Pigment epithelium-derived factor is differentially expressed in peripheral neuropathies

Peripheral neuropathies are characterized by asymmetrical slowly progressive weakness with no upper motor neuron signs, and can occur either with or without pain. Due to poor knowledge of the disease mechanisms, available pain treatment is very limited. Because of the difficulties and invasiveness involved when performing direct analysis on peripheral and CNS, pathological markers can be searched for in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as an alternative. To investigate pain mechanisms in peripheral neuropathy and find diagnostic markers, CSF samples were analyzed by a differential expression proteomic approach. We studied CSF from: neuropathic patients with pain (PN), without pain (NPN) and healthy controls (CN). 2-DE analysis showed ten protein spots differentially expressed, and six of these were identified by MS. In NPN patients we found an expression level decrease of three pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) protein isoforms. Immunoblot with a specific antibody revealed the presence of additional PEDF isoforms not highlighted by differential expression analysis. Fucose residues on the oligosaccharide chain were found only in the isoforms down regulated in NPN patients. Considered as PEDF has important neurobiological effects, it might be considered an interesting pathology marker.     

Peptide microarrays for the characterization of antigenic regions of human chromogranin A

Microarraying peptides is a powerful proteomics technique for studying molecular recognition events. Since peptides have small molecular mass, they are not easily accessible when adsorbed onto solid supports. Moreover, peptides can lack a well-defined three-dimensional structure, and therefore a correct orientation is essential to promote the interaction with their target. In this work, we investigated the suitability as a peptide array substrate of a glass slide coated with a copolymer of N,N-dimethylacrylamide, N,N-acryloyloxysuccinimide, and [3-(methacryloyl-oxy)propyl]trimethoxysilyl. This polymeric surface was used as substrate for peptides in the characterization of linear antigenic sites of human chromogranin A, a useful tissue and serum marker for neuroendocrine tumors and a precursor of many biologically active peptides. The microarray support provided sufficient accessibility of the ligand, with no need for a spacer, as the polymer chains prevent interaction of immobilized peptides with substrate. In addition, the polymeric surface constitutes an aqueous micro-environment in which linear epitopes are freely exposed despite peptide random orientation. The results reported in this article are in accordance with those obtained in conventional ELISA assays using biotinylated and non-biotinylated peptides.     

Ricerche sul tessuto parasimpatico dell'ovaio umano

Zusammenfassung Die vom Verf. am menschlichen Material angestellten Forschungen haben den Beweis erbracht, da? mit einer fast konstanten H?ufigkeit im Ovargebiet (Markteil, Hilus, Ligamentum latum) Zellanh?ufungen epithelioidalen Aussehens vorkommen, die eine chromaffine Reaktion aufweisen und in der N?he oder an der Peripherie der sympathischen Nerven oder auch im Innern derselben zwischen den einzelnen Nervenfasern zu liegen kommen. Diese Elemente, meist oval?rer oder polygonaler Form, bergen in sich ein acidophiles, k?rnchenhaltiges oder spugn?ses Protoplasma; der Kern, gew?hnlich klein und exzentrisch gelagert, besitzt eine rundliche Form und ist nur schwer f?rbbar. Das Zellprotoplasma enth?lt oft Fett, Pigmente, manchmal auch Kristalloide. Solche Zellanh?ufungen fehlen wahrscheinlich nie in der Ovargegend des reifen Weibes; nur selten müssen zwecks ihrer Auffindung besondere Serienschnitte angefertigt werden, w?hrend gew?hnlich schon ein entsprechendes Fixierungsverfahren genügt, die Beobachtung oft sehr zahlreicher solcher Gebilde zu erm?glichen. Mit gro?er Wahrscheinlichkeit kann angenommen werden, da? es zwischen diesem im reifen Alter vorzufindenden Gewebe und dem im F?tus und bei Neugeborenen vorhandenen, mit analoger genitaler Lokalisierung, eine gewisse Kontinuit?t gibt. Die vermutliche Homologie der parasympathischen Zellen mit der sogenannten interstitiellen Drüse des Hodens kann nicht ohne weiteres angenommen werden, da ja sonst auch eine sichere bindegewebige Herkunft der parasympathischen Elemente angenommen werden mü?te. Von einem allgemeinen Standpunkt aus ist es nicht ausgeschlossen, da? das parasympathische Ovargewebe auch des innigen topographischen Zusammenhanges wegen, dazu bestimmt sei lokal auf dieselben einzuwirken, sei es vermittels des Adrenalins sei es an Hand eines anderen Inkrets; man kann auch einen Zusammenhang dieses Gewebes und anderer Genitaldrüsen (innensekretorischer) nicht ausschlie?en.

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Con 5 figure nel testo.     

