- Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is an uncommon tumor that can be difficult to diagnose.
- To provide updated, practical guidelines for the pathologic diagnosis of MM.
- Pathologists involved in the ...International Mesothelioma Interest Group and others with an interest and expertise in the field contributed to this update. Reference material included up-to-date, peer-reviewed publications and textbooks.
- There was discussion and consensus opinion regarding guidelines for (1) distinguishing benign from malignant mesothelial proliferations (both epithelioid and spindle cell lesions), (2) cytologic diagnosis of MM, (3) recognition of the key histologic features of pleural and peritoneal MM, (4) use of histochemical and immunohistochemical stains in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of MM, (5) differentiating epithelioid MM from various carcinomas (lung, breast, ovarian, and colonic adenocarcinomas, and squamous cell and renal cell carcinomas), (6) diagnosis of sarcomatoid MM, (7) use of molecular markers in the diagnosis of MM, (8) electron microscopy in the diagnosis of MM, and (9) some caveats and pitfalls in the diagnosis of MM. Immunohistochemical panels are integral to the diagnosis of MM, but the exact makeup of panels employed is dependent on the differential diagnosis and on the antibodies available in a given laboratory. Depending on the morphology, immunohistochemical panels should contain both positive and negative markers for mesothelial differentiation and for lesions considered in the differential diagnosis. Immunohistochemical markers should have either sensitivity or specificity greater than 80% for the lesions in question. Interpretation of positivity generally should take into account the localization of the stain (eg, nuclear versus cytoplasmic) and the percentage of cells staining (>10% is suggested for cytoplasmic and membranous markers). Selected molecular markers are now being used to distinguish benign from malignant mesothelial proliferations. These guidelines are meant to be a practical diagnostic reference for the pathologist; however, some new pathologic predictors of prognosis and response to therapy are also included.
Ecology Letters (2010) 13: 989-997 Adaptive variation in the traits determining ecological interactions can lead to evolution so rapid that ecological dynamics change course while in progress (i.e., ...'eco-evolutionary dynamics'). However, little is known about how the qualitative properties of eco-evolutionary dynamics (e.g., cycling, equilibrium, etc.) are affected by the amount of heritable variation present. Here, we show that a change in the range of variation in a heritable prey defense trait determines what dynamics are observed in an experimental predator-prey system. We combine modelling and laboratory experiments to show that initial defense trait variation determines whether populations exhibit eco-evolutionary cycles in which heritable variation is maintained, or converge to an equilibrium at which the prey population becomes monomorphic. Our results show how small changes in the amount of adaptive genetic variance initially present can radically alter eco-evolutionary dynamics, and can ultimately determine whether heritable variation is maintained or lost.
Summary Since the identification of S100 protein as an immunohistochemical marker that could be useful in the diagnosis of melanoma in the early 1980s, a large number of other melanocytic-associated ...markers that could potentially be used to assist in the differential diagnosis of these tumors have also been investigated. A great variation exists, however, among these markers, not only in their expression in some subtypes of melanoma, particularly desmoplastic melanoma, but also in their specificity because some of them can also be expressed in nonmelanocytic neoplasms, including various types of soft tissue tumors and carcinomas. This article reviews the information that is currently available on the practical value of some of the markers that have more often been recommended for assisting in the diagnosis of melanomas, including those that have only recently become available.
The supply and demand of omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 HUFA) in natural ecosystems may lead to resource limitation in a diverse array of animal taxa. Here, we review why food quality in ...terms of ω-3 HUFAs is important, particularly for neural tissue, across a diversity of animal taxa ranging from invertebrate zooplankton to vertebrates (including humans). Our review is focused on ω-3 HUFAs rather than other unsaturated fatty acids because these compounds are especially important biochemically, but scarce in nature. We discuss the dichotomy between ω-3 HUFA availability between aquatic primary producers, which are often rich in these compounds, and terrestrial primary producers, which are contain little to none of them. We describe the use of fatty acids as qualitative and quantitative tracers for reconstructing animal diets in natural ecosystems. Next, we discuss both direct and indirect ecological implications of ω-3 HUFA limitation at the individual, population, food web, and ecosystem scales, which include: changes in behavior, species composition, secondary production rates, trophic transfer efficiency and cross-ecosystem subsidies. We finish by highlighting future research priorities including a need for more research on ω-3 HUFAs in terrestrial systems, more research their importance for higher order consumers, and more research on the food web and ecosystem-scale effects of ω-3 HUFA limitation.
Synthesis
Mismatches between the supply of and demand for omega-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (ω-3 HUFA) in natural ecosystems have the potential to result in resource limitation across a diverse array of ecosystems. We combined perspectives from ecology and nutritional science to develop a unified synthesis of ω-3 HUFA ecology. We reviewed the importance of ω-3 HUFAs for animals, the striking differences in ω-3 HUFA availability at the base of terrestrial versus aquatic food webs, and the implications of ω-3 HUFA limitation for food webs. We finished by highlighting research priorities in the field including more research on ω-3 HUFAs in terrestrial systems, on higher order consumers, and at the food web and ecosystem-scales.
