Genomic erosion and horizontal gene transfer shape functional differences of the ExlA toxin in spp.

Two-partner secretion (TPS) is widespread in the bacterial world. The pore-forming TPS toxin ExlA of is conserved in pathogenic and environmental . While and displayed ExlA-dependent killing, did not cause damage to eukaryotic cells.

Web-based and machine learning approaches for identification of patient-reported outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease.

Background: Messages from an Internet forum are raw material that emerges in a natural setting (i.e., non-induced by a research situation).

Dissecting heterogeneity in malignant pleural mesothelioma through histo-molecular gradients for clinical applications.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is recognized as heterogeneous based both on histology and molecular profiling. Histology addresses inter-tumor and intra-tumor heterogeneity in MPM and describes three major types: epithelioid, sarcomatoid and biphasic, a combination of the former two types. Molecular profiling studies have not addressed intra-tumor heterogeneity in MPM to date.

Co-occurring Mutations of Tumor Suppressor Genes, and , in Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma.

To better define malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) heterogeneity and identify molecular subtypes of MPM, we focus on the tumor suppressor gene , a member of the Hippo signaling pathway, which plays a key role in mesothelial carcinogenesis. Sixty-one MPM primary cultures established in our laboratory were screened for mutations in Gene inactivation was modeled using siRNAs. Gene and protein expressions were analyzed by quantitative RT-PCR, Western blot analysis, and reverse phase protein array.

Omental torsion in a captive polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

This is the first case report of an omental torsion in a polar bear (Ursus maritimus). A captive, 23-yr-old, 250-kg, intact female polar bear presented to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center with a 2-day history of lethargy, depression, and vomiting. Abdominal ultrasound identified large amounts of hyperechoic free peritoneal fluid.

Molecular classification of malignant pleural mesothelioma: identification of a poor prognosis subgroup linked to the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

Purpose: Despite research efforts to develop more effective diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) prognosis remains poor. The assessment of tumor response to therapy can be improved by a deeper phenotypical classification of the tumor, with emphasis on its clinico-biological heterogeneity. The identification of molecular profiles is a powerful approach to better define MPM subclasses and targeted therapies.

Overexpression and promoter mutation of the TERT gene in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) is a very aggressive tumor with no known curative treatment. Better knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of mesothelial carcinogenesis is required to develop new therapeutic strategies. MPM, like all cancer cells, needs to maintain telomere length to prevent senescence.

Differential mutation profiles and similar intronic TP53 polymorphisms in asbestos-related lung cancer and pleural mesothelioma.

Given the interest in defining biomarkers of asbestos exposure and to provide insights into asbestos-related and cell-specific mechanisms of neoplasia, the identification of gene alterations in asbestos-related cancers can help to a better understanding of exposure risk. To understand the aetiology of asbestos-induced malignancies and to increase our knowledge of mesothelial carcinogenesis, we compared genetic alterations in relevant cancer genes between lung cancer, induced by asbestos and tobacco smoke, and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM), a cancer related to asbestos, but not to tobacco smoke. TP53, KRAS, EGFR and NF2 gene alteration analyses were performed in 100 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, 50 asbestos-exposed and 50 unexposed patients, matched for age, gender, histology and smoking habits.

Oleander toxicosis in equids: 30 cases (1995-2010).

Objective: To determine clinical, laboratory analysis, and necropsy findings for equids with oleander toxicosis and to identify factors associated with outcome.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Animals: 30 equids.

Pemphigus vulgaris in a Welsh pony stallion: case report and demonstration of antidesmoglein autoantibodies.

Hypothesis/objectives: To describe the clinical, histological and immunological findings of an equine case of pemphigus vulgaris, including the demonstration of antidesmoglein (anti-Dsg) autoantibodies.

Case Report: The diagnosis of pemphigus vulgaris was confirmed in a 9-year-old Welsh pony stallion with both direct and indirect immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation studies, the latter identifying circulating anti-Dsg3 IgG. Treatment with immunosuppressive medications was initiated.

Photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium Sp. strain ORS285 synthesizes 2-O-methylfucosylated lipochitooligosaccharides for nod gene-dependent interaction with Aeschynomene plants.

Bradyrhizobium sp. strain ORS285 is a photosynthetic bacterium that forms nitrogen-fixing nodules on the roots and stems of tropical aquatic legumes of the Aeschynomene genus. The symbiotic interaction of Bradyrhizobium sp.

Nodulation of Crotalaria podocarpa DC. by Methylobacterium nodulans displays very unusual features.

Crotalaria are plants of the Fabaceae family whose nodulation characteristics have been little explored despite the recent discovery of their unexpected ability to be efficiently nodulated in symbiosis with bacteria of the genus Methylobacterium. It has been shown that methylotrophy plays a key role in this unusual symbiotic system, as it is expressed within the nodule and as non-methylotroph mutants had a depleting effect on plant growth response. Within the nodule, Methylobacterium is thus able to obtain carbon both from host plant photosynthesis and from methylotrophy.

Syntenic relationships between genomic profiles of fiber-induced murine and human malignant mesothelioma.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an aggressive tumor with a poor prognosis mainly linked to past asbestos exposure. Murine models of MM based on fiber exposure have been developed to elucidate the mechanism of mesothelioma formation. Genomic alterations in murine MM have now been partially characterized.

Mesothelioma: Do asbestos and carbon nanotubes pose the same health risk?

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), the product of new technology, may be used in a wide range of applications. Because they present similarities to asbestos fibres in terms of their shape and size, it is legitimate to raise the question of their safety for human health. Recent animal and cellular studies suggest that CNTs elicit tissue and cell responses similar to those observed with asbestos fibres, which increases concern about the adverse biological effects of CNTs.

p16INK4A inactivation mechanisms in non-small-cell lung cancer patients occupationally exposed to asbestos.

