IMMUNOLOGY: Adhesion Molecule Assigned Dual Role in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Most treatments for rheumatoid arthritis are designed to quell the immune system’s assault on the tissue that lines the joints. It now appears that once it’s attacked, the joint lining, or synovium, may ramp up inflammation as well as bring about an erosion of cartilage. Michael Brenner (top) and David Lee, with colleagues, have identified a protein that serves as a molecular ringleader for the synovium’s destructive action. The findings, which appear in the Jan. 25 online Science, could open a new avenue for treating the joint-wasting disease.

MICROBIOLOGY: Lethal New World Viruses Put Iron Grip on Cells
The four viruses known to cause deadly hemorrhagic fevers among populations in the Americas invade cells through the molecular conveyor belt used by the nutrient iron. A deceptively easy discovery in the collaborating labs of HMS researchers Hyeryun Choe (right) and Michael Farzan suggests that iron deficiency, which can triple or quadruple the number of iron receptors on cells, may make people more susceptible to infection or the disease more severe. The findings, reported Feb. 7 in Nature online, also point to an immediate therapeutic possibility: receptor antibodies that are being tested for an entirely different medical purpose might treat or prevent infection.

DISEASE PREVENTION: Vaccine a Low-cost Lifesaver for Developing Nations
Pneumococcal infections kill about one million children under the age of five every year, 90 percent of them in developing countries where current pneumococcal vaccines are not available. A cost-effectiveness analysis by Tracy Lieu and colleagues, published in the Feb. 3 Lancet, offers evidence that vaccinating infants in developing countries against the infection would be highly cost-effective and could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. The study has helped build an evidence base for funding vaccine initiatives in the developing world.