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Papers recently published online by Nature and the Nature Research Journals
July 15, 2003NATURE MEDICINE(http://www.nature.com/naturemedicine)
[1] Cadmium's disguise does damage to estrogen-sensitive tissues
DOI: 10.1038/nm902 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm902)
With 15,000 tons produced each year for batteries, alloys, and pigments, the heavy metal cadmium is one of the most serious environmental pollutants. Chronic exposure can induce kidney damage and bone disease and is thought to cause cancer. A study in the August issue of Nature Medicine now shows that cadmium mimics the effects of estrogen, and suggests that even at relatively low doses cadmium might have wide-ranging effects on the body.
Mary Beth Martin and colleagues report that, in rats, cadmium induces several well-known estrogenic responses. These included increased uterine weight, changes in the endometrial lining and increased density of the epithelia of the mammary gland. Moreover, in utero exposure to cadmium affected mammary gland development and onset of puberty in female offspring. The results provide solid evidence that cadmium has estrogenic effects in the whole animal, and follow up on earlier studies reporting that cadmium and other heavy metals such as nickel interact with the estrogen receptor. The new data also broaden the toxic repertoire of cadmium, which is a known kidney toxin, and was recently shown (Jin et al., Nat. Genet. 34, 326-329; 2003) to impair DNA repair processes in yeast.
The investigators did not perform dose-response studies but they found that cadmium induced potent estrogenic responses in rats at doses (5-10 micrograms per kilogram total weight) comparable to the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake recommended by the World Health Organization (7 micrograms per kilogram per week). In addition to pinpointing another mechanism for some of cadmium's effects, the new data could call into question current regulatory standards for cadmium exposure.
Author contact:
Mary Beth Martin (Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA)
Tel: +1 202 687 3768; E-mail: martinmb@georgetown.edu
[2] Battling the brainstorm
DOI: 10.1038/nm901 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm901)
Even with optimal drug therapy, more than 30% of patients with epilepsy continue to have seizures. A study in the August issue of Nature Medicine offers hope that some of these patients might someday respond to therapies designed to produce seizure-repressing compounds directly in the brain.
Thomas McCown and colleagues used a gene therapy approach to successfully overproduce one such anticonvulsant compound, galanin, in the rat brain. Galanin is a peptide that is normally widely distributed in the brain-the investigators simply boosted its production in certain nerve cells. This treatment was able to prevent seizures in a model similar to focal epilepsy, which originates in one part of the brain and then spreads. Most patients with epilepsy suffer from focal seizures. The investigators also tested the treatment in a model of statis epilepticus, a seizure that lasts 30 minutes or more and often results in brain damage. Although the treatment did not prevent seizures, it did reduce the brain damage that accompanies them.
Author contact:
Thomas McCown (University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA)
Tel: +1 919 966 3081; E-mail: thomas_mccown@med.unc.edu
Other papers from Nature Medicine to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
[3] Uncoupling protein-2 prevents neuronal death and diminishes brain dysfunction after stroke and brain trauma (DOI: 10.1038/nm903) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm903)
[4] Interaction of P-selectin and PSGL-1 generates microparticles that correct hemostasis in a mouse model of hemophilia A (DOI: 10.1038/nm899) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nm899)
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Items from other Nature journals to be published online at the same time and with the same embargo:
NATURE (http://www.nature.com/nature)
[5] Crystal structure of human cytochrome P450 2C9 with bound warfarin (DOI: 10.1038/nature01862) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature01862)
NATURE MATERIALS (http://www.nature.com/naturematerials)
[6] Fabrication of solid-state nanopores with single-nanometre precision (DOI: 10.1038/nmat941) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat941)
[7] Identification of ultradilute dopants in ceramics (DOI: 10.1038/nmat939) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmat939)
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturebiotechnology)
[8] Metabolic labeling of C. elegans and D. melanogaster for quantitative proteomics (DOI: 10.1038/nbt848) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt848) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt848)
[9] Genetic manipulation of gibberellin metabolism in transgenic rice (DOI: 10.1038/nbt847) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt847)
[10] Targeting of proteins to membranes through hedgehog auto-processing (DOI: 10.1038/nbt844) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nbt844)
NATURE GENETICS (http://www.nature.com/naturegenetics)
[11] Impaired function of p53R2 in Rrm2b-null mice causes severe renal failure through attenuation of dNTP pools (DOI: 10.1038/ng1212) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng1212)
