The FIELDS Instrument Suite for Solar Probe Plus: Measuring the Coronal Plasma and Magnetic Field, Plasma Waves and Turbulence, and Radio Signatures of Solar Transients.

NASA's Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products

The many facets of the matricelluar protein periostin during cardiac development, remodeling, and pathophysiology

Periostin is a member of a growing family of matricellular proteins, defined by their ability to interact with components of the extracellular milieu, and with receptors at the cell surface. Through these interactions, periostin has been shown to play a crucial role as a profibrogenic molecule during tissue morphogenesis. Tissues destined to become fibrous structures are dependent on cooperative interactions between periostin and its binding partners, whereas in its absence, these structures either totally or partially fail to become mature fibrous entities. Within the heart, fibrogenic differentiation is required for normal tissue maturation, remodeling and function, as well as in response to a pathological myocardial insult. In this review, aspects related to the function of periostin during cardiac morphogenesis, remodeling and pathology are summarized

The TWIST/Mi2/NuRD protein complex and its essential role in cancer metastasis

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) converts epithelial tumor cells into invasive and metastatic cancer cells, leading to mortality in cancer patients. Although TWIST is a master regulator of EMT and metastasis for breast and other cancers, the mechanisms responsible for TWIST-mediated gene transcription remain unknown. In this study, purification and characterization of the TWIST protein complex revealed that TWIST interacts with several components of the Mi2/nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (Mi2/NuRD) complex, MTA2, RbAp46, Mi2 and HDAC2, and recruits them to the proximal regions of the E-cadherin promoter for transcriptional repression. Depletion of these TWIST complex components from cancer cell lines that depend on TWIST for metastasis efficiently suppresses cell migration and invasion in culture and lung metastasis in mice. These findings not only provide novel mechanistic and functional links between TWIST and the Mi2/NuRD complex but also establish new essential roles for the components of Mi2/NuRD complex in cancer metastasis

The FIELDS Instrument Suite for Solar Probe Plus

NASA’s Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products

The FIELDS Instrument Suite for Solar Probe Plus: Measuring the Coronal Plasma and Magnetic Field, Plasma Waves and Turbulence, and Radio Signatures of Solar Transients.

NASA's Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products