment enhances sprouting and functional recovery after cervical lesion in adult primates
DOI: 10.1038/nm1436
[7] E2-EPF UCP targets pVHL for degradation and associates with tumor growth and metastasis
DOI: 10.1038/nm1440
[8] Experimental febrile seizures are precipitated by a hyperthermia-induced respiratory alkalosis
DOI: 10.1038/nm1422
Nature BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnolgy)
[9] A sequence-oriented comparison of gene expression measurements across different hybridization-based technologies
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1217
[10] Signal sequences directing cotranslational translocation expand the range of proteins amenable to phage display
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1218
[11] Ordered surface carbons distinguish antifreeze proteins and their ice-binding regions
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1224
[12] Suppression of vascular permeability and inflammation by targeting of the transcription factor c-Jun
DOI: 10.1038/nbt1225
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[13] A functional switch from lung cancer resistance to susceptibility at the Pas1 locus in Kras2LA2 mice
DOI: 10.1038/ng1836
[14] Epigenetic asymmetry of imprinted genes in plant gametes
DOI: 10.1038/ng1828
[15] Probing long-distance regulatory interactions in the Drosophila melanogaster bithorax complex using Dam identification
DOI: 10.1038/ng1833
[16] The genetic basis for differences in leaf form between Arabidopsis thaliana and its wild relative Cardamine hirsuta
DOI: 10.1038/ng1835
Nature NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[17] Cross-modal regulation of synaptic AMPA receptors in primary sensory cortices by visual experience
DOI: 10.1038/nn1725
[18] Anterior cingulate cortex responds differentially to expectancy violation and social rejection
DOI: 10.1038/nn1728
[19] BDNF-mediated neurotransmission relies upon a myosin VI motor complex
DOI: 10.1038/nn1730
[20] Specification of auditory sensitivity by Drosophila TRP channels
DOI: 10.1038/nn1735
[21] Generalization of amygdala LTP and conditioned fear in the absence of presynaptic inhibition DOI: 10.1038/nn1732
[22] LIP responses to a popout stimulus are reduced if it is overtly ignored
DOI: 10.1038/nn1734
Nature IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[23] Foxp1 is an essential transcriptional regulator of B cell development
DOI: 10.1038/ni1358
[24] Auxiliary splice factor U2AF26 and transcription factor Gfi1 cooperate directly in regulating CD45 alternative splicing
DOI: 10.1038/ni1361
Nature STRUCTURAL & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natstructmolbiol)
[25] Antagonistic forces that position nucleosomes in vivo
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1111
[26] A DNA-tethered cleavage probe reveals the path for promoter DNA in the yeast preinitiation complex
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1117
[27] Hoogsteen base pair formation promotes synthesis opposite the 1,N6-ethenodeoxyadenosine lesion by human DNA polymerase i
DOI: 10.1038/nsmb1118
*****************************************************************************
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
Sydney: 12
CANADA
Guelph: 11
Montreal: 24
Waterloo: 11
FINLAND
Helsinki: 8
FRANCE
Aubiere: 14
Strasbourg: 21
GERMANY
Berlin: 8
Cologne: 20
Dresden: 3
Essen: 24
Halle: 3
Hamburg: 14
ITALY
Milan: 9
JAPAN
Kawaguchi: 21
Saitama: 17
Sendai: 4
KOREA
Daejon: 7
Seoul: 7, 9
Suwon: 9
NORWAY
Oslo: 9
RUSSIA
Novosibirsk: 2
SWITZERLAND
Basel: 6, 21
Fribourg: 6
Geneva: 15
Lausanne: 6
Zurich: 6, 10
THE NETHERLANDS
Nijmegen: 24
Rotterdam: 15
UNITED KINGDOM
Manchester: 4
Oxford: 14, 16
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
California
Berkeley: 13
Los Angeles: 22
Pasadena: 9
San Francisco: 13
Maryland
Aberdeen Proving Ground: 4
Baltimore: 1, 4, 17
College Park: 17
Massachusetts
Boston: 9, 23
Cambridge: 9, 13
Danvers: 23
New Hampshire
Hanover: 18
New Jersey
Princeton: 14
New York
New York: 19, 22, 27
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia: 2
Texas
Austin: 23
Galveston: 27
San Antonio: 23
Washington
Seattle: 5, 8, 9, 25, 26
PRESS CONTACTS…
For media inquiries relating to embargo policy for all the Nature Research Journals:
Katherine Anderson (Nature London)
Tel: +44 20 7843 4502; 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)
Peter Hare
Tel: +1 212 726 9324; 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 Structural & Molecular Biology (New York)
Michelle Montoya
Tel: +1 212 726 9326; E-mail: [email protected]
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