Production of vascular endothelial growth factor by human tumors inhibits the functional maturation of dendritic cells

Inadequate presentation of tumor antigens by host professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), including dendritic cells (DCs), is one potential mechanism for the escape of tumors from the host immune system. Here, we show that human cancer cell lines release a soluble factor or factors that dramatically affect DC maturation from precursors without affecting the function of relatively mature DCs. One factor responsible for these effects was identified as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Thus, VEGF may play a broader role in the pathogenesis of cancer than was previously thought, and therapeutic blockade of VEGF action may improve prospects for immunotherapy as well as inhibit tumor neovasculature.     

Confirmation that Thiobacillus halophilus and Thiobacillus hydrothermalis are distinct species within the gamma-subclass of the Proteobacteria

BACKGROUND: There is controversy regarding the most appropriate investigation for suspected colorectal carcinoma. We offered these patients same-day flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) and double-contrast barium enema (DCBE). METHODS: We reviewed the results of 117 consecutive adult patients. All patients underwent FS followed by DCBE on the same day. The radiographs were reviewed by two of the authors who were blinded to the clinical information, flexible sigmoidoscopy reports, and the original DCBE report. RESULTS: One hundred seventeen patients made up the study population. Thirty-four of the 117 patients had polyps and/or carcinoma. Three malignant tumours were detected by DCBE; one of these was also seen on FS, and the other two cancers were out of FS range. Fifty-three polyps were found by FS; nine were removed by biopsy prior to the enema examination. Of the 44 remaining polyps, DCBE failed to detect 87% of the 0-9-mm group and 67% of the >9-mm group. Ten polyps were seen only on DCBE; seven of these 10 were beyond the range of the sigmoidoscope, and the three remaining polyps were less than 5 mm. CONCLUSION: DCBE is insensitive in the detection of rectosigmoid polyps. FS should continue to be used as a complementary examination to DCBE in the investigation of suspected colorectal carcinoma.     

Induced variability in the distribution of activity over the circadian cycle.

Two experiments investigated factors affecting the distribution of locomotor rates over the circadian cycle of 96 earthworms by using an activity wheel. External stimulation (e.g., handling, operating), remote in time from testing (up to 5 days), had a systematic effect on the degree of activity found at specific times of day. Analogous findings for other species suggest a biological capacity to adjust the timing or degree of activity throughout the light cycle according to environmental requirements. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facial alopecia in the rabbit associated with Cheyletiella parasitivorax

A facial dermatitis characterized by alopecia over the frontal area with varying degrees of erythema and scale formation was observed in 46 newly arrived New Zealand White rabbits within a 5-month period. The clinical history, nature of the lesion, and laboratory findings indicated that the mite Cheyletiella parasitivorax was the most likely cause of the dermatitis.     

Multiple independent origins of mitochondrial gene order in birds

Mitochondrial genomes of all vertebrate animals analyzed to date have the same 37 genes, whose arrangement in the circular DNA molecule varies only in the relative position of a few genes. This relative conservation suggests that mitochondrial gene order characters have potential utility as phylogenetic markers for higher-level vertebrate taxa. We report discovery of a mitochondrial gene order that has had multiple independent originations within birds, based on sampling of 137 species representing 13 traditionally recognized orders. This provides evidence of parallel evolution in mitochondrial gene order for animals. Our results indicate operation of physical constraints on mitochondrial gene order changes and support models for gene order change based on replication error. Bird mitochondria have a displaced OL (origin of light-strand replication site) as do various other Reptilia taxa prone to gene order changes. Our findings point to the need for broad taxonomic sampling in using mitochondrial gene order for phylogenetic analyses. We found, however, that the alternative mitochondrial gene orders distinguish the two primary groups of songbirds (order Passeriformes), oscines and suboscines, in agreement with other molecular as well as morphological data sets. Thus, although mitochondrial gene order characters appear susceptible to some parallel evolution because of mechanistic constraints, they do hold promise for phylogenetic studies.