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Cancer Cell 2021 Apr;39(4):460-462

The Bloomberg-Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA. Electronic address:

Competition for glucose regulates the balance between cancer and immune responses. New findings published in Nature show that regulatory T cells (T) shape their metabolism to avoid glucose competition, thus maintaining their stability and sustaining tumor progression. This research suggests hijacking the "eating habits" of T could improve cancer therapy. Read More

Microb Genom 2021 Apr;7(4)

Forest Soils and Biogeochemistry, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.

The warming-induced thawing of permafrost promotes microbial activity, often resulting in enhanced greenhouse gas emissions. The ability of permafrost microorganisms to survive the sub-zero temperatures, their energetic strategies and their metabolic versatility in using soil organic materials determine their growth and functionality upon thawing. Hence, functional characterization of the permafrost microbiome, particularly in the underexplored mid-latitudinal alpine regions, is a crucial first step in predicting its responses to the changing climate, and the consequences for soil-climate feedbacks. Read More

Elife 2021 Apr 13;10. Epub 2021 Apr 13.

Department of Genetics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, United States.

Aneuploidy causes birth defects and miscarriages, occurs in nearly all cancers and is a hallmark of aging. Individual aneuploid cells can be eliminated from developing tissues by unknown mechanisms. Cells with ribosomal protein () gene mutations are also eliminated, by cell competition with normal cells. Read More

Stem Cell Res Ther 2021 Apr 12;12(1):231. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Brisbane, Australia.

Background: Direct bone marrow injection of cells into murine marrow cavities is used in a range of cell characterization assays and to develop disease models. While human bone marrow-derived stromal cells (hBMSC, also known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSC)) are frequently described in therapeutic applications, or disease modeling, their behavior following direct injection into murine bone marrow is poorly characterized. Herein, we characterized hBMSC engraftment and persistence within the bone marrow of NOD-scid interleukin (IL)-2γ (NSG) mice with or without prior 2 Gy total-body γ-irradiation of recipient mice. Read More

PLoS Biol 2021 Apr 12;19(4):e3001148. Epub 2021 Apr 12.

Department of Structural and Computational Biology, Max Perutz Labs, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Sarcomeres, the basic contractile units of striated muscle cells, contain arrays of thin (actin) and thick (myosin) filaments that slide past each other during contraction. The Ig-like domain-containing protein myotilin provides structural integrity to Z-discs-the boundaries between adjacent sarcomeres. Myotilin binds to Z-disc components, including F-actin and α-actinin-2, but the molecular mechanism of binding and implications of these interactions on Z-disc integrity are still elusive. Read More