Úvod: Dosud stále platí, že pozdní záchyt onemocnění karcinomem vaječníku je zásadní příčina jeho špatné prognózy. Zatím nebyl identifikován žádný dostatečně senzitivní a zároveň specifický marker ani kombinace markerů a zobrazovacích metod, které by jednoznačně umožňovaly záchyt časných, potenciálně dobře kurabilních stadií a dále prebiopticky diferencovaly skupinu ultrazvukově špatně odlišitelných benigní lézí od maligních tumorů. V designu retrospektivní studie byly zkoumány hladiny sérového vaskulárního endoteliálního faktoru D (VEGF-D). VEGF-D má vztah k nádorem indukované angiogenezi, lymfangiogenezi a remodelaci cév s efektem facilitace metastazování a zlepšené distribuce kyslíku a živin pro nádorovou tkáň. Na druhou stranu lymfatická síť slouží jako bariéra proti nádorové diseminaci a je to transportní systém pro imunitně činné elementy v potlačování nádorového bujení. Cílem studie bylo prověřit, zda existuje rozdíl v hladinách sérového VEGF-D ve skupině pacientek s maligními tumory, s benigními lézemi vaječníku a u zdravých kontrol bez patologického nálezu na adnexech. Metody: Retrospektivně bylo zhodnoceno 162 sér odebraných předoperačně a uchovaných procesem mrazení v biobance v letech 2022–2023. Testovaný soubor byl stratifikován na základě histopatologického výsledku vyšetření adnex na skupinu maligních tumorů (n = 54), skupinu benigních lézí (n = 47) a skupinu zdravých kontrol (n = 61). Ke statistickému vyhodnocení parametrů byly použity metody deskriptivní statistické analýzy. Pro porovnání sérových hladin VEGF-D byly použity neparametrické testy. Všechny analýzy byly uvažovány na hladině významnosti 5 %. Sérový VEGF-D byl analyzován metodou ELISA Quantikine® Human VEGF D R&D Systems a hodnoty byly odečteny spektrofotometricky na readeru TECAN. Výsledky: Výsledek srovnání deskriptivních statistických parametrů je ve vyšetřovaném souboru statisticky významný (p = 0,00067) pro rozdíl mezi hodnotami sérového VEGF-D v souboru benigních lézí a maligních tumorů. Dále existuje statisticky významný rozdíl mezi hodnotami pacientek s maligními tumory a mezi zdravými kontrolami (p = 0,0008). Mezi hodnotami u pacientek s benigními lézemi a u zdravých kontrol nebyl nalezen statisticky významný rozdíl (p = 0,4308). Ve srovnání s konvenčním markerem CA125 korelovala patologicky zvýšená hladina sérového CA125 s nízkou hodnotou sérového VEGF-D u pacientek s maligními tumory. Stejná shoda panovala ve srovnání s markerem HE4: vysoké sérové hladiny HE4 byly ve skupině pacientek s maligním tumorem doprovázeny nízkou hladinou VEGF-D, navíc v bodovém grafickém zobrazení se jasně stratifikovala skupina pacientek s maligními tumory od skupiny benigních lézí a zdravých kontrol. Závěr: S ohledem na získané výsledky má vyšetřování sérové hladiny VEGF-D potenciál diagnostického testu s přínosem ke stratifikaci obtížně prebiopticky diferencovatelných adnextumorů.
