Basement membrane-rich Organoids with functional human blood vessels are permissive niches for human breast cancer metastasis

Metastasic breast cancer is the leading cause of death by malignancy in women worldwide. Tumor metastasis is a multistep process encompassing local invasion of cancer cells at primary tumor site, intravasation into the blood vessel, survival in systemic circulation, and extravasation across the endothelium to metastasize at a secondary site. However, only a small percentage of circulating cancer cells initiate metastatic colonies. This fact, together with the inaccessibility and structural complexity of target tissues has hampered the study of the later steps in cancer metastasis. In addition, most data are derived from in vivo models where critical steps such as intravasation/extravasation of human cancer cells are mediated by murine endothelial cells. Here, we developed a new mouse model to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying late steps of the metastatic cascade. We have shown that a network of functional human blood vessels can be formed by co-implantation of human endothelial cells and mesenchymal cells, embedded within a reconstituted basement membrane-like matrix and inoculated subcutaneously into immunodeficient mice. The ability of circulating cancer cells to colonize these human vascularized organoids was next assessed in an orthotopic model of human breast cancer by bioluminescent imaging, molecular techniques and immunohistological analysis. We demonstrate that disseminated human breast cancer cells efficiently colonize organoids containing a functional microvessel network composed of human endothelial cells, connected to the mouse circulatory system. Human breast cancer cells could be clearly detected at different stages of the metastatic process: initial arrest in the human microvasculature, extravasation, and growth into avascular micrometastases. This new mouse model may help us to map the extravasation process with unprecedented detail, opening the way for the identification of relevant targets for therapeutic intervention

Consistency of cruise data of the CARINA database in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean

13 pages, 9 figures, 1 table.-- M. Hoppema ... et al.Initially a North Atlantic project, the CARINA carbon synthesis was extended to include the Southern Ocean. Carbon and relevant hydrographic and geochemical ancillary data from cruises all across the Arctic Mediterranean Seas, Atlantic and Southern Ocean were released to the public and merged into a new database as part of the CARINA synthesis effort. Of a total of 188 cruises, 37 cruises are part of the Southern Ocean, including 11 from the Atlantic sector. The variables from all Southern Ocean cruises, including dissolved inorganic carbon (TCO2), total alkalinity, oxygen, nitrate, phosphate and silicate, were examined for cruise-to-cruise consistency in one collective effort. Seawater pH and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are also part of the database, but the pH quality control (QC) is described in another Earth System Science Data publication, while the complexity of the Southern Ocean physics and biogeochemistry prevented a proper QC analysis of the CFCs. The area-specific procedures of quality control, including crossover analysis between stations and inversion analysis of all crossover data (i.e. secondary QC), are briefly described here for the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean. Data from an existing, quality controlled database (GLODAP) were used as a reference for our computations – however, the reference data were included into the analysis without applying the recommended GLODAP adjustments so the corrections could be independently verified. The outcome of this effort is an internally consistent, high-quality carbon data set for all cruises, including the reference cruises. The suggested corrections by the inversion analysis were allowed to vary within a fixed envelope, thus accounting for natural variability. The percentage of cruises adjusted ranged from 31% (for nitrate) to 54% (for phosphate) depending on the variable.This work has been done and funded as part of the EU project CARBOOCEAN (no. 511176; GOCE). Additional support from the International Ocean Carbon Coordination Project IOCCP (Maria Hood) and the hospitality of the Hanse Institute for Advanced Study (HWK Delmenhorst, Germany) was gratefully accepted. R. M. Key was supported by NOAA grants NA08OAR4320752 and NA08OAR4310820; X. Lin by NOAA grant NA08OAR4310820; A. Velo, F. F. Perez and A. F. R´ıos by grants: PGIDIT05OXIC40203PM Xunta de Galicia and CTM200627116E/MAR MEC; M. A´ lvarez by grant RYC-2006-001836; R. G. J. Bellerby by IPY project Bipolar Atlantic Thermohaline Circulation (BIAC, IPY Cluster #23) and Southern Ocean Biogeochemistry: Education and research (project no. 180328) from the Norwegian Research Council.Peer reviewe

Application of multi-regression machine learning algorithms to solve ocean water mass mixing in the Atlantic Ocean

The distribution of any non-conservative variable in the deep open ocean results from the circulation and mixing of water masses (WMs) of contrasting origin and from the initial preformed composition, modified during ongoing simultaneous biological and/or geochemical processes. Estimating the contribution of the WMs composing a sample is useful to trace the distribution of each water mass and to quantitatively separate the physical (mixing) and biogeochemical components of the variability of any, non- conservative variable (e.g., dissolved organic carbon, prokaryote biomass) in the ocean. Other than potential temperature and salinity, additional semi-conservative and non-conservative variables have been used to solve the mixing of more than three water masses using Optimum Multi-Parameter (OMP) approaches. Successful application of an OMP analysis requires knowledge of the characteristics of the water masses in their source regions as well as their circulation and mixing patterns. Here, we propose the application of multi-regression machine learning models to solve ocean water mass mixing. The models tested were trained using the solutions from OMP analyses previously applied to samples from cruises in the Atlantic Ocean. Extremely Randomized Trees algorithm yielded the highest score (R2 = 0.9931; mse = 0.000227). Our model allows solving the mixing of water masses in the Atlantic Ocean using potential temperature, salinity, latitude, longitude and depth. Therefore, basic hydrographic data collected during typical research cruises or autonomous systems can be used as input variables and provide results in real time. The model can be fed with new solutions from compatible OMP analyses as well as with new water masses not previously considered in it. Our tool will provide knowledge on water mass composition and distribution to a broader community of marine scientists not specialized in OMP analysis and/or in the oceanography of the studied area. This will allow a quantitative analysis of the effect of water mass mixing on the variables or processes under study

Northern Shrimp (Pandalus borealis, Krøyer) from EU-Spain Bottom Trawl Survey 2018 in NAFO Div. 3LNO

The Spanish Institute of Oceanography carried out in 2018 two bottom trawl surveys in the NAFO Regulatory Area in Division 3NO and 3L during the months of June and August respectively. The results on Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis) are presented and compared with those from previous surveys from the same series. As recent years in 2018the shrimp catch (0.528 kg.) and estimated biomass (2.413 t.) in Divisions 3NO remain between the lowest of the series, confirming the decrease of shrimp importance from 2004. The Northern shrimp catches in 3L Division have declined from 2009, the shrimp catch (1352 kg.) and biomass estimated in 2018 (7807 t.) remain between the lowest values in the historical series

Deep ocean prokaryotes and fluorescent dissolved organic matter reflect the history of the water masses across the Atlantic Ocean

Organic matter is known to influence community composition and metabolism of marine prokaryotes. However, few studies have addressed this linkage in the deep ocean. We studied the relationship between fluorescent dissolved organic matter and prokaryotic community composition in meso- and bathypelagic water masses along a surface productivity gradient crossing the subtropical and tropical Atlantic Ocean. Four fluorescence components were identified, three humic-like and one protein-like. The distributions of the humic-like components were significantly explained by water mass mixing, apparent oxygen utilisation (AOU) and epipelagic productivity proxies in varying degrees, while the protein-like component was explained only by water mass mixing and epipelagic productivity. The diversity and taxonomic composition of the prokaryotic community differed between water masses: the Nitrosopumilales order dominated in water masses with high AOU and humic-like fluorescence (notably, the SubPolar Mode Water), and tended to co-occur with Marine Group II archaea, the SAR324 clade and Thiomicrospirales, while bathypelagic water masses displayed greater abundances of members of Marinimicrobia, SAR202 and SAR324. Water mass mixing regression models suggested that the distribution of some taxa (e.g., Marinimicrobia, SAR202) was dominated by mixing and selection within the water masses during ageing, while others (chiefly, Alteromonadales) were mostly influenced by local processes. Our results suggest a link between the composition of the prokaryotic community, oxygen utilisation and the signal of fluorescent dissolved organic matter, and has implications for our understanding of the processes that shape carbon cycling and prokaryotic communities in the deep ocean.3,26

Dissolved organic nitrogen production and export by meridional overturning in the eastern subpolar North Atlantic

Research articleDissolved organic matter (DOM) is produced in the surface and exported towards the deep ocean, adding ∼ 2 PgC/year to the global carbon export. Due to its central role in the Meridional Overturning Circulation, the eastern subpolar North Atlantic (eSPNA) contributes largely to this export. Here we quantify the transport and budget of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the eSPNA, in a box delimited by the OVIDE 2002 section and the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sills. The Meridional Overturning Circulation exports >15.9 TgN/year of DON downward and, contrary to the extended view that these are materials of subtropical origin, up to 33% of the vertical flux derives from a net local DON production of 7.1 ± 2.6 TgN/year. The low C:N molar ratio of DOM production (7.4 ± 4.1) and the relatively short transit times in the eSPNA (3 ± 1 year) suggest that local biogeochemical transformations result in the injection of fresh bioavailable DOM to the deep ocean.Versión del editor3,79

Is the Mediterranean Sean Outflow conditioning cold water corals in the North Atlantic?

posterWithin the context of the UE project ATLAS, in September - October 2016 on board RV Sarmiento de Gamboa, the MEDWAVES (MEDiterranean out flow WAter and Vulnerable EcosystemS) targeted areas under the potential influence of the MOW (Mediterranean Water Outflow) within the Mediterranean and Atlantic realms. These include seamounts where cold-water corals (CWC) have been reported, they may act as essential “stepping stones” connecting fauna of seamounts in the Mediterranean with those of seamounts in the continental shelf of Portugal, the Azores and the Mid‐ Atlantic Ridge. During MEDWAVES sampling was conducted through several seamounts: Formigas (Azores), Ormonde & Gazul (North Atlantic) and Seco de los Olivos (Alboran Sea). High quality CO2 measurements were conducted in the 500 meters above the bottom in order to characterize the water masses and detect the MOW spreading. MOW is warm and salty, but also high in alkalinity and pH. Is MOW conditioning CWC