Project description:Chemical signals are produced by aquatic organisms following predatory attacks or perturbations such as parasitic infection. Ectoparasites feeding on host fish are likely to cause release of similar alarm cues into the environment due to the stress, wounding and immune response stimulated upon infection. Alarm cues are often released in the form of proteins and peptides and provide important insights into bodily function and infection status. Here we outline a non-invasive method to identify potential chemical cues associated with infection in fish by extracting, purifying and characterizing proteins from water samples from cultured fish. Gel free proteomic methods were deemed the most suitable for protein detection in saline water samples. It was confirmed that proteins could be characterized from teleost water samples and that variation in protein profiles could be detected between infected and uninfected individuals and fish and parasite only water samples. Our novel assay provides a non-invasive method for assessing the health condition of both wild and farmed aquatic organisms. Similar to environmental DNA monitoring methods, these proteomic techniques could provide an important tool in applied biology and aquaculture biology
Project description:The incomplete surgical resection of invasive non-functional pituitary adenomas (iNFPAs) carries the increased risk of complications and requires adjuvant radiotherapy and medications. Thus, the molecular mechanisms and markers of invasiveness must be identified to guide the management of NFPA patients. This study explores the proteomic and transcriptomic variations of invasive and non-invasive NFPAs and other types of pituitary adenomas and evaluates the genetic markers in the exosome related to iNFPAs. The exosome from invasive and non-invasive NFPAs, prolactinomas (PRLs), growth hormone–secreting adenomas (GHs), adrenocorticotropic hormone-secreting adenomas (ACTHs), and normal pituitary tissue were analyzed. We confirmed that elevated matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP1) expression and its production in the exosome (exo-MMP1) are correlated with the invasive characteristics of NFPA. To investigate the molecular mechanism underlying the role of exo-MMP1 in invasiveness, we analyzed the effects of MMP1 on cell migration, cell growth and tumor angiogenesis. After transfection of MMP1 or a shRNA expression vector into NFPA cells, we obtained the associated exosome and observed that the altered expression and production of MMP1 in the exosome was significantly synchronized with the transduction of NFPA cells. In addition, the enrichment of MMP1 in the exosome promoted cell migration, cell growth and tumor angiogenesis via protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1) signaling in recipient cells. Thus, these data demonstrate that MMP1 plays an important role in tumor invasion and angiogenesis and show that an exosome-mediated regulatory pathway for MMP1 may represent a target for therapeutic treatment.
Project description:Invasive Lobular Carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common type of breast cancer next to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Few research tools exist to study ILC metastasis in vivo, with only one cell line reported to grow in xenograft models. We thus set out to isolate and characterize ILC cells with increased invasive properties and establish a xenograft model that spontaneously metastasized from the orthotopic site. MDA-MB-134VI ILC cells were placed in Matrigel transwells for 7-days. Migrated cells were isolated and expanded to create the VIVA1 cell line. VIVA1 cells were tested in vitro for ILC marker expression and relative proliferative and invasive ability compared to parental MDA-MB-134VI cells. An intraductally injected orthotopic xenograft model was used to assess primary and metastatic tumor growth in vivo. Similar to MDA-MB-134VI, VIVA1 cells retained expression of ER and lacked expression of E-cadherin, however showed increased invasion in vitro. Following intraductal injection, VIVA1 and MDA-MB-134VI cells had similar primary tumor growth similar survival kinetics. However, macrometastases were apparent in 6/10 animals at clinical endpoint in VIVA1 injected animals. RNA-seq analysis showed gene expression changes consistent with differences in cell migration and survival. Cells from the primary orthotopic tumor (VIVA-LIG43) were isolated and re-injected intraductally, which led to tumor growth in the mammary glands with a more rapid onset than the parental VIVA1 cells.
Project description:Urbanization is widely presumed to degrade ecosystem services, but empirical evidence is now challenging these assumptions. We report the first city-wide organic carbon (OC) budget for vegetation and soils, including under impervious surfaces. Urban soil OC storage was significantly greater than in regional agricultural land at equivalent soil depths, however there was no significant difference in storage between soils sampled beneath urban greenspaces and impervious surfaces, at equivalent depths. For a typical U.K. city, total OC storage was 17.6?kg m(-2) across the entire urban area (assuming 0?kg m(-2) under 15% of land covered by buildings). The majority of OC (82%) was held in soils, with 13% found under impervious surfaces, and 18% stored in vegetation. We reveal that assumptions underpinning current national estimates of ecosystem OC stocks, as required by Kyoto Protocol signatories, are not robust and are likely to have seriously underestimated the contributions of urban areas.