Orientation of Pea Stem Mitochondrial H+-Pyrophosphatase and Its Different Characteristics from the Tonoplast Counterpart

Proton pumping pyrophosphatase (H⁺-PP_iase) of pea stem mitochondriaappears to be localized on the inner surface of the inner membrane.Aminohexanediphosphonate and dichloromethylenediphosphonateexert different inhibitory effects on this activity and on thatof tonoplast. Antibody raised against membrane-bound mitochondrialH⁺-PP_iase does not react with tonoplast vesicles. Thus, plantmitochondrial H⁺PP_iase seems to have a molecular structure differentfrom that of vacuolar H⁺-PP_iase. (Received August 2, 1996; Accepted October 18, 1996)     

The dependence of fish community structure and dynamics on floodplain and riparian ecotone zone in Parana River,Brazil

Flood intensity was a main factor determining access to the riparian/floodplain ecotonal resources of the upper Parana River, Brazil, and in consequence determining yield of the dominant trophic groups, which are fish feeding on flooded grasslands and on riparian fruits and leaves. Prey and predator density both declined in years of low floods, and predators did not recover until the next year of high flood, more slowly than in the case prey fish, most probably due to differences in life cycle length. The life cycle of one of the most important species, Curimba (Prochilodus lineatus — Characidae) depends on access to the floodplain lagoons and return to the reservoir after maturation for intensive growth. The riparian/floodplain habitat complexity and connectivity has great significance for fish community dynamics and fisheries yield, and may serve a reason to create a national park in the last floodplain section of the upper Parana River.     

Applications of ecological stoichiometry for sustainable acquisition of ecosystem services

Human activities have differentially altered biogeochemical cycling at local, regional and global scales. We propose that a stoichiometric approach, examining the fluxes of multiple elements and the ratio between them, may be a useful tool for better understanding human effects on ecosystem processes and services. The different scale of impacts of the elements carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus and the different nature of their biogeochemical cycles, imply a large variation of their stoichiometric ratios in space and time and thus divergent impacts on biota.
In this paper, we examine the effects of anthropogenic perturbations on nutrient ratios in ecosystems in two examples and one case study. Altered stoichiometry in agricultural systems (example 1) can affect not only crop yield and quality but also the interactions between plants and their pollinators, pests and pathogens. Human activities have also altered stoichiometry in coastal ecosystems (example 2). Increased N loading has especially lead to increased N:P and reduced Si:N ratios, with detrimental effects on ecosystem services derived from coastal pelagic food webs, such as fish yield and water quality. The terrestrial–aquatic linkage in stoichiometric alterations is illustrated with a case study, the Mississippi River watershed, where anthropogenic activities have caused stoichiometric changes that have propagated through the watershed into the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Coupled with altered stoichiometric nutrient inputs are the inherent differences in variation and sensitivity of different ecosystems to anthropogenic disturbance. Furthermore, the connections among the components of a watershed may result in downstream cascades of disrupted functioning. Applying a multiple element perspective to understanding and addressing societal needs is a new direction for both ecological stoichiometry and sustainability.     

Do domatia mediate mutualistic interactions between coffee plants and predatory mites?

Many plant species possess structures on their leaves that often harbour predatory or fungivorous mites. These so‐called domatia are thought to mediate a mutualistic interaction; the plant gains protection because mites decimate plant pathogenic fungi or herbivores, whereas the mites find shelter in the domatia. We tested this hypothesis using two species of coffee (Coffea spp.) plants that posses domatia consisting of small cavities at the underside of the leaves, and which often harbour mites. We assessed densities of domatia, of the predatory mite Iphiseiodes zuluagai Denmark and Muma (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and of herbivorous mites Oligonychus ilicis (McGregor) (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Brevipalpus phoenicis (Geijskes) (Acari: Tenuipalpidae) on Coffea arabica L. (Rubiaceae) and Coffea canephora Pierre in the field. Over a period of 50 days, C. arabica harboured on average 7.5 times more predatory mites and 0.4–0.66 fewer prey mites than C. canephora. Hence, the higher density of predatory mites on C. arabica could not be explained by higher densities of prey. However, the density of domatia on C. arabica was on average 1.65 times higher than on C. canephora, and within each species, leaves with higher densities of domatia also harboured more predators. This suggests a positive effect of domatia on predatory mites. In the laboratory, survival of adult female predatory mites on leaves of C. arabica with open domatia was indeed significantly higher than on leaves with closed domatia. Hence, predatory mites benefited from the domatia. However, plants with higher densities of domatia did not harbour fewer herbivores. Taken together, our study only provides partial evidence for a mutualistic interaction between coffee plants and predatory mites, mediated by domatia.     

Importance of feeding strategies on the long-term success of fish invasions

This study assessed the feeding strategies of nine fish species in their native (Cuiabá River) and in an invaded basin (upper Paraná River) to identify trophic variables that may explain the success of these species in the new basin, over 30 years. The following predictions were analyzed: (i) species that display omnivorous or piscivorous diets in the native basin are favored in the invasion process over the long term, and (ii) specialist feeders are favored in the invasion process provided that their food items are highly available in the invaded area. These predictions were supported by the data; the species that were successful invaders had high trophic plasticity (omnivores), consumed a wide variety of food items from specific trophic guilds (piscivores), or if a species had a specialized diet, the resources demanded are abundant (detritivores). Thus, in a long-term perspective, the food resources used by these species are rarely limiting in aquatic ecosystems, and these feeding characteristics should be one of the key factors determining the colonization success of fishes. Understanding the factors that determine the success of invasive species in new areas is critical for developing management policies aimed at minimizing the impacts of biological invasions.