Pediatric Meningosarcoma: Clinical Evolution and Genetic Instability

This report presents a female diagnosed with a frontoparietal interhemispheric meningosarcoma who, parallel to the clinical worsening, revealed an increase in the genetic instability (in bleomycin cultures) and the complexity of the karyotypes, with the acquisition of a clonal deletion of 17p13 (the locus for the TP53 tumor suppressor gene). The genetic findings of this patient suggest that the increased genetic instability could contribute to tumor progression as well as to treatment resistance, possibly in the background of the clonal deletion of TP53

Nonclonal Chromosomal Aberrations Induced by Anti-Tumoral Regimens in Childhood Cancer: Relationship with Cancer-Related Genes and Fragile Sites

Cytogenetic studies were performed on 80 pediatric cancer patients to observe the chromosomal damage, both quantitative and qualitative, induced by chemotherapy. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) (n = 127) were obtained at diagnosis, during treatment, at remission, and at relapse, and chromosome analysis performed utilizing G-banding standard procedures. The results show a significant increase in the number of altered karyotypes (P = 0.03) in the samples during treatment, returning to values that were similar to those at diagnosis at 2-year remission. Most of the chromosomal aberrations (CA) detected during the chemotherapy regimens were nonclonal, unbalanced (75%), and involved chromosomes 1, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12, 16, and 17 most frequently. There was also a marked increase of CA in samples at relapse with very similar features (type and distribution) to those detected during treatment. There was a good correlation between the chromosomal breakpoints in our series and fragile sites (58%), oncogene (75%), and tumor suppressor gene (33%) loci described in the literature. The results obtained suggest that cytostatic drugs induce a transient increase in chromosome fragility occurring at several cancer-associated breakpoints

Expression of the alpha-thionin gene from barley in tobacco confers enhanced resistance to bacterial pathogens

Thionins are cysteine-rich, 5 kDa polypeptides which are toxic to plant pathogens in vitro. Expression of the gene encoding alpha-thionin from barley endosperm, under the 35S promoter from cauliflower mosaic virus, conferred to transgenic tobacco enhanced resistance to the bacterial plant pathogens Pseudomonas syringae pv. tabaci 153 and P. syringae pv. syringae. The barley alpha-thionin gene, which has two introns, was correctly spliced in tobacco. The alpha-thionin in transgenic plants had the expected mobility in the gradient, when separated by high- performance liquid chromatography, reacted with monospecific antibodies and showed the expected antibiotic properties in vitr

Characterization and analysis of thionin genes

The general designation of thionins has been proposed for a family of homologous proteins that have been isolated from different tissues in a wide range of plant taxa and have been variously named purothionins, viscotoxins, crambins, etc. (see Garcia-Olmedo et al., 1989). The possible involvement of thionins in plant defense was first suggested, on the basis of their in vitro toxicity to plant pathogens, by Fernandez de Caleya et al., (1972). Those observations had been prompted by earlier reports concerning the antimicrobial properties of these polypeptides (Stuart and Harris, 1942; Balls and Harris, 1944). Work on the thionins, which has been actively pursued over the past half-century, has been recently reviewed in detail (Garcia-Olmedo et al., 1989). For this reason, earlier work will only be partially summarized in the present chapter, which will focus on recent developments concerning thionin genes and their potential role in plant defense mechanisms

Biological action mechanisms of fucoxanthin extracted from algae for application in food and cosmetic industries

