An Emerging Allee Effect Is Critical for Tumor Initiation and Persistence

Tumor cells develop different strategies to cope with changing microenvironmental conditions. A prominent example is the adaptive phenotypic switching between cell migration and proliferation. While it has been shown that the migration-proliferation plasticity influences tumor spread, it remains unclear how this particular phenotypic plasticity affects overall tumor growth, in particular initiation and persistence. To address this problem, we formulate and study a mathematical model of spatio-temporal tumor dynamics which incorporates the microenvironmental influence through a local cell density dependence. Our analysis reveals that two dynamic regimes can be distinguished. If cell motility is allowed to increase with local cell density, any tumor cell population will persist in time, irrespective of its initial size. On the contrary, if cell motility is assumed to decrease with respect to local cell density, any tumor population below a certain size threshold will eventually extinguish, a fact usually termed as Allee effect in ecology. These results suggest that strategies aimed at modulating migration are worth to be explored as alternatives to those mainly focused at keeping tumor proliferation under control.     

Glycoconjugates are stage- and position-specific cell surface molecules in the developing olfactory system, 1: The CC1 immunoreactive glycolipid defines a rostrocaudal gradient in the rat vomeronasal system

Primary sensory neurons in the vomeronasal organ (VNO) project axons to the glomeruli of the accessory olfactory bulb (AOB) where they form connections with mitral cell dendrites. We demonstrate here that monoclonal antibodies to specific carbohydrate antigens define stage- and position-specific events during the development of the vomeronasal system (VN). CC1 monoclonal antibodies react with specific N-acetyl galactosamine containing glycolipids. In the embryo, CC1 antigens are expressed throughout the VNO and on vomeronasal nerves. Beginning approximately at birth and continuing into adults, CC1 expression is spatially restricted in the VNO to centrally located cell bodies. In the postnatal AOB, CC1 is expressed in the nerve layer and glomeruli, but only in the rostral half of the AOB. These data suggest that CC1 antigens may participate in the targeting of axons from centrally located VNO neurons to rostral glomeruli in the AOB. In contrast, CC2 monoclonal antibodies, which recognize complex α-galactosyl and α-fucosyl glycoproteins and glycolipids, react with all VNO cell bodies and VN nerves from embryonic (E) day 15 to adults. CC2 antibodies do not distinguish rostral from caudal regions of the AOB, nor are the CC2 glycoconjugates developmentally regulated. P-Path monoclonal antibodies, which recognize 9-O-acetyl sialic acid, react with cell bodies in the VNO and nerve fibers from E13 to postnatal (P) day 2. P-Path immunoreactivity disappears from the VNO system almost completely by P14, when only a few P-Path reactive nerve fibers can be seen. These studies suggest that specific cell surface glycoconjugates may participate in spatially and temporally selective cell–cell interactions during development and maintenance of vomeronasal connections.     

Evidence for diet partitioning among three coexisting native freshwater fishes in South Africa's Cape Fold Ecoregion

The partitioning of limited resources commonly explains how different species can coexist within the same ecological community. In this 2010 study, the diets of three coexisting freshwater fishes (Cape galaxias Galaxias zebratus, n = 27; Cape kurper Sandelia capensis, n = 60; Breede River redfin Pseudobarbus burchelli, n = 77) were characterised and compared in three headwater streams in South Africa's Cape Fold Ecoregion using gut contents and stable isotope analyses. These data were analysed to ascertain whether the three species exploit distinct trophic niches. Both approaches provided evidence that these species occupy different trophic niches, though with some overlap. However, dietary differences among sites were not consistent and were probably influenced by site-specific factors like resource availability. Pseudobarbus burchelli had a broader niche breadth at Tierkloof Stream than the other two species, but not at Waaihoek or Tierstel Streams. Our results also suggest that P. burchelli consumed a more omnivorous diet than do the other two species, whereas S. capensis occupied a higher trophic position than the other two species and consumed vertebrates. Our findings suggest that these species occupy non-equivalent feeding niches in Cape Fold Ecoregion headwater streams, and that diet partitioning might facilitate their coexistence in these systems.     

