Rhodocybe pulchrisperma (Entolomataceae): A new species from North America

Rhodocybe pulchrisperma is described as a new species of Agaricales from North America. It belongs in section Rhodocybe due to the brightly colored pseudocystidia and lack of clamp connections. The very large, handsomely ornamented basidiospores distinguish this species from others in the section. A key to taxa from Florida, Papua New Guinea, and India that exhibit similar features is presented.     

Sodium-rich tree ash as a native salt source in lowland Papua

The Gidra-speaking Papuans of the Oriomo Plateau, lowland Papua New Guinea, consume ash of two tree species (Melaleuca sp. andAcacia mangium) as a native salt. The ashes contain 100–200 mg sodium/g ash, which is very much higher than the sodium levels in native plant ashes (except for the swamp herbEriocaulon australe) collected in other regions of the world.     

Three new Indo-Australian species of the sciaenid genusAtrobucca,with a reevaluation of generic limit

Three new species of the sciaenid genusAtrobucca are described:A. kyushini from off Borneo, differs from all known congeners in having no swimbladder appendages enveloplng the bladder, no forward directed branches from the ventral limbs of the appendages, a long tube-like last appendage parallel to the bladder wall and a pale mouth lining;A. brevis from off northern Australia and Papua New Guinea, is distinguished by its short pectoral fin (less than 23% SL) and pleural rib on the 11th vertebra;A. adusta from Papua New Guinea, is distinctive in having a low dorsal soft ray number (23–24) and long caudal peduncle (27–30% SL).Atrobucca Chu, Lo et Wu is redefined to accommodate the new species: the genus is principally characterized by the swimbladder appendages divided into developed dorsal and ventral limbs, and the only slightly curved sulcus tail of the sagitta. A key and diagnoses are provided for all known species ofAtrobucca.     

Pandanus from Ok Tedi region,Papua New Guinea,collected by Debra Donoghue

In the course of ethnobotanical and ethnoarchaeological studies in the Ok Tedi region, Kiunga subprovince, Western Province, Papua New Guinea, Debra Donoghue collected several botanical specimens as vouchers for her studies into the prehistory of edible-nut pandans in the New Guinea Highlands and for David Hyndman’s study of the use and names of pandans in the region. These specimens were submitted to me through Dr. Hyndman for identification, and one set of duplicates has been deposited in the Lae Herbarium (PNG) and another in the University of Malaya Herbarium (KLU). Some of the collections are of considerable botanical interest, representing hitherto little-known species. One collection represents a new edible-nut species. The following list contains the botanical identifications, collection data, and some taxonomic comments. All the collections were made in June 1981. The Ok Tedi region is located around 5°12’S, 141°17’E.     

Paraplagusia longirostris,a new flatfish (Cynoglossidae) from Australia and Papua New Guinea

A new species of tongue sole,Paraplagusia longirostris, is described from 59 specimens (83.0– 276.2 mm SL) collected off the northern coast of Australia and southern coast of Papua New Guinea.P. longirostris is easily distinguishable from otherParaplagusia by its long, obtusely pointed snout and its high counts for dorsal and anal fin rays, caudal vertebrae and mid-lateral line scales.     

Melanotaenia iris,a new freshwater rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae) from Papua New Guinea with notes on the fish fauna in Head Waters

A new melanotaeniid rainbowfish,Melanotaenia iris, is described from mountain tributaries of the Strickland River in west-central Papua New Guinea. It is most closely related toM. goldiei of southern New Guinea, but differs in colour pattern, a distinctive high number of scales on the suborbital-preopercle bones, and a greater number of soft dorsal fin rays. Notes are also included on the poorly developed fish fauna of head waters in the Fly-Strickland and Sepik river systems. Most streams thus far investigated have less than 4 species. The plotosid catfishTandanus equinus appears to be the most successful colonizer of fast-flowing highland streams in the Fly-Strickland system and is sometimes the only species present.     

Land or plants: Agricultural tenure in agroforestry systems

The distinction between the rights to land and rights to plants is often overlooked when viewing agricultural tenure in developing countries. This distinction is crucial to understanding traditional agricultural systems, especially where agroforestry is practiced or its introduction has been proposed. Rights to land versus rights to plants are viewed in two Asia-Pacific agroforestry systems: one in Indonesian Borneo and the other in Papua New Guinea. Conflicts are discussed between the traditional dichotomy of land and plant rights and government policy. The success of an indigenous agroforestry system based on plant rights is contrasted to the failure of a proposed agroforestry system for similar reasons. It is concluded that the perceptual separation of land and plant rights needs to be explored if agroforestry practices are not only to be ecologically and economically feasible but also culturally acceptable.     