Ecology Letters (2011) 14: 603–614
Rapid contemporary evolution due to natural selection is common in the wild, but it remains uncertain whether its effects are an essential component of community ...and ecosystem structure and function. Previously we showed how to partition change in a population, community or ecosystem property into contributions from environmental and trait change, when trait change is entirely caused by evolution (Hairston et al. 2005). However, when substantial non‐heritable trait change occurs (e.g. due to phenotypic plasticity or change in population structure) that approach can mis‐estimate both contributions. Here, we demonstrate how to disentangle ecological impacts of evolution vs. non‐heritable trait change by combining our previous approach with the Price Equation. This yields a three‐way partitioning into effects of evolution, non‐heritable phenotypic change and environment. We extend the approach to cases where ecological consequences of trait change are mediated through interspecific interactions. We analyse empirical examples involving fish, birds and zooplankton, finding that the proportional contribution of rapid evolution varies widely (even among different ecological properties affected by the same trait), and that rapid evolution can be important when it acts to oppose and mitigate phenotypic effects of environmental change. Paradoxically, rapid evolution may be most important when it is least evident.
Ecology Letters (2012) 15: 492–501
Feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary change may play important roles in community and ecosystem functioning, but a complete eco‐evolutionary feedback loop ...has not been demonstrated at the community level, and we know little about molecular mechanisms underlying this kind of eco‐evolutionary dynamics. In predator–prey (rotifer‐alga) microcosms, cyclical changes in predator abundance generated fluctuating selection for a heritable prey defence trait, cell clumping. Predator population growth was affected more by prey evolution than by changes in prey abundance, and changes in predator abundance drove further prey evolution, completing the feedback loop. Within a predator–prey cycle, genes up‐regulated as clumping declined were down‐regulated as clumping increased, and vice‐versa. Genes changing most in expression tended to be associated with defence or its cost. Expression patterns of individual genes differed greatly between consecutive cycles (often reversing direction), suggesting that a particular phenotype may be produced by several (perhaps many) different gene transcription pathways.
Population genetics largely rests on a ‘standard model’ in which random genetic drift is the dominant force, selective sweeps occur infrequently, and deleterious mutations are purged from the ...population by purifying selection. Studies of phenotypic evolution in nature reveal a very different picture, with strong selection and rapid heritable trait changes being common. The time-rate scaling of phenotypic evolution suggests that selection on phenotypes is often fluctuating in direction, allowing phenotypes to respond rapidly to environmental fluctuations while remaining within relatively constant bounds over longer periods. Whether such rapid phenotypic evolution undermines the standard model will depend on how many genomic loci typically contribute to strongly selected traits and how phenotypic evolution impacts the dynamics of genetic variation in a population. Population-level sequencing will allow us to dissect the genetic basis of phenotypic evolution and study the evolutionary dynamics of genetic variation through direct measurement of polymorphism trajectories over time.
How do genetic variation and evolutionary change in critical species affect the composition and functioning of populations, communities and ecosystems? Illuminating the links in the causal chain from ...genes up to ecosystems is a particularly exciting prospect now that the feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary changes are known to be bidirectional. Yet to fully explore phenomena that span multiple levels of the biological hierarchy requires model organisms and systems that feature a comprehensive triad of strong ecological interactions in nature, experimental tractability in diverse contexts and accessibility to modern genomic tools. The water flea Daphnia satisfies these criteria, and genomic approaches capitalizing on the pivotal role Daphnia plays in the functioning of pelagic freshwater food webs will enable investigations of eco-evolutionary dynamics in unprecedented detail. Because its ecology is profoundly influenced by both genetic polymorphism and phenotypic plasticity, Daphnia represents a model system with tremendous potential for developing a mechanistic understanding of the relationship between traits at the genetic, organismal and population levels, and consequences for community and ecosystem dynamics. Here, we highlight the combination of traits and ecological interactions that make Daphnia a definitive model system, focusing on the additional power and capabilities enabled by recent molecular and genomic advances.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are pinpointed as promising molecules against antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. Nevertheless, there is a discrepancy between the AMP sequences generated and the ...tangible outcomes in clinical trials. AMPs' limitations include enzymatic degradation, chemical/physical instability and toxicity toward healthy human cells. These factors compromise AMPs' bioavailability, resulting in limited therapeutic potential. To overcome such obstacles, peptidomimetic approaches, including glycosylation, PEGylation, lipidation, cyclization, grafting, D-amino acid insertion, stapling and dendrimers are promising strategies to fine-tune AMPs. Here we focused on chemical modifications applied for AMP optimization and how they have helped these peptide-based antibiotic candidates' design and translational potential.
Cryptic eco-evolutionary dynamics Kinnison, Michael T.; Hairston Jr, Nelson G.; Hendry, Andrew P.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences,
December 2015, Letnik:
1360, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Natural systems harbor complex interactions that are fundamental parts of ecology and evolution. These interactions challenge our inclinations and training to seek the simplest explanations of ...patterns in nature. Not least is the likelihood that some complex processes might be missed when their patterns look similar to predictions for simpler mechanisms. Along these lines, theory and empirical evidence increasingly suggest that environmental, ecological, phenotypic, and genetic processes can be tightly intertwined, resulting in complex and sometimes surprising eco‐evolutionary dynamics. The goal of this review is to temper inclinations to unquestioningly seek the simplest explanations in ecology and evolution, by recognizing that some eco‐evolutionary outcomes may appear very similar to purely ecological, purely evolutionary, or even null expectations, and thus be cryptic. We provide theoretical and empirical evidence for observational biases and mechanisms that might operate among the various links in eco‐evolutionary feedbacks to produce cryptic patterns. Recognition that cryptic dynamics can be associated with outcomes like stability, resilience, recovery, or coexistence in a dynamically changing world provides added impetus for finding ways to study them.
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