Contents
07 March 2018
Vol 10, Issue 431
Vol 10, Issue 431
Focus
- Combating low birth weight due to malaria infection in pregnancy
Decreased l-arginine and nitric oxide bioavailability in pregnant women with malaria contributes to low birth weight, suggesting that l-arginine supplementation could be a potential treatment (McDonald et al.).
Research Articles
- Malaria in pregnancy alters l-arginine bioavailability and placental vascular development
Malaria in pregnancy alters l-arginine biosynthesis in Malawian women, and l-arginine supplementation improves placental vasculature and birth outcomes in a preclinical model.
- A PET imaging approach for determining EGFR mutation status for improved lung cancer patient management
18F-MPG PET/CT enables noninvasive identification of NSCLC patients who may benefit from EGFR-TKI therapy and can be used to monitor treatment outcome.
- Smartphone-based blood pressure monitoring via the oscillometric finger-pressing method
A smartphone-based device for cuff-less and calibration-free monitoring of systolic and diastolic blood pressure is comparable to cuff-based devices.
- T follicular helper–like cells contribute to skin fibrosis
T follicular helper–like cells and IL-21 are drivers of skin fibrosis in systemic sclerosis.
- Exploiting an Asp-Glu “switch” in glycogen synthase kinase 3 to design paralog-selective inhibitors for use in acute myeloid leukemia
Paralog-selective inhibitors of GSK3 kinases were designed by exploiting a single amino acid difference in their ATP-binding domains and studied in AML.
Editors' Choice
- Can interleukin-15 keep its therapeutic promise?
The search continues for a therapeutic niche for interleukin-15 in human cancer treatment.
- Fighting for their lives: A strategy for improved cell transplantation survival
Slow release of pro-survival peptides from collagen biomaterials improves stem cell engraftment following transplantation in a mouse model of ischemia.
- Tracing the fate of fructose
The small intestine may shield the liver from the damaging effects of fructose.
About The Cover
ONLINE COVER Protecting the Placenta from Malaria. Shown is a representative micro-computed tomography image of arterial vasculature in a placenta from a malaria-infected mouse. The colors correspond to vessel diameter, with blue depicting the largest vessels and red the smallest ones. McDonald et al. used this imaging and other data from pregnant mice and human patients with malaria to identify a role for ʟ-arginine in pregnancy outcomes during malaria infection and demonstrate potential benefits of supplementing this amino acid. In a related Focus, Beesonet al. discuss the implications of these findings. [CREDIT: C. MCDONALD, K. KAIN, L. CAHILL, L. GAZDZINSKI, AND J. SLED /UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO]