What can digital transcript profiling reveal about human cancers?

Important biological and clinical features of malignancy are reflected in its transcript pattern. Recent advances in gene expression technology and informatics have provided a powerful new means to obtain and interpret these expression patterns. A comprehensive approach to expression profiling is serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE), which provides digital information on transcript levels. SAGE works by counting transcripts and storing these digital values electronically, providing absolute gene expression levels that make historical comparisons possible. SAGE produces a comprehensive profile of gene expression and can be used to search for candidate tumor markers or antigens in a limited number of samples. The Cancer Genome Anatomy Project has created a SAGE database of human gene expression levels for many different tumors and normal reference tissues and provides online tools for viewing, comparing, and downloading expression profiles. Digital expression profiling using SAGE and informatics have been useful for identifying genes that have a role in tumor invasion and other aspects of tumor progression.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de Medicina Divisão de EndocrinologiaDuke University Medical CenterInstituto Ludwig de Pesquisa sobre o CâncerUNIFESP, Depto. de Medicina Divisão de EndocrinologiaSciEL

A Transgenic Marker for Newly Born Granule Cells in Dentate Gyrus

Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus continues into adulthood, yet little is known about the function of newly born neurons or how they integrate into an existing network of mature neurons. We made transgenic mice that selectively and transiently express enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in newly born granule cells of the dentate gyrus under the transcriptional control of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) genomic sequences. Analysis of transgenic pedigrees with truncation or deletion mutations indicated that EGFP expression in the dentate gyrus required cryptic POMC promoter regions dispensable for arcuate hypothalamic or pituitary expression. Unlike arcuate neurons, dentate granule cells did not express the endogenous POMC gene. EGFP-positive neurons had immature properties, including short spineless dendrites and small action potentials. Colocalization with bromodeoxyuridine indicated that EGFP-labeled granule cells were 2 weeks postmitotic. EGFP-labeled cells expressed markers for immature granule cells but not the glial marker GFAP. The number of EGFP-labeled neurons declined with age and increased with exercise, paralleling neurogenesis. Our results indicate that POMC-EGFP marks immature granule cells and that adult-generated granule cells integrate quite slowly into the hippocampal circuitry

Modulation of the gut microbiota of Pacific white shrimp ( Penaeus vannamei Boone, 1931) by dietary inclusion of a functional yeast cell wall‐based additive

Several eco-friendly natural substances can enhance the shrimp immune defence system therby acting as a prophylactic agent in feed additives. Agents such as (1, 3)-(1, 6)-D β-glucan and complex mannan-oligosaccharides located in yeast cell walls present such immunomodulatory and potential prebiotic properties. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of a commercial yeast cell wall extract (YCW) on shrimp performance and health status, and influence on gut microbiota. Juvenile Penaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931) were raised at an intensive shrimp farm and fed with two different diet inclusions levels of YCW, that is, 0.5% and 1.0%, in addition to a yeast free control group. After 102 days, animals were sampled, and standard nutrition performance parameters were measured. Additionally, the phylogenetic profile and composition of shrimp gut microbiota were evaluated. Animal performance, including growth and survival, was significantly better on animals fed with YCW than the control group. Furthermore, beneficial bacteria phylotypes were stimulated by the presence of YCW, positively modulating the gut microbiota, with emphasis on 1.0% YCW treatment. Therefore, YCW can be regarded as a prophylactic functional agent in the intensive rearing of juvenile P. vannamei thus improving animal performance and contributing to a healthy intestinal microbiota

IMF Emission in the 14-N + nat-Ag, Au Reactions at E/A = 60-100 MeV

This research was sponsored by the National Science Foundation Grant NSF PHY-931478

Isotopic composition of fragments in multifragmentation of very large nuclear systems: effects of the chemical equilibrium

Studies on the isospin of fragments resulting from the disassembly of highly excited large thermal-like nuclear emitting sources, formed in the ^{197}Au + ^{197}Au reaction at 35 MeV/nucleon beam energy, are presented. Two different decay systems (the quasiprojectile formed in midperipheral reactions and the unique source coming from the incomplete fusion of projectile and target in the most central collisions) were considered; these emitting sources have the same initial N/Z ratio and excitation energy (E^* ~= 5--6 MeV/nucleon), but different size. Their charge yields and isotopic content of the fragments show different distributions. It is observed that the neutron content of intermediate mass fragments increases with the size of the source. These evidences are consistent with chemical equilibrium reached in the systems. This fact is confirmed by the analysis with the statistical multifragmentation model.Comment: 9 pages, 4 ps figure