We reviewed the host plant records of acanthosomatid bugs (Heteroptera: Acanthosomatidae) in Japan through a thorough literature survey and field observations. As the result, more than 70 plant ...species belonging to 20 families are confirmed as the hosts of the 25 out of 27 acanthosomatid species known from Japan. Their host plants are diverse not only among but also within species; some bugs seem to be monophagous or oligophagous, but many others polyphagous.
Histone deacetylase (HDAC) 6 is a subtype of the HDAC family; it deacetylates alpha-tubulin and increases cell motility. Here, we investigate the impact of an alteration of HDAC6 expression in ...estrogen receptor alpha (ER)-positive breast cancer MCF-7 cells, as we identified that HDAC6 is a novel estrogen-regulated gene. MCF-7 treated with estradiol showed increased expression of HDAC6 mRNA and protein and a four-fold increase in cell motility in a migration assay. Cell motility was increased to the same degree by stably transfecting the HDAC6 expression vector into MCF-7 cells. In both cases, the cells changed in appearance from their original round shape to an axon-extended shape, like a neuronal cell. This HDAC6 accumulation caused the deacetylation of alpha-tubulin. Either the selective estrogen receptor modulator tamoxifen (TAM) or the pure antiestrogen ICI 182,780 prevented estradiol-induced HDAC6 accumulation and deacetylation of alpha-tubulin, leading to reduced cell motility. Tubacin, an inhibitory molecule that binds to the tubulin deacetylation domain of HDAC6, also prevented estradiol-stimulated cell migration. Finally, we evaluated HDAC6 protein expression in 139 consecutively archived human breast cancer tissues by immunohistochemical staining. The prognostic analyses for these patients revealed no significant differences based on HDAC6 expression. However, subset analysis of ER-positive patients who received adjuvant treatment with TAM (n = 67) showed a statistically significant difference in relapse-free survival and overall survival in favor of the HDAC6-positive group (P < 0.02 and P < 0.05, respectively). HDAC6 expression was an independent prognostic indicator by multivariate analysis (odds ratio = 2.82, P = 0.047). These results indicate the biological significance of HDAC6 regulation via estrogen signaling.
The surface detector array of the Telescope Array experiment Abu-Zayyad, T.; Aida, R.; Anderson, R. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2012, Volume:
689
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The Telescope Array (TA) experiment, located in the western desert of Utah, USA, is designed for the observation of extensive air showers from extremely high energy cosmic rays. The experiment has a ...surface detector array surrounded by three fluorescence detectors to enable simultaneous detection of shower particles at ground level and fluorescence photons along the shower track. The TA surface detectors and fluorescence detectors started full hybrid observation in March, 2008. In this article we describe the design and technical features of the TA surface detector.
Mutations at the murine dominant white spotting (KitW) and steel (MgfSl) loci, encoding c-Kit receptor kinase and its ligand respectively, exert developmental defects on hematopoietic cells, ...melanocytes, germ cells and interstitial cells of Cajal. The expression patterns of steel factor (SLF) observed in the skin and gonads suggest that SLF mediates a migratory or a chemotactic signal for c-Kit-expressing stem cells (melanocyte precursors and primordial germ cells). By targeting expression of SLF to epidermal keratinocytes in mice, we observed extended distribution of melanocytes in a number of sites including oral epithelium and footpads where neither melanocytes nor their precursors are normally detected. In addition, enlarged pigmented spots of KitW and other spotting mutant mice were observed in the presence of the SLF transgene. These results provide direct evidence that SLF stimulates migration of melanocytes in vivo. We also present data suggesting that SLF does not simply support survival and proliferation of melanocytes but also promotes differentiation of these cells. Unexpectedly, melanocyte stem cells independent of the c-Kit signal were maintained in the skin of the SLF transgenic mice. After the elimination of c-Kit-dependent melanoblasts by function-blocking anti-c-Kit antibody, these stem cells continued to proliferate and differentiate into mature melanocytes. These melanoblasts are able to migrate to cover most of the epidermis after several months. The SLF transgenic mice described in this report will be useful in the study of melanocyte biology.
Estrogen receptor (ER) beta cx, a splice variant of ER beta , is a dominant repressor of ER alpha function. In this study we investigated the possibility that because the progesterone receptor (PR) ...gene is a downstream target of activated ER alpha , in ER alpha -positive breast cancers, expression of ERsscx would result in repression of PR. In ER alpha -positive MCF-7 cells, stable transfection of an ERsscx expression vector resulted in reduced expression of PR without affecting ER alpha expression. In breast cancers, immunohistochemical evaluation of ER alpha -positive foci for the expression of PR and ERsscx revealed a significant correlation between a PR-negative phenotype and the presence of ERsscx within the foci. However, when entire lesions were evaluated by Allred scoring in 115 ER alpha -positive breast cancer specimens, the presence of two distinct groups of patients could be discerned. One group expressed ERsscx and had very reduced levels of PR expression, as expected. The second group showed both ERsscx and high levels of PR. To evaluate the role of ERsscx in sensitivity to tamoxifen, 18 core needle biopsies, obtained before preoperative treatment with tamoxifen, were investigated. The results show that expression of ERsscx in primary lesions correlated with a poor response to tamoxifen, especially in cancers with a low PR expression in Allred score. This is the first evidence that evaluation of ERsscx along with PR may contribute to a better characterization of ER alpha -positive breast cancers.
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