Location-Specific Responses to Thermal Stress in Larvae of the Reef-Building Coral Montastraea faveolata

The potential to adapt to a changing climate depends in part upon the standing genetic variation present in wild populations. In corals, the dispersive larval phase is particularly vulnerable to the effects of environmental stress. Larval survival and response to stress during dispersal and settlement will play a key role in the persistence of coral populations.To test the hypothesis that larval transcription profiles reflect location-specific responses to thermal stress, symbiont-free gametes from three to four colonies of the scleractinian coral Montastraea faveolata were collected from Florida and Mexico, fertilized, and raised under mean and elevated (up 1 to 2 degrees C above summer mean) temperatures. These locations have been shown to exchange larvae frequently enough to prevent significant differentiation of neutral loci. Differences among 1,310 unigenes were simultaneously characterized using custom cDNA microarrays, allowing investigation of gene expression patterns among larvae generated from wild populations under stress. Results show both conserved and location-specific variation in key processes including apoptosis, cell structuring, adhesion and development, energy and protein metabolism, and response to stress, in embryos of a reef-building coral.These results provide first insights into location-specific variation in gene expression in the face of gene flow, and support the hypothesis that coral host genomes may house adaptive potential needed to deal with changing environmental conditions

C-reactive protein concentration is associated with prognosis in patients suffering from peritoneal carcinomatosis of colorectal origin.

Item does not contain fulltextPURPOSE: Only a limited number of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC) of colorectal origin benefit from palliative chemotherapy. Identification of prognostic factors may aid in patient selection. The plasma concentration of C-reactive protein (CRP) is increasingly recognized as prognostic factor in a variety of malignancies. However, its value in peritoneal PC of colorectal origin is currently unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association of plasma CRP concentrations with survival in patients suffering from PC of colorectal origin who receive palliative chemotherapy. METHODS: Fifty patients with colorectal PC were identified from the Eindhoven Cancer Registry. Relevant data were retrieved from their clinical records. The most discriminatory CRP concentration was identified and patients were stratified accordingly, resulting in a group with low and a group with high CRP concentrations. Further comparisons were made between these groups. RESULTS: A CRP concentration /=35 mg/L (7.9 months) (p = 0.0002). CRP concentrations were inversely related to albumin concentrations which could predict survival at a cut-off value of 35 g/L (median survival 7.2 vs. 12.9 months, p = 0.01). High CRP concentrations were related to a decreased resectability rate of the primary tumor. CONCLUSION: Elevated CRP plasma concentrations are associated with decreased survival in patients with colorectal PC. This reflects the importance of inflammation in cancer survival. Further research is warranted to assess the clinical applicability of the current findings.1 augustus 201