The Goddess : Valse Hesitation

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-ps/2081/thumbnail.jp

Gloria\u27s Romance

Illustration of a woman\u27s profile inset in an illustration of floral vines.https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/cht-sheet-music/2895/thumbnail.jp

Novel CSF biomarkers in genetic frontotemporal dementia identified by proteomics

Objective: To identify novel CSF biomarkers in GRN-associated frontotemporal dementia (FTD) by proteomics using mass spectrometry (MS). Methods: Unbiased MS was applied to CSF samples from 19 presymptomatic and 9 symptomatic GRN mutation carriers and 24 noncarriers. Protein abundances were compared between these groups. Proteins were then selected for validation if identified by ≥4 peptides and if fold change was ≤0.5 or ≥2.0. Validation and absolute quantification by parallel reaction monitoring (PRM), a high-resolution targeted MS method, was performed on an international cohort (n = 210) of presymptomatic and symptomatic GRN, C9orf72 and MAPT mutation carriers. Results: Unbiased MS revealed 20 differentially abundant proteins between symptomatic mutation carriers and noncarriers and nine between symptomatic and presymptomatic carriers. Seven of these proteins fulfilled our criteria for validation. PRM analyses revealed that symptomatic GRN mutation carriers had significantly lower levels of neuronal pentraxin receptor (NPTXR), receptortype tyrosine-protein phosphatase N2 (PTPRN2), neurosecretory protein VGF, chromogranin-A (CHGA), and V-set and transmembrane domain-containing protein 2B (VSTM2B) than presymptomatic carriers and noncarriers. Symptomatic C9orf72 mutation carriers had lower levels of NPTXR, PTPRN2, CHGA, and VSTM2B than noncarriers, while symptomatic MAPT mutation carriers had lower levels of NPTXR and CHGA than noncarriers. Interpretation: We identified and validated five novel CSF biomarkers in GRN-associated FTD. Our results show that synaptic, secretory vesicle, and inflammatory proteins are dysregulated in the symptomatic stage and may provide new insights into the pathophysiology of genetic FTD. Further validation is needed to investigate their clinical applicability as diagnostic or monitoring biomarkers

Janzen-Connell patterns are not the result of Janzen-Connell process: Oak recruitment in temperate forests

International audienceAccording to the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, seedling mortality is greater close to conspecific (or closely related) adult trees because of higher enemy pressure, ultimately increasing local tree-species diversity. However, this pattern (i.e. a decline of seedling performance close to conspecific or closely related adults) could also result from other processes: (1) heterospecific adults might positively affect seedlings; (2) conspecific (or closely related) adults might negatively affect seedlings by causing a deterioration of the microenvironment. We tested these hypotheses, accounting also for sizes of adults. We planted oak-seedlings in a temperate forest, characterized their adult neighbourhoods, measured 26 microenvironmental conditions, seedling mortality during one year, budburst and leaf herbivory. We detected Janzen-Connell-like patterns (frequent lack of budburst close to conspecific adults; high seedling mortality close to closely related adults) that were consistent with the Janzen-Connell process. However, these patterns were either counteracted by non-Janzen-Connell processes such as a favourable microenvironment or were weak with little explained variance. We detected Janzen-Connell-like patterns that were not consistent with the Janzen-Connell process: proximity to heterospecific adults per se decreased leaf herbivory partly due to microenvironmental effects, such that a lower leaf herbivory decreased seedling mortality. Overall, the spatial pattern of tree recruitment may resemble that predicted by Janzen-Connell but result from different processes: notably heterospecific adults creating refuges from enemies, facilitating the establishment of oaks below non-oaks without hindering their establishment below oaks