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Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75715/1/j.1552-6909.1987.tb01577.x.pd

Colony organization in the green alga Botryococcus braunii (Race B) is specified by a complex extracellular matrix

Botryococcus braunii is a colonial green alga whose cells associate via a complex extracellular matrix (ECM) and produce prodigious amounts of liquid hydrocarbons that can be readily converted into conventional combustion engine fuels. We used quick-freeze deep-etch electron microscopy and biochemical/histochemical analysis to elucidate many new features of B. braunii cell/colony organization and composition. Intracellular lipid bodies associate with the chloroplast and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but show no evidence of being secreted. The ER displays striking fenestrations and forms a continuous subcortical system in direct contact with the cell membrane. The ECM has three distinct components. (i) Each cell is surrounded by a fibrous β-1, 4- and/or β-1, 3-glucan-containing cell wall. (ii) The intracolonial ECM space is filled with a cross-linked hydrocarbon network permeated with liquid hydrocarbons. (iii) Colonies are enclosed in a retaining wall festooned with a fibrillar sheath dominated by arabinose-galactose polysaccharides, which sequesters ECM liquid hydrocarbons. Each cell apex associates with the retaining wall and contributes to its synthesis. Retaining-wall domains also form “drapes” between cells, with some folding in on themselves and penetrating the hydrocarbon interior of a mother colony, partitioning it into daughter colonies. We propose that retaining-wall components are synthesized in the apical Golgi apparatus, delivered to apical ER fenestrations, and assembled on the surfaces of apical cell walls, where a proteinaceous granular layer apparently participates in fibril morphogenesis. We further propose that hydrocarbons are produced by the nonapical ER, directly delivered to the contiguous cell membrane, and pass across the nonapical cell wall into the hydrocarbon-based ECM

Analyzing the contribution of community change to population health outcomes in an adolescent pregnancy prevention initiative

http://heb.sagepub.comFew evaluations of community initiatives have established a link between intermediate outcomes, such as community or systems change, and more distant population-level health outcomes (e.g., estimated rates of employment or adolescent pregnancy). This paper describes an analysis of the contribution of community changes facilitated by a community health initiative to prevent adolescent pregnancy to the population-level outcome of birth rates for teens. We examine a hypothesis that this link might be expected when community changes are of greater amount, intensity, duration and exposure. The results showed reductions in birth rates in Target Area A where there was a greater concentration of community changes and a slight increase where there were far fewer changes. This report provides a method for describing empirically the contribution of environmental change to more distant population-level outcomes

The path to triacylglyceride obesity in the sta6 strain of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

When the sta6 (starch-null) strain of the green microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is nitrogen starved in acetate and then “boosted” after 2 days with additional acetate, the cells become “obese” after 8 days, with triacylglyceride (TAG)-filled lipid bodies filling their cytoplasm and chloroplasts. To assess the transcriptional correlates of this response, the sta6 strain and the starch-forming cw15 strain were subjected to RNA-Seq analysis during the 2 days prior and 2 days after the boost, and the data were compared with published reports using other strains and growth conditions. During the 2 h after the boost, ∼425 genes are upregulated ≥2-fold and ∼875 genes are downregulated ≥2-fold in each strain. Expression of a small subset of “sensitive” genes, encoding enzymes involved in the glyoxylate and Calvin-Benson cycles, gluconeogenesis, and the pentose phosphate pathway, is responsive to culture conditions and genetic background as well as to boosting. Four genes—encoding a diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGTT2), a glycerol-3-P dehydrogenase (GPD3), and two candidate lipases (Cre03.g155250 and Cre17.g735600)—are selectively upregulated in the sta6 strain. Although the bulk rate of acetate depletion from the medium is not boost enhanced, three candidate acetate permease-encoding genes in the GPR1/FUN34/YaaH superfamily are boost upregulated, and 13 of the “sensitive” genes are strongly responsive to the cell's acetate status. A cohort of 64 autophagy-related genes is downregulated by the boost. Our results indicate that the boost serves both to avert an autophagy program and to prolong the operation of key pathways that shuttle carbon from acetate into storage lipid, the combined outcome being enhanced TAG accumulation, notably in the sta6 strain

Correction to: Do pain, anxiety and depression influence quality of life for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease? A national study reconciling previous conflicting literature.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. Oliver Hanemann name was incorrect in the in the acknowledgements section of this paper

Do pain, anxiety and depression influence quality of life for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/motor neuron disease? A national study reconciling previous conflicting literature (vol 267, pg 607, 2020)

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake. Oliver Hanemann name was incorrect in the in the acknowledgements section of this paper

Complementing Testicular Immune Regulation: The Relationship between Sertoli Cells, Complement, and the Immune Response

Sertoli cells within the testis are instrumental in providing an environment for spermatogenesis and protecting the developing germ cells from detrimental immune responses which could affect fertility. Though these immune responses consist of many immune processes, this review focuses on the understudied complement system. Complement consists of 50+ proteins including regulatory proteins, immune receptors, and a cascade of proteolytic cleavages resulting in target cell destruction. In the testis, Sertoli cells protect the germ cells from autoimmune destruction by creating an immunoregulatory environment. Most studies on Sertoli cells and complement have been conducted in transplantation models, which are effective in studying immune regulation during robust rejection responses. In grafts, Sertoli cells survive activated complement, have decreased deposition of complement fragments, and express many complement inhibitors. Moreover, the grafts have delayed infiltration of immune cells and contain increased infiltration of immunosuppressive regulatory T cells as compared to rejecting grafts. Additionally, anti-sperm antibodies and lymphocyte infiltration have been detected in up to 50% and 30% of infertile testes, respectively. This review seeks to provide an updated overview of the complement system, describe its relationship with immune cells, and explain how Sertoli cells may regulate complement in immunoprotection. Identifying the mechanism Sertoli cells use to protect themselves and germ cells against complement and immune destruction is relevant for male reproduction, autoimmunity, and transplantation