Some Aspects of the Biology of a Predaceous Anthomyiid Fly, \u3ci\u3eCoenosia Tigrina\u3c/i\u3e

The results of a two-year study in Michigan on the incidence of Coenosia tigrina adults under different onion production practices is presented. In Michigan, C. tigrina has three generations and is more abundant in organic agroecosystems than chemically-intensive onion production systems

Recurrent, low-frequency coding variants contributing to colorectal cancer in the Swedish population

<div><p>Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified dozens of common genetic variants associated with risk of colorectal cancer (CRC). However, the majority of CRC heritability remains unclear. In order to discover low-frequency, high-risk CRC susceptibility variants in Swedish population, we genotyped 1 515 CRC patients enriched for familial cases, and 12 108 controls. Case/control association analysis suggested eight novel variants associated with CRC risk (OR 2.0–17.6, p-value < 2.0E-07), comprised of seven coding variants in genes <i>RAB11FIP5</i>, <i>POTEA</i>, <i>COL27A1</i>, <i>MUC5B</i>, <i>PSMA8</i>, <i>MYH7B</i>, and <i>PABPC1L</i> as well as one variant downstream of <i>NEU1</i> gene. We also confirmed 27 out of 30 risk variants previously reported from GWAS in CRC with a mixed European population background. This study identified rare, coding sequence variants associated with CRC risk through analysis in a relatively homogeneous population. The segregation data suggest a complex mode of inheritance in seemingly dominant pedigrees.</p></div

WNT/β-catenin signaling regulates mitochondrial activity to alter the oncogenic potential of melanoma in a PTEN-dependent manner

Aberrant regulation of WNT/β-catenin signaling has a crucial role in the onset and progression of cancers, where the effects are not always predictable depending on tumor context. In melanoma, for example, models of the disease predict differing effects of the WNT/β-catenin pathway on metastatic progression. Understanding the processes that underpin the highly context-dependent nature of WNT/β-catenin signaling in tumors is essential to achieve maximal therapeutic benefit from WNT inhibitory compounds. In this study, we have found that expression of the tumor suppressor, phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10 (PTEN), alters the invasive potential of melanoma cells in response to WNT/β-catenin signaling, correlating with differing metabolic profiles. This alters the bioenergetic potential and mitochondrial activity of melanoma cells, triggered through regulation of pro-survival autophagy. Thus, WNT/β-catenin signaling is a regulator of catabolic processes in cancer cells, which varies depending on the metabolic requirements of tumors

Familial adenomatous polyposis is associated with a marked decrease in alkaline sphingomyelinase activity: a key factor to the unrestrained cell proliferation?

The hydrolysis of sphingomyelin generates key molecules regulating cell growth and inducing apoptosis. Data from animal cancer models support an inhibitory role for this pathway in the malignant transformation of the colonic mucosa. In the intestinal tract, a sphingomyelinase with an optimum alkaline pH has been identified. We recently found that the activity of alkaline sphingomyelinase is significantly decreased in colorectal adenocarcinomas, indicating a potential anticarcinogenic role of this enzyme. To further examine whether the reduction of sphingomyelinase is present already in the premalignant state of neoplastic transformation, we measured sphingomyelinase activities in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) and in sporadic colorectal tubulovillous adenomas. Tissue samples were taken from adenomas and surrounding macroscopically normal mucosa from 11 FAP patients operated with ileorectal anastomosis, from three FAP patients with intact colon, from 13 patients with sporadic colorectal adenomas and from 12 controls. Activities of acid, neutral and alkaline sphingomyelinase were measured together with alkaline phosphatase. In FAP adenoma tissue, alkaline sphingomyelinase activity was reduced by 90% compared to controls (P < 0.0001), acid sphingomyelinase by 66% (P < 0.01) and neutral sphingomyelinase by 54% (P < 0.05). Similar reductions were found in the surrounding mucosa. In sporadic adenoma tissue, only alkaline sphingomyelinase was reduced significantly, by 57% (P < 0.05). Alkaline phosphatase was not changed in FAP adenomas, but decreased in the sporadic adenomas. We conclude that the markedly reduced levels of alkaline sphingomyelinase activities in FAP adenomas and in the surrounding mucosa may be a pathogenic factor that can lead to unrestrained cell proliferation and neoplastic transformation. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

