Inhibitors of cyclooxygenase 2 block the replication of cytomegalovirus in human fibroblasts.

The tumor suppressor p53 triggers cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis but about 50% of human tumors have mutations in p53 which makes them resistant to apoptosis. Vladimir Bykov and colleagues from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden hypothesized that restoring p53 in tumor cells could trigger massive apoptosis and eliminate the tumor. In March Nature Medicine, they show that a small molecule, called PRIMA-1, can restore the tumor suppressor function of p53 and have anti-tumor effects.Bykov et

Protease inhibitors are potent anti-angiogenic molecules with direct anti Kaposi sarcoma and anti-tumor activity.

MAP kinase signaling is involved in plant innate immunity, conferring resistance to bacterial and fungal pathogens.

Telomere breakage and replicative shortening account for telomere shortening in Fanconi 's anemia.

Cloning using somatic cells has potentially important clinical and therapeutic applications, but the long-term effects of cloning on the offspring of these animals remains unknown. In March Nature Medicine, Kellie Tamashiro and colleagues from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, USA, show that cloned mice have an obese phenotype, but that this is not transmitted to their offspring.Tamashiro et al. examined cloned mice of different background strains (B6C3F1, B6D2F1) and used spec

Patients infected with HIV have highly variable CD8+ CTL responses despite the high number of circulating CD8+ T cells, an observation that remains poorly understood. In March Journal of Immunology Mohammed Garba and colleagues from University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA, show that the failure of CD8+ T cell responses can be the result of an active HIV regulatory process mediated by secretion of TGF-β1, rather than the absence of CD8+ cells.Garba et al. used flow cytometric methods

Chemotherapy can generate new cancerous growths and may carry significant cardiovascular risks.

Polycystin-1 C-terminal fragment triggers branching morphogenesis and migration of tubular kidney epithelial cells.

Angiogenesis inhibitors are potent anticancer drugs thought to lack acquired drug resistance problems because they target the normal endothelial cells of the tumor vasculature. But, in February 22 Science, Joanne Yu and colleagues from University of Toronto, Canada, show that p53 loss in tumor cells confers a resistance to hypoxia that might reduce the efficacy of antiangiogenic therapy.Yu et al. compared the response to antiangiogenetic therapy of tumors derived from paired isogenic p53-/- and

Heme oxygenase-1 derived from Leydig cells in the testis regulates apoptosis of premeiotic spermatocytes in response to stress.

pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway.