Greenresilient: Innovative Cropping Systems In Organic Greenhouse Production

European organic greenhouse production systems are extremely differentiated. The more intensive ones have been object of debates, in the last decade, and a strong request for innovative solutions to reduce the level of intensification comes from the “organic sector”. An agroecological approach to organic production in protected conditions can be an option. This paper describes how scientists with competencies in soil science, agronomy, plant pathology, entomology and environmental sustainability assessment interact in the framework of GREENRESILIENT project (CORE Organic Cofund) to implement more resilient cropping systems in protected conditio

A Novel System of Polymorphic and Diverse NK Cell Receptors in Primates

There are two main classes of natural killer (NK) cell receptors in mammals, the killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and the structurally unrelated killer cell lectin-like receptors (KLR). While KIR represent the most diverse group of NK receptors in all primates studied to date, including humans, apes, and Old and New World monkeys, KLR represent the functional equivalent in rodents. Here, we report a first digression from this rule in lemurs, where the KLR (CD94/NKG2) rather than KIR constitute the most diverse group of NK cell receptors. We demonstrate that natural selection contributed to such diversification in lemurs and particularly targeted KLR residues interacting with the peptide presented by MHC class I ligands. We further show that lemurs lack a strict ortholog or functional equivalent of MHC-E, the ligands of non-polymorphic KLR in “higher” primates. Our data support the existence of a hitherto unknown system of polymorphic and diverse NK cell receptors in primates and of combinatorial diversity as a novel mechanism to increase NK cell receptor repertoire

GREENRESILIENT – applying agroecology to organic greenhouse production

Some organic greenhouse production systems are very intensive with potentially negative effects on the public trust on organic products as a whole. In this context, the year-round production of high quality and tasty vegetables in unheated and low-energy greenhouses or polytunnels, using resilient, sustainable and local systems, is a challenge, especially in areas with long winters and low light, low temperature conditions. The CORE Organic Cofund transnational project titled “Organic and biodynamic vegetable production in low-energy GREENhouses NDASH sustainable, RESILIENT and innovative food production systems” (GREENRESILIENT) has taken up the challenge and aims to demonstrate that an agroecological approach to greenhouse production is feasible and allows the establishment of robust agroecosystems in different European areas. The use of agroecological practices in organic greenhouse production systems is an innovative approach and a team of scientists with multidisciplinary competences (agronomy, agroecology, soil chemistry, entomology, plant pathology, weed science, life cycle analysis) from 12 research centres in eight European countries are involved. Research activities are carried out in five experimental sites (two in Mediterranean countries and three in central and northern countries), comparing innovative systems in unheated or frost protected conditions to a standard organic system specific for each experimental site. Results obtained will be used for actors' involvement (farmers, consumers and policy makers) and sustainability assessment

Alarmin S100A8/S100A9 as a biomarker for molecular imaging of local inflammatory activity

Inflammation has a key role in the pathogenesis of various human diseases. The early detection, localization and monitoring of inflammation are crucial for tailoring individual therapies. However, reliable biomarkers to detect local inflammatory activities and to predict disease outcome are still missing. Alarmins, which are locally released during cellular stress, are early amplifiers of inflammation. Here, using optical molecular imaging, we demonstrate that the alarmin S100A8/S100A9 serves as a sensitive local and systemic marker for the detection of even sub-clinical disease activity in inflammatory and immunological processes like irritative and allergic contact dermatitis. In a model of collagen-induced arthritis, we use S100A8/S100A9 imaging to predict the development of disease activity. Furthermore, S100A8/S100A9 can act as a very early and sensitive biomarker in experimental leishmaniasis for phagocyte activation linked to an effective Th1-response. In conclusion, the alarmin S100A8/S100A9 is a valuable and sensitive molecular target for novel imaging approaches to monitor clinically relevant inflammatory disorders on a molecular level

The alarmin Mrp8/14 as regulator of the adaptive immune response during allergic contact dermatitis

Item does not contain fulltextMrp8 and Mrp14 are endogenous alarmins amplifying inflammation via Toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4) activation. Due to their pro-inflammatory properties, alarmins are supposed to enhance adaptive immunity via activation of dendritic cells (DCs). In contrast, analysing a model of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) we observed a more severe disease outcome in Mrp8/14-deficient compared to wild-type mice. This unexpected phenotype was associated with an enhanced T-cell response due to an accelerated maturation of DCs in Mrp8/14-deficient mice. Accordingly, Mrp8, the active component of the heterocomplex, inhibits early DC maturation and antigen presentation in a TLR-4-dependent manner. Transfer of DCs purified from the local lymph nodes of sensitized Mrp8/14-deficient to wild-type mice determined the outcome of ACD. Our results link a pro-inflammatory role of the endogenous TLR-4 ligand Mrp8/14 to a regulatory function in adaptive immunity, which shows some similarities with the 'hygiene hypothesis' regarding continuous TLR-4 stimulation and decreased risk of allergy

Alarmins MRP8 and MRP14 Induce Stress Tolerance in Phagocytes under Sterile Inflammatory Conditions

Hyporesponsiveness by phagocytes is a well-known phenomenon in sepsis that is frequently induced by low-dose endotoxin stimulation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) but can also be found under sterile inflammatory conditions. We now demonstrate that the endogenous alarmins MRP8 and MRP14 induce phagocyte hyporesponsiveness via chromatin modifications in a TLR4-dependent manner that results in enhanced survival to septic shock in mice. During sterile inflammation, polytrauma and burn trauma patients initially present with high serum concentrations of myeloid-related proteins (MRPs). Human neonatal phagocytes are primed for hyporesponsiveness by increased peripartal MRP concentrations, which was confirmed in murine neonatal endotoxinemia in wild-type and MRP14−/− mice. Our data therefore indicate that alarmin-triggered phagocyte tolerance represents a regulatory mechanism for the susceptibility of neonates during systemic infections and sterile inflammation