Microbial and danger signals result in inflammasome activation and release of inflammatory cytokines through mechanisms that remain elusive. Cai et al. and Lu et al. show that triggering of inflammasome sensors induces prion-like polymerization of the adaptor ASC into filaments. These structures function as platforms for inflammatory cytokine production and represent a unified mechanism for inf...

Correction for 'Revealing the dynamic heterogeneity of PMMA/PVDF blends: from microscopic dynamics to macroscopic properties' by Bo Lu et al., Soft Matter, 2016, DOI: .

Steward and colleagues report that implants of E14 rat spinal-cord-derived multipotent neural progenitor cells are associated with ectopic deposits of cells, occasionally at long distances from a T3 spinal cord lesion and grafting site. Of 20 grafted rats, half showed ectopic cell deposits. One rat had a deposit of cells in the 4 ventricle, from which relatively few axons extended into the tegm...

background: breast cancer is the most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among the women worldwide. the risk of local and distant recurrence is the highest during the first two years following the initial treatment. very late relapse (after 12 years) is uncommon in breast cancer survivors. methods: herein, we report the characteristics and outcomes of 6 such cases of breast can...

Neuroblastomas arise from precursors of sympathetic neurons due to defects in their normal development (Edsjo et al., 2007). Consequently, the tumors exhibit various degrees of neuronal differentiation manifested by expression of markers characteristic for sympathetic neurons and release of their physiological neurotransmitters (Bourdeaut et al., 2009). Since the levels of neuroblastoma cell di...

Long noncoding RNAs are emerging as a critical component of transcriptional activation. Over the past few years, there has been a number of examples where long noncoding RNAs expressed from distal sites exert their activating functions on neighbouring protein-coding genes. A new study in The EMBO Journal (Lu et al, 2013) now extends this paradigm by revealing a role for the transcription factor...

I. Original Research Studies for Discussion Page 1 Cool CD et al. Fibroblastic foci are not discrete sites of lung injury or repair. The fibroblast reticulum. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2006;174:654-658. Page 2 Kelly MM et al. Cell-specific gene expression in patients with usual interstitial pneumonia. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 2006;174:557-565. Page 3 Lu BS et al. Sequential gene expression pro...

The main function of a ligament is to connect one bone to another bone across a joint, keeping them aligned to prevent abnormal motions and dislocations. The typical magnitude of force a ligament may experience during day-to-day activities varies. For example the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee can be exposed to daily tensile forces ranging between 67N for ascending stairs to 630N for jo...