CXCR5+ T helper cells mediate protective immunity against tuberculosis

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.

Deimination restores inner retinal visual function in murine demyelinating disease

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.

Thomas Starzl

Today in the United States, more than 6,000 people a year receive a liver transplant, and since liver transplants have begun, over 200,000 patients have received this therapy. They survive today due to the efforts of a legendary scientist and surgeon: Thomas Starzl of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He performed the first successful liver transplant in 1967 and refined the use of immunosuppressive drugs such that patients could tolerate their grafts — some for decades. With Starzl’s efforts over the last 50 years, thousands of patients with end-stage liver disease have been able to live long and active lives.

Francis Collins

After Francis Collins received his PhD in Physical Chemistry at Yale University and his medical degree at the University of North Carolina, he zeroed in on genetics. He is noted for his landmark discoveries of disease genes and later his leadership of the Human Genome Project, which culminated in April 2003 with the completion of a finished sequence of the human genome. Since August 2009, Collins has served as the director of the NIH, the largest supporter of biomedical research in the world.

PSD-95 expression controls L-DOPA dyskinesia through dopamine D1 receptor trafficking

Erwan Bezard and Laurent Groc of the University of Bordeaux discuss the effects of the post-synaptic density protein PSD-95 on the development of levodopa-induced dyskinesia. Highlights:

• L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID) is a major side effect of dopamine replacement therapy for Parkinson’s disease.
• LID is associated with changes in D1 dopamine receptor (D1R) interactions at the striatal synapses.
• Using rat and macaque models, Bezard, Groc, and colleagues demonstrated that the synaptic density protein PSD-95 alters the trafficking of D1R to the synapse.
• Loss of PSD-95 in the striatum reduces the development and severity of LID.