Fucoxanthin is a pigment present in diverse marine organisms such as micro and macro-algae. The most relevant source of fucoxanthin has been described to be the group of the brown macroalgae, also known as Phaeophyceae. The presence of the fucoxanthin, a xanthophyll, found as an accessory pigment in the chloroplasts of the brown algae is responsible for providing them their characteristic color. The market size of this carotenoid, expected to reach US$ 120 million by 2022, reflects its industrial importance, especially remarkable as a food or cosmetic ingredient. Scope and approach: Therefore, it is critical to recognize the main sources of fucoxanthin as well as the most efficient extraction and purification methods that allow obtaining the best production ratio for such a valuable molecule. Throughout this review very different preventive properties of the fucoxanthin have been included, such as antioxidant, anticancer, antiangiogenic, anti-inflammatory, cytoprotective, antiobesity, neuroprotective and its skin protective effects. The stability, bioavailability and toxicity of the fucoxanthin have also been reviewed through diverse biological, in vitro and in vivo assays. Key findings and conclusions: Thus, the main aim of this work is to provide a wide and global vision of the fucoxanthin in terms of productive species, efficient recovery techniques and multiple industrial applications.The research leading to these results was funded by FEDER under the program Interreg V Spain-Portugal (POPTEC, ref. 0377-Iberphenol-6-E); by MICINN supporting the Ram on&Cajal grant for M.A. Prieto (RYC- 2017-22891); by Xunta de Galicia and University of Vigo supporting the post-doctoral grant of M.Fraga-Corral (ED481B-2019/096), the predoctoral grants for A.G. Pereira (ED481A-2019/0228) and P. Garc a- Oliveira (ED481A-2019/295); by Axudas Conecta Peme (Xunta de Galicia) supporting the IN852A 2018/58 NeuroFood Project and AlgaMar (www.algamar.com) for supporting the pre-doctoral grant for C. Louren o-Lopes; NANOEATERS Project (0181_NANOEATERS_01_E) for supporting the pre-doctoral work of C. Jimenez-Lopez; EcoChestnut Project (Erasmus+KA202) for supporting the work of M. Carpena; Ibero- American Program on Science and Technology (CYTED - AQUA-CIBUS, P317RT0003) and UP4HEALTH Project (H2020-BBI-JTI-2019) for financial support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The thionins: a protein family that includes purothionins, viscotoxins and crambins

Almost half a century ago, a crystalline protein material was obtained from lipid extracts of wheat endosperm and designated "purothionin" (Trvpwo, wheat; 9 e i w v , sulphur) on account of its high sulphur content (Balls et al., 1942a,b). This material, which was thought to be the oxidized form of a powerful oxidation-reduction system, was found to have baetericidal and fungicidal properties (Stuart and Harris, 1942), to inhibit fermentation of wheat mashes (Balls and Harris, 1944), and to be toxic to laboratory animáis (Coulson et al., 1942)

RNASeq analysis reveals biological processes governing the clinical behaviour of endometrioid and serous endometrial cancers

BACKGROUND: Endometrial carcinoma comprises a group of tumors with distinct histologic and molecular features, and clinical behavior. Here we sought to define the biological processes that govern the clinical behavior of endometrial cancers. METHODS: Sixteen prototype genes representative of different biological processes that would likely play a role in endometrial and other hormone-driven cancers were defined. RNA-sequencing gene expression data from 323 endometrial cancers from The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to determine the transcription module of each prototype gene. The expression of prototype genes and modules and their association with outcome was assessed in univariate and multivariate survival analyses. The association of MSH6 expression with outcome was validated in an independent cohort of 243 primary endometrial cancers using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: We observed that the clinical behavior of endometrial carcinomas as a group was associated with hormone receptor signaling, PI3K pathway signaling and DNA mismatch repair processes. When analyzed separately, in endometrioid carcinomas, hormone receptor, PI3K and DNA mismatch repair modules were significantly associated with outcome in univariate analysis, whereas the clinical behavior of serous cancers was likely governed by apoptosis and Wnt signaling. Multivariate survival analysis revealed that MSH6 expression was associated with outcome of endometrial cancer patients independently from traditional prognostic clinicopathologic parameters, which was confirmed in an independent cohort at the protein level. CONCLUSION: Endometrioid and serous endometrial cancers are underpinned by distinct molecular pathways. MSH6 expression levels may be associated with outcome in endometrial cancers as a group

Seaweed polysaccharides: emerging extraction technologies, chemical modifications and bioactive properties