Apparent Reduction of ADAM10 in Scrapie-Infected Cultured Cells and in the Brains of Scrapie-Infected Rodents

It has been described that A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM10) may involve in the physiopathology of prion diseases, but the direct molecular basis still remains unsolved. In this study, we confirmed that ADAM10 was able to cleave recombinant human prion protein in vitro. Using immunoprecipitation tests (IP) and immunofluorescent assays (IFA), reliable molecular interaction between the native cellular form of PrP (PrP^C) and ADAM10 was observed not only in various cultured neuronal cell lines but also in brain homogenates of healthy hamsters and mice. Only mature ADAM10 (after removal of its prodomain) molecules showed the binding activity with the native PrP^C. Remarkably more prion protein (PrP)-ADAM10 complexes were detected in the membrane fraction of cultured cells. In the scrapie-infected SMB cell model, the endogenous ADAM10 levels, especially the mature ADAM10, were significantly decreased in the fraction of cell membrane. IP and IFA tests of prion-infected SMB-S15 cells confirmed no detectable PrP-ADAM10 complex in the cellular lysates and PrP-ADAM10 co-localization on the cell surface. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the levels of ADAM10 in the brain homogenates of scrapie agent 263K-infected hamsters and agent ME7-infected mice were also almost diminished at the terminal stage, showing time-dependent decreases during the incubation period. Our data here provide the solid molecular basis for the endoproteolysis of ADAM10 on PrP molecules and interaction between ADAM10 and PrP^C. Obvious loss of ADAM10 during prion infection in vitro and in vivo highlights that ADAM10 may play essential pathophysiological roles in prion replication and accumulation.     

EGFR-AKT-mTOR activation mediates epiregulin-induced pleiotropic functions in cultured osteoblasts

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor (EGFR) emerges as an essential molecule for the regulating of osteoblast cellular functions. In the current study, we explored the effect of epiregulin, a new EGFR ligand, on osteoblast functions in vitro, and studied the underlying mechanisms. We found that epiregulin-induced EGFR activation in both primary osteoblasts and osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells. Meanwhile, epiregulin activated AKT-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and Erk-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalings in cultured osteoblasts, which were blocked by EGFR inhibitor AG1478 or monoclonal antibody against EGFR (anti-EGFR). Further, in primary and MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts, epiregulin promoted cell proliferation and increased alkaline phosphatase activity, while inhibiting dexamethasone (Dex)-induced cell death. Such effects by epiregulin were largely inhibited by AG1478 or anti-EGFR. Notably, AKT-mTOR inhibitors, but not Erk inhibitors, alleviated epiregulin-induced above pleiotropic functions in osteoblasts. Meanwhile, siRNA depletion of Sin1, a key component of mTOR complex 2 (mTORC2), also suppressed epiregulin-exerted effects in MC3T3-E1 cells. Together, these results suggest that epiregulin-induced pleiotropic functions in cultured osteoblasts are mediated through EGFR-AKT-mTOR signalings.     

Quercetin Potentiates the Antitumor Activity of Rituximab in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma by Inhibiting STAT3 Pathway

STAT3 pathway plays an important role in the growth of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) cells. Here we investigated the antitumor activity of Quercetin, a flavonoid compound, in combination with rituximab in DLBCL cell lines in vitro. We found that Quercetin synergistically enhanced rituximab-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in DLBCL cell lines. Moreover, we found Quercetin exerted inhibitory activity against STAT3 pathway and downregulated the expression of survival genes. These results suggest that combining the Quercetin with rituximab may present an attractive and potentially effective way for the treatment of DLBCL.     

Polymorphism of DNA Repair Gene xrcc1 and Lung Cancer Risk

The current large-scale meta-analysis was performed to reach a reliable conclusion on the association between X-ray repair cross-complementing 1 (xrcc1) rs1799782 and the development of lung cancer. Studies that investigated the association between rs1799782 and lung cancer risk were identified by searching PubMed. We calculated odds ratio (OR) with corresponding 95 % confidence interval (CI) for Trp/Trp vs Arg/Arg, Trp/Trp + Arg/Trp vs Arg/Arg, and Trp/Trp vs Arg/Trp + Arg/Arg contrast models. Combining all 25 studies, we yielded three summary ORs: 1.07 (95 % CI 0.92–1.23) for Trp/Trp vs Arg/Arg, 0.93 (95 % CI 0.87–1.00) for Trp/Trp + Arg/Trp vs Arg/Arg, and 1.08 (95 % CI 0.94–1.25) for Trp/Trp vs Arg/Trp + Arg/Arg, suggesting rs1799782 was not associated with overall risk of lung cancer. Strikingly, a significantly deceased risk was found among Caucasian populations (Trp/Trp + Arg/Trp vs Arg/Arg, OR = 0.86, 95 % CI 0.76–0.97). This study confirms that xrcc1 rs1799782 may lower the risk of lung cancer among Caucasians.     

