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Advances in Experimental Medicine and... 2020Brain tumors are complex cellular ecosystems, composed of populations of both neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell types. While the contributions of the cancer cells in... (Review)
Review
Brain tumors are complex cellular ecosystems, composed of populations of both neoplastic and non-neoplastic cell types. While the contributions of the cancer cells in low-grade and high-grade gliomas have been extensively studied, there is comparatively less known about the contributions of the non-neoplastic cells in these tumors. As such, a large proportion of the non-neoplastic cells in gliomas are resident brain microglia, infiltrating circulating macrophages, and T lymphocytes. These immune system-like stromal cells are recruited into the evolving tumor through the elaboration of chemokines, and are reprogrammed to adopt new cellular identities critical for glioma formation, maintenance, and progression. In this manner, these populations of tumor-associated microglia and macrophages produce growth factors that support gliomagenesis and continued tumor growth. As we begin to characterize these immune cell contributions, future therapies might emerge as adjuvant approaches to glioma treatment.
Topics: Brain Neoplasms; Glioma; Humans; Macrophages; Microglia
PubMed: 32030651
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-35727-6_8 -
Journal of Biosciences Apr 2014Social theory has provided a useful framework for research with microorganisms. Here I describe the advantages and possible risks of using a well-known model organism,... (Review)
Review
Social theory has provided a useful framework for research with microorganisms. Here I describe the advantages and possible risks of using a well-known model organism, the unicellular yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, for sociobiological research. I discuss the problems connected with clear classification of yeast behaviour based on the fitnessbased Hamilton paradigm. Relevant traits include different types of communities, production of flocculins, invertase and toxins, and the presence of apoptosis.
Topics: Animals; Apoptosis; Humans; Microbial Interactions; Models, Biological; Mycotoxins; Saccharomyces cerevisiae; Saccharomyces cerevisiae Proteins; beta-Fructofuranosidase
PubMed: 24736156
DOI: 10.1007/s12038-013-9344-5 -
MBio Mar 2020Bacteria harbor viruses called bacteriophages that, like all viruses, co-opt the host cellular machinery to replicate. Although this relationship is at first glance... (Review)
Review
Bacteria harbor viruses called bacteriophages that, like all viruses, co-opt the host cellular machinery to replicate. Although this relationship is at first glance parasitic, there are social interactions among and between bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts. These social interactions can take on many forms, including cooperation, altruism, and cheating. Such behaviors among individuals in groups of bacteria have been well described. However, the social nature of some interactions between phages or phages and bacteria is only now becoming clear. We are just beginning to understand how bacteriophages affect the sociobiology of bacteria, and we know even less about social interactions within bacteriophage populations. In this review, we discuss recent developments in our understanding of bacteriophage sociobiology, including how selective pressures influence the outcomes of social interactions between populations of bacteria and bacteriophages. We also explore how tripartite social interactions between bacteria, bacteriophages, and an animal host affect host-microbe interactions. Finally, we argue that understanding the sociobiology of bacteriophages will have implications for the therapeutic use of bacteriophages to treat bacterial infections.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Infections; Bacteriophages; Host Microbial Interactions; Humans; Phage Therapy
PubMed: 32156804
DOI: 10.1128/mBio.00041-20 -
FEMS Microbiology Reviews Jan 2009Biofilms are densely packed communities of microbial cells that grow on surfaces and surround themselves with secreted polymers. Many bacterial species form biofilms,... (Review)
Review
Biofilms are densely packed communities of microbial cells that grow on surfaces and surround themselves with secreted polymers. Many bacterial species form biofilms, and their study has revealed them to be complex and diverse. The structural and physiological complexity of biofilms has led to the idea that they are coordinated and cooperative groups, analogous to multicellular organisms. We evaluate this idea by addressing the findings of microbiologists from the perspective of sociobiology, including theories of collective behavior (self-organization) and social evolution. This yields two main conclusions. First, the appearance of organization in biofilms can emerge without active coordination. That is, biofilm properties such as phenotypic differentiation, species stratification and channel formation do not necessarily require that cells communicate with one another using specialized signaling molecules. Second, while local cooperation among bacteria may often occur, the evolution of cooperation among all cells is unlikely for most biofilms. Strong conflict can arise among multiple species and strains in a biofilm, and spontaneous mutation can generate conflict even within biofilms initiated by genetically identical cells. Biofilms will typically result from a balance between competition and cooperation, and we argue that understanding this balance is central to building a complete and predictive model of biofilm formation.
