Videos
Dr. Jeffrey Friedman, of Rockefeller University, has been at the center of discovery of the molecular determinants of why we eat what we eat and, more importantly, why we eat so much of what we eat. Over the last three decades, now almost daily in the media, alarm has been sounded about the growing obesity epidemic. Dr. Friedman has spent his research career engaged in the discovery and characterization of leptin, one of the most important hormones regulating appetite and hunger.
Jane Salmon, Carl Blobel, Priya Darshinee Issuree, and Thorsten Maretzky of the Weill Cornell University Hospital for Special Surgery discuss the role of iRHOM2 in inflammatory arthritis. Highlights:
- TNF-α has been implicated in the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and other inflammatory diseases. RA patients are currently treated with TNF inhibitors, but these therapeutics have many deleterious side effects.
- iRHOM2 regulates the maturation of TACE, and enzyme that cleaves and releases TNF-α from the surface of myeloid cells that mediate inflammation during arthritis.
- Inactivation of the gene that encodes iRHOM2 (Rhbdf2) protects mice from inflammatory arthritis.
- These findings suggest that iRHOM2 could be a suitable therapeutic target for the treatment of RA.
Shabaana Khader of the University of Pittsburgh discusses the identification of immune parameters that distinguish active and latent TB infections. Highlights:
- One third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis; however, only 5-10% will develop active infections.
- Individuals with latent infections have a 10% lifetime risk of developing active tuberculosis. This risk increases to 10% per year in the presence of HIV infection. It is therefore important to identify immunologic features that distinguish active TB from latent.
- Granulomas are immune cell aggregates that are a hallmark of TB infection. They play a protective role in latent TB, but can promote infection during active TB.
- Using human, non-human primate, and mouse models of TB infection, Khader and colleagues identified a subset of T helper cells (CXCR5+) that are associated with protective granulomas in latent TB.
- These results identify a previously unexpected role for CXCR5 in the control of TB infection and could be used to improve TB vaccine strategies.
Sanjoy Bhattarcharya and Vittorio Porciatti of the University of Miami discuss the role of deimination, a post-translational protein modification, in retinal function. Highlights:
- Demyelinating diseases, including multiple sclerosis, are frequently accompanied by vision loss.
- Deimination is a protein modification that is impaired in the retinas of patients with demyelinating disease.
- Using a rat model of demyelinating disease, the researchers demonstrated that loss of deimination impaired retinal function.
- Restoration of deimination restored neurite outgrowth and retinal function, suggesting that deimination could be a therapeutic target.
Dr. Eugene Braunwald has often been called the father of modern cardiology. Science Watch has listed Dr. Braunwald as the most frequently cited author in cardiology. Beyond numerous awards and 20 honorary degrees, he was the first cardiologist elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Nobel Prize winners in medicine have named Braunwald as the person who has contributed the most to cardiology in recent years. He speaks today about his trajectory from Nazi-occupied Austria through his immigrant struggle in New York City to land as the Chairman of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Copyright © 2020 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)