October 2007
Apoptosis: A GALNT death
O-glycosylation enhances tumor cell sensitivity to apoptosis by promoting clustering of the death receptors DR4 and DR5 by their ligand Apo2L/TRAIL, thereby providing a valuable biomarker for apoptosis-based cancer therapies.
Original research paper: Nature Medicine 13, 1070-1077 (2007)
doi:10.1038/nm1627Glycolipid immunology: How to hide in a surveillance society
A germline-encoded cluster of amino acid residues enables recognition of diverse microbial glycosphingolipids (GSL), yet bacteria can escape from immunorecognition by synthesis of oligosaccharidic GSL head groups.
Original research paper: Nature Chemical Biology 3, 559-564 (2007)
doi:10.1038/nchembio.2007.19