Lipoprotein (a)—We Know So Much Yet Still Have Much to Learn …

Lipoprotein (a)—We Know So Much Yet Still Have Much to Learn …

L ipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) has been identified as an independent , causal risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). 1,2 Lp(a) has a structure similar to low-density lipopro-tein (LDL) in its lipid core composition in addition to a molecule of apolipoprotein B 100 (apoB), but also contains a unique glycoprotein—apo(a), with strong structural homology with plasminogen. 2 Apo(a) contains anything...

Splicing: still so much to learn.

This issue marks the 20th year since the launching of RNA in March of 1995. It is a time to celebrate, as well as to consider the substantial accomplishments achieved in these two decades, both in the RNA field as a whole, and in the specific areas in which each of us works—in my case, human premRNA splicing mechanisms and regulation, and its relevance to human disease. Moreover, this is a time...

Fetal Programming of Diabetes: Still So Much to Learn!

Much to Learn! In the preinsulin era, pregnancy in a diabetic mother had a bleak outcome for both the mother and the baby. Availability of insulin and modern methods of treatment improved the survival of these babies, but they appear to be at increased risk of obesity and diabetes (1–3). Spread of the diabetes pandemic to the young means there is now a growing epidemic of gestational diabetes m...

Exercise induced asthma, still much to learn.

Vibrio biofilms: so much the same yet so different.

Vibrios are natural inhabitants of aquatic environments and form symbiotic or pathogenic relationships with eukaryotic hosts. Recent studies reveal that the ability of vibrios to form biofilms (i.e. matrix-enclosed, surface-associated communities) depends upon specific structural genes (flagella, pili and exopolysaccharide biosynthesis) and regulatory processes (two-component regulators, quorum...