EST analysis of gene expression in the tentacle of Cyanea capillata

AbstractJellyfish, Cyanea capillata, has an important position in head patterning and ion channel evolution, in addition to containing a rich source of toxins. In the present study, 2153 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from the tentacle cDNA library of C. capillata were analyzed. The initial ESTs consisted of 198 clusters and 818 singletons, which revealed approximately 1016 unique genes in the data set. Among these sequences, we identified several genes related to head and foot patterning, voltage-dependent anion channel gene and genes related to biological activities of venom. Five kinds of proteinase inhibitor genes were found in jellyfish for the first time, and some of them were highly expressed with unknown functions

Elevated EDAR signalling promotes mammary gland tumourigenesis with squamous metaplasia

Ectodysplasin A receptor (EDAR) is a death receptor in the Tumour Necrosis Factor Receptor (TNFR) superfamily with roles in the development of hair follicles, teeth and cutaneous glands. Here we report that human Oestrogen Receptor (ER) negative breast carcinomas which display squamous differentiation express EDAR strongly. Using a mouse model with a high Edar copy number, we show that elevated EDAR signalling results in a high incidence of mammary tumours in breeding female mice. These tumours resemble the EDAR-high human tumours in that they are characterised by a lack of oestrogen receptor expression, contain extensive squamous metaplasia, and display strong β-catenin transcriptional activity. In the mouse model, all of the tumours carry somatic deletions of the third exon of the CTNNB1 gene that encodes β-catenin. Deletion of this exon yields unconstrained β-catenin signalling activity. We also demonstrate that β-catenin activity is required for transformed cell growth, showing that increased EDAR signalling creates an environment in which β-catenin activity can readily promote tumourigenesis. Together, this work identifies a novel death receptor oncogene in breast cancer, whose mechanism of transformation is based on the interaction between the WNT and Ectodysplasin A (EDA) pathways

The Edar subfamily in feather placode formation

AbstractA subgroup of the TNF receptor family, composed of Edar, Troy and Xedar, are implicated in the development of ectodermal appendages, such as hair follicles, teeth and sweat glands. We have isolated chicken orthologues of these three receptors and analysed their roles in early feather development. Conservation of protein sequences between mammalian and avian proteins is variable, with avian Edar showing the greatest degree of sequence identity. cXedar differs from its mammalian orthologue in that it contains an intracellular death domain. All three receptors are expressed during early feather morphogenesis and dominant negative forms of each receptor impair the epithelial contribution to feather bud morphogenesis, while the dermal contribution appears unaffected. Hyperactivation of each receptor leads to more widespread assumption of placode fate, though in different regions of the skin. Receptor signaling converges on NF-κB, and inhibiting this transcription factor alters feather bud number and size in a stage-specific manner. Our findings illustrate the roles of these three receptors during avian skin morphogenesis and also suggest that activators of feather placode fate undergo mutual regulation to reach a decision on skin appendage location and size

The Identification of Lymphocyte-Like Cells and Lymphoid-Related Genes in Amphioxus Indicates the Twilight for the Emergency of Adaptive Immune System

To seek evidence of a primitive adaptive immune system (AIS) before vertebrate, we examined whether lymphocytes or lymphocyte-like cells and the related molecules participating in the lymphocyte function existed in amphioxus. Anatomical analysis by electron microscopy revealed the presence of lymphocyte-like cells in gills, and these cells underwent morphological changes in response to microbial pathogens that are reminiscent of those of mammalian lymphocytes executing immune response to microbial challenge. In addition, a systematic comparative analysis of our cDNA database of amphioxus identified a large number of genes whose vertebrate counterparts are involved in lymphocyte function. Among these genes, several genes were found to be expressed in the vicinity of the lymphocyte-like cells by in situ hybridization and up-regulated after exposure to microbial pathogens. Our findings in the amphioxus indicate the twilight for the emergency of AIS before the invertebrate-vertebrate transition during evolution

