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 NEUROBIOLOGY: Small Molecule Proves Its Punch Against Brain Tumor Cells
Brain cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat surgically since removing even a small tumor may risk robbing patients of precious brain functions. Yet efforts to noninvasively and precisely eliminate these tumors have met with little success. In the Nov. 11 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Rosalind Segal (right), Joshua Rubin, and their colleagues have found that by aiming a small molecule at a certain receptor on the surface of human brain tumor cells, they were able to command the cells to commit suicide or, in some cases, to stop proliferating. In principle, blocking the receptor with a small molecule could noninvasively destroy an entire tumor while sparing nearby healthy tissue.
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 BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY: Protein Identified as Marker for Stem Cell Fusion
Recent evidence suggests that stem cells may derive some of their potency from an ability to fuse with differentiated cells. Markus Frank (right), Mohamed Sayegh, and colleagues report that the cell surface glycoprotein, ABCB5, is expressed in progenitor cells isolated from the skin. These cells not only fuse, but their fusion is promoted by antibodies to ABCB5. The glycoprotein may, therefore, represent a cell marker for fusion. The study appears in the Nov. 21 Journal of Biological Chemistry.
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 MICROBIOLOGY: Cholera Bacteria Break from Biofilm to Cause Disease
Contrary to most pathogenic bacteria, cholera bugs take on a more mild-mannered demeanor in a crowd. When V. cholerae detects many of its own kind, its quorum-sensing pathway switches from making the sticky matrix that forms biofilms and instead makes an enzyme to help individual cells break free. The findings appear in the October 2003 Developmental Cell. V. cholerae's unusual quorum-sensing behavior may be adapted to its lifestyle of moving between aquatic and human habitats, according to a new model developed by study authors Jun Zhu (on left) and John Mekalanos.
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| The Focus staff, Public Affairs Office, Dean's Office, and colleagues across HMS mourn the loss of Tom Reynolds, a friend and colleague who died in a car accident on Nov. 6. As a writer and copyeditor, Tom worked with speed and precision, broad scientific knowledge, and curiosity that went well beyond the job. Whether discussing epitopes or en dashes, punk bands or birds, Tom approached his subjects with passionate appreciation. We will always miss the joy he found in life, joy that he shared generously with everyone around him. |
Copyright 2003 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College
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