Fallowing of selected arable fields in a farmland mosaic affects processes on landscape level: a case study of small mammal communities

In 2008 on six 1-ha plots the structure and species diversity of small mammal community inhabiting a narrow belt of coastal zone of the Łuknajno Lake (Masurian Lake District, North-East of Poland) were studied. The results obtained were compared with the results of similar studies carried out in the same area in 1981, when still intensive agricultural activities were present around the lake (abandoned in 1991 by leaving the agricultural fields fallow). In comparison with 1981, a decrease in the number of species inhabiting the fringe of the lake was discovered, as well as some significant changes in the domination structure of the community. Currently, the dominant forest species - the bank vole Myodes glareolus (Schreber 1780) and the yellow-necked mouse Apodemus flavicollis (Melchior 1834) - replaced the most numerous in 1981 - the striped field mouse Apodemus agrarius (Pallas 1771). Taking into consideration the fact that environmental conditions at the coastal zone have not changed, it was suggested that the changes in the community of small mammals were caused by setting aside arable lands around the lake. The results obtained lead to the conclusion that the range of the ecological effects of local changes in the landscape mosaic may include an area much larger than the one directly affected by these changes. They constitute the basis for a discussion on the relationship between various elements of environmental mosaic in heterogeneous landscape

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: Expression of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with Metastasis to Lymph Nodes

A great number of scientific studies have shown that the development of different TNBC forms is closely associated with the induction of various signaling pathways and that TNBC cells show greater sensitivity to different drugs. Recent studies showed hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) was strongly correlated to clinicopathological features in many types of cancers. This molecule seems to play a significant role in the development of different tumors and breast cancer among them. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between immunohistochemical expression of novel prognostic marker—HIF-1α—and clinicopathological features for patients with triple-negative breast cancer. Among 162 breast cancer patients, we identified 111 (68.5%) subjects with triple-negative breast cancer. In our study, TNBC was most commonly assessed as G2 and G3 (52.2%; 45.1%), pT1 and pT2 (34.2%; 62.1%), and pN1 and pN2 (45%; 41.4%). TNBC more often presented HIF-1α expression (43.2%) than non-TNBC (35.2%). TNBC subgroup demonstrated significant correlation between HIF-1α expression and tumor size (pT1–pT4) (p = 0.021), which may suggest that HIF-1 alpha expression in this group of patients may be an additional and significant marker in the evaluation of the advance of the disease, affecting therapeutic decisions

Homogalacturonan deesterification during pollen–ovule interaction in Larix decidua Mill.: an immunocytochemical study

Studies on angiosperm plants have shown that homogalacturonan present in the extracellular matrix of pistils plays an important role in the interaction with the male gametophyte. However, in gymnosperms, knowledge on the participation of HG in the pollen–ovule interaction is limited, and only a few studies on male gametophytes have been reported. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the distribution of HG in male gametophytes and ovules during their interaction in Larix decidua Mill. The distribution of HG in pollen grains and unpollinated and pollinated ovules was investigated by immunofluorescence techniques using monoclonal antibodies that recognise high methyl-esterified HG (JIM7), low methyl-esterified HG (JIM5) and calcium cross-linked HG (2F4). All studied categories of HG were detected in the ovule. Highly methyl-esterified HG was present in the cell walls of all cells throughout the interaction; however, the distribution of low methyl-esterified and calcium cross-linked HG changed during the course of interaction. Both of these categories of HG appeared only in the apoplast and the extracellular matrix of the ovule tissues, which interact with the male gametophyte. This finding suggests that in L. decidua, low methyl-esterified and calcium cross-linked HG play an important role in pollen–ovule interaction. The last category of HG is most likely involved in adhesion between the pollen and the ovule and might provide an optimal calcium environment for pollen grain germination and pollen tube growth

The multidirectional role of osteopontin in cancer

Osteopontin (OPN) was described for the first time as a potential marker of neoplastic transformation by Senger et al. in 1979. Studies suggesting an important role of OPN in oncology, allergology, nephrology and cardiology have been published for many years. However, the largest number of articles pertains to the role of OPN in neoplastic transformation and will surely facilitate future determination of OPN levels in blood or cancer tissues with the pur­pose of disease diagnosing, staging, prognosing metastases and monitoring the treatment effectiveness. Numerous studies showed that high OPN expression levels accompany metastases formation; the protein was also confirmed to be involved in stimulation of cell proliferation and formation of new blood vessels, i.e. angiogenesis. OPN was also shown to be capable of binding the CD-44 receptors, which facilitates migration and invasion of cancer cells into the blood vessels. Correlation was also demonstrated between OPN expression and the time to disease recurrence and overall survival in patients with breast cancer, gastric cancer, hepatocellular cancer, hormone-depen­dent prostate cancer, kidney cancer and endometrial cancer. The exact mechanism responsible for OPN’s role in neoplastic transformation remains unclear and numerous research studies are conducted in this area

HE4 – not only an ovarian cancer biomarker – a brief review

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) was firstly identified in epididymal epithelial cells and described as a protease inhibitor playing a role in spermatogenesis. Regarding numerous studies proving its diverse potential as a prognostic and predictive factor in ovarian cancer, it was incorporated into ROMA algorithm. Nevertheless, recent studies have shown that serum level of HE4 is not exclusive to ovarian cancer. As a result, doctors using ROMA algorithm for stratifying patients with ovarian cancer must be aware of other conditions that may affect serum level of HE4. This review comprises different conditions connected with high level of HE4 that might impact ovarian cancer diagnosing process. Moreover, discovering increased HE4 level in various conditions should open discussion about its applicability in diseases other than ovarian cancer