Determinants of glucose toxicity and its reversibility in the pancreatic islet beta-cell line, HIT-T15

HIT-T15 cells, a clonal beta-cell line, were cultured and passaged weekly for 6 mo in RPMI 1640 media containing various concentrations of glucose. Insulin content decreased in the intermediate- and late-passage cells as a continuous rather than a threshold glucose concentration effect. In a second series of experiments, cells were grown in media containing either 0.8 or 16.0 mM glucose from passages 76 through 105. Subcultures of passages 86, 92, and 99 that had been grown in media containing 16.0 mM glucose were switched to media containing 0.8 mM glucose and also carried forward to passage 105. Dramatic increases in insulin content and secretion and insulin gene expression were observed when the switches were made at passages 86 and 92 but not when the switch was made at passage 99. These findings suggest that glucose toxicity of insulin-secreting cells is a continuous rather than a threshold function of glucose concentration and that the shorter the period of antecedent glucose toxicity, the more likely that full recovery of cell function will occur.     

Ultrasound imaging in an experimental model of fatty liver disease and cirrhosis in rats

Background

Atypical scrapie was first identified in Norwegian sheep in 1998 and has subsequently been identified in many countries. Retrospective studies have identified cases predating the initial identification of this form of scrapie, and epidemiological studies have indicated that it does not conform to the behaviour of an infectious disease, giving rise to the hypothesis that it represents spontaneous disease. However, atypical scrapie isolates have been shown to be infectious experimentally, through intracerebral inoculation in transgenic mice and sheep. The first successful challenge of a sheep with 'field' atypical scrapie from an homologous donor sheep was reported in 2007.

Results

This study demonstrates that atypical scrapie has distinct clinical, pathological and biochemical characteristics which are maintained on transmission and sub-passage, and which are distinct from other strains of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in the same host genotype.

Conclusions

Atypical scrapie is consistently transmissible within AHQ homozygous sheep, and the disease phenotype is preserved on sub-passage.     

Mapping of citrullinated fibrinogen B-cell epitopes in rheumatoid arthritis by imaging surface plasmon resonance

Introduction  

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) frequently involves the loss of tolerance to citrullinated antigens, which may play a role in pathogenicity. Citrullinated fibrinogen is commonly found in inflamed synovial tissue and is a frequent target of autoantibodies in RA patients. To obtain insight into the B-cell response to citrullinated fibrinogen in RA, its autoepitopes were systematically mapped using a new methodology.     

Competition and community structure in diurnal arboreal geckos (genus Phelsuma) in the Indian Ocean

In this study, we investigate community structure in day geckos (genus Phelsuma ) in the Indian Ocean. Much of what we know about communities of diurnal arboreal lizards comes from studies of Caribbean Anolis . Phelsuma in the Indian Ocean are ecologically similar to Anolis but not closely related. Using field observations and an experiment, we test three hypotheses for Phelsuma communities, all derived from work on Anolis : (1) Phelsuma species richness will be correlated with the diversity of available perches, (2) sympatric species will partition their habitat use, shifting their habitat use depending on which other species of Phelsuma are present, and (3) experimentally removing individuals of one species will lead to changes in the microhabitat use and/or abundance of sympatric congeners. We find support for all three hypotheses. We also describe some unique aspects of Phelsuma communities, such as partitioning of palm vs. non-palm trees. This study identifies some potentially general features of diurnal arboreal lizard communities, and suggests that some aspects of community assembly might be repeatable.     

Trophic supplements to intraguild predation

Intraguild predation (IGP) is a dominant community module in terrestrial food webs that occurs when multiple consumers feed both on each other and on a shared prey. This specific form of omnivory is common in terrestrial communities and is of particular interest for conservation biology and biological control given its potential to disrupt management of threatened or pest species. Extensive theory exists to describe the dynamics of three-species IGP, but these models have largely overlooked the potential for other, exterior interactions, to alter the dynamics within the IGP module. We investigated how three forms of feeding outside of the IGP module by intraguild predators (i.e. trophic supplementation) affect the dynamics of the predators (both IG predator and IG prey) and their shared resource. Specifically, we examined how the provision of a constant donor-controlled resource, the availability of an alternative prey species, and predator plant-feeding affect the dynamics of IGP models. All three forms of trophic supplements modified the basic expectations of IGP theory in two important ways, and their effects were similar. First, coexistence was possible without the IG prey being a superior competitor for the original shared resource if the IG prey could effectively exploit one of the types of trophic supplements. However, supplements to the IG predator restricted the potential for coexistence. Second, supplements to the IG prey ameliorated the disruptive effects of the IG predator on the suppression of the shared resource, promoting effective control of the resource in the presence of both predators. Consideration of these three forms of trophic supplementation, all well documented in natural communities, adds substantial realism and predictive power to intraguild predation theory.