CCR’s top scientific advances are selected each year by CCR senior staff. These may be promoted in one or more of the following ways:
The advances selected for 2012 are shown below.
Advances in Cancer Biology
Mechanism of translesion transcription by RNA polymerase II and its role in cellular resistance to DNA damage – submission by Mikhail Kashlev
Reference(s): Mol. Cell. 2012 Apr 13;46(1):18-29, 2012
CD97/LPA receptors contribute to progression in multiple epithelial cancers – submission by Kathy Kelly
Reference(s): Cancer Res. 2011;71:7301-7311 and Oncogene. 2012 Jul 16. epub ahead of print
c-Myc is a universal amplifier of expressed genes in lymphocytes and embryonic stem cells – submission by David Levens
Reference(s): Cell. 2012 Sep 28;151(1):68-79
BRCA1 functions independently of homologous recombination in DNA interstrand crosslink repair – submission by Andre Nussenzweig
Reference(s): Mol. Cell. 2012 Apr 27;46(2):125-35
BRD4 is an atypical kinase that phosphorylates serine2 of the RNA polymerase II carboxy-terminal domain – submission by Dinah Singer
Reference(s): PNAS. 2012 May 1;109(18):6927-32
Advances in Genetics
RNA elimination machinery targeting meiotic mRNAs promotes facultative heterochromatin formation – submission by Shiv Grewal
Reference(s): Science. 2012 Jan 6;335(6064):96-100
BLM helicase ortholog Sgs1 is a central regulator of meiotic recombination intermediate metabolism – submission by Michael Lichten
Reference(s): Mol. Cell. 2012 Apr 13;46(1):43-53
A tumor suppressor function of Smurf2 associated with controlling chromatin landscape and genome stability through RNF20 – submission by Ying Zhang
Reference(s): Nat. Med. 2012 Jan 8;18(2):227-34
Advances in Immunology
The stoichiometric production of IL-2 and IFN-gamma mRNA defines memory T cells that can self-renew after adoptive transfer in humans – submission by Udai Kammula
Reference(s): Sci. Transl. Med. 2012 Aug 29;4(149):149ra120
Th17 cells are long lived and retain a stem cell-like molecular signature – submission by Nick Restifo
Reference(s): Immunity. 2011 Dec 23;35(6):972-85
The tumor suppressor p15Ink4b regulates the differentiation and maturation of conventional dendritic cells – submission by Linda Wolff
Reference(s): Blood. 2012 May 24;119(21):5005-15
Advances in Prostate Cancer
Ipilimumab and a poxviral vaccine targeting prostate-specific antigen in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: a phase 1 dose-escalation trial – submission by James Gulley
Reference(s): Lancet Oncol. 2012 May;13(5):501-8
Magnetic resonance imaging/ultrasound fusion guided prostate biopsy improves cancer detection following transrectal ultrasound biopsy and correlates with multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging – submission by Brad Wood
Reference(s): J. Urol. 2011 Oct;186(4):1281-5
Advances in Signaling Pathways
LTB4 is a signal-relay molecule during neutrophil chemotaxis – submission by Carole Parent
Reference(s): Dev. Cell. 2012 May 15;22(5):1079-91
Functional nanoscale organization of signaling molecules downstream of the T cell antigen receptor – submission by Larry Samelson
Reference(s): Immunity. 2011 Nov 23;35(5):705-20
Advances in Therapeutic Targets
RAF inhibitor resistance is mediated by dimerization of aberrantly spliced BRAF(V600E) – submission by Tom Misteli
Reference(s): Nature. 2011 Nov 23;480(7377):387-90
CellMiner: a web-based suite of genomic and pharmacologic tools to explore transcript and drug patterns in the NCI-60 cell line set – submission by Yves Pommier
Reference(s): Cancer Res. 2012 Jul 15;72(14):3499-511
TEM8/ANTXR1 blockade inhibits pathological angiogenesis and potentiates tumoricidal responses against multiple cancer types – submission by Brad St. Croix
Reference(s): Cancer Cell. 2012 Feb 14;21(2):212-26
Burkitt lymphoma pathogenesis and therapeutic targets from structural and functional genomics – submission by Lou Staudt
Reference(s): Nature. 2012 Oct 4;490(7418):116-20
Effect of inhibition of the lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 on metastasis and metastatic dormancy in breast cancer – submission by Pat Steeg
Reference(s): JNCI. 2012 Sep 5;104(17):1306-19
Advances in Virology
A neutralizing human monoclonal antibody protects African green monkeys from hendra virus challenge – submission by Dimiter Dimitrov
Reference(s): Sci. Transl. Med. 2011 Oct 19;3(105):105ra103
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