Pollination of Sarcandra glabra (Chloranthaceae) in Natural Populations in Japan

Sarcandra glabra was investigated in its natural habitat in Japan. Flowers were protogynous and stigma receptivity dropped off significantly following anther dehiscence. Female-stage and bisexual-stage flowers were visited by beetles, bees, hemiptera, flies, and rarely ants that foraged for pollen and/or small droplets of liquid that occasionally were secreted by the carpels and inflorescence axes. At least the beetles, bees, and hemiptera commonly touched the stigmas and likely effected pollination. Flowers were self-compatible, and automatic selfing sometimes occurred when pollen fell from apical flowers onto the stigmas of lower flowers. Received 8 June 2001/ Accepted in revised form 18 September 2001     

Down-regulation of procaspase-8 expression by focal adhesion kinase protects HL-60 cells from TRAIL-induced apoptosis

We have demonstrated that focal adhesion kinase (FAK)-overexpressed (HL-60/FAK) cells have marked resistance against various apoptotic stimuli such as hydrogen peroxide, etoposide, and ionizing radiation compared with the vector-transfected (HL-60/Vect) cells. HL-60/FAK cells are highly resistant to TRAIL-induced apoptosis, while original HL-60 or HL-60/Vect cells were sensitive. TRAIL at 500 ng/ml induced significant DNA fragmentation, activation of caspase-8 and 3, the processing of a proapoptotic BID, and mitochondrial release of cytochrome c in HL-60/Vect cells, whereas no such events were observed in the HL-60/FAK cells. In particular, the expression of procaspase-8 gene and subsequent cleavage of caspase-8 were markedly reduced in HL-60/FAK cells, while expression of TRAIL-receptor 2 and 3, TRADD, and FADD was equivalent in both types of cells. In HL-60/FAK cells, the phosphoinositide 3 (PI3)-kinase/Akt survival pathway was constitutively activated, accompanied by significant induction of inhibitor-of-apoptosis proteins, XIAP, RIP, and Bcl-XL. The introduction of FAK siRNA in HL-60/FAK cells sensitized them against TRAIL-induced apoptosis, confirming that overexpressed FAK downregulates procaspase-8 expression, which subsequently inhibits downstream apoptosis pathway in the HL-60/FAK cells.