Phylogeny and morphology of Hirsutella tunicata sp. nov. (Ophiocordycipitaceae), a novel mite parasite from Peru

A new species of Hirsutella was isolated from unidentified mites on Petri plates inoculated with soil and root fragments collected from asparagus rhizosphere at Viru´ , Northern Peru. The fungus differs from other Hirsutella species by an envelope surrounding the conidium, conidia dimension and DNA sequences. In PDA cultures, the mycelium produced aerial hyphae with conidiogenous cells mainly at right angles, occasionally showing a secondary conidiophore. The solitary conidia are cymbiform, slightly apiculate, 5.0e6.0 3.0e4.0 mm. Phylogenetic analyses with partial rRNA and b-tubulin gene sequences confirmed the fungus as an Hirsutella (Ophiocordycipitaceae). Closest species shown by maximum likelihood and neighbor-joining trees were H. nodulosa and H. aphidis, from which the new species differs for conidium or conidiogenous cells dimensions, lack of synnemata and host type. A recombination event was also detected in the rRNA of the holotype strain, involving Ophiocordyceps sinensis as major parent and O. cochlidiicola as minor parent. A complement, inverted insertion was also found in its rRNA, involving part of the ITS2 and 5.8S regions, flanked by two short nucleotide arrays. Due to conidia dimension and phylogenetic position, the fungus is described as Hirsutella tunicata sp. nov. A review of mononematous Hirsutella species is provided

ROOT-KNOT NEMATODES FROM ASPARAGUS AND ASSOCIATED BIOLOGICAL ANTAGONISTS IN PERU

A research study on the parasitic nematodes of asparagus and several associated antagonists was carried out in Northern Peru. Nematodes were identified by means of light microscopy and sequencing of the ITS1-2 regions. Nematophagous fungi were isolated from nematode-infested roots or soil, cultured in vitro and maintained in a culture collection for further characterization. The species recovered were mainly root-knot nematodes including Meloidogyne incognita and M. ethiopica. Nematophagous fungi identified through standard morphological methods as well as by ITS sequencing included Drechslerella brochopaga, Lecanicillium psalliotae and Monacrosporium sp. Meloidogyne ethiopica and the antagonistic fungi are new records for the country

Ex-vivo lung perfusion: 5 anni di esperienza monocentrica

L'analisi della nostra popolazione mostra che gli organi ricondizionati sono stati trapiantati in riceventi pi\uf9 gravi. L'utilizzo dell'EVLP risulta un valido strumento per incrementare il numero di organi disponibili anche nei riceventi in condizioni pi\uf9 gravi. Introduzione: Oltre l'80% dei donatori multiorgano proposti ai centri trapianto di polmone non vengono utilizzati principalmente per una scarsa funzione d'organo. Ex Vivo Lung Perfusion (EVLP) \ue8 un valido strumento utilizzato per ricondizionare organi marginali e quindi aumentare il pool di donatori. Presso il nostro centro da gennaio 2011 \ue8 attivo il programma di EVLP. Scopo di questo studio \ue8 valutare le caratteristiche dei pazienti sottoposti a trapianto di polmoni con organi sottoposti a EVLP e il loro outcome. Metodologia: Abbiamo eseguito un'analisi retrospettiva su tutti i pazienti sottoposti a trapianto di polmone da gennaio 2011 a dicembre 2015. La popolazione di studio \ue8 stata suddivisa in due gruppi in base alla tipologia di graft: gruppo EVLP e gruppo trapianto senza EVLP. L'analisi statistica \ue8 stata effettuata mediante SPSS versione 22 per Macintosh. Risultati: Da gennaio 2011 a dicembre 2015 sono stati eseguiti 101 trapianti di polmone, di cui 15 con organi sottoposti ad EVLP. I due gruppi di pazienti mostrano incidenza di PGD3 e outcomes a medio e lungo termine sovrapponibili; in particolare non vi sono differenze in termini di sopravvivenza. Il gruppo EVLP presenta un tasso di mortalit\ue0 a 90 giorni superiore rispetto al gruppo di confronto (p=0.042). Conclusioni: L'analisi della nostra popolazione mostra che gli organi ricondizionati sono stati trapiantati in riceventi pi\uf9 gravi. L'utilizzo dell'EVLP risulta un valido strumento per incrementare il numero di organi disponibili anche nei riceventi in condizioni pi\uf9 gravi

ALCAM Regulates Motility, Invasiveness, and Adherens Junction Formation in Uveal Melanoma Cells