Defining Key Genes Regulating Morphogenesis of Apocrine Sweat Gland in Sheepskin

The apocrine sweat gland is a unique skin appendage in humans compared to mouse and chicken models. The absence of apocrine sweat glands in chicken and murine skin largely restrains further understanding of the complexity of human skin biology and skin diseases, like hircismus. Sheep may serve as an additional system for skin appendage investigation owing to the distributions and histological similarities between the apocrine sweat glands of sheep trunk skin and human armpit skin. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying morphogenesis of apocrine sweat glands in sheepskin, transcriptome analyses were conducted to reveal 1631 differentially expressed genes that were mainly enriched in three functional groups (cellular component, molecular function and biological process), particularly in gland, epithelial, hair follicle and skin development. There were 7 Gene Ontology (GO) terms enriched in epithelial cell migration and morphogenesis of branching epithelium that were potentially correlated with the wool follicle peg elongation. An additional 5 GO terms were enriched in gland morphogenesis (20 genes), gland development (42 genes), salivary gland morphogenesis and development (8 genes), branching involved in salivary gland morphogenesis (6 genes) and mammary gland epithelial cell differentiation (4 genes). The enriched gland-related genes and two Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway genes (WNT and TGF-β) were potentially involved in the induction of apocrine sweat glands. Genes named BMPR1A, BMP7, SMAD4, TGFB3, WIF1, and WNT10B were selected to validate transcript expression by qRT-PCR. Immunohistochemistry was performed to localize markers for hair follicle (SOX2), skin fibroblast (PDGFRB), stem cells (SOX9) and BMP signaling (SMAD5) in sheepskin. SOX2 and PDGFRB were absent in apocrine sweat glands. SOX9 and SMAD5 were both observed in precursor cells of apocrine sweat glands and later in gland ducts. These results combined with the upregulation of BMP signaling genes indicate that apocrine sweat glands were originated from outer root sheath of primary wool follicle and positively regulated by BMP signaling. This report established the primary network regulating early development of apocrine sweat glands in sheepskin and will facilitate the further understanding of histology and pathology of apocrine sweat glands in human and companion animal skin

Cryptic Patterning of Avian Skin Confers a Developmental Facility for Loss of Neck Feathering

Vertebrate skin is characterized by its patterned array of appendages, whether feathers, hairs, or scales. In avian skin the distribution of feathers occurs on two distinct spatial levels. Grouping of feathers within discrete tracts, with bare skin lying between the tracts, is termed the macropattern, while the smaller scale periodic spacing between individual feathers is referred to as the micropattern. The degree of integration between the patterning mechanisms that operate on these two scales during development and the mechanisms underlying the remarkable evolvability of skin macropatterns are unknown. A striking example of macropattern variation is the convergent loss of neck feathering in multiple species, a trait associated with heat tolerance in both wild and domestic birds. In chicken, a mutation called Naked neck is characterized by a reduction of body feathering and completely bare neck. Here we perform genetic fine mapping of the causative region and identify a large insertion associated with the Naked neck trait. A strong candidate gene in the critical interval, BMP12/GDF7, displays markedly elevated expression in Naked neck embryonic skin due to a cis-regulatory effect of the causative mutation. BMP family members inhibit embryonic feather formation by acting in a reaction-diffusion mechanism, and we find that selective production of retinoic acid by neck skin potentiates BMP signaling, making neck skin more sensitive than body skin to suppression of feather development. This selective production of retinoic acid by neck skin constitutes a cryptic pattern as its effects on feathering are not revealed until gross BMP levels are altered. This developmental modularity of neck and body skin allows simple quantitative changes in BMP levels to produce a sparsely feathered or bare neck while maintaining robust feather patterning on the body

Plant community ecological strategy assembly response to yak grazing in an alpine meadow on the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Predicting the impact of grazing on vegetation structure, and thus on ecosystem services, is one of the main technical bottlenecks in alpine grassland conservation and management. However, past researches based on the fixed, discrete, and qualitative indicators limited our understanding for the effect of grazing on plant community assembly. Research based on the quantitative competitor, stress tolerator, and ruderal (CSR) theory increases the possibilities for analyzing this ecological process. To test the hypothesis that the dominant plant strategy in alpine meadow plant community will shift from S-selection to R-selection with increased grazing intensity, the plant community CSR strategy assemblies among the cold-seasonal grazing meadows along a gradient of grazing intensity were studied on the eastern Tibetan Plateau. The dominant strategy concentrated in the S-selected corner under the low grazing intensity, which provided a direct evidence to the environmental filters in the alpine area, and suggested that species of strong S-selection should dominate the undisturbed alpine grassland plant community. The C-selection of dominant strategies increased (R-2 = 0.431, p = 0.004), and the extent of S-selection decreased with greater grazing intensity; however, the R-selection of them only slightly increased under intermediate grazing intensity and finally decreased under high grazing intensity, reflecting a selective grazing disturbance combined with localized enrichment of soil that can provide microsites for the establishment of competitors. The strong C-selected species may dominate the plant community on the eastern Tibetan Plateau in place of S-selected and R-selected species, if the grazing intensity is continually high

Serum Proteomic Profiling of Lung Adenocarcinoma with Brain Metastasis Based on Matrix-Assisted Laser Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry Analysis

Abstract Background: Once patients presented with brain metastasis, the prognosis is poor with shortened survival of up to 6 months, and therefore early recognition of brain metastasis may be beneficial to outcomes of patients. The present work focused on serum proteomic biomarkers that represent the status of lung adenocarcinoma especially for patients with brain metastasis. Methods: 100 serum samples including 25 from lung adenocarcinoma patients with brain metastasis，25 from lung adenocarcinoma patients without metastasis and 50 from healthy controls were analyzed using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). ClinProt software and binary logistic regression method were used to develop classification model using MS spectral data. Univariate and Cox multivariate analysis were also performed to evaluate the potential prognostic value of serum peptides. Results: A series of 14 significant short peptides was detected in serum of lung adenocarcinoma patients as compared with healthy controls. Of these, a panel consisting of peptides m/z 1969.9 and 2213.4 Da had the highest diagnostic value for discriminating lung adenocarcinoma from healthy controls with a sensitivity of 91.7% and a specificity of 79.2%. The panel consisting of peptides m/z 1781.5 and 1984.7 Da had the highest diagnostic value for discriminating advanced lung adenocarcinoma with brain metastasis from patients without metastasis with a sensitivity of 84.6% and a specificity of 79.2%. Univariate and Cox multivariate analysis disclosed that peptide m/z 1969.9 Da remained an independent predictors for lung adenocarcinoma patients while peptide m/z 1984.7 Da shows favourable value on pre-warning lung adenocarcinoma patients Am. J. Biomed. Sci. 2014, 6(2), 105-116; doi: 10.5099/aj140200105 © 2014 by NWPII. All rights reserved 106 with brain metastasis after chemotherapy. Conclusion: We have completed a preliminary study to describe the serum proteomic profile of lung adenocarcinoma patients with brain metastasis, and our proteomic models may improve the diagnosis and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma patients and helps us to better understand the pathogenesis of disease process of brain metastasis

High performance IGZO-based phototransistors by BN/BP interface engineering

Some advances have been achieved in developing heterojunctions consisting of indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) films and two dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials for optoelectronic applications in recent years, however, the improvement of IGZO channel itself via constructing such heterojunctions is rarely reported. Here, we report the huge improvement in photoresponse performances for the IGZO phototransistor devices by introducing boron nitride (BN)/black phosphorus (BP) interface engineering. By creating an appropriate band bending and an efficient photo-generated carrier transfer path between IGZO and BP, the recombination of the photo-generated carriers in the IGZO channel is significantly suppressed. As a result, the corresponding photoresponsivity at a wavelength of 447 nm can be promoted from 0.05 A W−1 to 0.3 A W−1. A corresponding maximum external quantum efficiency of 83.4% was obtained for the BN/BP decorated IGZO phototransistor. The results imply that such interface engineering via 2D materials can be used as a general route to high performance oxide-semiconductor based optoelectronic devices.</p