Viewpoints:

Dispatches from the Frontlines of Research - edited by John W. Nelson

Mark J. Smyth and Michael H. Kershaw

Discovery of an Innate Cancer Resistance Gene?
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 186-189. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Kazuyoshi Yonezawa

Identification of TOR-interacting Proteins
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 189-193. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

R E V I E W S:

F. Peter Guengerich

Cytochromes P450, Drugs, and Diseases
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 194-204. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Of the nearly sixty P450s expressed in humans all but fifteen are involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics, vitamins, sterols, fatty acids, or eicosanoids. P450 polymorphisms (i.e., variations in the expression of particular P450 enzymes) arise from gene mutations or duplications, induction or repression of P450 activity, or differences in kinetic activity (based on amino acid substitutions resulting from polymorphisms). As such, P450 polymorphisms can have a profound effect on an individual's response to drug clearance and pharmacokinetics, to the balance of endogenous compounds, and to onset or severity of disease states.

Douglas A. Bayliss, Jay E. Sirois, and Edmund M. Talley

The TASK Family: Two-Pore Domain Background K+ Channels
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 205-219. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Three groups of K⁺ channels have been identified: voltage-gated, inwardly rectifying, and weakly rectifying. The weakly rectifying K⁺ channels, which are open at rest and exhibit little time- or voltage-dependence, comprise dimers of subunits, each of which contains four transmembrane domains and two pore domains. Within this family of weakly rectifying channels, the TASK channels are known to be sensitive to acidic pH, hypoxia, temperature changes, and volatile anesthetics. Evidence suggests that the subunits TASK-1 and TASK-3 might form heterodimers, in addition to homodimers, allowing for channels with intermediate properties. What tasks, ahem, these channels participate in are discussed.

Erminio Costa, Dennis R. Grayson, and Alessandro Guidotti

Epigenetic Downregulation of GABAergic Function in Schizophrenia: Potential for Pharmacological Intervention?
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 220-229. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

A variety of chemical modifications of chromatin--that is, modification of protein as well as nucleic acid--are involved in regulating gene function. When the nuclear program that coordinates these modifications goes awry, multiple genes could be aberrantly expressed, although their protein-coding sequences would appear normal. "Multigenic" diseases could thus go undetected despite even the most thorough search for protein polymorphisms. Evidence is accumulating that schizophrenia may arise from the abnormal epigenetic regulation of multiple genes, and an appreciation of the epigenetic factors that culminate in disease may be key in developing effective therapies.

D E P A R T M E N T S:

Speaking of Pharmacology:

Harry Smith

Alternative Medicine, Alternative Views
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 180. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Reflections:

Science in the cultural context

Deogracia Cornelio and Sara Warber

Social Construction of CAM
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 182-185. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Beyond the Bench:

Representations of pharmacology and science in the media

Christie Carrico

The Universe and Other Details
Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 230-231. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Outliers:

Cartoon

Mol. Interv. 2003 3: 236. [Full Text] [PDF]  

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