Stability of Ampelometric Characteristics of Vitis vinifera L. cv. 'Syrah' and 'Sauvignon blanc' Leaves: Impact of Within-vineyard Variability and Pruning Method/Bud Load

Historically, grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) leaf characterisation has been a driving force in the identification of cultivars. In this study, ampelometric (foliometric) analysis was done on leaf samples collected from hand-pruned, mechanically pruned and minimally pruned ‘Sauvignon blanc’ and ‘Syrah’ vines to estimate the impact of within-vineyard variability and a change in bud load on the stability of leaf properties. The results showed that within-vineyard variability of ampelometric characteristics was high within a cultivar, irrespective of bud load. In terms of the O.I.V. coding system, zero to four class differences were observed between minimum and maximum values of each characteristic. The value of variability of each characteristic was different between the three levels of bud load and the two cultivars. With respect to bud load, the number of shoots per vine had a significant effect on the characteristics of the leaf laminae. Single leaf area and lengths of veins changed significantly for both cultivars, irrespective of treatment, while angle between veins proved to be a stable characteristic. A large number of biometric data can be recorded on a single leaf; the data measured on several leaves, however, are not necessarily unique for a specific cultivar. The leaf characteristics analysed in this study can be divided into two groups according to the response to a change in bud load, i.e. stable (angles between the veins, depths of sinuses) and variable (length of the veins, length of the petiole, single leaf area). The variable characteristics are not recommended to be used in cultivar identification, unless the pruning method/bud load is known

Synthesis and recognition properties of α-d-glucose-based fluorescent crown ethers incorporating an acridine unit

Two new chiral glucopyranoside-based crown ethers incorporating acridine fluorescent signalling units, 15-membered ligand 1 and 21-membered ligand 2 were synthesized. Their complexation properties toward alkali and alkali earth metal ions, and their enantioselectivity towards chiral ammonium salts were studied by absorption and fluorescence spectroscopic experiments. Macrocycle 1 formed 1:1 complexes with all the metal ions selected and the stability constants were low (lg K < 2.3). The cavity-size of 2 allowed only the complexaton of organic ammonium ions. Crown 2 showed chiral discrimination in case of all the four ammonium salts used as model guest compounds; the highest enantioselectivity (K(R)/K(S) ~3) was observed for the enantiomers of phenylethyl ammonium perchlorate. Ligand 2 forms much more stable complexes with metal ions; the highest stability constant was obtained for the Ca2+ complex (lg K = 6.15). The coordination of metal ions by ligand 2 was accompanied by marked fluorescence enhancement, whereas the binding of ammonium ions by the same species resulted in significant fluorescence quenching. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

Graled (Grapevine leaf digitalization) Software for the Detection and Graphic Reconstruction of Ampelometric Differences Between Vitis Leaves

Raster graphic ampelometric software was not exclusively developed for the estimation of leaf area, but also for the characterization of grapevine (Viti vinifera L.) leaves. The software was written in C-Hprogramming language, using the C-1-1- Builder 2007 for Windows 95-XP and Linux operation systems. It handles desktop-scanned images. On the image analysed with the GRA.LE.D., the user has to determine 11 points. These points are then connected and the distances between them calculated. The GRA.LE.D. software supports standard ampelometric measurements such as leaf area, angles between the veins and lengths of the veins. These measurements are recorded by the software and exported into plain ASCII text files for single or multiple samples. Twenty-two biometric data points of each leaf are identified by the GRA.LE.D. It presents the opportunity to statistically analyse experimental data, allows comparison of cultivars and enables graphic reconstruction of leaves using the Microsoft Excel Chart Wizard. The GRA. LE.D. was thoroughly calibrated and compared to other widely used instruments and methods such as photo-gravimetry, LiCor L0100, WinDIAS2.0 and ImageTool. By comparison, the GRA.LE.D. presented the most accurate measurements of leaf area, but the LiCor L0100 and the WinDIAS2.0 were faster, while the photo-gravimetric method proved to be the most time-consuming. The WinDIAS2.0 instrument was the least reliable. The GRA.LE.D. is uncomplicated, user-friendly, accurate, consistent, reliable and has wide practical application

Landmark-based morphometry reveals phyllometric diversity along the shoot axis of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)

Leaf morphology of the grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. ‘Kövidinka’ was evaluated based on 32 landmarks. The aim of this study was to reveal leaf morphological diversity along the shoot axis. For this purpose 10 shoots were collected with 26 to 35 leaves. Altogether 304 leaf samples were digitised and analysed with the GRA.LE.D 2.04. raster graphic software. Leaf damage was estimated based on the missing landmarks on the lamina. Our results showed that the leaves on the 11th and 13th nodes are the most intact, without missing landmarks. Lowest variability (cv = 0,126) of the investigated 54 morphological characteristics were observed among the leaves on the 11th nodes of the shoots, in accordance with the literature. Based on the results length of the veins, angles between the veins and further features such as size of the serrations show high diversity along the shoot axis. These results underline the need of careful sampling during the ampelometric investigations

Mikroszatellita-instabilitás előfordulása, intratumoralis heterogenitása, prognosztikus és prediktív potenciálja primer colorectalis carcinomák és párosított májáttéteik sebészi kezelését követően

