Colorectal cancer-associated fibroblasts promote metastasis by up-regulating LRG1 through stromal IL-6/STAT3 signaling

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been shown to play a strong role in colorectal cancer metastasis, yet the underlying mechanism remains to be fully elucidated. Using CRC clinical samples together with ex vivo CAFs-CRC co-culture models, we found that CAFs induce expression of Leucine Rich Alpha-2-Glycoprotein 1(LRG1) in CRC, where it shows markedly higher expression in metastatic CRC tissues compared to primary tumors. We further show that CAFs-induced LRG1 promotes CRC migration and invasion that is concomitant with EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition) induction. In addition, this signaling axis has also been confirmed in the liver metastatic mouse model which displayed CAFs-induced LRG1 substantially accelerates metastasis. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that CAFs-secreted IL-6 (interleukin-6) is responsible for LRG1 up-regulation in CRC, which occurs through a direct transactivation by STAT3 following JAK2 activation. In clinical CRC tumor samples, LRG1 expression was positively correlated with CAFs-specific marker, α-SMA, and a higher LRG1 expression predicted poor clinical outcomes especially distant metastasis free survival, supporting the role of LRG1 in CRC progression. Collectively, this study provided a novel insight into CAFs-mediated metastasis in CRC and indicated that therapeutic targeting of CAFs-mediated IL-6-STAT3-LRG1 axis might be a potential strategy to mitigate metastasis in CRC.Subject terms: Colon cancer, Cancer microenvironment     

冬小麦不同生育时期水分亏缺胁迫对叶片保护酶系统的影响

利用盆栽试验研究了施Ｎ（底肥）与不施Ｎ条件下冬小麦不同生育时期水分有限亏缺对叶片保护酶系统的影响,结果表明,在无底肥条件下,３个生育时期水分亏缺均使保护酶系统活性有所降低,而在有底肥时酶活性多数则升高,各保护酶活性与ＭＤＡ相关分析表明,苗期ＳＯＤ活性与ＭＤＡ呈极显著负相关;拔节却是ＰＯＤ活性与ＭＤＡ呈极显著负相关;在灌浆期ＳＯＤ、ＰＯＤ、ＣＡＴ与ＭＤＡ含量均无显著相关性,但ＭＤＡ在叶片中累积至较高水平。各生育期水分处理叶片绿素含量与ＭＤＡ含量达极显著负相关。这些说明在不同生育时期,受水分亏缺和供的,保护酶系统各酶的变化有明显差异。其生理作用也有差异。     

天山北坡甜菜内生菌分离鉴定及其动态变化

对新疆昌吉和石河子两地种植的甜菜内生菌进行了分离、鉴定和分析,结果表明甜菜内生菌多属于细菌,其中假单胞菌 (Pseudomonas sp. )和芽孢菌类(Bacillus sp.)的分离频率分别在33.2%～59.2%和12.7%～28.1%,是甜菜植株中的优势内生菌群.16S rDNA 和 ITS 序列同源性比较和系统发育分析表明内生菌具有丰富的多样性.根中内生菌的多样性高于茎、叶,昌吉地区种植的甜菜中分离出的内生菌种类较多.从感病品种及生长不良甜菜植株中分离出的内生菌种类比较丰富.通过回接分离及利用扫描电镜观察内生菌在植物体内分布发现,内生菌能够定殖于甜菜块根.     

Functional roles of PC‐PLC and Cdc20 in the cell cycle,proliferation, and apoptosis

Phosphatidylcholine‐specific phospholipase C (PC‐PLC) is the major enzyme in the Phosphatidylcholine (PC) cycle and is involved in many long‐term cellular responses such as activation, proliferation, and differentiation events. Cell division cycle 20 homolog (Cdc20) is an essential cell‐cycle regulator required for the completion of mitosis. Our previous studies identified the interaction between PC‐PLC and Cdc20. Through the interaction, Cdc20 could mediate the degradation of PC‐PLC by Cdc20‐mediated ubiquitin proteasome pathway (UPP). In this study, we found that PC‐PLC might not be involved in cancer metastasis. Inhibition of PC‐PLC by D609 could cause cell proliferation inhibition and apoptosis inhibition in CBRH‐7919 cells. Inhibition of PC‐PLC could also influence the cell cycle by arresting the cells in G1 phase, and Cdc20 might be involved in these processes. Taken together, in this report, we provided new evidence for the functional roles of PC‐PLC and Cdc20 in the cell cycle, proliferation, and apoptosis in CBRH‐7919 cells. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contrasting effects of clipping and nutrient addition on reproductive traits of Heteropappus altaicus at the individual and population levels

This study was conducted to examine the effects of clipping and nutrient addition on plant traits of a dominant perennial forb species, Heteropappus altaicus (Willd.) Novopokr. (Compositae), at both the individual and population levels in a temperate steppe in northern China. A nested experimental design was used with clipping as the main factor and nutrient, including nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and both, addition as the second factor. The main effect of clipping reduced plant height, aboveground biomass (AGB) per plant, and pollen production per floret by 15.8, 34.3, 28.0% (all p < 0.05), respectively, but enhanced reproductive allocation and population density by 8 and 28.2% (both p < 0.05), respectively, suggesting contrary effects of clipping on H. altaicus traits at the individual and population levels. N addition significantly stimulated plant height, AGB per plant, reproductive allocation, pollen diameter, and pistil length, but decreased population density. The main effects of P addition also stimulated the plant traits at individual level, but did not change population traits. The significant interactions of clipping and nitrogen addition were observed on AGB per plant, pollen production, and population density. The differential responses of H. altaicus at the individual and population levels to clipping and nutrient addition indicate that the future dynamics of H. altaicus in the temperate steppe are uncertain and need long-term research to demonstrate.     

Phylogeography of the Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus

The Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus is widely distributed in temperate to subtropical regions of the Palaearctic realm. Populations of Common Pheasant have been classified into five subspecies groups based on morphological variations in male plumage. Previous phylogeographical studies have focused on limited sets of subspecies groups in the eastern Palaearctic and knowledge on subspecies in the western Palaearctic region is still poor. In this study, we undertake the first comprehensive analysis of subspecies from all five defined subspecies groups across the entire Palaearctic region. Two mitochondrial (CYTB and CR) and two nuclear (HMG and SPI) loci were used to investigate genetic relationships of these subspecies groups and to infer their dispersal routes. Our results revealed that the subspecies elegans, with its range in northwestern Yunnan, China, was in the basal position among 17 studied subspecies, supporting a previous hypothesis that the Common Pheasant most probably originated in forests in southeastern China. Subspecies in the western Palaearctic region nested within the most subspecies‐rich torquatus group (‘Grey‐rumped Pheasants’), indicating that the torquatus group is not a clade but instead forms a gradation with other subspecies and subspecies groups. Our dating analysis suggested that the initial divergence among populations of Common Pheasant originated around 3.4 Mya with subsequent dispersal into the Western Palaearctic region during the Late Pliocene–Lower Pleistocene approximately 2.5–1.8 Mya. We propose two possible east‐to‐west colonization routes for the Common Pheasant and suggest conservation implications for some regional subspecies. Overall, this study demonstrates the lack of concordance between morphology‐based subspecies delimitation and their genetic relationships. This is likely to be a consequence of initial isolation due to historical vicariance followed by population admixture due to recent range expansion of Common Pheasant in the western Palaearctic region.