Hepatoblast-like cells populate the adult p53 knockout mouse liver: evidence for a hyperproliferative maturation-arrested stem cell compartment.

Although p53 regulates the cell cycle and apoptosis, gross embryonic development is normal in the p53 knockout (-/-) mouse. In this study, we comprehensively assessed liver development in p53 -/- mice (from embryonic day 15 to adult) for evidence of a cell cycle-induced perturbation in differentiation. Liver cell proliferation in the embryo and newborn is similar in p53 -/- and +/+ mice; in contrast, -/- adult hepatocytes divide at twice the rate of wild types. Developmental expression patterns of liver-specific markers that are up-regulated (e.g., phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and aldolase B) and down-regulated (e.g., alpha-fetoprotein) are similar. Therefore, embryonic and perinatal liver development is normal in the absence of p53. However, the p53 -/- adult liver displays small blast-like cells, the majority being hepatic and some lymphoid. These cells appear in periportal regions and can infiltrate the parenchyma. The hepatic blast-like cells express both mature and immature liver markers, suggesting that differentiation of the liver stem cell compartment is blocked.     

Spatial distribution, calling and interspecific acoustic interactions in two species of the Australian tettigoniid genus Tympanophora (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae)

Two species of the Australian genus Tympanophora, Tympanophora new species 1 ( T.n.sp.l) and T. similis share the same habitat and are sympatric with several other bushcricket species. Males of T. similis call in aggregations, whilst males of T.n.sp.l frequently sing closer to heterospecific than to conspecific neighbours. Hence males of T.n.sp.l may have to cope with more severe problems of interspecific acoustic interference than males of T. similis. Laboratory experiments support field data which indicate that the number of calling T.n.sp.l males decreases when the number of singing males of T. similis increases. Acoustic interactions between the two species and sympatric bushcricket species occur in the laboratory. Heterospecific song affects chirp interval and/or chirp pattern in the two Tympanophora species. Males of T.n.sp.l respond to the song of the sibling species T. similis differently than to the calls of the more distantly related tettigoniids tested. However, the response of T. similis males appears to depend on the temporal structure of the heterospecific songs. The results do not suggest that the frequency content of the heterospecific calls is important for the song interference which has been observed in Tympanophora.     

Oncogenic Pathway Combinations Predict Clinical Prognosis in Gastric Cancer

Many solid cancers are known to exhibit a high degree of heterogeneity in their deregulation of different oncogenic pathways. We sought to identify major oncogenic pathways in gastric cancer (GC) with significant relationships to patient survival. Using gene expression signatures, we devised an in silico strategy to map patterns of oncogenic pathway activation in 301 primary gastric cancers, the second highest cause of global cancer mortality. We identified three oncogenic pathways (proliferation/stem cell, NF-κB, and Wnt/β-catenin) deregulated in the majority (>70%) of gastric cancers. We functionally validated these pathway predictions in a panel of gastric cancer cell lines. Patient stratification by oncogenic pathway combinations showed reproducible and significant survival differences in multiple cohorts, suggesting that pathway interactions may play an important role in influencing disease behavior. Individual GCs can be successfully taxonomized by oncogenic pathway activity into biologically and clinically relevant subgroups. Predicting pathway activity by expression signatures thus permits the study of multiple cancer-related pathways interacting simultaneously in primary cancers, at a scale not currently achievable by other platforms.     

Upregulation of plasma C9 protein in gastric cancer patients

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer‐related deaths worldwide. Current biomarkers used in the clinic do not have sufficient sensitivity for gastric cancer detection. To discover new and better biomarkers, protein profiling on plasma samples from 25 normal, 15 early‐stage and 21 late‐stage cancer was performed using an iTRAQ‐LC‐MS/MS approach. The level of C9 protein was found to be significantly higher in gastric cancer compared with normal subjects. Immunoblotting data revealed a congruent trend with iTRAQ results. The discriminatory power of C9 between normal and cancer states was not due to inter‐patient variations and was independent from gastritis and Helicobacter pylori status of the patients. C9 overexpression could also be detected in a panel of gastric cancer cell lines and their conditioned media compared with normal cells, implying that higher C9 levels in plasma of cancer patients could be attributed to the presence of gastric tumor. A subsequent blind test study on a total of 119 plasma samples showed that the sensitivity of C9 could be as high as 90% at a specificity of 74%. Hence, C9 is a potentially useful biomarker for gastric cancer detection.     

