Obesity is on the increase in industrialized countries and is a serious risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disorders, but effective pharmaceutical treatments for obesity remain elusive. In February Nature Medicine, Ellen Air and colleagues from University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, show that small molecule insulin mimetics can reduce food intake and body weight and prevent development of obesity in an animal model.Air et al. found the central intracerebroventri

infection of the airways.

Adult bone marrow stem cells can develop into endothelial cells and contribute to neoangiogenesis.

Treatment with rapamycin reduces primary and metastatic tumor growth.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (Egfr) is an important molecule in the development of many organs, but its role in cancerous growth remains unclear. In January 29 online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Reade Roberts and colleagues from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, US, show that Egfr signaling is required for development of intestinal tumors in mice.Roberts et al. used the hypomorphic Egfrwa2 allele to examine the impact of impaired Egfr signaling on the ApcMin mouse model

Sertoli cells are essential for spermatogenesis because of their interactions with germ cells, and a defect in their function can lead to the absence of spermatozoa (azoospermia) and male infertility. In January 29 online Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Mito Kanatsu-Shinohara and colleagues from Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, show that adenovirus-mediated gene delivery into Sertoli cells of infertile mice could successfully restore production of fer

T suppressor cells alter certain antigen presenting cell activities thought to be central to the prevention of autoimmune diseases, allergies, transplant rejection and immune-deficiency disorders, but the molecular basis that underlies this mechanism remains unclear. In January 28 online Nature Immunology, Chih-Chao Chang and colleagues from Columbia University, New York, show that the immunoglobulin-like transcript 3 (ILT3) and ILT4 inhibitory receptors have an important role in the tolerizatio

Endocytosis and degradation of the membrane receptors in the lysosome controls the activation of intracellular signaling pathways, but the mechanisms that control the endocytosis itself are largely unknown. In January 25 Cell, Thomas Lloyd and colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, US show that hepatocyte growth factor regulates endosome membrane invagination and tyrosine kinase receptor (TKR) signaling in Drosophila.Lloyd et al. performed electron microscopy studies on mutant fly

The antioxidant metalloporphyrin-based superoxide dismutase can prevent or delay the onset of the autoimmune cascade in diabetes.

Survivin is an inhibitor of apoptosis that is involved in tissue development and early reports have suggested that it may have a role in the survival of cancer cells. In January 15 Journal of Clinical Investigation, Marzia Pennati and colleagues from Istituto Nazionale per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori, Milan, Italy show that ribozyme-mediated attenuation of survivin expression increased the susceptibility of melanoma cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis.Pennati et al. developed a strategy for

The control of water flow across cell membranes is important for normal lung function, but the molecular mechanisms of water permeability at this level are incompletely defined. In January 22 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Landon King and colleagues from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, show that aquaporins (AQP) are proteins that control the vascular permeability in the lung, and have a role in human pulmonary physiology.King et al. intravenously injected 3 liters

Heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan (HSG) sugars are found on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix that surrounds cells, and have roles that are still unknown. In January 22 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Dongfang Liu and colleagues from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, US, show that the HSG coat present on tumor cells contains bioactive sequences that influence tumor-cell growth and metastasis.Liu et al. injected the enzyme heparinase I or the hepara