Epidemiological studies have shown that asbestos fibers constitute the major occupational risk factor and that asbestos acts synergistically with tobacco smoking to induce lung cancer. Although some somatic gene alterations in lung cancer have been linked to tobacco smoke, few data are available on the role of asbestos fibers. P16/CDKN2A is an important tumor suppressor gene that is frequently altered in lung cancer via promoter 5'-CpG island hypermethylation and homozygous deletion, and rarely via point mutation.

Malignant pleural mesothelioma cells resist anoikis as quiescent pluricellular aggregates.

Pleural fluid accumulation is a frequent clinical observation in diffuse malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM). The cytological analysis of pleural fluid often reveals the presence of free spheroid aggregates of malignant cells, giving rise to the question of the ability of non-adherent tumor cells to resist the loss of anchorage-induced apoptosis (termed as anoikis), and to develop new tumor foci in the pleural cavity. Here, we show that MPM cells cultured under non-adherent conditions form well-organized aggregates composed of viable cells, which progressively enter in G(0).

Substrate specificity-conferring regions of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase adenylation domains involved in albicidin pathotoxin biosynthesis are highly conserved within the species Xanthomonas albilineans.

Albicidin is a pathotoxin produced by Xanthomonas albilineans, a xylem-invading pathogen that causes leaf scald disease of sugarcane. Albicidin is synthesized by a nonribosomal pathway via modular polyketide synthase and nonribosomal peptide synthetase (NRPS) megasynthases, and NRPS adenylation (A) domains are responsible for the recognition and activation of specific amino acid substrates. DNA fragments (0.

Clinico-pathological features and somatic gene alterations in refractory ceramic fibre-induced murine mesothelioma reveal mineral fibre-induced mesothelioma identities.

Although human malignant mesothelioma (HMM) is mainly caused by asbestos exposure, refractory ceramic fibres (RCFs) have been classified as possibly carcinogenic to humans on the basis of their biological effects in rodents' lung and pleura and in cultured cells. Hence, further investigations are needed to clarify the mechanism of fibre-induced carcinogenicity and to prevent use of harmful particles. In a previous study, mesotheliomas were found in hemizygous Nf2 (Nf2(+/-)) mice exposed to asbestos fibres, and showed similar alterations in genes at the Ink4 locus and in Trp53 as described in HMM.

Similar tumor suppressor gene alteration profiles in asbestos-induced murine and human mesothelioma.

Human malignant mesothelioma (HMM) is an aggressive malignancy mainly caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. Here we investigated tumor suppressor genes in mesothelioma cells from tumoral ascites developed in mice exposed to asbestos (asb) fibers and in 12 HMM cell cultures. Mutations in Nf2, p16/Cdkn2a, p19/Arf and Trp53 genes and protein expression of p15/Cdkn2b and Cdk4 were analyzed in 12 cultures from mice hemizygous for Nf2 (asb-Nf2(KO3/+)) and 4 wild type counterparts (asb-Nf2(+/+)).

Role of methylotrophy during symbiosis between Methylobacterium nodulans and Crotalaria podocarpa.

Some rare leguminous plants of the genus Crotalaria are specifically nodulated by the methylotrophic bacterium Methylobacterium nodulans. In this study, the expression and role of bacterial methylotrophy were investigated during symbiosis between M. nodulans, strain ORS 2060T, and its host legume, Crotalaria podocarpa.

Hemizygosity of Nf2 is associated with increased susceptibility to asbestos-induced peritoneal tumours.

Biallelic NF2 gene inactivation is frequently found in human malignant mesothelioma. In order to assess whether NF2 hemizygosity may enhance susceptibility to asbestos fibres, we investigated the Nf2 status in mesothelioma developed in mice presenting a heterozygous mutation of the Nf2 gene (Nf2(KO3/+)), after intraperitoneal inoculation of crocidolite fibres. Asbestos-exposed Nf2(KO3/+) mice developed tumoural ascites and mesothelioma at a higher frequency than their wild-type (WT) counterparts (P&<0.

Cell cycle checkpoint status in human malignant mesothelioma cell lines: response to gamma radiation.

Knowledge of the function of the cell cycle checkpoints in tumour cells may be important to develop treatment strategies for human cancers. The protein p53 is an important factor that regulates cell cycle progression and apoptosis in response to drugs. In human malignant mesothelioma, p53 is generally not mutated, but may be inactivated by SV40 early region T antigen (SV40 Tag).

Absence of SV40 large T-antigen expression in human mesothelioma cell lines.

Simian virus (SV) 40 and SV40-like DNA sequences have recently been detected in several types of human tumors, including malignant mesothelioma. However, the presence of SV40 DNA sequences is not sufficient to account for its possible role in tumor development because the viral proteins must be expressed and ultimately impair the function of relevant cell proteins, such as p53 and pRb. In this study we investigated SV40 large T antigen (SV40 Tag) protein expression in mesothelioma cell lines, established in our laboratory, by Western blotting, immunoprecipitation, and immunocytochemistry using Tag-specific mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) Ab-1 (or Pab 419).

DNA breakage in asbestos-treated normal and transformed (TSV40) rat pleural mesothelial cells.

Asbestos has been shown to induce cell cycle arrest, DNA repair and some abnormalities consistent with DNA damage but not DNA breakage. The purpose of the study was to investigate DNA breakage in asbestos-exposed rat pleural mesothelial cells (RPMC). RPMC were compared with their transformed counterparts, RPMC-TSV40 (i.