Contents
27 February 2019
Vol 11, Issue 481
Vol 11, Issue 481
Focus
- Driving CAR T cell translation forward
Successes in CAR T cell translation have propelled their commercial launch, but expanding the impact of cancer immunotherapies remains challenging.
Research Articles
- An automated hybrid bioelectronic system for autogenous restoration of sinus rhythm in atrial fibrillation
An implanted light source coupled with local gene therapy generates an automated shock-free system to treat atrial fibrillation in rats.
- Patients with autism spectrum disorders display reproducible functional connectivity alterations
Functional connectivity alterations are conserved in multiple cohorts of patients with autism spectrum disorder.
- Shaping of infant B cell receptor repertoires by environmental factors and infectious disease
Distinct environmental exposures are associated with the maturation of antibody types in early childhood.
- Targeting the NF-κB signaling pathway in chronic tendon disease
Inhibition of IKKβ/NF-κB in stromal cells prevents degeneration and improves healing, representing a potential therapeutic for chronic tendinopathy.
Editors' Choice
- Phages trump bacteria in immune interactions
Bacteriophages modulate mouse cancer and colitis models through unexpected immune interactions.
- Both sides of the CRISPR coin
Examination of the long-term effects of genome editing reveals potential and perils.
- Broken connections
Interictal discharges affect functional connectivity in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy.
- Neuronal connections killed in cold blood
Loss of neuronal junctions triggered by a clotting factor promotes cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease.
About The Cover
ONLINE COVER Light Hearted. Atrial fibrillation is an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) that disrupts normal blood flow, increasing the risk of stroke, blood clots, and sudden cardiac arrest. This conceptual image depicts an alternative to an implanted cardioverter-defibrillator, a device that provides electrical shocks (cardioversion) to correct arrhythmia. Nyns et al. developed an implantable system combining a cardiac rhythm monitor, optogenetics to paint viral vectors encoding light-activatable ion channels onto atrial tissue (blue in image), and a light source to trigger ion channel activation in response to arrhythmia. When implanted into adult rats, this system could detect and terminate arrhythmia without the need for electrical shocks. [CREDIT: 123RF.COM]