Editorial: Revisiting the limits of plant life - plant adaptations to extreme terrestrial environments relating to astrobiology and space biology

Plants were essential to the early evolution of terrestrial life and colonization of the young Earth (Kapoor et al., 2023). Plant communities continue to colonize and transform our planet including the newest ecosystems formed post-glaciation, restoring those degraded by human activities and adapting to changing ecological conditions (Huston and Smith, 1987; Chapin et al., 1994; Yuan et al., 2020; Heim et al., 2021). Plants cannot move away from a harmful stimulus, and thus, have evolved remarkable strategies to survive and eventually thrive in harsh environments. Today, humanity is on the verge of exploring our solar system and beyond, eager to discover, answer fundamental questions, and search for extraterrestrial forms of life. Undoubtedly, plants are key organisms to successful deep space missions and independence from the provision of terrestrial resources, whether for long duration interplanetary travel or establishing permanent settlements. With this thought in mind, we have collated articles focusing on terrestrial plants from extreme environments and their adaptations to harsh conditions. This collective knowledge will advance the selection of desired plant characteristics relevant to human space mission

Stable interference of EWS–FLI1 in an Ewing sarcoma cell line impairs IGF-1/IGF-1R signalling and reveals TOPK as a new target

BACKGROUND: Ewing sarcoma is a paradigm of solid tumour -bearing chromosomal translocations resulting in fusion proteins that act as deregulated transcription factors. Ewing sarcoma translocations fuse the EWS gene with an ETS transcription factor, mainly FLI1. Most of the EWS–FLI1 target genes still remain unknown and many have been identified in heterologous model systems

Knockdown of CypA inhibits interleukin-8 (IL-8) and IL-8-mediated proliferation and tumor growth of glioblastoma cells through down-regulated NF-κB

Although cyclophilin A (CypA) has been reported to be over-expressed in cancer cells and solid tumors, its expression and role in glioblastomas have not been studied. Herein, we show that expression of CypA in human glioblastoma cell lines and tissues is significantly higher than in normal human astrocytes and normal counterparts of brain tissue. To determine the role of over-expressed CypA in glioblastoma, stable RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of CypA (CypA KD) was performed in gliobastoma cell line U87vIII (U87MG · ΔEGFR). CypA KD stable single clones decrease proliferation, infiltration, migration, and anchorage-independent growth in vitro and with slower growth in vivo as xenografts in immunodeficient nude mice. We have also observed that knockdown of CypA inhibits expression of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a tumorigenic and proangiogenic cytokine. Conversely, enforced expression of CypA in the CypA KD cell line, Ud-12, markedly enhanced IL-8 transcripts and restored Ud-12 proliferation, suggesting that CypA-mediated IL-8 production provides a growth advantage to glioblastoma cells. CypA knockdown-mediated inhibition of IL-8 is due to reduced activity of NF-κB, which is one of the major transcription factors regulating IL-8 expression. These results not only establish the relevance of CypA to glioblastoma growth in vitro and in vivo, but also suggest that small interfering RNA-based CypA knockdown could be an effective therapeutic approach against glioblastomas

Recommendations of the ISBT Working Party on Granulocyte Immunobiology for leucocyte antibody screening in the investigation and prevention of antibody-mediated transfusion-related acute lung injury

Background Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is currently one of the most common causes of transfusion-related major morbidity and death. Among the many TRALI mediators, leucocyte antibodies have been identified as important triggers of severe TRALI. Study Design and Methods These recommendations were compiled by experts of the ISBT Working Party on Granulocyte Immunobiology, based on the results obtained in eight international granulocyte immunology workshops, their personal experiences and on published study results. Results Leucocyte antibody screening has to include the detection of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I, class II and human neutrophil alloantigen antibodies using established and validated techniques. HLA class I antibody detection should be restricted to antibodies clinically relevant for TRALI. To avoid unnecessary workload, TRALI diagnosis should be assessed by consultation with the reporting clinician and thorough exclusion of transfusion-associated circulatory overload/cardiac insufficiency. In patients diagnosed with TRALI having donors with detectable leucocyte antibodies, evidence of leucocyte incompatibility should be provided by either cross-matching or typing of patient for cognate antigen. Conclusion Leucocyte antibody screening for the immunological clarification of TRALI cases as well as for identification of potentially alloimmunized blood donors is feasible and can be performed in a reasonable and quality assured manner. This practice can contribute to the prevention of antibody-mediated TRALI