Introduction: Until now, it is still true that late detection of ovarian cancer is a major cause of its poor prognosis. So far, no sufficiently sensitive and specific marker or combination of markers and imaging methods has been identified that would unambiguously allow the detection of early potentially highly-curable stages and furthermore prebioptically differentiate a group of poorly distinguishable benign lesions from malignant tumours on ultrasound. In a retrospective study design, serum levels of vascular endothelial growth factor D (VEGF-D) were investigated. VEGF-D is related to tumour-induced angiogenesis, lymphangiogenesis, and vascular remodelling with the effect of facilitating metastasis and improved oxygen and nutrient distribution into tumour tissue. On the other hand, the lymphatic network serves as a barrier against tumour dissemination and is a transport system for immune-active elements in suppressing tumorigenesis. The aim of this study was to investigate that there is a difference in serum VEGF-D levels in a group of patients with malignant tumours, benign ovarian lesions, and healthy controls without pathological findings in the adnexa. Methods: 162 sera collected preoperatively and preserved by a freezing process in a biobank in 2022–2023 were retrospectively evaluated. The test set was stratified on the basis of histopathological results of the adnexal examination into the malignant tumour group (N = 54), benign lesion group (N = 47), and healthy control group (N = 61). Descriptive statistical analysis methods were used for the statistical evaluation of the parameters. Nonparametric tests were used to compare serum VEGF-D levels. All analyses were considered at a significance level of 5%. Serum VEGF-D was analysed by ELISA Quantikine® Human VEGF D R&D Systems and values were read spectrophotometrically on a TECAN reader. Results: The result of the comparison of descriptive statistical parameters was statistically significant (P = 0.00067) for the difference between serum VEGF-D levels in the set of benign lesions and malignant tumours. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant difference between the values of patients with malignant tumours and healthy controls (P = 0.0008). No statistically significant difference was found between the values of patients with benign lesions and healthy controls (P = 0.4308). Compared to the conventional marker CA125, pathologically elevated serum CA125 levels correlated with low serum VEGF-D levels in patients with malignant tumours. The same concordance was observed in comparison with the HE4 marker: high serum HE4 levels were accompanied by low VEGF-D levels in the group of patients with malignant tumours; moreover, the dot plot clearly stratified the group of patients with malignant tumours from the group of benign lesions and healthy controls. Conclusion: In view of the results obtained, the investigation of serum VEGF-D levels has the potential of a diagnostic test with a contribution to the stratification of the difficult of prebioptically differentiating adnexal tumours.
The occurrence of toxic bloom-forming cyanobacteria, Microcystis aeruginosa, has been frequently reported worldwide. These colony forming toxic cyanobacteria harbour a wide range of heterotrophic bacterial communities. The present study has attempted to understand the bloom dynamics of M. aeruginosa along with isolating their colony-associated culturable heterotrophic bacteria from two freshwater ponds in south India with a persisting cyanobacterial bloom. The monthly monitoring of these study areas revealed the conducive role of warm, stagnant waters with high nutrients in forming M. aeruginosa bloom. The peak values of temperature, nitrate, and phosphate at station 1 reached up to 30.5 °C, 4.48 mg/L, 1.64 mg/L, and at station 2, 31 °C, 3.45 mg/L, and 0.62 mg/L, respectively. Twenty-eight bacterial isolates belonging to Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes were obtained during the study. Among these 28 isolates, Firmicutes was dominant with the M. aeruginosa bloom from both the study areas.
- MeSH
- Bacteria classification genetics isolation & purification growth & development MeSH
- Biodiversity * MeSH
- DNA, Bacterial genetics MeSH
- Eutrophication MeSH
- Phylogeny * MeSH
- Microcystis * growth & development classification genetics MeSH
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S * genetics MeSH
- Fresh Water microbiology MeSH
- Temperature MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- India MeSH
Induction of autophagy represents an effective survival strategy for nutrient-deprived or stressed cancer cells. Autophagy contributes to the modulation of communication within the tumor microenvironment. Here, we conducted a study of the metabolic and signaling implications associated with autophagy induced by glutamine (Gln) and serum starvation and PI3K/mTOR inhibitor and autophagy inducer NVP-BEZ235 (BEZ) in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell line FaDu. We compared the effect of these different types of autophagy induction on ATP production, lipid peroxidation, mitophagy, RNA cargo of extracellular vesicles (EVs), and EVs-associated cytokine secretome of cancer cells. Both BEZ and starvation resulted in a decline in ATP production. Simultaneously, Gln starvation enhanced oxidative damage of cancer cells by lipid peroxidation. In starved cells, there was a discernible fragmentation of the mitochondrial network coupled with an increase in the presence of tumor susceptibility gene 101 (TSG101) on the mitochondrial membrane, indicative of the sorting of mitochondrial cargo into EVs. Consequently, the abundance of mitochondrial RNAs (mtRNAs) in EVs released by FaDu cells was enhanced. Notably, mtRNAs were also detectable in EVs isolated from the serum of both HNSCC patients and healthy controls. Starvation and BEZ reduced the production of EVs by cancer cells, yet the characteristic molecular profile of these EVs remained unchanged. We also found that alterations in the release of inflammatory cytokines constitute a principal response to autophagy induction. Importantly, the specific mechanism driving autophagy induction significantly influenced the composition of the EVs-associated cytokine secretome.
