Published in Nature, research from the lab of Bryan L. Roth, MD, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology, revealed the first-ever crystal structure of the dopamine 2 receptor bound to an antipsychotic drug – a much-needed discovery in the quest to create effective drugs with fewer side effects to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and other conditions.
The lab of Jean Cook, PhD, joint professor in the department of pharmacology, found how a chain of proteins called an MCM complex could enable the fast cell-division that makes some forms of cancer so dangerous.
In a paper published in Cell, research led by Bryan Roth, MD, PhD, and Roth lab members, Tao Ch, PhD and Daniel Wacker, PhD, show how to activate only one kind of brain receptor vital for pain relief. This receptor is not involved in addiction or respiratory depression that leads to death – the most severe side effects of opioid use.
Wesley Legant, PhD, Assistant Professor in Pharmacology, is highlighted in a Nature article on a do-it-yourself approach to microscopy that lead to the development of light sheet microscopy.
Research led by UNC’s Jonathan Schisler, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, showed much lower levels of the protein CXCL5 in older people with clogged arteries.
In a new study published in Cell Stem Cell, UNC School of Medicine neuroscientist Juan Song and colleagues discovered a long-distance brain circuit that controls the production of new neurons in the hippocampus.
Bao, Hechen*, African, Brent*, Li, W.*, Gu, B., Wen, Z., Lim, S.A., Haniff, I., Ramakrishnan, C., Deisseroth, K., Philpott B., Song, J. Long-Range GABAergic Inputs Regulate Neural Stem Cell Quiescence and Control Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis. Cell Stem Cell. 21(5): 604-617.e5, 2017. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2017.10.003. PMC5689456 *Co-first authors. Cover credit: Hechen Bao and Mengting Dai. UPDATE: This article and cover were selected by Cell Stem Cell as one of eight “Best Articles” in 2017 and one of five “Best Covers” in 2017!
View Cover | View Best Covers of 2017
UNC Lineberger’s Michael J. Emanuele, PhD, and colleagues have identified a key activator that can turn on FoxM1, a protein that drives expression of genes that help cells replicate and divide, a finding they published in the journal Molecular and Cellular Biology. They also discovered, paradoxically, that the activator for FoxM1 is also responsible for turning this protein off.
Alison Xiaoqiao Xie, research assistant professor in Ken McCarthy’s lab, is first author on paper published in JCI Insight this week. Ken D. McCarthy, professor of pharmacology, is senior author and Jakovin J. Lee, is a co-author.
For the first time, UNC School of Medicine researchers crystalized the structure of LSD attached to a human serotonin receptor of a brain cell, and they may have discovered why an “acid trip” lasts so long.
