#1 Gene for autoimmunity Rare genetic variants in the protein sialic acid acetylesterase (SASE) are linked to common human autoimmune diseases, including type 1 diabetes, arthritis, and Crohn's disease. In mice, defects in the protein have been linked to problems in B-cell signaling and the development of auto-antibodies. I. Surolia, et al., "Functionally defective germline variants of sialic acid acetylesterase in autoimmunity," Nature, 466:243-7. Epub 2010 Jun 16. linkurl:Eval;http://f1000biology.com/article/id/3611960 by Mark Anderson, UCSF Diabetes Center; Anthony DeFranco, University of California, San Francisco; Takeshi Tsubata, Tokyo Medical University, Japan.
#2 Cell mobility illuminated Using light to activate a the protein Rac in a single cell, researchers show how the protein can induce a group of epithelial cells to polarize en masse, suggesting that these cells can sense movement as a group. X. Wang, et al., "Light-mediated activation reveals a key role for...
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Image: Wikimedia commons, Shushruth |
#3 How the brain communicatesH. Adesnik and M. Scanziani. "Lateral competition for cortical space by layer-specific horizontal circuits," Nature, 464:1155-60, 2010. linkurl:Eval;http://f1000biology.com/article/id/3125964 by Aguan Wei and Jan-Marino Ramirez, University of Washington; James Cottam and Michael Hausser, University College London. #4 Backwards-working neurons V. Chevaleyre and SA Siegelbaum. "Strong CA2 pyramidal neuron synapses define a powerful disynaptic cortico-hippocampal loop," Neuron, 66:560-72, 2010. linkurl:Eval;http://f1000biology.com/article/id/3514956 byStephen M Fitzjohn and Graham Collingridge, MRC centre for Synaptic Plasticity; Johannes Hell, University of California, Davis. #5 Cell-swallowing proteinsWM Henne, et al., " FCHo proteins are nucleators of clathrin-mediated endocytosis," Science, 328:1281-4, 2010. linkurl:Eval;http://f1000biology.com/article/id/3501956 by Martin Lowe, University of Manchester; Pekka Lappalainen, Institute of Biotechnology, Finland. #6 Less genetic "dark matter" H van Bakel et al., "Most 'dark matter' transcripts are associated with known genes," PLoS Biol, 2010 May 18;8(5):e1000371. linkurl:Eval;http://f1000biology.com/article/id/3374960 by Daniel Reines, Emory University School of Medicine; Adnane Sellam and Andre Nantel, National Reseasrch Council of Canada. #7 Death receptor helps cancer liveL. Chen et al., "CD95 promotes tumour growth," Nature, 465:492-6, 2010. linkurl:Eval;http://f1000biology.com/article/id/3406957 by Sharad Kumar, Centre for Cancer Biology, Austrailia; Astar Winoto, University of California, Berkeley. Jennifer Welsh contributed to this article.
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