- MeSH
- Adenosine Triphosphate * metabolism MeSH
- Autophagy * drug effects MeSH
- Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck metabolism genetics pathology MeSH
- Extracellular Vesicles * metabolism drug effects MeSH
- Glutamine * metabolism MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Mitochondria metabolism MeSH
- Cell Line, Tumor MeSH
- Head and Neck Neoplasms metabolism pathology genetics MeSH
- Oxidative Stress * MeSH
- RNA, Mitochondrial * metabolism genetics MeSH
- Check Tag
- Humans MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder accompanied by narrow interests, difficulties in communication and social interaction, and repetitive behavior. In addition, ASD is frequently associated with eating and feeding problems. Although the symptoms of ASD are more likely to be observed in boys, the prevalence of eating disorders is more common in females. The ingestive behavior is regulated by the integrative system of the brain, which involves both homeostatic and hedonic neural circuits. Sex differences in the physiology of food intake depend on sex hormones regulating the expression of the ASD-associated Shank genes. Shank3 mutation leads to ASD-like traits and Shank3B -/- mice have been established as an animal model to study the neurobiology of ASD. Therefore, the long-lasting neuronal activity in the central neural circuit related to the homeostatic and hedonic regulation of food intake was evaluated in both sexes of Shank3B mice, followed by the evaluation of the food intake and preference. In the Shank3B +/+ genotype, well-preserved relationships in the tonic activity within the homeostatic neural network together with the relationships between ingestion and hedonic preference were observed in males but were reduced in females. These interrelations were partially or completely lost in the mice with the Shank3B -/- genotype. A decreased hedonic preference for the sweet taste but increased total food intake was found in the Shank3B -/- mice. In the Shank3B -/- group, there were altered sex differences related to the amount of tonic cell activity in the hedonic and homeostatic neural networks, together with altered sex differences in sweet and sweet-fat solution intake. Furthermore, the Shank3B -/- females exhibited an increased intake and preference for cheese compared to the Shank3B +/+ ones. The obtained data indicate altered functional crosstalk between the central homeostatic and hedonic neural circuits involved in the regulation of food intake in ASD.
- MeSH
- Homeostasis * physiology MeSH
- Microfilament Proteins * genetics metabolism MeSH
- Disease Models, Animal MeSH
- Mice, Inbred C57BL MeSH
- Mice, Knockout MeSH
- Mice MeSH
- Sex Characteristics * MeSH
- Autism Spectrum Disorder * genetics metabolism MeSH
- Food Preferences physiology MeSH
- Eating * physiology genetics MeSH
- Nerve Tissue Proteins * genetics MeSH
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos metabolism biosynthesis MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Male MeSH
- Mice MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
The complex niche of fish gut is often characterized by the associated microorganisms that have implications in fish gut-health nexus. Although efforts to distinguish the microbial communities have highlighted their disparate structure along the gut length, remarkably little information is available about their distinct structural and functional profiles in different gut compartments in different fish species. Here, we performed comparative taxonomic and predictive functional analyses of the foregut and hindgut microbiota in an omnivorous freshwater fish species, Cyprinus carpio var. specularis, commonly known as mirror carp. Our analyses showed that the hindgut microbiota could be distinguished from foregut based on the abundance of ammonia-oxidizing, denitrifying, and nitrogen-fixing commensals of families such as Rhodospirillaceae, Oxalobacteraceae, Nitrosomonadaceae, and Nitrospiraceae. Functionally, unique metabolic pathways such as degradation of lignin, 2-nitrobenzoate, vanillin, vanillate, and toluene predicted within hindgut also hinted at the ability of hindgut microbiota for assimilation of nitrogen and detoxification of ammonia. The study highlights a major role of hindgut microbiota in assimilating nitrogen, which remains to be one of the limiting nutrients within the gut of mirror carp.
