Global diversity of Ascidiacea

The class Ascidiacea presents fundamental opportunities for research in the fields of development, evolution, ecology, natural products and more. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge regarding the global biodiversity of the class Ascidiacea, focusing in their taxonomy, main regions of biodiversity, and distribution patterns. Based on analysis of the literature and the species registered in the online World Register of Marine Species, we assembled a list of 2815 described species. The highest number of species and families is found in the order Aplousobranchia. Didemnidae and Styelidae families have the highest number of species with more than 500 within each group. Sixty percent of described species are colonial. Species richness is highest in tropical regions, where colonial species predominate. In higher latitudes solitary species gradually contribute more to the total species richness. We emphasize the strong association between species richness and sampling efforts, and discuss the risks of invasive species. Our inventory is certainly incomplete as the ascidian fauna in many areas around the world is relatively poorly known, and many new species continue to be discovered and described each year.     

Ascidian recruitment patterns on an artificial reef in Eilat (Red Sea)

Although ascidians are conspicuous members of the fouling community not much is known regarding their recruitment patterns in coral reefs. A 1-year study was carried out along the Red Sea coast of Israel to examine the effects of season and spatial distribution on ascidian recruitment to artificial marine structures. In general, autumn and spring were characterized by higher coverage with a significantly higher percentage of cover of Didemnum granulatum in autumn and higher numbers of Herdmania momus in spring. These species contributed the most to similarity between treatments consequently setting the pattern for each group (colonial and solitary). Halocynthia spinosa had significantly higher numbers during winter and Phallusia nigra was absent in spring and winter. H. momus showed a preference for horizontal surfaces. P. nigra and Ascidia cannelata showed a preference for floating units. It is concluded that the ascidian recruitment patterns are species-specific and vary between seasons, orientation and position on the substrata and in the water column.     

Synthesis and anti-HIV activity of glucose-containing prodrugs derived from saquinavir, indinavir and nelfinavir.

With the aim at improving the transport of the current HIV protease inhibitors across the intestinal and blood brain barriers and their penetration into the central nervous system, the synthesis of various acyl and carbamatoyl glucose-containing prodrugs derived from saquinavir, indinavir and nelfinavir, their in vitro stability with respect to hydrolysis, and their anti-HIV activity have been investigated. D-Glucose, which is actively transported across these barriers, was connected through its 3-hydroxyl to these antiproteases via a linker. The liberation of the active free drug during the incubation time of the prodrugs with the cells was found to be crucial for HIV inhibition. The labile ester linking of the glucose-containing moiety to the peptidomimetic hydroxyl of saquinavir or to the indinavir C-8 hydroxyl, which is not part of the transition state isostere, is not an obstacle for anti-HIV activity. This is not the case for its stable carbamate linking to the peptidomimetic hydroxyl of saquinavir, indinavir and nelfinavir. The chemical stability with respect to hydrolysis of some of the saquinavir and indinavir prodrugs reported here, the liberation rate of the active free drug and the HIV inhibitory potency are acceptable for an in vivo use of these prodrugs. These glucose-linked ester and carbamate prodrugs display a promising therapeutic potential provided that their bioavailability, penetration into the HIV sanctuaries, and/or the liberation of the active free drug from the carbamate prodrugs are improved. Furthermore, no cytotoxicity was detected for the prodrugs for concentrations as high as 10 or even 100 microM, thus indicating an encouraging therapeutic index.     

Adjuvant Docetaxel and Cyclophosphamide (DC) with Prophylactic Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF) on Days 8 &12 in Breast Cancer Patients: A Retrospective Analysis

Purpose

Four cycles of docetaxel/cyclophosphamide (DC) resulted in superior survival than doxorubicin/cyclophosphamide in the treatment of early breast cancer. The original study reported a 5% incidence of febrile neutropenia (FN) recommending prophylactic antibiotics with no granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) support. The worldwide adoption of this protocol yielded several reports on substantially higher rates of FN events. We explored the use of growth factor (GF) support on days 8 and 12 of the cycle with the original DC protocol.

Methods

Our study included all consecutive patients with stages I–II breast cancer who were treated with the DC protocol at the Institute of Oncology, Davidoff Center (Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel) from April, 2007 to March, 2012. Patient, tumor characteristics, and toxicity were reported. Results: In total, 123 patients received the DC regimen. Median age was 60 years, (range, 25–81 years). Thirty-three patients (26.8%) were aged 65 years and older. Most of the women (87%) adhered to the planned G-CSF protocol (days 8 &12). 96% of the patients completed the 4 planned cycles of chemotherapy. Six patients (5%) had dose reductions, 6 (5%) had treatment delays due to non-medical reasons. Thirteen patients (10.6%) experienced at least one event of FN (3 patients had 2 events), all requiring hospitalization. Eight patients (6.5%) required additional support with G-CSF after the first chemotherapy cycle, 7 because of FN and one due to neutropenia and diarrhea.

In Conclusion

Primary prophylactic G-CSF support on days 8 and 12 of the cycle provides a tolerable option to deliver the DC protocol. Our results are in line with other retrospective protocols using longer schedules of GF support.     

Differential Co-Expression between α-Synuclein and IFN-γ Signaling Genes across Development and in Parkinson’s Disease

Expression patterns of the alpha-synuclein gene (SNCA) were studied across anatomy, development, and disease to better characterize its role in the brain. In this postmortem study, negative spatial co-expression between SNCA and 73 interferon-γ (IFN-γ) signaling genes was observed across many brain regions. Recent animal studies have demonstrated that IFN-γ induces loss of dopamine neurons and nigrostriatal degeneration. This opposing pattern between SNCA and IFN-γ signaling genes increases with age (rho = −0.78). In contrast, a meta-analysis of four microarray experiments representing 126 substantia nigra samples reveals a switch to positive co-expression in Parkinson’s disease (p<0.005). Use of genome-wide testing demonstrates this relationship is specific to SNCA (p<0.002). This change in co-expression suggests an immunomodulatory role of SNCA that may provide insight into neurodegeneration. Genes showing similar co-expression patterns have been previously linked to Alzheimer’s (ANK1) and Parkinson’s disease (UBE2E2, PCMT1, HPRT1 and RIT2).