Effector cells working for rejection of Ad12 tumors in mice

Immune spleen cells (ISC) capable of inhibiting the growth of adenovirus type 12 (Ad12) tumors were raised in C57BL/6 mice by immunization with Ad12, fractionated according to their affinity for plastic and nylon-wool substrates or treated with various antisera plus complement, and subjected to the tumor-neutralization test (Winn) to define the effector cells for the cell species. Full antitumor activity of ISC was recovered in the cell fractions nonadherent to the two substrates; the antitumor activity of ISC was abrogated entirely by anti-Thy-1,2 serum and almost entirely by anti-Lyt-2.2 ascites fluid plus complement. These results clearly indicate that T-lymphocytes, particularly those bearing Lyt-2.2 antigen, are the principal effectors in ISC against Ad12 tumors in animals.     

Retardation of bone development in the Koshima troop of Japanese macaques

Retardation of bone development was observed in the Koshima troop of free ranging Japanese macaques. In the control group, epiphyseal unions of appendicular long bones generally started to close at about 4 yrs of age and were completed at about 8 or 9 yrs of age. Limb bone unions of the Koshima troop, however, started to close at about 9 yrs of age and completely closed at about 15 yrs of age. In the epiphyseal unions of trunk and girdle bones, the Koshima troop again showed a retardation of closure compared with the control group. Until long bones reached their full length, that is, until about 15 yrs of age, their size was small in the Koshima troop compared with the control group, though the sample size of the Koshima troop was small. After 15 yrs of age, however, many osteometrical measurements of the Koshima troop were nearly the same as controls. A prolonged growing duration compensated for the slow growth and allowed them to become as large as controls. This prolongation may be an adaptation in response to small size during the developmental period. In some parts of the body, however, Koshima macaques failed to reach the adult size of controls. Males were less likely than females to reach full size. Causes of the retardation and small size in the Koshima troop are discussed, but they remain open to further studies.     

Tracing the invasion characteristics of the yellow-legged hornet,Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), in Korea using newly detected variable mitochondrial DNA sequences

The yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina nigrithorax (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), invaded South Korea in 2003 through Busan metropolitan city, which is located in the southeast region of the country. Previous studies aiming to trace the origin of V. velutina in Korea used a portion of mitochondrial (mt) COI and detected a single haplotype common to the site of origin. However, no subsequent study on invasive dynamics such as additional entry and/or another site of entry has been performed. In this study, segments of mt COI, CytB, and lrRNA were sequenced from 238 individuals collected in 11 Korean and two Japanese localities, but no variation in each gene was observed. Thus, we developed two intergenic spacer (IGS) sequences from the publicly available mt genome of V. velutina, which provided substantially increased variability (i.e., 19 haplotypes with 1.74% maximum sequence divergence in 1,129–1,146-bp-long concatenated sequences). Population genetic analyses using the concatenated sequences unexpectedly provided higher genetic diversity estimates in the northwest and southwest regions, both of which also harbor international cargo ports, than in the southeast region, in which Busan is located. Furthermore, this genetic result was roughly concordant with our questionnaire survey demonstrating that V. velutina was observed in apiaries located in the northwest and southwest regions up to 2012, when there was no reported prevalent distribution of the hornet beyond the southeast region. These results collectively suggest that the northwest and southwest regions of Korea are additional sites of V. velutina entry to the country, independent from the southeast region origin.     

Noncanonical Transforming Growth Factor β (TGFβ) Signaling in Cranial Neural Crest Cells Causes Tongue Muscle Developmental Defects

Microglossia is a congenital birth defect in humans and adversely impacts quality of life. In vertebrates, tongue muscle derives from the cranial mesoderm, whereas tendons and connective tissues in the craniofacial region originate from cranial neural crest (CNC) cells. Loss of transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) type II receptor in CNC cells in mice (Tgfbr2^fl/fl;Wnt1-Cre) causes microglossia due to a failure of cell-cell communication between cranial mesoderm and CNC cells during tongue development. However, it is still unclear how TGFβ signaling in CNC cells regulates the fate of mesoderm-derived myoblasts during tongue development. Here we show that activation of the cytoplasmic and nuclear tyrosine kinase 1 (ABL1) cascade in Tgfbr2^fl/fl;Wnt1-Cre mice results in a failure of CNC-derived cell differentiation followed by a disruption of TGFβ-mediated induction of growth factors and reduction of myogenic cell proliferation and differentiation activities. Among the affected growth factors, the addition of fibroblast growth factor 4 (FGF4) and neutralizing antibody for follistatin (FST; an antagonist of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)) could most efficiently restore cell proliferation, differentiation, and organization of muscle cells in the tongue of Tgfbr2^fl/fl;Wnt1-Cre mice. Thus, our data indicate that CNC-derived fibroblasts regulate the fate of mesoderm-derived myoblasts through TGFβ-mediated regulation of FGF and BMP signaling during tongue development.     

Assimilation of liquid hydrocarbon by microorganisms. I. Mechanism of hydrocarbon uptake.

The uptake mechanism of liquid hydrocarbons of low solubility in water was investigated, using microorganisms with different affinities for liquid hydrocarbon. Microorganisms which could utilize hydrocarbon were much more adherent to hydrocarbon than those which could not. The adhesive force between Candida intermedia IFO 0761 and hydrocarbon was higher than that of Candida tropicalis ATCC 20336, though both could utilize hydrocarbon; The total hydrocarbon uptake from the drop and accommodation forms of hydrocarbons was much higher than that from dissolved hydrocarbon. The uptake rate of drop-form hydrocarbon was nearly equal to that of accommodation-form hydrocarbon for C. intermedia, but was lower for C. tropicalis which shows lower adhesion to hydrocarbon.     

Screening for glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-dependent cell wall proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Open reading frames in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were screened for potential glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-attached proteins. The identification of putative GPI-attached proteins was based on three criteria: the presence of a GPI-attachment signal sequence, a signal sequence for secretion and a serine- or threonine-rich sequence. In all, 53 ORFs met these three criteria and 38 were further analyzed as follows. The sequence encoding the 40 C-terminal amino acids of each was fused with the structural gene for a reporter protein consisting of a secretion signal, α-galactosidase and a hemagglutinin (HA) epitope, and examined for the ability to become incorporated into the cell wall. On this basis, 14 of fusion proteins were classified as GPI-dependent cell wall proteins because cells expressing these fusion proteins: (i) had high levels of α-galactosidase activity on their surface; (ii) released significant amounts of the fusion proteins from the membrane on treatment with phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (PI-PLC); and (iii) released fusion proteins from the cell wall following treatment with laminarinase. Of the 14 identified putative GPI-dependent cell wall proteins, 12 had novel ORFs adjacent to their GPI-attachment signal sequence. Amino acid sequence alignment of the C-terminal sequences of the 12 ORFs, together with those of known cell wall proteins, reveals some sequence similarities among them. Received: 1 September 1997 / Accepted: 20 November 1997     

Luteolin, a bioactive flavone compound extracted from Cichorium endivia L. subsp. divaricatum alleviates the harmful effect of salinity on maize

The flavone luteolin was extracted, isolated and purified from leaves of Cichorium endivia L. subsp. divaricatum and identified based on ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectral analyses. Luteolin (0.0015?%) was applied to two cultivars of maize (Giza 2 and single cross 10) grains, germinated in the absence and presence of NaCl, in order to assess the bioactivity of luteolin and its role in alleviating the harmful effect of salt stress on maize. The results showed that luteolin enhanced germination and seedling growth of both maize cultivars in normal conditions. Furthermore, luteolin successfully alleviated the harmful effect of salinity on germination and seedling growth of maize. The potential role of luteolin was performed mainly by stimulating ??-amylase activity leading to enhancing starch mobilization and increasing the accumulation of soluble sugars, and partially by enhancing the antioxidative defense. As future prospective, a great number of phenolic compounds need to be screened in order to make use of them in improving agriculture under stressful conditions.     

Bisorbicillinol inhibits Lyn tyrosine kinase for allergic response on RBL-2H3 cells

Bisorbicillinol, which is isolated from Trichoderma sp. USF2690, is an inhibitor of β-hexosaminidase release and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and Interleukin (IL)-4 secretion from rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells, with IC₅₀ values of 2.8?μM, 2.9?μM and 2.8?μM respectively. We showed that the inhibitory mechanism of β-hexosaminidase release and TNF-α secretion involved inhibition of Lyn, a tyrosine kinase. The inhibitory activities of bisorbicillinol indicate that this compound is a new candidate anti-allergic agent.     

Congruence and responsiveness in the taxonomic compositions of Amazonian aquatic macroinvertebrate and fish assemblages

Hydrobiologia - Stream degradation in Amazonia is outpacing our ability to effectively monitor it for three key reasons: (1) Many changes are cumulative and occur gradually; (2) Scientists have...