- MeSH
- Ammonia * metabolism MeSH
- Bacteria * classification metabolism genetics isolation & purification MeSH
- Nitrogen * metabolism MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Gastrointestinal Tract microbiology metabolism MeSH
- Carps * microbiology metabolism MeSH
- Inactivation, Metabolic MeSH
- Metabolic Networks and Pathways MeSH
- RNA, Ribosomal, 16S genetics MeSH
- Gastrointestinal Microbiome * MeSH
- Animals MeSH
- Check Tag
- Animals MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Comparative Study MeSH
INTRODUCTION: The hyphosphere of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi is teeming with microbial life. Yet, the influence of nutrient availability or nutrient forms on the hyphosphere microbiomes is still poorly understood. METHODS: Here, we examined how the microbial community (prokaryotic, fungal, protistan) was affected by the presence of the AM fungus Rhizophagus irregularis in the rhizosphere and the root-free zone, and how different nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) supplements into the root-free compartment influenced the communities. RESULTS: The presence of AM fungus greatly affected microbial communities both in the rhizosphere and the root-free zone, with prokaryotic communities being affected the most. Protists were the only group of microbes whose richness and diversity were significantly reduced by the presence of the AM fungus. Our results showed that the type of nutrients AM fungi encounter in localized patches modulate the structure of hyphosphere microbial communities. In contrast we did not observe any effects of the AM fungus on (non-mycorrhizal) fungal community composition. Compared to the non-mycorrhizal control, the root-free zone with the AM fungus (i.e., the AM fungal hyphosphere) was enriched with Alphaproteobacteria, some micropredatory and copiotroph bacterial taxa (e.g., Xanthomonadaceae and Bacteroidota), and the poorly characterized and not yet cultured Acidobacteriota subgroup GP17, especially when phytate was added. Ammonia-oxidizing Nitrosomonas and nitrite-oxidizing Nitrospira were significantly suppressed in the presence of the AM fungus in the root-free compartment, especially upon addition of inorganic N. Co-occurrence network analyses revealed that microbial communities in the root-free compartment were complex and interconnected with more keystone species when AM fungus was present, especially when the root-free compartment was amended with phytate. CONCLUSION: Our study showed that the form of nutrients is an important driver of prokaryotic and eukaryotic community assembly in the AM fungal hyphosphere, despite the assumed presence of a stable and specific AM fungal hyphoplane microbiome. Predictable responses of specific microbial taxa will open the possibility of using them as co-inoculants with AM fungi, e.g., to improve crop performance.
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Species of Acanthamoeba Volkonsky, 1931 are the commonest among free-living amoebae that are widespread in different water resources but with lacking phylogenetic data. This study aims at detecting molecular prevalence and genetic diversity of Acanthamoeba isolates in Kafrelsheikh Governorate, Egypt. Forty-eight water samples were collected from 12 swimming pools; four samples during each season over one year. Samples were filtered, cultivated on non-nutrient agar plates and examined microscopically. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequence analysis of positive samples targeting diagnostic fragment 3 (DF3) of the small subunit rRNA gene were done. Cultivation succeeded to detect 14 (29%) positive samples while PCR missed three positive samples. The obtained sequences were phylogenetically analysed. The phylogenetic tree was constructed for them with sequences of reference species from the NCBI database. The identified species were Acanthamoeba castellanii Douglas, 1930 (T4), A. astronyxis (Ray et Hayes, 1954) (T9) and A. hatchetti Sawyer, Visvesvara et Harke, 1977 (T11). The prevalence of species of Acanthamoeba was higher during summer and fall. Therefore, the control of the presence of Acanthmoeba spp. in swimming pools needs immediate, effective and practical measures to prevent and control infection with species of Acanthamoeba.
- MeSH
- Acanthamoeba * genetics MeSH
- Phylogeny MeSH
- Genotype MeSH
- Swimming Pools * MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Geographicals
- Egypt MeSH
The Propagation of Plasmodium spp. and Babesia/Theileria spp. vertebrate blood stages relies on the mediated acquisition of nutrients available within the host's red blood cell (RBC). The cellular processes of uptake, trafficking and metabolic processing of host RBC proteins are thus crucial for the intraerythrocytic development of these parasites. In contrast to malarial Plasmodia, the molecular mechanisms of uptake and processing of the major RBC cytoplasmic protein hemoglobin remain widely unexplored in intraerythrocytic Babesia/Theileria species. In the paper, we thus provide an updated comparison of the intraerythrocytic stage feeding mechanisms of these two distantly related groups of parasitic Apicomplexa. As the associated metabolic pathways including proteolytic degradation and networks facilitating heme homeostasis represent attractive targets for diverse antimalarials, and alterations in these pathways underpin several mechanisms of malaria drug resistance, our ambition is to highlight some fundamental differences resulting in different implications for parasite management with the potential for novel interventions against Babesia/Theileria infections.