Synthesis and characterization of technetium(V) complexes with tridentate schiff base ligands. X-ray crystal structure of chloro[N-(2-hydroxyphenyl)salicylideneiminato]oxotechnetium(V)

Five-coordinate technetium(V) complexes of the form TcO(L)Cl where L is one of the two tridentate Schiff base ligands N-(2-oxidophenyl)salicylideneiminate or N-(2-mercaptophenyl)salicylideneiminate have been synthesized and characterized. These neutral complexes precipitate from methanol upon reaction of the Schiff base ligand with TcOCl₄^?. A single crystal X-ray structure determination shows that the chloro [[N-(2-oxidophenyl)salicylideneiminato](2?)-N,O,O′]oxotechnetium(V) complex, [TcO(C₁₃H₉NO₂)Cl], formula weight 362, has a distorted square pyramidal coordination geometry with the oxo ligand in the axial position. The steric requirements of the oxo group cause the Tc atom to be displayed 0.67 Å out of the mean equatorial plane of the other four donor atoms. This complex crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/a with a = 13.423(6) Å, b = 12.570(5) Å, c = 7.769(3) Å, β = 106.53(5)°, V = 1256.7(9) ų, and Z = 4. The structure has been refined to R = 0.047 for 1775 observed reflections.     

A cluster pattern algorithm for the analysis of multiparametric cell assays.

The issue of multiparametric analysis of complex single cell assays of both static and flow cytometry (SC and FC, respectively) has become common in recent years. In such assays, the analysis of changes, applying common statistical parameters and tests, often fails to detect significant differences between the investigated samples. The cluster pattern similarity (CPS) measure between two sets of gated clusters is based on computing the difference between their density distribution functions' set points. The CPS was applied for the discrimination between two observations in a four-dimensional parameter space. The similarity coefficient (r) ranges between 0 (perfect similarity) to 1 (dissimilar). Three CPS validation tests were carried out: on the same stock samples of fluorescent beads, yielding very low r's (0, 0.066); and on two cell models: mitogenic stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), and apoptosis induction in Jurkat T cell line by H2O2. In both latter cases, r indicated similarity (r < 0.23) within the same group, and dissimilarity (r > 0.48) otherwise. This classification and algorithm approach offers a measure of similarity between samples. It relies on the multidimensional pattern of the sample parameters. The algorithm compensates for environmental drifts in this apparatus and assay; it also may be applied to more than four dimensions.     

Distribution of erythrocyte carbonic anhydrase B-type alleles in Japanese farm horses

A study of the erythrocyte carbonic anhydrases of 330 Japanese horses revealed the presence of six major enzymes. All horses possessed a single C-type enzyme. Thoroughbred racing horses had only the B-type carbonic anhydrase designated as D, but some farm horses also had others with electrophoretic mobilities corresponding to the human B, A, and T enzymes. A study of the distribution of these B-type allelic products indicated that their synthesis is controlled by a pair of codominant autosomal alleles as previously reported for the horse and other species.This work was supported in part by Grant No. C-1786 from the U.S. Public Health Service and by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.Visiting professor.     

Rapid mass spectrometric analysis for ascorbate and related organic acids in small volumes of plasma for use in pediatric subjects

A gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric isotope dilution method was developed for analysis of ascorbate on 10 μl samples of plasma. This assay was reproducible (standard deviation of less than 4%) and gave values for plasma ascorbate content within 8% of our previously published gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric method. Non-specific sample preparation allowed other analytes to be determined on the same sample by adjusting data acquisition parameters and adding the appropriate internal standard. Analysis on 28 subjects fell within the expected range for plasma ascorbate 68±29 μm (11.9±5.0 μg/ml) and established a normal range for plasma threonate of 28.1±2.4 μm (3.8±0.4 μg/ml).