Mechanism of bFGF-binding Peptide Reversing Adriamycin Resistance in Human Gastric Cancer Cells

Development of drug resistance is a challenging problem in cancer chemotherapy. It has been shown that basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) plays an important role in an epigenetic mechanism of drug resistance. We have isolated a bFGF binding peptide P7 with inhibitory activity against bFGF-induced proliferation of human gastric cancer cells by screening a phage display library. In this study, we found that P7 peptide also has efficacy of reversing bFGF-induced resistance to Adriamycin (ADM) in human gastric cancer cells. Further investigations with SGC-7901 cells revealed that inhibition of Akt activation triggered by bFGF, and reversal of bFGF-induced up-regulation of Bcl-2 and XIAP and down-regulation of Bax, contribute to P7 peptide counteracting the anti-apoptotic effect of bFGF, and further reversing bFGF-induced resistance to ADM. The results suggested that the bFGF-binding peptide may have therapeutic potential of drug resistance in gastric cancer.     

Specificity among the Casuarinaceae in root nodulation byFrankia

Pure cultured isolates ofFrankia made from root nodules of plant species from among three genera of the host family Casuarinaceae were used in inoculation trials of seedlings grown in water culture. A large number of host species among the genera Allocasuarina, Casuarina and Gymnostoma from Australia, Papua New Guinea and other South Pacific Islands were tested. The most widely infectiveFrankia strains were CcI3 and AllI1; theFrankia strains with the narrowest host range within the Casuarinaceae were CcI2 and GpI1. Intrafamily cross-inoculations were uncommon. The most broadly receptive host species wasG. papuanum. For many species ofAllocasuarina tested, no infection by anyFrankia available for testing could be observed.     

Identification of nucleolus-localized PTEN and its function in regulating ribosome biogenesis

The tumor suppressor PTEN is a lipid phosphatase that is found mutated in different types of human cancers. PTEN suppresses cell proliferation by inhibiting the PI3K-Akt signaling pathway at the cell membrane. However, PTEN is also demonstrated to localize in the cell nucleus where it exhibits tumor suppressive activity via a different, unknown mechanism. In this study we report that PTEN also localizes to the nucleolus and that nucleolar PTEN plays an important role in regulating nucleolar homeostasis and maintaining nucleolar morphology. Overexpression of nuclear PTEN in PTEN null cells inhibits Akt phosphorylation and reduces cell size. Knockdown of PTEN in PTEN positive cells leads to nucleolar morphologic changes and an increase in the proportion of cells with a greater number of nucleoli. In addition, knockdown of PTEN in PTEN positive cells increased ribosome biogenesis. These findings expand current understanding of function and relevance of nuclear localized PTEN and provide a foundation for the development of novel therapies targeting PTEN.     

Immune Response of the VEGF/bFGF Complex Peptide Vaccine and Function of Immune Antibodies in Inhibiting Migration of HUVEC Cells and Proliferation of Cancer Cells

Overexpression of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays a key role in tumor angiogenesis and metastasis in tumors. VEGF/bFGF complex peptide (VBP3) was designed to elicit the body to produce both high titer anti-VEGF and anti-bFGF antibodies to inhibit tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth. BALB/c mice were immunized with the VEGF/bFGF complex peptide, and the immune responses were assayed. Splenocytes were separated from the immunized mice and the CD4, CD8 T cells and IFN-γ were assayed by Flow cytometry. The results showed that the VBP3 could effectively stimulate immune response in mice and resulted in the increase of CD4 and CD8 T cells. CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells were increased from 10.78 to 15.13 and 6.82 to 11.58 % respectively. Polyclonal antibodies purified from the VBP3 immunized mice showed good anti-proliferation function to lung cancer cells, and resulted in the decrease of phosphroylation level of Akt and Erk assayed by the Western-blot. Transwell assays showed that the migration of HUVEC cells was inhibited by the antibodies. The results revealed that the VBP3 have good immunogenicity and may be used as a vaccine for tumor therapy.