Proteomic distinction of renal oncocytomas and chromophobe renal cell carcinomas

Background

Renal oncocytomas (ROs) are benign epithelial tumors of the kidney whereas chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCCs) are malignant renal tumors. The latter constitute 5–7% of renal neoplasias. ROs and chRCCs show pronounced molecular and histological similarities, which renders their differentiation demanding. We aimed for the differential proteome profiling of ROs and early-stage chRCCs in order to better understand distinguishing protein patterns.

Methods

We employed formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples (six RO cases, six chRCC cases) together with isotopic triplex dimethylation and a pooled reference standard to enable cohort-wide quantitative comparison. For lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1) and integrin alpha-V (ITGAV) we performed corroborative immunohistochemistry (IHC) in an extended cohort of 42 RO cases and 31 chRCC cases.

Results

At 1% false discovery rate, we identified?>?3900 proteins, of which?>?2400 proteins were consistently quantified in at least four RO and four chRCC cases. The proteomic expression profiling discriminated ROs and chRCCs and highlighted established features such as accumulation of mitochondrial proteins in ROs together with emphasizing the accumulation of endo-lysosomal proteins in chRCCs. In line with the proteomic data, IHC showed enrichment of LAMP1 in chRCC and of ITGAV in RO.

Conclusion

We present one of the first differential proteome profiling studies on ROs and chRCCs and highlight differential abundance of LAMP1 and ITGAV in these renal tumors.

     

Hierro intravenoso,recuperación funcional y delirium en pacientes con fractura de cadera. Estudio FEDEREF. Ensayo clínico unicéntrico aleatorizado,controlado con placebo,doble ciego. Número EudraCT: 2014-001923-53

Introduction

There are no previous studies evaluating the effect of intravenous iron therapy on functional and cognitive status of patients with hip fracture (HF).

MCAM knockdown impairs PPARγ expression and 3T3-L1 fibroblasts differentiation to adipocytes

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - We investigated for the first time the expression of melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM) and its involvement in the differentiation of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts to...     

Trichoderma asperelloides antagonism to nine Sclerotinia sclerotiorum strains and biological control of white mold disease in soybean plants

Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is an important plant pathogen with worldwide distribution that causes severe economic losses of various agricultural crops such as soybean. This fungus is normally controlled with synthetic chemical fungicides that pose risks to the environment, and can be harmful to human health, and they can also induce resistance in pests. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of Trichoderma asperelloides as a biocontrol agent towards white mold disease on soybeans crops. The antagonism of two strains of T. asperelloides (T25 and T42) isolated from soil samples was determined in-vitro by dual-culture confrontation testing on nine S. sclerotiorum strains obtained from sclerotia collected on diseased soybean plants. The mycelial growth and inhibition of carpogenic and ascospore germination by T. asperelloides extracts, as well as the efficacy of these on white mold control in soybeans were evaluated. Both strains of T. asperelloides exhibited high potential of antagonism. Methanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of the two T. asperelloides strains showed excellent growth inhibition (60–100%) on all of the pathogens tested. The ethyl acetate extracts of both T. asperelloides strains exhibited the highest efficacy against carpogenic germination, decreasing by 20–30% the number of ascospores per apothecium. Strains of T. asperelloides tested were more efficient in controlling white mold than two commercial products made from Trichoderma harzianum. The new strains of T. asperelloides have potential for successful biological control of white mold disease of soybean crops in the field.     

Inter and intraspecific variation in fish body size constrains microhabitat use in a subtropical drainage

Microhabitat characteristics are expected to influence the distribution of stream fish species at fine spatial scales (e.g., within riffle segments). Body size is probably the most important trait that constrains microhabitat occupation by fish, but the effect of intraspecific variation has been understudied. We investigated how physical microhabitat characteristics affect species and body size distribution of fish within a stream riffle segment in a coastal subtropical drainage of Brazil. Fishes were sampled by electrofishing 56 riffle plots along a 730-m long stream segment. Species composition was significantly related to four microhabitat characteristics: substrate size, flow velocity, distance to margin and depth. In addition, mean body size increased with increasing substrate size and depth of microhabitat sampling plots. However, when including species identity in linear mixed-effects models (LMM), we observed a different relationship between body size and microhabitat characteristics, but most of the variation was explained by species identity. Thus, we fitted LMMs separately for each species and found species-specific relations between intraspecific variation in body size and microhabitat characteristics. The low variation explained in the models suggests that other fine scale factors, such as biotic interactions and dispersal from adjacent habitat patches, should be incorporated in modeling microhabitat use by stream fish. Our findings suggest that body size is important by itself, but intraspecific variation in body size also constrains microhabitat use differently for each species, which may depend on other species-specific traits, such as morphology, behavior and life history.     

The crossroads of receptor-mediated signaling and endocytosis in plants

Plants deploy numerous plasma membrane receptors to sense and rapidly react to environmental changes. Correct localization and adequate protein levels of the cell-surface receptors are critical for signaling activation and modulation of plant development and defense against pathogens. After ligand binding, receptors are internalized for degradation and signaling attenuation. However, one emerging notion is that the ligand-induced endocytosis of receptor complexes is important for the signal duration, ampli tude, and specificity. Recently, mutants of major endocytosis players, including clathrin and dynamin have been shown to display defects in activation of a subset of signal transduction pathways, implying that signaling in plants might not be solely restricted to the plasma membrane. Here, we summarize the up-to-date knowledge of receptor complex endocytosis and its effect on the signaling outcome, in the context of plant development and immunity.     

Priming fingerprint induced by Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QV15, a common pattern in Arabidopsis thaliana and in field-grown blackberry

The aim of this study is focused on determining the Bacillus amyloliquefaciens QV15 priming fingerprint in two different plant species, Arabidopsis and blackberry as a crop of agronomic interest, associated with protection upon pathogen challenge. To achieve this goal, Arabidopsis thaliana plants were challenged with Pseudomonas syringae DC3000 under controlled conditions, and field-grown blackberries were challenged by a powdery Mildew outbreak, finding plant protection in plants treated with QV15, in both conditions. Changes in ROS scavenging enzymes’ activity, defense-related enzymes’ activity and gene expression were evaluated in both plant species, before and after pathogen challenge, revealing the ability of this strain to prime both. As a result of this analysis, the priming fingerprint induced by QV15 was defined by a decrease in ROS scavenging enzymes’ activity in pre- and post-challenged plants, an increase in glucanase and chitinase activity after pathogen challenge, significantly increasing the expression of PR1, indicating a salicylic acid (SA)-mediated pathway activation. These results suggest an excellent potential of B. amyloliquefaciens QV15 to protect different plant species against different pathogens in field conditions.     

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Freshwater Reservoirs: What Does the Atmosphere See?

Freshwater reservoirs are a known source of greenhouse gas (GHG) to the atmosphere, but their quantitative significance is still only loosely constrained. Although part of this uncertainty can be attributed to the difficulties in measuring highly variable fluxes, it is also the result of a lack of a clear accounting methodology, particularly about what constitutes new emissions and potential new sinks. In this paper, we review the main processes involved in the generation of GHG in reservoir systems and propose a simple approach to quantify the reservoir GHG footprint in terms of the net changes in GHG fluxes to the atmosphere induced by damming, that is, ‘what the atmosphere sees.’ The approach takes into account the pre-impoundment GHG balance of the landscape, the temporal evolution of reservoir GHG emission profile as well as the natural emissions that are displaced to or away from the reservoir site resulting from hydrological and other changes. It also clarifies the portion of the reservoir carbon burial that can potentially be considered an offset to GHG emissions.