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Contributed by Kiyoshi Ariizumi, Hideo Akiyoshi, Jin-Sung Chung, Mizuki Tomiharu, Ponciano D. Cruz Jr. Department of Dermatology, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Dermatology Section (Medical Service), Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Dallas, TX T lymphocyte activation is regulated by stimulatory and inhibitory signals transduced by binding of T cell receptors to corresponding […]

Contributed by Ai-Jun Li, Qing Wang, Thu T. Dinh and Sue Ritter Programs in Neuroscience, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington 99164-6520, USA Leptin is a fat tissue-derived hormone with widespread actions in brain and peripheral tissues. Leptin’s actions are mediated by the long isoform of the leptin receptor, OB-Rb, which has a lengthy intracellular region

Contributed by Zhou-Feng Chen, Yang-Gang Sun, Zhong-Qiu Zhao, Xiu-Li Meng, Jun Yin, Xian-Yu Liu; Washington University Pain Center School of Medicine, Dept of Anesthesiology, St. Louis, MO 63141 Unlike pain, itch sensation evokes scratching response instead of withdrawal behavior. However, itch and pain sensations share many similarities. Like chronic pain, chronic itch is a major clinical

ATS has been awarded a Phase I SBIR grant to develop a new line of products. Dr. Douglas Lappi is the Principal Investigator and Brian Russell is the Lead Scientist on the project. Molecules targeted towards cell surface markers have been used for years to identify specific cell types. It has been demonstrated over the

Contributed by Maria Montero (a), Berta Gonzalez (b), Jens Zimmer (a)(a) Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark(b) Histology Unit, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain Microglial cells contribute about 12% of the cells in the brain, acting as “biosensors” for homeostatic regulation in normal and pathological conditions.[3,13] Resting microglial cells in the adult brain

Contributed by Arshad M. Khan, Kimberly L. Rapp, Todd A. Ponzio, Graciela Sanchez-Watts and Alan G. Watts; Dept. of Biological Sciences and Neuroscience Research Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA;  and Laboratory for Neurochemistry, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD The brain has evolved adaptive mechanisms for

Contributed by Paul R. Hess, Adam S. Buntzman, Sabrina L. Murray, Ellen F. Young, and Jeffrey A. Frelinger;North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Raleigh, NC;and University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC CD8+ T cells constitute important effectors of the adaptive immune response, functioning principally to remove infected cells

Advanced Targeting Systems announces the release of Melanopsin-SAP (Cat. #IT-44), a reagent that specifically eliminates intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) that contain melanopsin. This material is described in Göz et al.[1] and consists of an antibody to an extracellular domain conjugated to saporin. The ipRGCs, with their amazing long processes, have become major players

Contributed by Ekaterina Likhtik Columbia University,New York Psychiatric Institute, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032 Introduction by Douglas Lappi, Ph.D., President/CSO: This quarter’s Cover Article is from Ekaterina Likhtik who reprises her recently published work in Nature 454:642-645. In the News and Views, Sah and Westbrook comment that “Neuronal receptors in these circuits—such as

Contributed by Jason J. Radley, Ph.D., Laboratory of Neuronal Structure and FunctionThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Foundation for Medical Research, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) has been proposed to play a role in the inhibition of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) responses to emotional stress via influences on neuroendocrine effector mechanisms