Panicum maximum Jacq. 'Mombaça' (C4) was grown in field conditions with sufficient water and nutrients to examine the effects of warming and elevated CO2 concentrations during the winter. Plants were exposed to either the ambient temperature and regular atmospheric CO2 (Control); elevated CO2 (600 ppm, eC); canopy warming (+2°C above regular canopy temperature, eT); or elevated CO2 and canopy w...

The non-target effects of an azadirachtin-based systemic insecticide used for control of wood-boring insect pests in trees were assessed on litter-dwelling earthworms, leaf-shredding aquatic insects, and microbial communities in terrestrial and aquatic microcosms. The insecticide was injected into the trunks of ash trees at a rate of 0.2 gazadirachtin cm(-1) tree diameter in early summer. At th...

Dendropanax morbifera Léveille, an endemic species in Korea, is best known as a tree that produces a resinous sap. Although D. morbifera is used in folk medicine, its biological activities are poorly understood. In this study, the methanolic extracts of D. morbifera branches, debarked stems, bark, and two different stages of leaves were evaluated for anti-oxidant activity and anti-cancer potent...

BACKGROUND Senescent hearts are characterized by diastolic dysfunction and a decrease in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase protein (SERCA2a). METHODS AND RESULTS To test the hypothesis that an increase in SERCA2a could improve cardiac function in senescent rats (age 26 months), we used a catheter-based technique of adenoviral gene transfer to achieve global myocardial transduction of ...

Acute heating in young rats increases visceral sympathetic nerve discharge (SND); however, renal and splanchnic SND responses to hyperthermia are attenuated in senescent compared with young Fischer 344 (F344) rats (Kenney MJ and Fels RJ. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 283: R513-R520, 2002). Central mechanisms by which aging alters visceral SND responses to heating are unknown. We tested...

IgG autoantibodies in human serum selectively bind to a glycopeptide antigen that appears on senescent and damaged cells in situ. We identified the membrane protein from which the senescent cell antigen is derived by using a phagocytosis-inhibition assay and immunoautoradiographic gel staining and electroblotting techniques. Results of the phagocytosis-inhibition assay revealed that only the pu...

Gastrointestinal cancers metastasize into the peritoneal cavity in a process controlled by peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs). In this paper we examined if senescent HPMCs can intensify the progression of colorectal (SW480) and pancreatic (PSN-1) cancers in vitro and in vivo. Experiments showed that senescent HPMCs stimulate proliferation, migration and invasion of SW480 cells, and migration ...

Senescent cells secrete several molecules that help to prevent the progression of cancer. However, cancer cells can also misuse these secreted elements to survive and grow. Since the molecular and functional bases of these different elements remain poorly understood, we analyzed the effect of senescent mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) secretome on the biology of ARH-77 myeloma cells. In addition ...

Senescent cells, formed in response to physiological and oncogenic stresses, facilitate protection from tumourigenesis and aid in tissue repair. However, accumulation of such cells in tissues contributes to age-related pathologies. Resistance of senescent cells to apoptotic stimuli may contribute to their accumulation, yet the molecular mechanisms allowing their prolonged viability are poorly c...

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a major health problem, particularly in the elderly population, which is rapidly increasing. It is necessary to elucidate the mechanism by which ED occurs in the elderly. Cellular senescence is commonly detected in old tissues, and it is well known that senescent cells not only withdraw from the cell cycle but also remain viable and actively produce a variety of cyt...