Craniodental variation among Macaques (Macaca), nonhuman primates

BACKGROUND: In terms of structure and function, the skull is one of the most complicated organs in the body. It is also one of the most important parts in terms of developmental and evolutionary origins. This complexity makes it difficult to obtain evolutionary assessments if, as is usually the case with fossils, only part of the skull is available. For this reason this study involves a set of comparisons whereby the smallest functional units are studied first, and these built up, through a triple-nested hierarchical design, into more complex anatomical regions and eventually into the skull-as-a-whole. This design has been applied to macaques (Macaca) in order to reveal patterns of variation at the different levels. The profiles of such variation have been obtained both within and between species. This has lead to a search for the skull parts that have undergone similar selection pressures during evolution and comparable development patterns in both ontogeny and phylogeny. RESULTS: Morphometric analysis (Principal Components) was used to obtain these profiles of species and sex separations based on 77 cranial variables from 11 species of macaques. The results showed that 7 functional units could be aggregated into three functionally reasonable anatomical regions on the basis of similarities in profiles. These were: the masticatory apparatus containing mandible, lower teeth and upper teeth, the face as a whole combining maxilla (actually lower face) and upper face, and the cranium as a whole involving cranium and calvaria. Twenty-six variables were finally selected for analyzing the morphology of the whole skull. This last showed an overall profile similar to that revealed in the masticatory apparatus but also contained additional information pertaining to individual species and species-groups separations. CONCLUSIONS: The study provides a model for carrying out analysis of species separations and sex variation simultaneously. Through this design it seems possible to see cranio-dental elements that may result from similar developmental processes, have similar functional adaptations, and show an appropriately integrated structure morphologically. This study also implies that the biological information drawn from part of skull alone, e.g. as in studies of incomplete fossils may provide misleading information

Circular RNA circPVT1 Promotes Proliferation and Invasion Through Sponging miR-125b and Activating E2F2 Signaling in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Background/Aims: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are key regulators in the development and progression of human cancers, however its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumorigenesis is not well understood. The aim of this study is to identify the expression level of circPVT1 in NSCLC and further investigated its functional relevance with NSCLC progression both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Quantative real-time PCR was used for the measurement of circPVT1 in NSCLC specimens and cell lines. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis (FISH) assay was used for the identification of sublocation of circPVT1 in NSCLC cells. Bioinformatics analysis, luciferase reporter assay and RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP) were performed to verify the binding of c-Fos at circPVT1 promoter region, and the direct interaction between circPVT1 and miR-125b. Gain- or loss-function assays were performed to evaluate the effects of circPVT1 on cell proliferation and invasion. Western blot and immunohistochemistry assays were performed to detect the protein levels involved in E2F2 pathway. Results: We found that circPVT1 was upregulated in NSCLC specimens and cells. The transcription factor c-Fos binded to the promoter region of circPVT1, resulting in the overexpression of circPVT1 in NSCLC. Knockdown of circPVT1 suppressed NSCLC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, and increased apoptosis. In addition, circPVT1 mediated NSCLC progression via the regulation of E2F2 signaling pathway. More importantly, circPVT1 was predominantly abundant in the cytoplasm of NSCLC cells, and circPVT1 could serve as a competing endogenous RNA to regulate E2F2 expression and tumorigenesis in a miR-125b-dependent manner, which is further verified by using an in vivo xenograft model. Conclusion: circPVT1 promotes NSCLC cell growth and invasion, and may serve as a promising therapeutic target for NSCLC patients. Therefore, silence of circPVT1 could be a future direction to develop a novel treatment strategy

Expression and Function of Androgen Receptor Coactivator p44/Mep50/WDR77 in Ovarian Cancer

Hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, and their receptors play an important role in the development and progression of ovarian carcinoma. Androgen, its receptor and coactivators have also been implicated in these processes. p44/Mep50/WDR77 was identified as a subunit of the methylosome complex and lately characterized as a steroid receptor coactivator that enhances androgen receptor as well as estrogen receptor-mediated transcriptional activity in a ligand-dependent manner. We previously described distinct expression and function of p44 in prostate, testis, and breast cancers. In this report, we examined the expression and function of p44 in ovarian cancer. In contrast to findings in prostate and testicular cancer and similar to breast cancer, p44 shows strong cytoplasmic localization in morphologically normal ovarian surface and fallopian tube epithelia, while nuclear p44 is observed in invasive ovarian carcinoma. We observed that p44 can serve as a coactivator of both androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER) in ovarian cells. Further, overexpression of nuclear-localized p44 stimulates proliferation and invasion in ovarian cancer cells in the presence of estrogen or androgen. These findings strongly suggest that p44 plays a role in mediating the effects of hormones during ovarian tumorigenesis

Relationships Between the Fossil Colobine Mesopithecus pentelicus and Extant Cercopithecoids, Based on Dental Metrics

Maxillary dental measurements from six specimens of Mesopithecus pentelicus, 64 cercopithecines, 59 African colobines, and 64 Asian colobines were analyzed by means of a "nested research design" that was specifically designed to explore the affiliation between fossils and extant cercopithecoids at different systematic levels. The results showed that the variation among taxonomic groups was mainly associated with size; however, in addition, interesting shape differences emerged, molars were shown to be important discriminators, Mesopithecus was confirmed as a colobine (as expected) and found to be closer to Asian species than to African ones, and the odd-nosed colobines were found to share more dental similarities with Mesopithecus than other colobines. The last finding is in contrast to previous studies, in which it was proposed that M. pentelicus is morphologically closely related to the African colobus and the gray langur (Semnopithecus)

Novel Antibody-Lectin Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay That Distinguishes Prion Proteins in Sporadic and Variant Cases of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

We used different anti-prion protein (anti-PrP) monoclonal antibodies to capture either full-length or truncated PrP species and then used biotinylated lectin to compare the nature of the glycans on bound PrP species present in control, sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), or variant CJD (vCJD) brains. When full-length PrP species in these three groups were compared, no significant difference in the binding of concanavalin A or Aleuria aurantia lectin was detected. However, the binding of Ricinus communis agglutinin I (RCA) to sCJD and vCJD samples was significantly increased. In contrast, when only truncated PrP species were compared, only vCJD samples had more RCA binding activity. Therefore, while most of the RCA binding activity in sCJD is restricted to the full-length PrP species, the RCA binding activity in vCJD is associated with truncated and full-length PrP species. Furthermore, the RCA binding activity in sCJD and vCJD samples is mostly associated with proteinase K-resistant PrP species, a known signature of infectious prion. Therefore, PrP species in sCJD and vCJD have dissimilar lectin immunoreactivity, which reflects differences in their N-linked glycans. These differences may account for the distinct phenotypes of sCJD and vCJD

Biochemical Fingerprints of Prion Infection: Accumulations of Aberrant Full-Length and N-Terminally Truncated PrP Species Are Common Features in Mouse Prion Disease

Infection with any one of three strains of mouse scrapie prion (PrP(Sc)), 139A, ME7, or 22L, results in the accumulation of two underglycosylated, full-length PrP species and an N-terminally truncated PrP species that are not detectable in uninfected animals. The levels of the N-terminally truncated PrP species vary depending on PrP(Sc) strain. Furthermore, 22L-infected brains consistently have the highest levels of proteinase K (PK)-resistant PrP species, followed by ME7- and 139A-infected brains. The three strains of PrP(Sc) are equally susceptible to PK and proteases papain and chymotrypsin. Their protease resistance patterns are also similar. In sucrose gradient velocity sedimentation, the aberrant PrP species partition with PrP(Sc) aggregates, indicating that they are physically associated with PrP(Sc). In ME7-infected animals, one of the underglycosylated, full-length PrP species is detected much earlier than the other, before both the onset of clinical disease and the detection of PK-resistant PrP species. In contrast, the appearance of the N-terminally truncated PrP species coincides with the presence of PK-resistant species and the manifestation of clinical symptoms. Therefore, accumulation of the underglycosylated, full-length PrP species is an early biochemical fingerprint of PrP(Sc) infection. Accumulation of the underglycosylated, full-length PrP species and the aberrant N-terminally truncated PrP species may be important in the pathogenesis of prion disease

The BDNF Val66Met modulates the Dark Triad: empathic concern and aggression as mediators

Objectives Empathy and aggression are features of the Dark Triad. They are linked to the BDNF Val66Met polymorphism. Here, we investigated the relationships between this polymorphism and the Dark Triad traits. Methods We genotyped the BDNF Val66Met of 698 college students and measured personalities of the Dark Triad, self-report empathy, and aggression with scales of the Short Dark Triad, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and Buss and Perry’s Aggression Questionnaire, respectively. Results The Met/Met genotype of the BDNF Val66Met was related to higher scores on Machiavellianism and narcissism as compared with the Val carriers. The association between the BDNF Val66Met and Machiavellianism was mediated by aggression and empathic concern, while the association between this polymorphism and narcissism was only mediated by aggression. Conclusions This study highlights the importance of the BDNF Val66Met to the Dark Triad and reveals psychobiological pathways where aggression and empathic concern mediate the link between the BDNF gene and the Dark Triad