Ectomycorrhizal fungi promote growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shorea balangeran</Emphasis> in degraded peat swamp forests

Shorea balangeran is an important component of peat swamp forests in Southeast Asia and is an important source of timber. However, S. balangeran has been decreasing in number due to overexploitation. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of inoculation of native ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi on growth of S. balangeran in degraded peat swamp forest. Spores of Boletus sp., Scleroderma sp., and Strobilomyces sp. were collected from natural peat swamp forest in Indonesia. Seedlings of S. balangeran were inoculated with or without (control) spores and grown in sterilized peat soil under nursery conditions for 6 months. Then, the seedlings were transplanted into a degraded peat swamp forest and grown for 40 months. ECM colonization was 59–67% under nursery conditions and increased shoot height and weight. Shoot height, stem diameter, and survival rates were higher in inoculated seedlings than in control 40 months after transplantation. The results suggest that inoculation of native ECM fungi onto native tree species is useful for reforestation of degraded peat swamp forests.     

Suppression of in vivo tumorigenicity of rat hepatoma cell line KDH-8 cells by soluble TGF-beta receptor type II

We have previously reported that transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) produced by rat hepatoma cell line KDH-8 cells suppressed the interleukin-2 (IL-2) production of T cells and the tumoricidal activity of macrophages in KDH-8 tumor-bearing rats and that the inhibition of TGF-beta production by low-dose bleomycin restored these activities significantly. In this study, we established three transfectant clones with stable expression of soluble TGF-beta receptor type II (sTRII), namely KT1, KT2 and KT3, and one with an empty vector used as control vector (KV), and then investigated the effects of sTRII on the tumorigenicity of KDH-8 cells and immune responses in syngeneic Wistar King Aptekman/Hok (WKAH) rats. We found that sTRII expressed in sTRII transfectants could abolish growth inhibition of Mv1Lu cells by TGF-beta1 produced by the cells themselves, and that tumor growth of KT2 and KT3 clones in vivo was suppressed significantly compared with that of parent, KV and KT1 clones. Furthermore, we demonstrated that IL-2 production of splenocytes and IL12p40 mRNA expression in tumor tissues were restored in rats inoculated with KT2 and KT3 clones, whereas such restoration was not observed in rats inoculated with parent, KV and KT1 clones. Combined with a low expression of sTRII in KT1 tumor tissues, these results suggest that sTRII may to some extent be able to abolish the tumor-promoting activity of TGF-beta, and imply that sTRII might have a therapeutic effect on TGF-beta-producing tumors.     

A simple and efficient maleimide-based approach for peptide extension with a cysteine-containing peptide phage library

Although peptide-based molecules are known to have therapeutic potential, the generation of phage focused libraries to optimize peptides is effort-consuming. A chemical method is developed to extend a maleimide-conjugated peptide with a cysteine-containing random-peptide phage display library. As a proof of concept, a 15-mer epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-binding peptide was synthesized with a maleimide group at its C-terminus and then conjugated to the cysteine-containing library. After panning and screening, several extended peptides were discovered and tested to have a higher affinity to EGFR. This strategy can have broad utility to optimize pharmacophores of any modalities (peptides, unnatural peptides, drug conjugates) capable of bearing a maleimide group     

Localization of Tamm-Horsfall protein in chloride transporting epithelia: lack of correlation with the Na, K, Cl cotransporter

In order to test the hypothesis that Tamm-Horsfall protein (THP) and the Na, K, Cl cotransporter in chloride transporting epithelia are functionally related, the presence of THP in various rat epithelia was investigated by indirect immunocytochemical procedures. Positive staining was found in the apical cytoplasmic portion of the renal thick ascending limb, in apical large secretory granules of the pancreatic acinar cells, in the cytoplasm of the serous acinar cells of the salivary gland, and in the apical cytoplasm of mucosal cells in the jejunum. No staining was observed in the tracheal epithelial cells. These studies show that THP, or antigenically related substances, can be found in a variety of extrarenal organs. Only in the renal thick ascending limb the intracellular distribution of THP coincides partly with the distribution of the Na, K, Cl cotransporter. In all other epithelia investigated no correlation between THP staining and presence of the cotransporter was found. Thus, it seems very unlikely that Tamm-Horsfall protein and the Na, K, Cl cotransporter are functionally related.