Contents of volume 16, 2006

EOITORIALA journey to a brighter futureGang Pei尺石功石的呀3 GATA·3PromotesTh2resPonsesthroughthreedifferentmeehanisms:inductionofThZeytokine Production,Selective growth of ThZ cells and inhibition of Thl eell·sPecific怕etors Jinfang Zhu,刀友论hiro Yamane,Javiel’ Cole一Sierra.Liying Guo,川llia脚E Paul1 1 The quantal theory of immunity 人治ndallA肠力ith20 Cytokines as critieal eo·stimulatory moleeules in modulating the immune resPonse of natural k川6F C6!!S Howa)汀A Young,…     

7th Biennial Meeting of the Asian Pacific Society for Neurochemistry, APSN 2006, Singapore, 2-5 July 2006. Abstracts

Dopamine (DA) uptake through the neuronal plasma membrane DA transporter (DAT) is essential for the maintenance of normal DA homeostasis in the brain. The DAT‐mediated re‐uptake system limits not only the intensity but also the duration of DA actions at presynaptic and postsynaptic receptors. This protein is the primary target for cocaine and amphetamine, both highly addictive and major substances of abuse worldwide. DAT is also the molecular target for therapeutic agents used in the treatment of mental disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and depression. Given the role played by the DAT in regulation of DA neurotransmission and its contribution to the abuse potential of psychostimulants, it becomes not only important but also necessary to understand the functional regulation of this protein. To investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms associated with DAT function and regulation, our laboratory and others have embarked on a systematic search for DAT protein–protein interactions. Recently, a growing number of proteins have been shown to interact with DAT. These novel interactions might be important in the assembly, targeting, trafficking and/or regulation of transporter function. In this review, I summarize the main findings obtained from the characterization of DAT‐interacting proteins and discuss the functional implications of these novel interactions. Based on these new data, I propose to use the term DAT proteome to explain how interacting proteins regulate DAT function. These novel interactions might help define new mechanisms associated with the function of the transporter.     

2006 International Charr Symposium, Reykjavik, Iceland

The most recent in the continuing series of international conferences dedicated to charrs, Salvelinus species, was held in Reykjavik, Iceland 1–5 August 2006.     

Report on the Eighth Goettingen International Film Festival, 2006

The eighth Goettingen International Film Festival was held in May 2006 in Goettingen, Germany. Fifty-five films (of 275 submissions) were screened. Many of the films dealt with culture change. Most of the more purely documentary films were of considerable ethnographic interest, and the more explicitly ethnographic films were notable for the innovative ways that they explored reflexivity.