Adult grade II diffuse astrocytomas are genetically distinct from and more aggressive than their paediatric counterparts.

Diffuse astrocytomas (WHO grade II) typically present as slow-growing tumours showing significant cellular differentiation, but possessing a tendency towards malignant progression. They account for ~10% of all astrocytic tumours, with a peak incidence between 30 and 40 years of age. Median survival is reported as around 6-8 years.

Genome-wide analysis of subependymomas shows underlying chromosomal copy number changes involving chromosomes 6, 7, 8 and 14 in a proportion of cases.

Subependymomas (SE) are slow-growing brain tumors that tend to occur within the ventricles of middle-aged and elderly adults. The World Health Organization classifies these tumors within the ependymoma group. Previous limited analysis of this tumor type had not revealed significant underlying cytogenetic abnormalities.

Lysophosphatidic acid cooperates with 1alpha,25(OH)2D3 in stimulating human MG63 osteoblast maturation.

Osteoblast maturation is partly controlled by the interaction of 1alpha,25(OH)(2)D(3) (D3), an active metabolite of Vitamin D, with other growth factors. The first reports describing the in vitro effect of D3 on human osteoblast differentiation performed experiments in the presence of serum. One potentially exciting candidate that might help explain the D3 responses observed for osteoblasts cultured with serum is lysophosphatidic acid (LPA).

Immunoglobulin light-chain genes in the rhesus macaque II: lambda light-chain germline sequences for subgroups IGLV1, IGLV2, IGLV3, IGLV4 and IGLV5.

The combined processes of immunoglobulin (IG) gene rearrangement and somatic hypermutation allow for the creation of an extremely diverse antibody repertoire. Knowledge of the germline sequence of the IG genes is required so that hypermutation and the affinity matured humoral response can be properly studied. Variable region genes can be arranged into subgroups; in humans, there are 11 IGLV subgroups and 6 IGKV subgroups.

Immunoglobulin light-chain genes in the rhesus macaque I: kappa light-chain germline sequences for subgroups IGKV1, IGKV and IGKV3.

The combined processes of immunoglobulin (IG) gene rearrangement and somatic hypermutation allow for the creation of an extremely diverse antibody repertoire. Knowledge of the germline sequence of the IG genes is required so that hypermutation and the affinity matured humoral response can be properly studied. Variable region genes can be arranged into subgroups; in humans, there are 11 IGLV subgroups and six IGKV subgroups.