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
Východiska: Společným rysem metabolizmu nádorových buněk je schopnost získávat potřebné živiny z poměrně chudého prostředí a využívat je k udržení životaschopnosti a tvorbě nové biomasy. Změny v intracelulárních a extracelulárních metabolitech, které doprovází metabolické přeprogramování spojené s růstem nádoru, mají následně zásadní účinek na genovou expresi, buněčnou diferenciaci a mikroprostředí nádoru. V průběhu kancerogeneze čelí nádorové buňky selekčním tlakům, které je nutí neustále optimalizovat dominantní metabolické dráhy a nádorové buňky tak procházejí zásadními metabolickými reorganizacemi. Obecně platí, že vyšší flexibilita metabolických drah zvyšuje schopnost nádorových buněk sladit metabolické potřeby s měnícím se prostředím. Cíl: V tomto přehledovém článku pojednáváme o metabolických vlastnostech nádorových buněk a popisujeme účinek transformovaného metabolizmu na progresi nádoru. Domníváme se, že metabolické změny jsou pro rozvoj nádorů zásadní a mohly by poskytnout zajímavé cíle pro léčbu.
Background: A general characteristic of cancer metabolism is the skill to gain the essential nutrients from a relatively poor environment and use them effectively to maintain viability and create new biomass. The changes in intracellular and extracellular metabolites that accompany metabolic reprogramming associated with tumor growth subsequently affect gene expression, cell differentiation, and tumor microenvironment. During carcinogenesis, cancer cells face huge selection pressures that force them to constantly optimize dominant metabolic pathways and undergo major metabolic reorganizations. In general, greater flexibility of metabolic pathways increases the ability of tumor cells to satisfy their metabolic needs in a changing environment. Purpose: In this review, we discuss the metabolic properties of cancer cells and describe the tumor promoting effect of the transformed metabolism. We assume that changes in metabolism are significant enough to facilitate tumorigenesis and may provide interesting targets for cancer therapy.
We review the current understanding of formation and development of the coronary microvasculature which supplies oxygen and nutrients to the heart myocardium and removes waste. We emphasize the close relationship, mutual development, and communication between microvasculature endothelial cells and surrounding cardiomyocytes. The first part of the review is focused on formation of microvasculature during embryonic development. We summarize knowledge about establishing the heart microvasculature density based on diffusion distance. Then signaling mechanisms which are involved in forming the microvasculature are discussed. This includes details of cardiomyocyte-endothelial cell interactions involving hypoxia, VEGF, NOTCH, angiopoietin, PDGF, and other signaling factors. The microvasculature is understudied due to difficulties in its visualization. Therefore, currently available imaging methods to delineate the coronary microvasculature in development and in adults are discussed. The second part of the review is dedicated to the importance of the coronary vasculature in disease. Coronary microvasculature pathologies are present in many congenital heart diseases (CHD), especially in pulmonary atresia, and worsen outcomes. In CHDs, where the development of the myocardium is impaired, microvasculature is also affected. In adult patients coronary microvascular disease is one of the main causes of sudden cardiac death, especially in women. Coronary microvasculature pathologies affect myocardial ischemia and vice versa; myocardial pathologies such as cardiomyopathies are closely connected with coronary microvasculature dysfunction. Microvasculature inflammation also worsens the outcomes of COVID-19 disease. Our review stresses the importance of coronary microvasculature and provides an overview of its formation and signaling mechanisms and the importance of coronary vasculature pathologies in CHDs and adult diseases. This article is categorized under: Cardiovascular Diseases > Stem Cells and Development Congenital Diseases > Molecular and Cellular Physiology Cardiovascular Diseases > Molecular and Cellular Physiology.
- MeSH
- COVID-19 MeSH
- Adult MeSH
- Endothelial Cells MeSH
- Myocytes, Cardiac * metabolism MeSH
- Cardiovascular Diseases * metabolism MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Microvessels diagnostic imaging MeSH
- Myocardium * metabolism MeSH
- Check Tag
- Adult MeSH
- Humans MeSH
- Female MeSH
- Publication type
- Journal Article MeSH
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
- Review MeSH
