Effect of chemotherapy on NK function in the peripheral blood of cancer patients

Summary The effects of cytotoxic chemotherapy on NK cell function and on glass adherent cell regulation of NK cell function was evaluated in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 20 previously untreated solid tumor patients. Most of the patients studied had lung cancer and received one of four combination chemotherapy treatment regimens. In addition, one patient with colon carcinoma and one patient with melanoma were studied, each of whom received treatment with a single agent. The results demonstrated that chemotherapy exerted a differential influence on NK activity which correlated with the pretreatment NK level of function in the individual patient. In patients with depressed NK levels prior to treatment, chemotherapy augmented NK function; in patients with normal levels prior to treatment, chemotherapy depressed NK function. The effects observed appeared to be associated with the capacity of chemotherapy to influence glass adherent cell regulation of NK activity. There was no apparent correlation between the effects of chemotherapy on numbers of NK effector cells, Leu11+ cells, or latex-ingesting cells. Also, there was no correlation between the effects seen and the type of drug treatment that was administered; rather, this was dependent on the pretreatment NK level of function which in turn was associated with glass adherent cell regulation of NK function.Supported in part by PHS Grant No. 27598     

KARYO-RACES IN SPINACIA OLERACEA

Bose , Smritimoy , and Jules Janick . (Purdue U., Lafayette, Ind.) Karyo-races in Spinacia oleracea. Amer. Jour. Bot. 48(3): 238–241. Illus. 1961.—Cytological analysis of chromosome 1 of Spinacia oleracea, which contains the XY factor pair, revealed the existence of 3 distinct morphological types. The “standard” chromosome 1, the longest of the complement, is heterobrachial with one arm being about twice as long as the other. The most prevalent situation is for this “standard” chromosome pair to be homomorphic in staminate, monoecious, or pistillate plants. Some staminate and pistillate plants in the varieties ‘Spica’ and ‘Universal’ were found to be heteromorphic for the standard chromosome and a variant type, distinguished by a satellite on the short arm. In a cross derived from an accession PI 169671 from Turkey, which segregated for monoecious and pistillate types, half of the plants, irrespective of sex, were homomorphic for the standard chromosome and half were heteromorphic. The non-standard chromosome was longer and isobrachial, the added length apparently due to an additional segment on the short arm of the “standard” chromosome. Plants homomorphic for the satellited and isobrachial chromosome have been obtained.     

Seabird-driven shifts in Arctic pond ecosystems

Migratory animals such as seabirds, salmon and whales can transport large quantities of nutrients across ecosystem boundaries, greatly enriching recipient food webs. As many of these animals biomagnify contaminants, they can also focus pollutants at toxic levels. Seabirds arguably represent the most significant biovectors of nutrients and contaminants from the ocean to the land, given their sheer numbers and global distribution. However, long-term census data on seabirds are rare. Using palaeolimnological proxies, we show that a colony of Arctic seabirds has experienced climate-induced population increases in recent decades. We then document increasing concentrations of contaminants, including polychlorinated biphenyls and cadmium, in pond sediments that are linked to biotransport by seabirds. Our findings suggest that climate-related shifts in global seabird populations will have the unexpected consequence of restructuring coastal ecosystems.