: Medicine Articles
Letter: Reversal of learning deficits in a Tsc2+/− mouse model of tuberous sclerosisTuberous sclerosis is a neurological disorder associated with seizures and cognitive dysfunction. Alcino Silva and his colleagues find that rapamycin, an inhibitor of the mTOR signaling pathway, can ameliorate cognitive deficits in a mouse model of the disease. Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp843-848 |
Letter: A tumor necrosis factor-α–mediated pathway promoting autosomal dominant polycystic kidney diseasePolycystic kidney disease can be caused by germline mutations in the gene encoding PC2 followed by a second somatic 'hit' in the normal allele. Li and her colleagues now show that TNF-α can also act as a second hit and that disease progression can be blocked by anti–TNF-α treatment in an animal model. Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp863-868 |
Letter: Amyloid-β protein dimers isolated directly from Alzheimer's brains impair synaptic plasticity and memoryThe synaptotoxic Aβ protein aggregates in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Dennis Selkoe and his colleagues identify the size of the Aβ aggregate in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer's disease that is responsible for the deficits of learning and memory that characterize the disease. Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp837-842 |
Letter: A membrane protein preserves intrabacterial pH in intraphagosomal Mycobacterium tuberculosisAcidification of the phagosome is a key mechanism thought to be used by macrophages against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The authors identify a previously undescribed gene that confers acid resistance to the bacterium and is essential for virulence (pages 809–810). Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp849-854 |
Letter: Angiotensin receptor agonistic autoantibodies induce pre-eclampsia in pregnant miceDirect proof that women with pre-eclampsia develop autoantibodies to the AT1 receptor, which explains the hypertension and other symptoms of the disease, is now provided. Additionally, blocking these autoantibodies or treating with losartin, a drug that targets the AT1 receptor, in a new mouse model of this condition helps ameliorate disease outcome (pages 810–812). Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp855-862 |
News and Views: M. tuberculosis passes the litmus testOne of the body's key defenders against infection—the activated macrophage—engulfs bacteria and destroys them with an acid cocktail inside lysosomes. Mycobacterium tuberculosis seems to have evolved a strategy to cope with this threat (pages 849–854). Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp809-810 |
News and Views: Putting pressure on pre-eclampsiaWomen with pre-eclampsia, a potentially deadly complication of pregnancy, produce agonistic autoantibodies against angiotensin receptor-1, a transmembrane protein that regulates blood pressure. Findings in mice suggest how these antibodies might help trigger the condition (pages 855–862). Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp810-812 |
News and Views: Predicting the future for people with lung cancerA large multicenter study shows that lung adenocarcinomas have messenger RNA expression signatures that greatly add to the use of clinical data in predicting an individual's survival (pages 822–827). Nature Medicine, vol. 14 #8, pp812-813 |