ALCAM, a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, has been implicated in numerous developmental events and has been repeatedly identified as a marker for cancer metastasis. Previous studies addressing ALCAM’s role in cancer have, however, yielded conflicting results. Depending on the tumor cell type, ALCAM expression has been reported to be both positively and negatively correlated with cancer progression and metastasis in the literature. To better understand how ALCAM might regulate cancer cell behavior, we utilized a panel of defined uveal melanoma cell lines with high or low ALCAM levels, and directly tested the effects of manipulating these levels on cell motility, invasiveness, and adhesion using multiple assays. ALCAM expression was stably silenced by shRNA knockdown in a high-ALCAM cell line (MUM-2B); the resulting cells displayed reduced motility in gap-closure assays and a reduction in invasiveness as measured by a transwell migration assay. Immunostaining revealed that the silenced cells were defective in the formation of adherens junctions, at which ALCAM colocalizes with N-cadherin and ß-catenin in native cells. Additionally, we stably overexpressed ALCAM in a low-ALCAM cell line (MUM-2C); intriguingly, these cells did not exhibit any increase in motility or invasiveness, indicating that ALCAM is necessary but not sufficient to promote metastasis-associated cell behaviors. In these ALCAM-overexpressing cells, however, recruitment of ß-catenin and N-cadherin to adherens junctions was enhanced. These data confirm a previously suggested role for ALCAM in the regulation of adherens junctions, and also suggest a mechanism by which ALCAM might differentially enhance or decrease invasiveness, depending on the type of cadherin adhesion complexes present in tissues surrounding the primary tumor, and on the cadherin status of the tumor cells themselves

Activated Leukocyte Cell Adhesion Molecule Expression and Shedding in Thyroid Tumors

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM, CD166) is expressed in various tissues, cancers, and cancer-initiating cells. Alterations in expression of ALCAM have been reported in several human tumors, and cell adhesion functions have been proposed to explain its association with cancer. Here we documented high levels of ALCAM expression in human thyroid tumors and cell lines. Through proteomic characterization of ALCAM expression in the human papillary thyroid carcinoma cell line TPC-1, we identified the presence of a full-length membrane-associated isoform in cell lysate and of soluble ALCAM isoforms in conditioned medium. This finding is consistent with proteolytically shed ALCAM ectodomains. Nonspecific agents, such as phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) or ionomycin, provoked increased ectodomain shedding. Epidermal growth factor receptor stimulation also enhanced ALCAM secretion through an ADAM17/TACE-dependent pathway. ADAM17/TACE was expressed in the TPC-1 cell line, and ADAM17/TACE silencing by specific small interfering RNAs reduced ALCAM shedding. In addition, the CGS27023A inhibitor of ADAM17/TACE function reduced ALCAM release in a dose-dependent manner and inhibited cell migration in a wound-healing assay. We also provide evidence for the existence of novel O-glycosylated forms and of a novel 60-kDa soluble form of ALCAM, which is particularly abundant following cell stimulation by PMA. ALCAM expression in papillary and medullary thyroid cancer specimens and in the surrounding non-tumoral component was studied by western blot and immunohistochemistry, with results demonstrating that tumor cells overexpress ALCAM. These findings strongly suggest the possibility that ALCAM may have an important role in thyroid tumor biology

Cancer mortality by educational level in the city of Barcelona

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between educational level and mortality from cancer in the city of Barcelona. The data were derived from a record linkage between the Barcelona Mortality Registry and the Municipal Census. The relative risks (RR) of death and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) according to level of education were derived from Poisson regression models. For all malignancies, men in the lowest educational level had a RR of death of 1.21 (95% CI 1.13–1.29) compared with men with a university degree, whereas for women a significant decreasing in risk was observed (RR 0.81; 95% CI 0.74–0.90). Among men, significant negative trends of increasing risk according to level of education were present for cancer of the mouth and pharynx (RR 1.70 for lowest vs. highest level of education), oesophagus (RR 2.14), stomach (RR 1.99), larynx (RR 2.56) and lung (RR 1.35). Among women, cervical cancer was negatively related to education (RR 2.62), whereas a positive trend was present for cancers of the colon (RR 0.76), pancreas (RR 0.59), lung (RR 0.55) and breast (RR 0.65). The present study confirms for the first time, at an individual level, the existence of socioeconomic differences in mortality for several cancer sites in Barcelona, Spain. There is a need to implement health programmes and public health policies to reduce these inequities. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig