Focus | May 6, 2005


Contents Computational Biology Immunology Pathology Medical Education Research Briefs Bulletin Forum Related Sites WebWeekly Lab Works StudenTalk Harvard Medical School
	May 6, 2005 COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY: Microarrays Prove Reliable in Cross-platform Tests Several new papers have revived prospects for the large gene-profiling studies that seek better ways of diagnosing and treating disease. At first, the ability of microarray gene chips to capture genomewide snapshots of healthy and diseased tissue showed unprecedented potential. But then many studies registered contradictory results or worse, casting doubt on the validity of the gathering data. Now research by John Quackenbush and colleagues in the May Nature Methods demonstrates that microarray studies can be reliable and meaningful if strict standards for using the chips are followed.
	IMMUNOLOGY: T Cell Misfits May Spell Autoimmunity A study by Kai Wucherpfennig (on left) and his colleagues in the April 10 Nature Immunology suggests T cells that react against the body may escape capture and elimination by altering the way their receptors interact with target proteins. The change disguises the autoreactive T cells’ presence to the body’s natural surveillance system in the thymus. The consequence of this shift may be autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis. Co-authors on the paper also included (clockwise from back) Jason Pyrdol, Michael Hahn, and Melissa Nicholson.
	PATHOLOGY: Prostate Tumor Chemistry Reveals Early Disease Prostate cancer defies easy definitions—lethal for some, but benign for others. Scientists would like to find a better way of identifying the tumors most likely to cause disease. A study led by Leo Cheng suggests that tumors could be more accurately profiled by their chemistry. In the April 15 Cancer Research, Cheng’s team used magnetic resonance spectroscopy to profile all the metabolites in samples of human prostate cancer. The method sorted out cancerous from benign tissue with 98 percent accuracy and indicated tumor size and aggressiveness, even when samples came from benign tissue elsewhere in the prostate.