Absztrakt Bevezetés: A vastagbéldaganatokra jellemző genetikai instabilitás megnyilvánulhat több úton: kromoszomális instabilitás, mikroszatellita-instabilitás, illetve „CpG-island methylator phenotype”. Ezek pontosabb karakterizálásával a rendelkezésre álló kezelések elviekben optimalizálhatók lehetnek. Célkitűzés: A szerzők a mikroszatellita-instabilitás előfordulását, heterogenitását, prognosztikus és prediktív potenciálját vizsgálták 122 primer colontumor szisztematikusan szelektált régióiban és 69 párosított májmetasztázisban. Módszer: Szöveti multiblokkok kialakítása után az MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 és PMS2 kifejeződését vizsgálták immunhisztokémiai módszerrel. Eredmények: A betegek 11,5%-a (14/122) rendelkezett mikroszatellita-instabil fenotípusú daganattal. A különböző tumorrégiók fehérjekifejeződésében nem volt jelentős különbség. A primer tumor–májmetasztázis párok esetében 20,2%-ban a kettő más mismatch repair státusba volt sorolható. A relapsusmentes és teljes túlélést tekintve a mismatch repair státus nem volt prognosztikus. Az 5-fluorouracil-, oxaliplatin-, irinotecan-, bevacizumab-, cetuximab-, panitumumabterápia hatékonyságát tekintve mismatch repair státus nem volt prediktív a progressziómentes és teljes túlélés adatai alapján. Következtetések: A prognosztikus faktorok pontosabb meghatározása nagyobb esetszámú, pontosan szelektált vizsgálat keretében hatékonyabbá teheti a kezelés megválasztását. Orv. Hetil., 2015, 156(36), 1460–1471

Decreased functional activity of multidrug resistance protein in primary colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND The ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC)-transporter MultiDrug Resistance Protein 1 (MDR1) and Multidrug Resistance Related Protein 1 (MRP1) are expressed on the surface of enterocytes, which has led to the belief that these high capacity transporters are responsible for modulating chemosensitvity of colorectal cancer. Several immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) studies have provided controversial results in regards to the expression levels of these two ABC-transporters in colorectal cancer. Our study was designed to determine the yet uninvestigated functional activity of MDR1 and MRP1 transporters in normal human enterocytes compared to colorectal cancer cells from surgical biopsies. METHODS 100 colorectal cancer and 28 adjacent healthy mucosa samples were obtained by intraoperative surgical sampling. Activity of MDR1 and MRP1 of viable epithelial and cancer cells were determined separately with the modified calcein-assay for multidrug resistance activity and sufficient data of 73 cancer and 11 healthy mucosa was analyzed statistically. RESULTS Significantly decreased mean MDR1 activity was found in primary colorectal cancer samples compared to normal mucosa, while mean MRP1 activity showed no significant change. Functional activity was not affected by gender, age, stage or grade and localization of the tumor. CONCLUSION We found lower MDR activity in cancer cells versus adjacent, apparently, healthy control tissue, thus, contrary to general belief, MDR activity seems not to play a major role in primary drug resistance, but might rather explain preferential/selective activity of Irinotecan and/or Oxaliplatin. Still, this picture might be more complex since chemotherapy by itself might alter MDR activity, and furthermore, today limited data is available about MDR activity of cancer stem cells in colorectal cancers. VIRTUAL SLIDES The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/1675739129145824

Isolation of Exosomes from Blood Plasma: Qualitative and Quantitative Comparison of Ultracentrifugation and Size Exclusion Chromatography Methods

BACKGROUND: Exosomes are emerging targets for biomedical research. However, suitable methods for the isolation of blood plasma-derived exosomes without impurities have not yet been described. AIM: Therefore, we investigated the efficiency and purity of exosomes isolated with potentially suitable methods; differential ultracentrifugation (UC) and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). METHODS AND RESULTS: Exosomes were isolated from rat and human blood plasma by various UC and SEC conditions. Efficiency was investigated at serial UC of the supernatant, while in case of SEC by comparing the content of exosomal markers of various fractions. Purity was assessed based on the presence of albumin. We found that the diameter of the majority of isolated particles fell into the size range of exosomes, however, albumin was also present in the preparations, when 1h UC at 4 degrees C was applied. Furthermore, with this method only a minor fraction of total exosomes could be isolated from blood as deduced from the constant amount of exosomal markers CD63 and TSG101 detected after serial UC of rat blood plasma samples. By using UC for longer time or with shorter sedimentation distance at 4 degrees C, or UC performed at 37 degrees C, exosomal yield increased, but albumin impurity was still observed in the isolates, as assessed by transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and immunoblotting against CD63, TSG101 and albumin. Efficiency and purity were not different in case of using further diluted samples. By using SEC with different columns, we have found that although a minor fraction of exosomes can be isolated without significant albumin content on Sepharose CL-4B or Sephacryl S-400 columns, but not on Sepharose 2B columns, the majority of exosomes co-eluted with albumin. CONCLUSION: Here we show that it is feasible to isolate exosomes from blood plasma by SEC without significant albumin contamination albeit with low vesicle yield