[12] Identification of acquired somatic mutations in the gene encoding chromatin-remodeling factor ATRX in the alpha-thalassemia myelodysplasia syndrome (ATMDS) (DOI: 10.1038/ng1213) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng1213)
[13] Mutations in the genes encoding 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 and hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase interact to cause cortisone reductase deficiency (DOI: 10.1038/ng1214) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng1214)
NATURE NEUROSCIENCE (http://www.nature.com/natureneuroscience)
[14] Localization of PIP2 activation gate in inward rectifier K+ channels (DOI: 10.1038/nn1090) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1090)
[15] TRPC5 is a regulator of hippocampal neurite length and growth cone morphology (DOI: 10.1038/nn1092) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1092)
[16] Modulation of glycine-activated ion channel function by G-protein betagamma subunits (DOI: 10.1038/nn1095) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1095)
[17] Microstimulation of visual cortex affects the speed of perceptual decisions (DOI: 10.1038/nn1094) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nn1094)
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/natureimmunology)
[18] Continuous T cell receptor signaling required for synapse maintenance and full effector potential (DOI: 10.1038/ni951) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ni951)
[19] Genetically linked C-type lectin-related ligands for NKRP1 family of natural killer cell receptors (DOI: 10.1038/ni954) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ni954)
[20] The influence of the thymic environment on the CD4-versus-CD8 T lineage decision (DOI: 10.1038/ni953) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ni953)
NATURE STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY (http://www.nature.com/naturestructuralbiology)
[21] The RNA-binding SAM domain of Smaug defines a new family of post-transcriptional regulators (DOI: 10.1038/nsb956) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb956)
[22] Structural basis for binding of accessory proteins by the appendage domain of GGAs (DOI: 10.1038/nsb955) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb955)
[23] Recognition of accessory protein motifs by the gamma-adaptin ear domain of GGA3 (DOI: 10.1038/nsb953) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nsb953)
Nature Publishing Group Reference
Seizures Current Events and Seizures News RSSDrops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients
A new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures.
International team discovers gene associated with epilepsy
A University of Iowa-led international research team has found a new gene associated with the brain disorder epilepsy.
Brain implants may help stroke patients overcome partial paralysis
Scientists have shown for the first time that neuroprosthetic brain implants may be able to help stroke patients with partial paralysis.
3 clinical features identified to avoid misdiagnosis of TIAs
For mini-strokes, or transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), both overdiagnosis and underdiagnosis can be perilous. Overdiagnosis neglects the real underlying illness. Underdiagnosis leaves a patient at risk of a full-fledged stroke. Both expose patients to erroneous therapies with potential side effects.
Minor shift in vaccine schedule has potential to reduce infant illness, death
A new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University suggests that protecting infants from a common, highly contagious and even deadly disease may be as easy as administering a routine vaccine two weeks earlier than it is typically given.
Vaginal/Caesarean combo delivery of twins safe, UT Southwestern-led research finds
Doctors need not go straight to Caesarean section when delivering twins, but can start with vaginal delivery of the first twin in many cases, researchers have found in a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center.
A new relationship between brain derived neurotrophic factor and inflammatory signaling
In the October 14th edition of Science Signaling researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and The University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine have shown that the development of epilepsy in adult rats is linked to functional changes in the expression of alpha 1 containing GABA-A receptors, the main inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor in the brain, that may be dependent upon BDNF-induced activation of the Janus kinase (JAK)/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) pathway.
Direct recording shows brain signal persists even in dreamless sleep
Neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have taken one of the first direct looks at one of the human brain's most fundamental "foundations": a brain signal that never switches off and may support many cognitive functions.
Pertussis: Adults can fall severely ill too
Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is not just a childhood disease.
Indian spice reduces size of hemorrhagic stroke
You might want to make curcumin part of your daily diet. This active ingredient of the Indian curry spice, turmeric, not only lowers your chances of getting cancer and Alzheimer's disease, but may reduce the size of a hemorrhagic stroke, say Medical College of Georgia researchers.
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