Increased risk for other cancers in individuals with Ewing sarcoma and their relatives.

BackgroundThere are few reports of the association of other cancers with Ewing sarcoma in patients and their relatives. We use a resource combining statewide genealogy and cancer reporting to provide unbiased risks.MethodsUsing a combined genealogy of 2.3 million Utah individuals and the Utah Cancer Registry (UCR), relative risks (RRs) for cancers of other sites were estimated in 143 Ewing sarcoma patients using a Cox proportional hazards model with matched controls; however, risks in relatives were estimated using internal cohort-specific cancer rates in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives.ResultsCancers of three sites (breast, brain, complex genotype/karyotype sarcoma) were observed in excess in Ewing sarcoma patients. No Ewing sarcoma patients were identified among first-, second-, or third-degree relatives of Ewing sarcoma patients. Significantly increased risk for brain, lung/bronchus, female genital, and prostate cancer was observed in first-degree relatives. Significantly increased risks were observed in second-degree relatives for breast cancer, nonmelanoma eye cancer, malignant peripheral nerve sheath cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and translocation sarcomas. Significantly increased risks for stomach cancer, prostate cancer, and acute lymphocytic leukemia were observed in third-degree relatives.ConclusionsThis analysis of risk for cancer among Ewing sarcoma patients and their relatives indicates evidence for some increased cancer predisposition in this population which can be used to individualize consideration of potential treatment of patients and screening of patients and relatives

Interplay of septin amphipathic helices in sensing membrane-curvature and filament bundling

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Woods, B. L., Cannon, K. S., Vogt, E. J. D., Crutchley, J. M., & Gladfelter, A. S. Interplay of septin amphipathic helices in sensing membrane-curvature and filament bundling. Molecular Biology of the Cell, 32(20), (2021): mbcE20050303, https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E20-05-0303.The curvature of the membrane defines cell shape. Septins are GTP-binding proteins that assemble into heteromeric complexes and polymerize into filaments at areas of micron-scale membrane curvature. An amphipathic helix (AH) domain within the septin complex is necessary and sufficient for septins to preferentially assemble onto micron-scale curvature. Here we report that the nonessential fungal septin, Shs1, also has an AH domain capable of recognizing membrane curvature. In a septin mutant strain lacking a fully functional Cdc12 AH domain (cdc12-6), the C-terminal extension of Shs1, containing an AH domain, becomes essential. Additionally, we find that the Cdc12 AH domain is important for regulating septin filament bundling, suggesting septin AH domains have multiple, distinct functions and that bundling and membrane binding may be coordinately controlled.This work was supported by National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant no. R01GM-130934 to A.S.G. B.L.W. was supported by the NIH Training Grant no. 2T32AI052080-16. K.S.C. and E.J.D.V. were supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under award T32 GM119999

At-Risk Populations for Osteosarcoma: The Syndromes and Beyond

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignancy of bone. Most cases are sporadic without a known genetic or environmental cause. Heritable genetic predisposition syndromes are associated with a small percentage of osteosarcomas. Study of these rare disorders has provided insight into the molecular pathogenesis of osteosarcoma. Screening of at-risk families and surveillance of affected individuals for these syndromes may permit earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment of osteosarcoma in these populations. This paper reviews the genetic and clinical features of the known osteosarcoma predisposition syndromes

Synthesis, structural studies, and oxidation catalysis of the late-first-row-transition-metal complexes of a 2-pyridylmethyl pendant-armed ethylene cross-bridged cyclam

The first 2-pyridylmethyl pendant-armed ethylene cross-bridged cyclam ligand has been synthesized and successfully complexed to Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Zn²⁺ cations. X-ray crystal structures were obtained for all six complexes and demonstrate pentadentate binding of the ligand with the requisite cis-V configuration of the cross-bridged cyclam ring in all cases, leaving a potential labile binding site cis to the pyridine donor for interaction of the complex with oxidants and/or substrates. The electronic properties of the complexes were evaluated using solid-state magnetic moment determination and acetonitrile solution electronic spectroscopy, which both agree with the crystal structure determination of high-spin divalent metal complexes in all cases. Cyclic voltammetry in acetonitrile revealed reversible redox processes in all but the Ni²⁺ complex, suggesting that catalytic reactivity involving electron-transfer processes is possible for complexes of this ligand. Kinetic studies of the dissociation of the ligand from the copper(II) complex under strongly acidic conditions and elevated temperatures revealed that the pyridine pendant arm actually destabilizes the complex compared to the parent cross-bridged cyclam complex. Screening for oxidation catalysis using hydrogen peroxide as the terminal oxidant for the most biologically relevant Mn²⁺, Fe²⁺, and Cu²⁺ complexes identified the Mn²⁺ complex as a potential mild oxidation catalyst worthy of continued development

The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey: Survey Design and First Data Release

The WiggleZ Dark Energy Survey is a survey of 240,000 emission line galaxies in the distant universe, measured with the AAOmega spectrograph on the 3.9-m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT). The target galaxies are selected using ultraviolet photometry from the GALEX satellite, with a flux limit of NUV<22.8 mag. The redshift range containing 90% of the galaxies is 0.2<z<1.0. The primary aim of the survey is to precisely measure the scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) imprinted on the spatial distribution of these galaxies at look-back times of 4-8 Gyrs. Detailed forecasts indicate the survey will measure the BAO scale to better than 2% and the tangential and radial acoustic wave scales to approximately 3% and 5%, respectively. This paper provides a detailed description of the survey and its design, as well as the spectroscopic observations, data reduction, and redshift measurement techniques employed. It also presents an analysis of the properties of the target galaxies, including emission line diagnostics which show that they are mostly extreme starburst galaxies, and Hubble Space Telescope images, which show they contain a high fraction of interacting or distorted systems. In conjunction with this paper, we make a public data release of data for the first 100,000 galaxies measured for the project.Comment: Accepted by MNRAS; this has some figures in low resolution format. Full resolution PDF version (7MB) available at http://www.physics.uq.edu.au/people/mjd/pub/wigglez1.pdf The WiggleZ home page is at http://wigglez.swin.edu.au