Taxomomic variation in amino acid compositions of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylases from grasses

Ribulose-1,5-biphosphate (RuBP) carboxylases from 38 grass species (26 genera), isolated via affinity chromatography, compare well in amino acid compositions with the enzyme extracted and purified from the same and other species (46 species, 38 genera) by an alternative procedure. Taxonomic differences in the amino acid composition of the enzyme exist between the major grass groups. Those of pooids are distinguishable from those of chloridoids, eu-panicoids and andropogonoids, while those of a bamboo, Oryza, Microlaena and Stipeae bear closer resemblance to those of pooids. The amino acid composition of RuBP carboxylases does not resemble that of total leaf proteins of the grasses. Variations detected in the amino acid compositions of RuBP, carboxylases are independent of observed differences in kinetics between C₃ and C₄ versions of the enzyme.     

The effect of cytosine arabinoside and bromodeoxyuridine on the appearance of tyrosine aminotransferase in cultured foetal hepatocytes of the rat.

1. The acquisition of dexamethasone-inducibility of tyrosine aminotransferase activity by hepatocytes cultured from 15-day-foetal rat liver is blocked in the presence of cytosine arabinoside. 2. Similar results are obtained in the presence of bormodeoxyuridine. 3. No effects on steroid-inducibility of tyrosine aminotransferase are obtained with either of the above compounds in hepatocytes cultured from 19-day-foetal liver. 4. the inhibitory effects of the agents are substantially reversed after their removal from the culture medium. 5. The effects of bromodeoxyuridine suggest that cell differentiation, with respect to tyrosine aminotransferase-inducibility, occurs in cultures of 15-day-doetal hepatocytes. 6. The effects of cytosine arabinoside suggest that such an event is dependent on mitosis.     

TNF/LTα double knockout mice display abnormal inflammatory and regenerative responses to acute and chronic liver injury

Following acute liver injury, hepatocytes divide to facilitate regeneration. However, during chronic injury, hepatocyte proliferation is typically blocked and repair is mediated through liver progenitor (oval) cells. Signalling of the p55 tumour necrosis factor (TNF) receptor is central to these processes. Two ligands for p55 are known: TNF and lymphotoxin-alpha (LT). However, one study suggests that another exists that mediates liver injury following viral challenge. We have therefore investigated whether ligands other than TNF and LT are required for liver regeneration following either acute or chronic injury. Wild-type and double TNF/LT knockout (TNF^–/–LT^–/–) mice were subjected to either partial hepatectomy (PHx) or a choline-deficient ethionine-supplemented (CDE) diet. Proliferating hepatocytes, oval cells and inflammatory cells were identified and quantified in liver sections by immunohistochemistry. Liver inflammatory cells were characterised by cell surface antigen expression. Liver damage and mortality were monitored. Both hepatocyte and oval cell proliferation was reduced in TNF^–/–LT^–/– mice. Lymphocyte clusters were evident in all TNF^–/–LT^–/– livers and were heterogeneous, comprising B and T lymphocytes. PHx evoked liver inflammation in TNF^–/–LT^–/– but not wild-type mice, whereas no difference was apparent between genotypes in CDE experiments. Thus, TNF/LT signalling mediates liver regeneration involving both hepatocytes and progenitor cells. The hyper-inflammatory response following PHx in TNF^–/–LT^–/– animals, which is absent following CDE-induced injury, demonstrates that the two forms of liver injury evoke discrete inflammatory responses and provides a model in which such differences can be examined further.