Nowadays, consumers are increasingly aware of the relationship between diet and health, showing a greater preference of products from natural origin. In the last decade, seaweeds have outlined as one of the natural sources with more potential to obtain bioactive carbohydrates. Numerous seaweed polysaccharides have aroused the interest of the scientific community, due to their biological activities and their high potential on biomedical, functional food and technological applications. To obtain polysaccharides from seaweeds, it is necessary to find methodologies that improve both yield and quality and that they are profitable. Nowadays, environmentally friendly extraction technologies are a viable alternative to conventional methods for obtaining these products, providing several advantages like reduced number of solvents, energy and time. On the other hand, chemical modification of their structure is a useful approach to improve their solubility and biological properties, and thus enhance the extent of their potential applications since some uses of polysaccharides are still limited. The present review aimed to compile current information about the most relevant seaweed polysaccharides, available extraction and modification methods, as well as a summary of their biological activities, to evaluate knowledge gaps and future trends for the industrial applications of these compounds. Key teaching points: Structure and biological functions of main seaweed polysaccharides. Emerging extraction methods for sulfate polysaccharides. Chemical modification of seaweeds polysaccharides. Potential industrial applications of seaweed polysaccharides. Biological activities, knowledge gaps and future trends of seaweed polysaccharides.The research leading to these results was supported by MICINN supporting the Ramón y Cajal grant for M.A. Prieto (RYC-2017-22891); by Xunta de Galicia for supporting the program EXCELENCIA-ED431F 2020/12, the post-doctoral grant of M. Fraga-Corral (ED481B-2019/096), the pre-doctoral grant of P. Garcia-Oliveira (ED481A-2019/295) the program Grupos de Referencia Competitiva (GRUPO AA1-GRC 2018) that supports the work of J. Echave; by University of Vigo for supporting the predoctoral grant of M. Carpena (Uvigo-00VI 131H 6410211) and Becas de Fundación ONCE Programme “Oportunidad al Talento” to support the work of A. Soria-Lopez. Authors are grateful to Ibero-American Program on Science and Technology (CYTED— AQUA-CIBUS, P317RT0003), to the Bio Based Industries Joint Undertaking (JU) under grant agreement No 888003 UP4HEALTH Project (H2020-BBI-JTI-2019) that supports the work of P. Otero. The JU receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the Bio Based Industries Consortium. The project SYSTEMIC Knowledge hub on Nutrition and Food Security, has received funding from national research funding parties in Belgium (FWO), France (INRA), Germany (BLE), Italy (MIPAAF), Latvia (IZM), Norway (RCN), Portugal (FCT), and Spain (AEI) in a joint action of JPI HDHL, JPI-OCEANS and FACCE-JPI launched in 2019 under the ERA-NET ERA-HDHL (n° 696295).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Abnormalities on 1q and 7q are associated with poor outcome in sporadic Burkitt's lymphoma. A cytogenetic and comparative genomic hybridization study

Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) studies have demonstrated a high incidence of chromosomal imbalances in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, the information on the genomic imbalances in Burkitt's Lymphoma (BL) is scanty. Conventional cytogenetics was performed in 34 cases, and long-distance PCR for t(8;14) was performed in 18 cases. A total of 170 changes were present with a median of four changes per case (range 1-22). Gains of chromosomal material (143) were more frequent than amplifications (5) or losses (22). The most frequent aberrations were gains on chromosomes 12q (26%), Xq (22%), 22q (20%), 20q (17%) and 9q (15%). Losses predominantly involved chromosomes 13q (17%) and 4q (9%). High-level amplifications were present in the regions 1q23-31 (three cases), 6p12-p25 and 8p22-p23. Upon comparing BL vs Burkitt's cell leukemia (BCL), the latter had more changes (mean 4.3 +/- 2.2) than BL (mean 2.7 +/- 3.2). In addition, BCL cases showed more frequently gains on 8q, 9q, 14q, 20q, and 20q, 9q, 8q and 14q, as well as losses on 13q and 4q. Concerning outcome, the presence of abnormalities on 1q (ascertained either by cytogenetics or by CGH), and imbalances on 7q (P=0.01) were associated with a short survival