Lipidomics update - February 2012
The lipidomics update provides an overview of developments in lipid research. Each month we offer a fresh collection of research, news and events for the specialist and the interested non-specialist alike. Register for our email alert to stay informed.
Lipid of the month
Anandamide
Acting on the endocannabinoid system, anandamide promotes feelings of well-being, in addition to mediating other central and peripheral effects.
Research highlights
Hedgehog signalling: overcoming a prickly problem to reveal an oxysterol targetOxysterols can directly activate the transmembrane protein Smoothened through an allosteric mechanism to induce Hedgehog pathway signalling.
Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids in cancer: a wake-up callIncreased levels of epoxyeicosatrienoic acids promote escape from tumour dormancy and multiorgan metastasis by inducing VEGF-stimulated angiogenesis.
Metabolism: Athero: all but Sirt-ain?Genetic overexpression of Sirt1 worsened, rather than protected against, the development of atherosclerosis in mice on a high-fat and high-cholesterol diet.
Synthetic Biology: Building better bubblesSynthetic clusters of membrane-bound droplets may provide a useful means for simulating tissues or transporting therapeutic payloads.
Natural killer T cells: More help for B cellsCognate invariant natural killer T cell help for lipid-specific B cells induces a unique response.
Cardiovascular biology: Stranded cells fuel plaquesNetrin-1 produced by macrophages blocked their emigration from atherosclerotic plaques.
News
- Say hello to intelligent pills
- British science needs 'integrity overhaul'
- How to stay afloat
- Comment pieces of the year
Events calendar
Gordon Research Conference on Lipoprotein Metabolism
17 - 22 June, 2012
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7 - 8 May, 2012
Early registration ends Friday, March 9th
Research library
Glycerolipid signals alter mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2) to diminish insulin signaling Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
Molecular recognition of a single sphingolipid species by a protein's transmembrane domain Nature
LIPID MAPS highlights
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LIPID MAPS Annual Meeting 2012 - Early registration ends Friday, March 9, 2012. Last year's meeting reached capacity before the early registration deadline!
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LIPID MAPS Structure Database (LMSD) downloads - Download LMSD as a Structure Data File (SDF) or as tab- or comma-separated values (.tsv, .csv) files with or without structure data.
