Regulation and Function of miR-218 in Gastric Cancer Metastasis
Tie, Pan et al., PLoS Genetics
Researchers describe a negative feedback system between Robo1, a Slit receptor, and miR-218, wherein “decreased miR-218 levels eliminate Robo1 repression, which activates the Slit-Robo1 pathway through the interaction between Robo1 and Slit2, thus triggering tumor metastasis.” The authors suggest that the restoration of miR-218 supresses Robo1 espression and inhibits tumor cell invasion.
Lighting Up Plants' Lives
In more open-access news, Cold Spring Harbor Protocols posted a freely-accessible article as part of their current issue. This paper contains suggestions for how plant biologists can bypass plants’ cell walls and natural fluorescence to use green fluorescent protein in imaging various plant tissues.
