Author Archives: Carol Feltes

Recommended Readings: Jeffrey M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D. May 20, 2013

Posted on by

Monday Lecture Series
To Eat or Not To Eat: Studies of a Complex Motivational Behavior
Jeffrey M. Friedman, M.D. , Ph.D.
Marilyn M. Simpson Professor, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Carson Family Auditorium, CRC
4:00 p.m., Refreshments 3:45

Recommended Readings:

L Domingos, Ana I.; Vaynshteyn, Jake; Voss, Henning U.; et al. 2011. Leptin regulates the reward value of nutrient. NATURE NEUROSCIENCE . 14(12):1562-U92 DOI: 10.1038/nn.2977

Scott, Michael M.; Lachey, Jennifer L.; Sternson, Scott M.; et al. 2009. Leptin Targets in the Mouse Brain. JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE NEUROLOGY. 514(5): 518-532 DOI: 10.1002/cne.22025

Adam, Tanja C.; Epel, Elissa S. 2007. Stress, eating and the reward system. Annual Meeting of the Society-for-the-Study-of-Ingestive-Behavior. Location: Naples, Florida, JUL 18-22, 2006. Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior. PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR. 91(4, Sp. Issue SI): 449-458 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.04.011

Heisler, Lora K.; Jobst, Erin E.; Sutton, Gregory M.; et al 2006. Serotonin reciprocally regulates melanocortin neurons to modulate food intake. NEURON. 51(2): 239-249 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.06.004

Alon, T; Friedman, JM. 2006. Late-onset leanness in mice with targeted ablation of melanin concentrating hormone neurons. JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE . 26(2): 389-397 DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1203-05.2006

Figlewicz, DP; Bennett, J; Evans, SB; et al. 2004. Intraventricular insulin and leptin reverse place preference conditioned with high-fat diet in rats. BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE . 118(3): 479-487 DOI: 10.1037/0735-7044.118.3.479  REQUEST ARTICLE FROM MARKUS LIBRARY

Pinto, S; Roseberry, AG; Liu, HY; et al. 2004. Rapid rewiring of arcuate nucleus feeding circuits by leptin. SCIENCE . 304(5667): 110-115 DOI: 10.1126/science.

Share

Recommended Readings: Maria M. Mota PhD March 13, 2013

Posted on by

Special Seminar Series

Malaria Infection, Superinfection and Co-infections: From Simple Models to Complex Interactions

Maria M. Mota,   PH.D.

Unit Leader, Malaria Unit

Instituto de Medicina Molecular

Monday      March 18,  2013

Recommended Readings:

Pinkevych, Mykola; Petravic, Janka; Chelimo, Kiprotich; et al.  2012.  The Dynamics of Naturally Acquired Immunity to Plasmodium falciparum Infection.   PLOS COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY.   8(10): e1002729   DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002729  

 Klein, Eili Y.; Smith, David L.; Laxminarayan, Ramanan; et al.  2012. Superinfection and the evolution of resistance to antimalarial drugs. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES.   279( 1743):3834-3842   DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2012.1064  

 Portugal, Silvia; Drakesmith, Hal; Mota, Maria M. 2011. Superinfection in malaria: Plasmodium shows its iron will.  EMBO REPORTS.  12(12):1233-1242    DOI: 10.1038/embor.2011.213  

van Santen, Susanne; de Mast, Quirijn; Swinkels, Dorine W.; et al. 2011.  Hepcidin in malaria superinfection: can findings be translated to humans? NATURE MEDICINE.  17(11):1341-1341   DOI: 10.1038/nm.2488  

 Portugal, Silvia; Carret, Celine; Recker, Mario; et al. 2011.  Host-mediated regulation of superinfection in malaria.   NATURE MEDICINE.  17(6):732-U126    DOI: 10.1038/nm.2368  

 Templeton, TJ; Keister, DB; Muratova, O; et al.  1998. Adherence of erythrocytes during exflagellation of Plasmodium falciparum microgametes is dependent on erythrocyte surface sialic acid and glycophorins.   JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE.  187(10 ):1599-1609   DOI: 10.1084/jem.187.10.1599

Share

NIH Announces Discovery of Promising Drug Target to Prevent S. aureus Infections

Posted on by

ScienceDaily February 10, 2013.   National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists have identified a promising lead for developing a new type of drug to treat infection caused by Staphylococcus aureus, notable drug-resistant pathogen. They have discovered a transport system for toxins that are thought to contribute to severe staph infections - phenol-soluble modulins (PSMs). The transport system, Pmt, is common to all S. aureus PSMs and critical for bacterial proliferation and disease development in a mouse model. Their experiments suggest that a drug interfering with Pmt’s function could not only prevent production of the PSM toxins, but also directly lead to bacterial death. This research is reported in Nature Medicine.

Share

Predator Phages Competing In The Gut

Posted on by

A team led by Lora V. Hooper, an associate professor of immunology and microbiology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and including UT Arlington assistant professor of biology Jorge Rodrigues examined the bacteriophages, or phages, produced by genetic information harbored in the chromosome of the mammalian gut bacterium Enterococcus faecalis. They found that a phage unique to Enterococcus faecalis strain V583 in mice acts as a predator, infecting and harming other similar, competing bacterial strains. They believe these lab results suggest what goes on in the human intestine.

“This organism is using phage as a way to compete in your gut. If the phage is released and gets rid of all the other microbes, then strain V583 will have more nutrients available,” Rodrigues said. “It opens up new questions about the role of phages in the gut system. Ultimately, you could use this as a technique to control bacteria in a natural way.”

The findings were presented in October in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a paper called, “A composite bacteriophage alters colonization by an intestinal commensal bacterium.” Other co-authors were members of Hooper’s lab: Breck A. Duerkop, Charmaine V. Clements and Darcy Rollins.

