Aldosterone rapidly activates Src kinase in M-1 cells involving the mineralocorticoid receptor and HSP84

AbstractWe investigated the effect of aldosterone on Src kinase. In the kidney cell line, M-1 aldosterone leads to a >2-fold transient activation of Src kinase seen as early as 2 min after aldosterone administration. Maximal Src kinase activation was measured at an aldosterone concentration of 1 nM. In parallel to activation, autophosphorylation at Tyr-416 of Src kinase increased. Src kinase activation was blocked by spironolactone. Aldosterone led to increased association of Src with HSP84. Furthermore, rapamycin blocked aldosterone-induced Src activation. We conclude that Src activation by aldosterone is mediated through the mineralocorticoid receptor and HSP84

CFTR mRNA and its truncated splice variant (TRN-CFTR) are differentially expressed during collecting duct ontogeny

AbstractThe collecting duct epithelium originates from the embryonic ureter by branching morphogenesis. Ontogeny-dependent changes of CFTR mRNA expression were assessed by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in primary monolayer cultures of rat ureteric buds (UB) and cortical collecting ducts, microdissected at different embryonic and postnatal developmental stages. The amount of wild-type CFTR-specific PCR product in UB declined to 20% of the initial value between embryonic gestational day E15 and postnatal day P1. After birth the CFTR product increased transiently between P1 and P7 by a factor of 10 and decreased towards day P14. PCR products specific for TRN-CFTR, a truncated splice variant, however, were low in early embryonic cells, increased markedly between day E17 and P2, and reached a plateau postnatally. Therefore, mRNA encoding TRN-CFTR does not appear to have a specific embryonic-morphogenetic function. By contrast, such function is suggested for wild-type CFTR mRNA as its abundance was high in early embryonic nephrogenesis, as well as during a postnatal period shortly before branching morphogenesis is completed

StratIT – A Framework Describing the Contents of IT Strategies. Background and Approach

Until today no consensus has been found regarding the contents of IT strategies. This results in uncer-tainty when formulating the topical areas of IT strategy documents. The Special Interest Group (SIG) “Strate¬gisches Informationsmanagement (SIM)” (Strategic Information Management) of the “Gesellschaft für Informatik” (German Informatics Society)” addresses this gap by developing a framework that defines generic perspectives, domains, and elements of an IT strategy. Within the group, researchers and practi¬tioners bundle their insights and experiences in the development of the framework named “StratIT”. We report on the current status of work and develop a structured basis for discussion. In addition, we de¬scribe the methodical and scientific foundations and the “modus operandi” of the SIG. Our intent is to communicate the perceived problem, our approach, and the developed artifact to an international audi¬ence, to get feedback and also to exchange ideas

Stress behaviour and physiology of developing Arctic barnacle goslings (<i>Branta leucopsis</i>) is affected by legacy trace contaminants

Natural populations are persistently exposed to environmental pollution, which may adversely impact animal physiology and behaviour and even compromise survival. Responding appropriately to any stressor ultimately might tip the scales for survival, as mistimed behaviour and inadequate physiological responses may be detrimental. Yet effects of legacy contamination on immediate physiological and behavioural stress coping abilities during acute stress are virtually unknown. Here, we assessed these effects in barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) at a historical coal mine site in the Arctic. For three weeks we led human-imprinted goslings, collected from nests in unpolluted areas, to feed in an abandoned coal mining area, where they were exposed to trace metals. As control we led their siblings to feed on clean grounds. After submitting both groups to three well-established stress tests (group isolation, individual isolation, on-back restraint), control goslings behaved calmer and excreted lower levels of corticosterone metabolites. Thus, legacy contamination may decisively change stress physiology and behaviour in long-lived vertebrates exposed at a young age.</p

Differentiation associated regulation of microRNA expression in vivo in human CD8+ T cell subsets

BACKGROUND: The differentiation of CD8+ T lymphocytes following priming of naïve cells is central in the establishment of the adaptive immune response. Yet, the molecular events underlying this process are not fully understood. MicroRNAs have been recently shown to play a key role in the regulation of haematopoiesis in mouse, but their implication in peripheral lymphocyte differentiation in humans remains largely unknown. METHODS: In order to explore the potential implication of microRNAs in CD8+ T cell differentiation in humans, microRNA expression profiles were analysed using microarrays and quantitative PCR in several human CD8+ T cell subsets defining the major steps of the T cell differentiation pathway. RESULTS: We found expression of a limited set of microRNAs, including the miR-17~92 cluster. Moreover, we reveal the existence of differentiation-associated regulation of specific microRNAs. When compared to naive cells, miR-21 and miR-155 were indeed found upregulated upon differentiation to effector cells, while expression of the miR-17~92 cluster tended to concomitantly decrease. CONCLUSIONS: This study establishes for the first time in a large panel of individuals the existence of differentiation associated regulation of microRNA expression in human CD8+ T lymphocytes in vivo, which is likely to impact on specific cellular functions

Fracking in the Polish press: geopolitics and national identity

In a context of resource scarcity and political instability, new energy sources and technologies are being explored in many parts of the world and exploited in some. One of these new energy sources is shale gas and one of the countries seeking to decrease its energy dependence and increase its energy security is Poland which is largely dependent on gas and oil imports from Russia. This article presents the results of a thematic content analysis of articles reporting on shale gas/fracking published in Gazeta Wyborcza and Rzeczpospolita, two leading Polish newspapers, from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012. Findings suggest that in media reporting the geopolitical dimension of fracking overrides the technological/scientific dimension and that representations are overwhelmingly positive. Positive representations are bolstered through particular linguistic framings. It is argued that the Polish press has polarized the debate on fracking in a particular (positive) direction, which has silenced an open and constructive debate concerning energy policy in Poland and constructed criticism of fracking as counter-normative and “un-Polish.” The potential socio-political and policy implications of these media representations are discussed

Thermal analysis of production of resonances in relativistic heavy-ion collisions

Production of resonances is considered in the framework of the single-freeze-out model of ultra-relativistic heavy ion collisions. The formalism involves the virial expansion, where the probability to form a resonance in a two-body channel is proportional to the derivative of the phase-shift with respect to the invariant mass. The thermal model incorporates longitudinal and transverse flow, as well as kinematic cuts of the STAR experiment at RHIC. We find that the shape of the pi+ pi- spectral line qualitatively reproduces the preliminary experimental data when the position of the rho peak is lowered. This confirms the need to include the medium effects in the description of the RHIC data. We also analyze the transverse-momentum spectra of rho, K*(892), and f_0(980), and find that the slopes agree with the observed values. Predictions are made for eta, eta', omega, phi, Lambda(1520), and Sigma(1385).Comment: minor modifications, a reference adde

Enrichment methods to detect bone marrow micrometastases in breast carcinoma patients: clinical relevance

INTRODUCTION: Improving technologies for the detection and purification of bone marrow (BM) micrometastatic cells in breast cancer patients should lead to earlier prognosis of the risk of relapse and should make it possible to design more appropriate therapies. The technique used has to overcome the challenges resulting from the small number of target cells (one per million hematopoietic cells) and the heterogeneous expression of micrometastatic cell markers. In the present study, we have assessed the clinical relevance of current methods aimed at detecting rare disseminated carcinoma cells. METHODS: BM aspirates from 32 carcinoma patients were screened for the presence of micrometastatic cells positive for epithelial cell adhesion molecule and positive for cytokeratins, using optimized immunodetection methods. A comparison with data obtained for 46 control BM aspirates and a correlation with the clinical status of patients were performed. RESULTS: We developed a sensitive and efficient immunomagnetic protocol for the enrichment of BM micrometastases. This method was used to divide 32 breast carcinoma patients into three categories according to their epithelial cell adhesion molecule status. These categories were highly correlated with the recently revised American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system for breast cancer, demonstrating the clinical relevance of this simple and reliable immunomagnetic technique. We also evaluated immunocytochemical detection of cytokeratin-positive cells and cytomorphological parameters. Immunocytochemistry-based methods for the detection of BM micrometastases did not provide any information about the clinical status of patients, but helped to refine the immunomagnetic data by confirming the presence of micrometastases in some cases. We also tested a new density gradient centrifugation system, able to enrich the tumor fraction of BM specimens by twofold to threefold as compared with standard Ficoll methods. CONCLUSION: These improved methods for the detection of micrometastatic cells in patient BM should help clinicians to predict the clinical status of breast cancer patients at the time of surgery or treatment