Positive correlations were found between cytokine secretion and endotoxin-induced anxiety, depressed mood and decreases in memory performance.

The 3' untranslated region of the prohibitin gene encodes an RNA molecule that arrests cell proliferation when injected into breast cancer cell lines. A single point mutation in this region creates a variant T allele that lacks the antiproliferative activity of the more common functional C allele. In May 19 Lancet, Eldon Jupe and colleagues from Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, Oklahoma City present evidence that women carrying the prohibitin T allele have increased susceptibility to breast

has only weak antiviral activity.

Mumps virus DNA could not be detected in intestinal specimens or peripheral blood lymphocytes from patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

The Arthus type allergic reaction in the cornea is characterised by inflammatory cell infiltration and marked neovascularisation. This gradually disappears during the healing stages through mechanisms that are not yet elucidated but which are essential to preserve vision. In the May British Journal of Ophtalomology, Noriko Ozaki and colleagues from the Nippon Medical School, Tokyo show that regression of the Arthus reaction in the cornea occurs via apoptosis.Ozaki et al injected bovine serum alb

High serum levels of uric acid are associated with an increased risk of developing gout, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and renal failure. Urate is produced as a result of purine degradation and as yet little is known about the pathway for urate efflux from cells. In the May Journal of Clinical Investigation Michael Lipkowitz and colleagues from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York provide data on the human urate transporter galectin 9.Lipkowitz et al show that a recombinant protei

Genetic loci other than the prion protein gene have a major effect on prion disease incubation time in mice; multiple quantitative trait loci on three chromosomes can explain 82% of the variance.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 reduces interstitial collagenase degradation of triple-helical collagen and may be of use in the treatment of atherosclerosis.

Erythrocytes infected with Plasmodium falciparum adhere to host CD36 receptors expressed on endothelial cells, platelets and leucocytes. This process is thought to benefit parasite survival in malaria. In the 12 May Lancet, Arnab Pain and colleagues from the Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford, UK report a mutation in the Cd36 gene that is associated with protection from severe malaria.Pain et al sequenced DNA from two Afro-Americans who did not express CD36 on their platelets and identifi

Activating a subset of myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific T cells that have escaped tolerance induces autoimmune encephalomyelitis in mice. This is considered a disease model for multiple sclerosis. Escaping tolerance is believed to result from sequestration of MBP within immune-privileged sites that allow only limited lymphocyte trafficking. In the April Immunity Eric Huseby and colleagues from University of Washington, Seattle show that escaping tolerance is also an age dependent mechanism.Hu

blocked neoplastic growth in immunocompromised mice by strong suppression of tumour angiogenesis.

AMPA-type glutamate synaptic receptors (AMPA-Rs) mediate a wide variety of excitatory synaptic transmissions in the brain. The mechanism by which these receptors maintain a long-term synaptic efficacy are not fully understood. In the 4 May Cell Song-Hai Shi and colleagues at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York show that AMPA-Rs in hippocampus use a number of delivery mechanisms to stabilize long-term changes in synaptic efficacy.Most hippocamic AMPA-Rs are hetero-oligomers composed of GluR1/