Topics: Bacteria; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Biofilms; Biological Evolution; Models, Biological
PubMed: 19067751
DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6976.2008.00150.x -
Journal of Personality Disorders Jun 2016The goal of this article is to describe, characterize, and differentiate personality disorders by connecting their conceptual features to their foundations in the... (Review)
Review
The goal of this article is to describe, characterize, and differentiate personality disorders by connecting their conceptual features to their foundations in the natural sciences. What is proposed is akin to Freud's abandoned Project for a Scientific Psychology and Wilson's (1975) highly controversial Sociobiology. Both were worthy endeavors to advance our understanding of the styles and traits of human nature; this was to be done by exploring interconnections among the diverse disciplines of nature that evolved ostensibly unrelated bodies of research and manifestly dissimilar languages.
Topics: Humans; Personality; Personality Disorders
PubMed: 27243919
DOI: 10.1521/pedi.2016.30.3.289 -
Journal of Medical Ethics Sep 1984
Topics: Biological Evolution; Biology; Female; Humans; Male; Politics; Sociology; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 6502646
DOI: 10.1136/jme.10.3.158 -
Nature Reviews. Genetics Mar 2011It is often assumed that molecular systems are designed to maximize the competitive ability of the organism that carries them. In reality, natural selection acts on both... (Review)
Review
It is often assumed that molecular systems are designed to maximize the competitive ability of the organism that carries them. In reality, natural selection acts on both cooperative and competitive phenotypes, across multiple scales of biological organization. Here I ask how the potential for social effects in evolution has influenced molecular systems. I discuss a range of phenotypes, from the selfish genetic elements that disrupt genomes, through metabolism, multicellularity and cancer, to behaviour and the organization of animal societies. I argue that the balance between cooperative and competitive evolution has shaped both form and function at the molecular scale.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Competitive Behavior; Cooperative Behavior; Female; Genetic Association Studies; Genetic Variation; Humans; Male; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Selection, Genetic; Sociobiology
PubMed: 21301472
DOI: 10.1038/nrg2903 -
Neurobiology of Aging 1999
Review
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Apolipoproteins E; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Genetics, Population; Humans; Male; Reproduction; Sex Characteristics
PubMed: 10604438
DOI: 10.1016/s0197-4580(99)00077-9 -
Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on... 2009To counter recent claims that sociobiology is in disarray or requires reformulation, I discuss the semantics, theory, and data that underlie the field. A historical... (Review)
Review
To counter recent claims that sociobiology is in disarray or requires reformulation, I discuss the semantics, theory, and data that underlie the field. A historical perspective is used to identify the cause of current debates. I argue that semantic precision is required in discussing terms such as kin selection, group selection, and altruism, but once care is taken, the objections to the unity of theoretical sociobiology largely evaporate. More work is required, however, to understand group adaptation, which might be taken to be the process of optimizing phenotypes that is driven by group, rather than individual, context. From the empirical perspective, the eusocial insects with their fixed division between work and reproduction are often a sounding board in discussions. Here, one finds clear evidence for the role of kin selection and relatedness in both the origin of eusociality and its maintenance. Data from other systems including the social vertebrates, microorganisms, and even plants also support the role of relatedness and particularly family life in the evolution of cooperation and altruism. These data, however, in no way invalidate the claim that group selection is also a central process in social evolution and I discuss the empirical evidence for group selection. The foundations of sociobiology are solid and the future should build on these foundations. Exciting new areas include the importance of community and species-level selection in evolution and elucidating the molecular mechanisms that underlie social traits.
Topics: Altruism; Animals; Female; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Insecta; Male; Models, Biological; Social Behavior; Sociobiology; Vertebrates
PubMed: 20375319
DOI: 10.1101/sqb.2009.74.041 -
Current Biology : CB May 2007Ecology is considered central to the evolution of cooperation, but there is little direct evidence for this. New support for the idea has come from a study which shifted... (Review)
Review
Ecology is considered central to the evolution of cooperation, but there is little direct evidence for this. New support for the idea has come from a study which shifted the path of evolution from cooperation to cheating in flasks of bacteria, simply by altering their disturbance regime.
Topics: Animals; Biofilms; Biological Evolution; Cooperative Behavior; Ecology; Environment; Models, Biological; Pseudomonas fluorescens; Sociobiology
PubMed: 17470343
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2007.03.005