June 2009

• Mucins: Breast milk sours HIV-1 transmission

  Breast milk mucins block the dendritic cell receptor DC-SIGN, preventing HIV-1 attachment and thus decreasing the risk of mother-to-child transmission of the virus.

  Functional Glycomics Gateway (2009)
  doi:10.1038/fg.2009.22

• Breast cancer: Metastasis on the brain

  Expression of a sialyltransferase gene may allow breast cancer cells to cross the blood-brain barrier and establish metastases.

  Nature Reviews Cancer (2009)
  doi:10.1038/nrc2678