Viewpoints:

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

Ajay Goel, Christoph Gasche, and C. Richard Boland

Chemoprevention Goes Gourmet: Different Flavors of NO-Aspirin
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 207-210. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

Marko Pesu, John O’Shea, Lothar Hennighausen, and Olli Silvennoinen

Identification of an Acquired Mutation in Jak2 Provides Molecular Insights into the Pathogenesis of Myeloproliferative Disorders
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 211-215. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

R E V I E W S:

Alessandro Vitale and Emanuela Pedrazzini

Recombinant Pharmaceuticals from Plants: The Plant Endomembrane System as Bioreactor
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 216-225. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

A wide variety of crop plants have been cultivated over the millennia with the sole, human-driven objective of maximizing nutrient protein production. The plant cell endomembrane system has evolved to traffic proteins, according to many of the same mechanisms common to mammalian cells, and to accumulate them, by means unknown to mammalian cells, for storage. Today, scientists are turning to the plant cell endomembrane system as a potential source for non-nutrient (pharmaceutical) recombinant proteins. Beyond the exciting prospect of harvesting therapeutic human proteins from plants, the secretory mechanisms in plants offer a fascinating opportunity for understanding a fundamental cellular function that is, in varying forms, ubiquitous.

Anthony P. Williams, Andrew R. Bateman, and Salim I. Khakoo

HANGING IN THE BALANCE: KIR and Their Role in Disease
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 226-240. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

How is it that our immune cells know not to attack our own cells? In the case of natural killer (NK) cells, it’s a matter of "examining" the cells they encounter for major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens. The presence of these antigens on a cell apposed to an NK cell indicates "self," and instructs the NK cell not to attack. Great efforts are being undertaken to identify small molecules that might bolster the immune response in immune-compromised patients, and such research includes investigations into the relevant immunogenetics. Indeed, an individual’s repertoire of MHC class I proteins and killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) on NK and other immune cells not only underlies responses to infection and the occurrence of autoimmune disease, but also can determine the outcome of malignant disease.

Janice M. Burke and Leonard M. Hjelmeland

MOSAICISM OF THE RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM: seeing the small picture
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 241-249. [Summary] [Full Text] [PDF]  

In vivo, ex vivo, or in vitro, the cells that populate a given tissue are not necessarily uniform, neither in terms of cell structure nor pharmacological responsiveness. Much of this cell-cell variability is taken for granted, and yet the inconsistency of tissue response to any of a number of pharmacological agents is often encountered in the literature. Could tissue heterogeneity be responsible? The retinal pigment epithelium is a single tissue that consists of a mosaic of distinctive cells and that may serve as a model for a variety of tissue types. This mosaicism can be characterized at the levels of gene and protein expression, as well as in terms of subcellular structures and resistance to environmental insults.

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

Open Channels:

Letters from Our Readers

W. Ross Tracey and Wolfgang Sadée

Open Channels
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 200. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Reflections:

Science in the cultural context

Stanley Scheindlin

A CENTURY of ULCER MEDICINES
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 201-206. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Beyond the Bench:

Representations of pharmacology and science in the media

Christie Carrico

Pharmacognostic Gold Spells
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 250. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Net Results:

Sites of interest on the World Wide Web

Sites of interest on the World Wide Web—edited by Rick Neubig and David Roman
Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 251. [Full Text] [PDF]  

Outliers:

Cartoon

Mol. Interv. 2005 5: 256. [Full Text] [PDF]  

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