83 research outputs found
Acetate-induced apoptosis in colorectal carcinoma cells involves lysosomal membrane permeabilization and cathepsin D release
Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-related mortality. Short-chain fatty acids secreted by
dietary propionibacteria from the intestine, such as acetate, induce apoptosis in CRC cells and may therefore be relevant in CRC
prevention and therapy. We previously reported that acetic acid-induced apoptosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells involves
partial vacuole permeabilization and release of Pep4p, the yeast cathepsin D (CatD), which has a protective role in this process.
In cancer cells, lysosomes have emerged as key players in apoptosis through selective lysosomal membrane permeabilization
(LMP) and release of cathepsins. However, the role of CatD in CRC survival is controversial and has not been assessed in
response to acetate. We aimed to ascertain whether LMP and CatD are involved in acetate-induced apoptosis in CRC cells. We
showed that acetate per se inhibits proliferation and induces apoptosis. More importantly, we uncovered that acetate triggers
LMP and CatD release to the cytosol. Pepstatin A (a CatD inhibitor) but not E64d (a cathepsin B and L inhibitor) increased acetateinduced
apoptosis of CRC cells, suggesting that CatD has a protective role in this process. Our data indicate that acetate induces
LMP and subsequent release of CatD in CRC cells undergoing apoptosis, and suggest exploiting novel strategies using acetate
as a prevention/therapeutic agent in CRC, through simultaneous treatment with CatD inhibitors.This work was supported by the Fundação para a
CiĂȘncia e Tecnologia (FCT) research project PTDC/BIA-BCM/69448/2006 and FCT
PhD grants for SA (SFRH/BD/64695/2009) and CO (SFRH/BD/77449/2011). This
work was also supported by FEDER through POFCâCOMPETE, and by national
funds from FCT through the project PEst-C/BIA/UI4050/2011
CXCR6, a Newly Defined Biomarker of Tissue-Specific Stem Cell Asymmetric Self-Renewal, Identifies More Aggressive Human Melanoma Cancer Stem Cells
Background: A fundamental problem in cancer research is identifying the cell
type that is capable of sustaining neoplastic growth and its origin from normal
tissue cells. Recent investigations of a variety of tumor types have shown that
phenotypically identifiable and isolable subfractions of cells possess the
tumor-forming ability. In the present paper, using two lineage-related human
melanoma cell lines, primary melanoma line IGR39 and its metastatic derivative
line IGR37, two main observations are reported. The first one is the first
phenotypic evidence to support the origin of melanoma cancer stem cells (CSCs)
from mutated tissue-specific stem cells; and the second one is the
identification of a more aggressive subpopulation of CSCs in melanoma that are
CXCR6+. Conclusions/Significance: The association of a more aggressive tumor
phenotype with asymmetric self-renewal phenotype reveals a previously
unrecognized aspect of tumor cell physiology. Namely, the retention of some
tissue-specific stem cell attributes, like the ability to asymmetrically
self-renew, impacts the natural history of human tumor development. Knowledge
of this new aspect of tumor development and progression may provide new targets
for cancer prevention and treatment
Functional traits and phenotypic plasticity modulate species coexistence across contrasting climatic conditions
Functional traits are expected to modulate plant competitive dynamics. However, how traits
and their plasticity in response to contrasting environments connect with the mechanisms
determining species coexistence remains poorly understood. Here, we couple field experiments
under two contrasting climatic conditions to a plant population model describing
competitive dynamics between 10 annual plant species in order to evaluate how 19 functional
traits, covering physiological, morphological and reproductive characteristics, are associated
with speciesâ niche and fitness differences. We find a rich diversity of univariate and multidimensional
associations, which highlight the primary role of traits related to water- and lightuse-
efficiency for modulating the determinants of competitive outcomes. Importantly, such
traits and their plasticity promote species coexistence across climatic conditions by enhancing
stabilizing niche differences and by generating competitive trade-offs between species.