Share

Salmonella Targets Specific Cells to Facilitate Crossing The Gut Wall

Posted on by

Scientists have gained fresh insights into how the salmonella bug makes us ill. University of Edinburgh researchers have found that the bacteria are able to change key cells that line the intestine, enabling the bugs to thrive. 

By changing the make-up of these cells, the salmonella bacteria are able to cross the gut wall.   Research was reported in Cell Host and Microbe. 
Share

Adhesive From Mussels Inspires Blood Vessel “Glue”

Posted on by

Dec. 11, 2012 — A University of British Columbia researcher has helped create a gel — based on the mussel’s knack for clinging to rocks, piers and boat hulls — that can be painted onto the walls of blood vessels and stay put, forming a protective barrier with potentially life-saving implications.

Co-invented by Assistant Professor Christian Kastrup while a postdoctoral student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the gel is similar to the amino acid that enables mussels to resist the power of churning water. The variant that Kastrup and his collaborators created, described in the current issue of the online journal PNAS Early Edition, can withstand the flow of blood through arteries and veins.

The gel’s “sheer strength” could shore up weakened vessel walls at risk of rupturing — much like the way putty can fill in dents in a wall, says Kastrup, a member of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and the Michael Smith Laboratories.

By forming a stable barrier between blood and the vessel walls, the gel could also prevent the inflammation that typically occurs when a stent is inserted to widen a narrowed artery or vein; that inflammation often counteracts the opening of the vessel that the stent was intended to achieve.

Share

Attend Webinar Report Dec 14: Global Burden of Disease 2010

Posted on by

Global Burden of Disease 2010 – 14th December 2012

On 14th December 2012 The Lancet together with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) will host an event to present the findings of the 2010 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. This unprecedented project has been completed in collaboration with more than 400 researchers in over 300 institutions across 50 countries, led by the IHME and a consortium of five other partners: Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, University of Queensland, University of Tokyo and WHO.

The study began in 2007 and is the most comprehensive effort since the GBD 1990 to produce complete and comparable estimates of the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors for the years 1990, 2005, and 2010 for 21 regions covering the entire globe. The GBD 2010 Study is significantly broader in scope than previous versions, including:

• 235 causes of death
• 67 risk factors
• Improved methods for the estimation of mortality and disability

Watch the event live via webcast

Taking place at The Royal Society in London, the event is open to everyone and because we realise that on a practical level many interested parties won’t be able to attend in person, it will be broadcast live via webcast for anyone who chooses to tune in at www.healthmetricsandevaluation.org/gbd/live.

Share

Elsevier Offers Free Access to 2012 Nobel Laureates Most Cited Papers

Posted on by

Elsevier congratulates the 2012 Nobel Laureates and is proud to honor their revolutionary research in the fields of Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Economics.  All eight Nobel scientists have connections with Elsevier, publishing journal articles and book chapters and serving as journal editors or members of editorial boards.  In recognition of these extraordinary scholars and their contributions to science, we are pleased to provide free access on ScienceDirect to their most-cited ground-breaking research published in Elsevier journals.

Dr. John Gurdon and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka share the award in physiology or medicine for discovering that mature, specialized cells can be reprogrammed into immature cells capable of developing into all tissues of the body. Their key individual research findings into so-called stem cells were separated by 50 years.

 

Share

New Blood-vessel-generating Stem Cell with Therapeutic Potential

Posted on by

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, believe they have discovered stem cells that play a decisive role in new blood vessel growth. If researchers learn to isolate and efficiently produce these stem cells found in blood vessel walls, the cells offer new opportunities in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cancer and many other diseases. The study is published in the PLOS Biology journal on 16 October 2012.

Share

Recommended Readings: Robert Johnston, Jr. PhD Dec 10, 2012

Posted on by

Controlling Stochastic Gene Expression in the Drosophila retina

Robert Johnston, Jr.   PhD

Postdoctoral Fellow

Department of Biology, Center for Developmental Genetics

New York University

Monday, December 10,  2012

4 p.m. , Caspary Auditorium.   Refreshments 3:45 p.m.

Recommended Readings:

Sood, P; Johnston, RJ Jr.;Kusssell, E.  2012.  Stochastic de-repression of rhodopsins in single photoreceptors of the fly retina.  PLoS Computational Biology.  8(2):e1002357.  DOI:10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002357

Johnson, RJ, Jr.; Desplan, C.  2010.  Stochastic mechanisms of cell fate specification that yield random or robust outcomes.  Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology.  26:689-719.  DOI:10.1146/annurev-cellbio-100109-104113

Jukam, D; Desplan, C.  2010.  Binary date decisions in differentiating neurons.  Current Opinion in Neurobiology.  20(1):6-13.  DOI:10.1016/j.conb.2009.11.002

Wenet, MF; Mazzoni, EO; Ceclik A; et al.  2006.  Stochastic spineless expression creates the retinal mosaic for colour vision.  NATURE.  440(7081):174-180.  DOI:10.1038/nature04615

Bell, ML; Earl, JB; Britt, SG.  2007.  Two types of Drosophila R7 photoreceptor cells are arranged randomly: a model for stochastic cell-fate determination.  Journal of Comparative Neurology. 502(1):75-85.  DOI:10.1002/cne.21298.

Chanas, SA; Collinson, JM; Ramaesh, T; et al.  2009.  Effects of elevated Pax6 expression and genetic background on mouse eye development.  Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.  50(9):4045-4059.  DOI:10-1167/iovs.07-1630

Johnson, RJ Jr.; Desplan, C.  2008.  Stochastic neuronal cell fate choices.  Current Opinion in Neurobiology.  18(1):20-27.  DOI:10.1016/j.conb.2008.04.004

Share