Contents
16 August 2017
Vol 9, Issue 403
Vol 9, Issue 403
Research Articles
- Direct detection of early-stage cancers using circulating tumor DNA
Noninvasive liquid biopsy analysis of circulating tumor DNA permits direct detection of early-stage cancers.
- Metabolic differentiation of early Lyme disease from southern tick–associated rash illness (STARI)
Metabolic profiling provides a biochemical signature to objectively differentiate two illnesses with nearly identical clinical presentations, early Lyme disease and STARI.
- Loss of dual leucine zipper kinase signaling is protective in animal models of neurodegenerative disease
Blocking dual leucine zipper kinase slows disease progression in animal models of ALS and Alzheimer’s disease.
- mGlu7 potentiation rescues cognitive, social, and respiratory phenotypes in a mouse model of Rett syndrome
mGlu7 positive allosteric modulation rescues long-term potentiation, learning, and memory phenotypes and prevents apneas in a mouse model of Rett syndrome.
Editors' Choice
- Resistance is futile
Combining tandem peptides that localize toxins to bacterial membranes with scaffolds that target these payloads to the lungs combats drug resistant bacteria without off-target effects.
- Wounds getting the royal treatment
Insect defensin-1 improves wound healing by inducing production of matrix metalloproteinase-9.
- Painful marks of childhood abuse
Adverse childhood experiences epigenetically regulate expression of kappa opioid receptors.
- Prostate cancer loses when androgen receptor can’t stick the landing
A small-molecule inhibitor blocks the interaction of the androgen receptor with DNA to target drug-resistant prostate cancer.
About The Cover
ONLINE COVER Turning Back the Clock to Detect Cancer. Tumors shed DNA into patients' blood, where it can be detected, but the amount of DNA is very small early in the course of disease and only increases as the tumor grows. As a result, early tumors that are easier to treat can be difficult or impossible to detect by analyzing circulating tumor DNA. As illustrated in this image, Phallen et al. have developed a method that allows more sensitive detection of smaller amounts of circulating tumor DNA, thereby "turning back the clock" and potentially permitting earlier detection of developing tumors. [CREDIT: CAROLYN HRUBAN, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE]