Differential overexpression of SERPINA3 in human prion diseases

Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders with sporadic, genetic or acquired etiologies. The molecular alterations leading to the onset and the spreading of these diseases are still unknown. In a previous work we identified a five-gene signature able to distinguish intracranially BSE-infected macaques from healthy ones, with SERPINA3 showing the most prominent dysregulation. We analyzed 128 suitable frontal cortex samples, from prion-affected patients (variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) n = 20, iatrogenic CJD (iCJD) n = 11, sporadic CJD (sCJD) n = 23, familial CJD (gCJD) n = 17, fatal familial insomnia (FFI) n = 9, Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome (GSS)) n = 4), patients with Alzheimer disease (AD, n = 14) and age-matched controls (n = 30). Real Time-quantitative PCR was performed for SERPINA3 transcript, and ACTB, RPL19, GAPDH and B2M were used as reference genes. We report SERPINA3 to be strongly up-regulated in the brain of all human prion diseases, with only a mild up-regulation in AD. We show that this striking up-regulation, both at the mRNA and at the protein level, is present in all types of human prion diseases analyzed, although to a different extent for each specific disorder. Our data suggest that SERPINA3 may be involved in the pathogenesis and the progression of prion diseases, representing a valid tool for distinguishing different forms of these disorders in humans

Genetic Variation Patterns of “Algarrobos” from the “Great American Chaco” (Prosopis alba, P. nigra, P. hassleri, P. fiebrigii, P. ruscifolia, P. chilensis, and P. flexuosa)

Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Vega, Carmen Delcira . Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil:Vega, Carmen Delcira. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); ArgentinaFil: Aguilar, Dana. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal ( IMBIV). Laboratorio Ecología Evolutiva – Biología Floral; ArgentinaFil: Bessega, Cecilia. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA). Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Laboratorio de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Teich, Ingrid. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Teich, Ingrid. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); ArgentinaFil: Acosta, María Cristina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal ( IMBIV). Laboratorio Ecología Evolutiva – Biología Floral; ArgentinaFil: Cosacov, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV). Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva - Biología Floral; ArgentinaFil: Ewens, Mauricio. Universidad Católica de Santiago del Estero. Estación Experimental Fernández; ArgentinaFil: Vilardi, Juan. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires (IEGEBA). Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución. Laboratorio de Genética; ArgentinaFil: Sérsic, Alicia N. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal ( IMBIV). Laboratorio Ecología Evolutiva – Biología Floral; ArgentinaFil: Verga, Anibal. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja. Agencia De Extensión Rural La Rioja; Argentin

Subtropical Dry Forests: The Main Forest Ecoregion of Argentina

The Chaco is a sparsely populated, wooded grassland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, where four physiognomic regions can be identified: Humid Chaco, Semi-arid Chaco, Arid Chaco, and Chaco Serrano. In this introduction to the section of subtropical dry forests, the most relevant tree genera and species are presented. A severe degradation and deforestation process characterize this region in the current century. The main productive systems are described, together with their effects on environmental, economic, and social aspects: extraction of firewood, production of charcoal, and extensive livestock. The recent advance of the agricultural frontier threatens the native communities living within and from the forest in an ancient equilibrium: changes in land use, technological advances of agriculture, increase of logging in the natural forest are occurring. A new tree-centered production paradigm is needed. “Quebracho” species represent a historical paradigm of overexploitation but a promise of possible sustainable management. Key species for the reconversion of the productive systems in the Chaco (not treated in the following chapters) are presented, taking into account their potential for breeding and relevance for restoration, within the environmental, economic, and social context of the region.Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos VegetalesFil: Verga, Anibal. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja. Agencia De Extensión Rural La Rioja; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Fisiología y Recursos Genéticos Vegetales; ArgentinaFil: Lopez Lauenstein, Diego. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Estudios Agropecuarios (UDEA); Argentin