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The tumor microenvironment is a "complex society" of many cell types and their extracellular matrix. All these cell types and the matrix take part to the generation of a tumor "tissue". It is well established that preneoplastic proliferating cells cannot give origin to a tumor without an appropriate blood supply. In fact, angiogenesis could be considered the rate limiting step of tumor growth. In this context microenvironment components play a pivotal role in the regulation of the angiogenic switch and in cancer progression. For these reasons the comprehension of biological and molecular mechanisms involved in the relationship between tumor cells and the microenvironment could unveil new therapeutic and preventive approaches to cancer. In this complex scenario molecular imaging of the microenvironment is crucial to dissect cellular and stromal dynamic contributions.

We report a high-quality draft sequence of the genome of the horse (Equus caballus). The genome is relatively repetitive, but has little segmental duplication. Chromosomes appear to have undergone few historical rearrangements – 48% of equine chromosomes show conserved synteny to a single human chromosome. Equine chromosome 11 is shown to have an evolutionary novel centromere devoid of centromeric satellite DNA, suggesting that centromeric function may arise prior to satellite repeat accumulation. Linkage disequilibrium, showing the influences of early domestication of large herds of female horses, is intermediate in length between dog and human, and there is long-range haplotype sharing among breeds.

This study aimed to detect if continuous local infusion of levobupivacaine with the On-Q Painbuster system provided postoperative analgesia of similar quality to morphine + ketorolac i.v. in patients undergoing cesarean section.Using a randomized prospective double-blind study, 20 women undergoing cesarean section with a standardized spinal technique were randomly assigned into two groups to receive either 10 mg morphine + 120 mg ketorolac + saline solution up to 96 ml with an elastomeric pump i.v. (group A) or local infusion of levobupivacaine 0.2% with the On-Q PAINBUSTER system (group B). Both groups were administered ketorolac i.v. in bolus in case of pain.The two groups differed in their VAS scores with group A experiencing significantly less pain than group B; the consumption of analgesics was significantly lower in group A than in group B.The i.v. system with morphine and ketorolac is more effective than levobupivacaine subcutaneous infusion in reducing postoperative pain associated with cesarean section.

We describe an optimized protocol for polyethylene-glycol (PEG)-mediated transient transformation of tobacco protoplasts. As expected, the quantitative â-glucuronidase (Gus) activity driven by pCaMVGus was dependent on the used amount of plasmid. Nevertheless, we demonstrate by immunodetection method that transformation efficiency did not depend on the used amount of plasmid but on the limitation imposed by the cell competence. In fact, we obtained the same percentage of transformed cells (about 60%) using a wide range of plasmid concentrations (0.1-10 ìg/test). Finally, we showed that, when we used two plasmid types in a mixture at a concentration ranging from 0,1 to 10 mg for each, all transformed cells expressed proteins encoded by both plasmids. Transient expression and co-transformation experiments are routinely used methods and probably the major results from this work were assumed by many researchers in this field, however our data experimentally support this assumption.

Haptoglobin (H) is a glycoprotein that regulates the immune response. Serum haptoglobin levels are significantly higher in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) with poor survival. Different isoforms of haptoglobin have been found in the serum of patients with EOC. We studied the genetic susceptibility and outcome of patients with EOC correlated to H phenotypes.Analyses of the H phenotypes were performed on sera from patients stored at -70°C. A modified method based on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of sera was used, followed by western blotting.Seventy-nine consecutive patients with EOC and 63 healthy women were enrolled. Their mean (± S.D.) age was 58.9 ± 12.46 years. Overall survival was 66 months (95% confidence interval=37.7-94.2). Similar distribution of haptoglobin phenotypes was observed in EOC and in healthy women. No significant correlation was found between haptoglobin phenotype, overall survival and time-to-progression. Fewer G3 tumors were found in patients with H2-2 compared with those with H1-2 (84.2% and 90.6%, respectively, p0.04). No significant correlation was found between H phenotype and tumor markers or number of relapses.Although ours is a preliminary study based on a small population with scant significant findings, we hypothesize that patients with EOC with haptoglobin 2-2, might have a better prognosis because they present fewer G3 tumors and they may present a stronger immune response than patients with 1-1 and 1-2 phenotypes. Larger studies should be performed to assess the predictive value of haptoglobin phenotype in patients with EOC.

Micro-RNA, a new class of small, non-coding RNAs, have been shown to be deregulated in several human carcinomas. In particular, SNP rs2910164 in pre-miR146a appears to be correlated with papillary thyroid carcinoma and may be involved in its genetic predisposition. Since data on follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTC) are lacking, we evaluated the involvement of SNP rs2910164 in FTC.Thirty-nine cases of FTC and 20 follicular adenomas, defined according to WHO criteria, were selected. DNA and RNA were extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded blocks of both neoplastic and non-neoplastic areas. The DNA region of pre-miR146a, containing SNP rs2910164, was sequenced. Total RNA including miRNAs was used for stem-loop RT reactions, and applying a standard TaqMan PCR kit protocol for real-time PCR. Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Friedman test were used for statistical analyses.In 31% of FTC, the G allele was observed in neoplastic tissues, compared with the non-neoplastic areas (p0.05), whereas the CC phenotype was completely absent in tumours. Moreover, the expression of pre-miR146a was found to be significantly down-regulated in neoplastic tissues from FTC cases (p = 0.043), although no significant differences were seen in follicular thyroid adenomas.The expression profile of pre-miR146a can be correlated with FTC tumourigenesis. The G allele in SNP rs2910164 appears to be correlated with the transition from normal to neoplastic tissue. The GG and GC alleles appear to be associated with an increased risk for FTC, while the CC allele seems to play a protective role.

Forests are a key component of the global carbon cycle. It has been estimated that of the 480 Gt of carbon emitted by anthropogenic activities (fossil fuel and land-use change related emissions) since the start of industrial revolution, 166 GtC (35%) have been absorbed by forest ecosystems, 124 GtC by oceans (25%), while 190 GtC (40%) remained in the atmosphere, causing the relevant increase of CO2 concentrations that is the main driver of climate change (House et al., 2002). In this respect, the role of managed forests is crucial as several studies attributed to the forests of the Northern hemisphere, a large part of which is managed, a prominent role in the carbon cycle of the last 20 to 30 years (Schimel et al., 2001). The C cycle begins with the process of CO2 assimilation by plants that determines the delivery of assimilates to the plant internal store, which may then be used for growth, reserve or defense. In trees, growth adds biomass as foliage, wood and roots. The annual cycle of plant part losses, arising in the form of the litterfall derived from above- and below-ground parts, migrates carbon to the soil and feeds back to the heterotrophs of the ecosystem which use the energy stored in the organic matter and recycle nutrients as a major resource for further plant growth (Schulze, 2000).