Contents
08 June 2016
Vol 8, Issue 342
Vol 8, Issue 342
Contents
Perspective
- Distilling complexity to advance cardiac tissue engineering
Five central challenges must be met to advance the current state of the art in modeling heart disease and realizing heart repair.
Research Articles
- α-Synuclein binds to TOM20 and inhibits mitochondrial protein import in Parkinson’s disease
The Parkinson’s disease–associated protein α-synuclein binds to the mitochondrial protein import receptor TOM20, which causes downstream impairment of mitochondrial function.
- A universal system to select gene-modified hepatocytes in vivo
Genetically modified hepatocytes can be selected pharmacologically using a protective shRNA directed against a tyrosine catabolic enzyme.
- RNAi targeting multiple cell adhesion molecules reduces immune cell recruitment and vascular inflammation after myocardial infarction
Nanoparticles deliver siRNA for multigene silencing of endothelial cell adhesion molecules, which dampens leukocyte recruitment in atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction in mice.
Editors' Choice
- Wide-area OCT angiography gives the big picture
A wide-area angiography method provides label-free, depth-resolved blood vessel imaging over centimeter-sized fields of view.
- I’ll have a turkey and cheese sandwich
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor ligands from bacterial metabolism of tryptophan can mitigate inflammation in the gut and central nervous system.
- Lighting the path from the gut to the brain
A circuit from the gut to the brain senses the presence of food in the intestine and regulates intestinal function.
- Stem cells flex their muscle regenerative potential
Mesenchymal stem cells can induce skeletal muscle regeneration from remote bioactive scaffolds.
About The Cover
ONLINE COVER Silencing the Inflammatory Storm. The current standard of care after a heart attack doesn't directly address vascular inflammation—a process mediated by adhesion molecules lining the blood vessels that can recruit immune cells and increase risk of plaque rupture. Sager and colleagues therefore designed a nanomedicine approach that simultaneously silenced multiple adhesion molecules in the arteries. Nanoparticle with five small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), as illustrated on cover, were given to mice after myocardial infarction, leading to reduced numbers of leukocytes recruited to the aortae as well as reduced plaque inflammation. Such multipronged silencing of adhesion molecules could complement existing therapies in humans. [CREDIT: E. MARUSHCHENKO/ELLA MARU STUDIO]