2014 Wild Blueberry Project Reports

FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION PAGE 1. Development of effective intervention measures to maintain and improve food safety for wild blueberries 2. Role of wild blueberries on lipid metabolism and inflammation as related to obesity and the Metabolic Syndrome ENTOMOLOGY 3. Control tactics for blueberry pest insects, 2014 4. Pest biology and IPM, 2014 5. Biology of spotted wing drosophila, 2014 6. Biology of blueberry, beneficial insects, and blueberry pollination DISEASE MANAGEMENT 7. Research and control of mummy berry disease 8. Evaluation of fungicides for control of mummy berry on lowbush blueberry (2014) WEED MANAGEMENT 9. A 2014 preliminary trial for a Callisto-Matrix tank mix versus a traditional wild blueberry herbicide spray regimen EXTENSION 10. Wild blueberry Extension Education Program in 2014 INPUT SYSTEMS STUDY – SCRI GRANT 11. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, Year Five of a six-year study – experimental design 12. Food safety- Prevalence study of Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella spp. on lowbush blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium) 13. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, Year 5 – reports from Frank Drummond 14. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, 2014, Year 5 of a six-year study, disease management results 15. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, Year Five of a six-year study, weed management results 16. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, Year Five of a six year study, plant productivity 17. 2014 economic analysis of Maine blueberry production systems including an introductory risk analysis 18. Biosensor development for food safety (ancillary study) 19. Ancillary projects in disease research (ancillary study) 20. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production – Ancillary land-leveling study, Year Four of a four-year study (ancillary study) 21. 2013-14 evaluation of three pre-emergence herbicides alone and in combination with Velpar or Sinbar for effects on wild blueberry productivity and weed control – 2014 crop year results (ancillary study) 22. Evaluation of fall and spring combinations of preemergence herbicides to prevent weed resistance in wild blueberry fields, 2013-15 (ancillary study) 23. Post-harvest control of red sorrel in a non-crop blueberry field, 2012-2014 (ancillary study) 24. Post-harvest control of red sorrel in a non-crop blueberry field, 2013-2015 (ancillary study) 25. Effect of soil nutrient amendments on growth and yield of wild blueberries in Maine (ancillary study

COL11A1 in FAP polyps and in sporadic colorectal tumors

BACKGROUND: We previously reported that the α-1 chain of type 11 collagen (COL11A1), not normally expressed in the colon, was up-regulated in stromal fibroblasts in most sporadic colorectal carcinomas. Patients with germline mutations in the APC gene show, besides colonic polyposis, symptoms of stromal fibroblast involvement, which could be related to COL11A1 expression. Most colorectal carcinomas are suggested to be a result of an activated Wnt- pathway, most often involving an inactivation of the APC gene or activation of β-catenin. METHODS: We used normal and polyp tissue samples from one FAP patient and a set of 37 sporadic colorectal carcinomas to find out if the up-regulation of COL11A1 was associated with an active APC/β-catenin pathway. RESULTS: In this study we found a statistically significant difference in COL11A1 expression between normal tissue and adenomas from one FAP patient, and all adenomas gave evidence for an active APC/β-catenin pathway. An active Wnt pathway has been suggested to involve stromal expression of WISP-1. We found a strong correlation between WISP-1 and COL11A1 expression in sporadic carcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that expression of COL11A1 in colorectal tumors could be associated with the APC/β-catenin pathway in FAP and sporadic colorectal cancer