Our study represents a significant advance showing how leading dimensions of plant function
connect to the mechanisms determining the maintenance of biodiversity
Within-individual phenotypic plasticity in flowers fosters pollination niche shift
Authors thank Raquel SĂĄnchez, Angel Caravante, Isabel SĂĄnchez Almazo, Tatiana LĂłpez
PĂ©rez, Samuel Cantarero, MarĂa JosĂ© Jorquera and GermĂĄn FernĂĄndez for helping us during
several phases of the study and IvĂĄn RodrĂguez ArĂłs for drawing the insect silhouettes. This
research is supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and
Universities (CGL2015-71634-P, CGL2015-63827-P, CGL2017-86626-C2-1-P, CGL2017-
86626-C2-2-P, UNGR15-CE-3315, including EU FEDER funds), Junta de AndalucĂa (P18-
FR-3641), Xunta de Galicia (CITACA), BBVA Foundation (PR17_ECO_0021), and a
contract grant to C.A. from the former Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
(RYC-2012-12277). This is a contribution to the Research Unit Modeling Nature, funded by
the ConsejerĂa de EconomĂa, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad, and European
Regional Development Fund (ERDF), reference SOMM17/6109/UGR.Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of a genotype of producing different phenotypes when exposed to different environments, may impact ecological interactions. We study here how within-individual plasticity in Moricandia arvensis flowers modifies its pollination niche. During spring, this plant produces large, cross-shaped, UV-reflecting lilac flowers attracting mostly long-tongued large bees. However, unlike most co-occurring species, M. arvensis keeps flowering during the hot, dry summer due to its plasticity in key vegetative traits. Changes in temperature and photoperiod in summer trigger changes in gene expression and the production of small, rounded, UV-absorbing white flowers that attract a different assemblage of generalist pollinators. This shift in pollination niche potentially allows successful reproduction in harsh conditions, facilitating M. arvensis to face anthropogenic perturbations and climate change. Floral phenotypes impact interactions between plants and pollinators. Here, the authors show that Moricandia arvensis displays discrete seasonal plasticity in floral phenotype, with large, lilac flowers attracting long-tongued bees in spring and small, rounded, white flowers attracting generalist pollinators in summer.Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (EU FEDER funds)
CGL2015-71634-P
CGL2015-63827-P
CGL2017-86626-C2-1-P
CGL2017-86626-C2-2-P
UNGR15-CE-3315Junta de Andalucia
P18-FR-3641Xunta de GaliciaBBVA Foundation
PR17_ECO_0021Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness
RYC-2012-12277Consejeria de Economia, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad
SOMM17/6109/UGREuropean Union (EU)
SOMM17/6109/UG
Knock-Down of Cathepsin D Affects the Retinal Pigment Epithelium, Impairs Swim-Bladder Ontogenesis and Causes Premature Death in Zebrafish
The lysosomal aspartic protease Cathepsin D (CD) is ubiquitously expressed in eukaryotic organisms. CD activity is essential to accomplish the acid-dependent extensive or partial proteolysis of protein substrates within endosomal and lysosomal compartments therein delivered via endocytosis, phagocytosis or autophagocytosis. CD may also act at physiological pH on small-size substrates in the cytosol and in the extracellular milieu. Mouse and fruit fly CD knock-out models have highlighted the multi-pathophysiological roles of CD in tissue homeostasis and organ development. Here we report the first phenotypic description of the lack of CD expression during zebrafish (Danio rerio) development obtained by morpholino-mediated knock-down of CD mRNA. Since the un-fertilized eggs were shown to be supplied with maternal CD mRNA, only a morpholino targeting a sequence containing the starting ATG codon was effective. The main phenotypic alterations produced by CD knock-down in zebrafish were: 1. abnormal development of the eye and of retinal pigment epithelium; 2. absence of the swim-bladder; 3. skin hyper-pigmentation; 4. reduced growth and premature death. Rescue experiments confirmed the involvement of CD in the developmental processes leading to these phenotypic alterations. Our findings add to the list of CD functions in organ development and patho-physiology in vertebrates
Geographic variation in the aetiology, epidemiology and microbiology of bronchiectasis
Bronchiectasis is a disease associated with chronic progressive and irreversible dilatation of the bronchi and is characterised by chronic infection and associated inflammation. The prevalence of bronchiectasis is age-related and there is some geographical variation in incidence, prevalence and clinical features. Most bronchiectasis is reported to be idiopathic however post-infectious aetiologies dominate across Asia especially secondary to tuberculosis. Most focus to date has been on the study of airway bacteria, both as colonisers and causes of exacerbations. Modern molecular technologies including next generation sequencing (NGS) have become invaluable tools to identify microorganisms directly from sputum and which are difficult to culture using traditional agar based methods. These have provided important insight into our understanding of emerging pathogens in the airways of people with bronchiectasis and the geographical differences that occur. The contribution of the lung microbiome, its ethnic variation, and subsequent roles in disease progression and response to therapy across geographic regions warrant further investigation. This review summarises the known geographical differences in the aetiology, epidemiology and microbiology of bronchiectasis. Further, we highlight the opportunities offered by emerging molecular technologies such as -omics to further dissect out important ethnic differences in the prognosis and management of bronchiectasis.NMRC (Natl Medical Research Council, Sâpore)MOH (Min. of Health, Sâpore)Published versio
Test of lepton universality in decays
The first simultaneous test of muon-electron universality using
and decays is performed, in two ranges of the dilepton
invariant-mass squared, . The analysis uses beauty mesons produced in
proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and
2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9 . Each
of the four lepton universality measurements reported is either the first in
the given interval or supersedes previous LHCb measurements. The
results are compatible with the predictions of the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-046.html (LHCb
public pages
Precision measurement of violation in the penguin-mediated decay
A flavor-tagged time-dependent angular analysis of the decay
is performed using collision data collected
by the LHCb experiment at % at TeV, the center-of-mass energy of
13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 6 fb^{-1}. The
-violating phase and direct -violation parameter are measured
to be rad and
, respectively, assuming the same values
for all polarization states of the system. In these results, the
first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. These parameters
are also determined separately for each polarization state, showing no evidence
for polarization dependence. The results are combined with previous LHCb
measurements using collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV,
yielding rad and . This is the most precise study of time-dependent violation
in a penguin-dominated meson decay. The results are consistent with
symmetry and with the Standard Model predictions.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and
additional information, are available at
https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-001.html (LHCb
public pages
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