Fighting Infection’s Ghost
Wednesday, 15 June 2016
Aicardi–Goutières syndrome (AGS) is a rare and brutal genetic condition. Most infants born with the syndrome are asymptomatic at birth, but about 1 in 5 have enlarged spleen and liver, elevated liver enzymes in the blood, decreased platelet level, and abnormal neurological responses. Over the first year of life, things get much worse: episodes of
- Published in Emerging Targets
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Viruses take the STING out of innate immunity
Thursday, 09 June 2016
Viral trespassers leave traces of themselves as they overtake cells. The presence of hallmark viral molecules—called PAMPs, for pathogen-associated molecular patterns—allows innate immune system sensors to detect the trail of viral substances as effectively as Sherlock Holmes in miniature. Some of these sensors, or pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), nose out viral DNA and RNA. When
- Published in Emerging Targets
Digging into Dopamine Signaling: Arginine Methylation Regulates GPCRs
Monday, 25 January 2016
The neurotransmitter dopamine is one of the most fascinating substances regulating behavior, with both delightful and dark qualities. Affecting a mere 20,000 dopamine-responsive neurons out of 100 billion neurons in the human brain, dopamine nonetheless governs critical aspects of our existence including voluntary movement, psychosis, and addiction. Disrupted dopamine signaling is involved in maladies ranging
- Published in Emerging Targets
Validation of a GEF Inhibitor in Murine Models of Major Osteolytic Diseases
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
Healthy bones are strong, but forming healthy bones requires a delicate balance between bone-building osteoblasts and bone-degrading osteoclasts. If the action of osteoclasts prevails and bone resorption exceeds bone deposition, bone-diminishing diseases such as osteoporosis occur. The answer seems simple: target osteoclasts as the enemy. But drugs currently available to rein in excessive osteoclast activity
- Published in Emerging Targets
