The genetic susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC) has been estimated to be around 35% and yet high-penetrance germline mutations found so far explain less than 5% of all cases. Much of the remaining variations could be due to the co-inheritance of multiple low penetrant variants. The identification of all the susceptibility alleles could have public health relevance in the near future. To t...

The title compound, C30H32N4, was synthesized by the photodimerization of trans-4-{2-[4-(di-methyl-amino)-phen-yl]ethen-yl}pyridine in benzene upon irradiation with UV light. This photodimer has a puckered cyclo-butane ring with the four aryl substituents in an r-1,t-2,c-3,t conformation. The puckering angle of the cyclo-butane ring is 32.22 (7)°, which is the largest among reported tetra-aryl-...

CTLA-4 was first identified in 1991 as a second receptor for the T cell costimulation ligand B7. Uncertainties about its biological function plagued the early years after its discovery until 1995, when it was confirmed to be an inhibitor of T cell responses. CTLA-4 has since scored in the clinic as a target for antitumor therapy and as a soluble inhibitor of autoimmunity.

Cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4/CD152) is a member of the CD28 family of T cell effector antigens. Current belief, based primarily on results from gene-deleted mice, is that CTLA-4 promotes suppression of T cell proliferation. In this manuscript, Mark Slifka and colleagues compare antiviral responses of unmanipulated virus-specific CTLA-4 and CTLA-4 T cells. The results of this work su...