2015 Wild Blueberry Project Reports

FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION 1. Increasing the food safety margin of wild blueberries through improved intervention measures ENTOMOLOGY 2. Control tactics for blueberry pest insects, 2015 3. Pest biology and IPM, 2015 4. Biology of spotted wing drosophila, 2015 5. Biology of blueberry bees, and blueberry pollination DISEASE MANAGEMENT 6. Research and control of mummy berry disease 7. Evaluation of fungicides for control of mummy berry on lowbush blueberry (2015) 8. Evaluation of fungicides for control of leafspot on lowbush blueberry (2015) WEED MANAGEMENT 9. Single vs split applications of post-emergent herbicides for spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium) control in wild blueberry fields 10. Evaluation of fall applications of herbicides targeting horseweed in wild blueberry fields 11. Herbicide combinations with Sinbar and Grounded to assess efficacy on weed control in wild blueberry EXTENSION 12. Wild Blueberry Extension Education Program in 2015 INPUT SYSTEMS STUDY – SCRI GRANT PAGE 13. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, Year Six of a six-year study – experimental design 14. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, Year 6 15. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, 2015, Year 6 of a six-year study, disease management results 16. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, Year Six of a six-year study, weed management results 17. Systems approach to improving the sustainability of wild blueberry production, preliminary economic comparison for 2014-15 18. Ancillary projects in disease research (ancillary study) 19. Evaluation of fall and spring combinations of preemergence herbicides to prevent weed resistance in wild blueberry fields, 2013-15 (ancillary study) 20. Post-harvest control of red sorrel in a non-crop blueberry field, 2013-2015 - crop year evaluation (ancillary study) 21. Evaluation of spring applications of herbicides targeting red sorrel in wild blueberry fields (ancillary study

Up-regulation of macrophage wnt gene expression in adenoma-carcinoma progression of human colorectal cancer

Defects in the APC-β-catenin pathway are common in colon cancer. We investigated whether aberrant regulation of upstream ligands stimulating this pathway occur in colon cancer. Using RNAase protection analysis, six out of eight wnt genes were expressed in 14 matched cases of normal, adenomatous and malignant colorectal tissues. Wnt 2 and wnt 5a were significantly up-regulated in the progression from normal through adenoma to carcinoma. Transcripts for wnts 4, 7b, 10b and 13, but not wnt 2 and wnt 5a were detected in several colorectal cell lines. In situ hybridization demonstrated that wnt 2 and wnt 5a transcripts were mainly in the lamina propria/stroma region with labelling predominantly in macrophages. Immunostaining with CD68 confirmed the wnt-expressing cells as macrophages. These results show a major difference in wnt expression in colon cancer compared to colon adenomas and suggest stromal wnt expression may play a role in tumour progression. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

CDCOCA: a statistical method to define complexity dependent co-occurring chromosomal aberrations

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Copy number alterations (CNA) play a key role in cancer development and progression. Since more than one CNA can be detected in most tumors, frequently co-occurring genetic CNA may point to cooperating cancer related genes. Existing methods for co-occurrence evaluation so far have not considered the overall heterogeneity of CNA per tumor, resulting in a preferential detection of frequent changes with limited specificity for each association due to the high genetic instability of many samples.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>We hypothesize that in cancer some linkage-independent CNA may display a non-random co-occurrence, and that these CNA could be of pathogenetic relevance for the respective cancer. We also hypothesize that the statistical relevance of co-occurring CNA may depend on the sample specific CNA complexity. We verify our hypotheses with a simulation based algorithm CDCOCA (complexity dependence of co-occurring chromosomal aberrations).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Application of CDCOCA to example data sets identified co-occurring CNA from low complex background which otherwise went unnoticed. Identification of cancer associated genes in these co-occurring changes can provide insights of cooperative genes involved in oncogenesis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We have developed a method to detect associations of regional copy number abnormalities in cancer data. Along with finding statistically relevant CNA co-occurrences, our algorithm points towards a generally low specificity for co-occurrence of regional imbalances in CNA rich samples, which may have negative impact on pathway modeling approaches relying on frequent CNA events.</p