The Gut Microbiota–Brain Axis Expands Neurologic Function: A Nervous Rapport

Does exploration of the gut microbiota–brain axis expand our understanding of what it means to be human? Recognition and conceptualization of a gut microbiota–brain axis challenges our study of the nervous system. Here, integrating gut microbiota–brain research into the metaorganism model is proposed. The metaorganism—an expanded, dynamic unit comprising the host and commensal organisms—asserts a radical blurring between man and microbe. The metaorganism nervous system interacts with the exterior world through microbial‐colored lenses. Ongoing studies have reported that gut microbes contribute to brain function and pathologies, even shaping higher neurological functions. How will continued collaborative efforts (e.g., between neurobiology and microbiology), including partnerships with the arts (e.g., philosophy), contribute to the knowledge of microbe‐to‐mind interactions? While this is not a systemic review, this nascent field is briefly described, highlighting ongoing challenges and recommendations for emerging gut microbiota–brain research. Also see the video abstract here https://youtu.be/lP9gOW8StXg .     

Ethical classification of ME/CFS in the United Kingdom

Few conditions have sparked as much controversy as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Professional consensus has long suggested that the condition should be classified as psychiatric, while patients and advocacy groups have insisted it is a serious biological disease that requires medical care and research to develop it. This longstanding debate shifted in 2015, when U.S. governmental health authorities fully embraced medical classification and management. Given that some globally respected health authorities now insist that ME/CFS is a serious biological disease, this paper asks whether it can be ethical for the U.K. practice guideline now in development to characterize the condition as a mental health disorder. Following a brief history of ME/CFS controversy, I offer three arguments to show that it would be unethical for the U.K. to now characterize ME/CFS as a mental health condition, considering the relevance of that conclusion for ME/CFS guidelines elsewhere and for other contested conditions.     

LONG-RANGE MOVEMENTS OF SOUTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES EUBALAENA AUSTRALIS

Abstract: Movements of southern right whales between Gough Island and South Africa, and between Argentina and Tristan da Cunha, southern Brazil, and South Georgia are documented through matching of six photoidentified individuals. These include the resighting of a male in a mid-oceanic locality some 4,424 km away from (and 11 yr after) its last sighting in a coastal area where it had been seen in six of the preceding eight years, a female photographed in mid-Atlantic resighted with a calf in a coastal nursery area 2,769 km away, resightings of females with calves in different nursery areas 2,051 km apart in different years, and the first example of a link between a coastal nursery area and a feeding ground in high latitudes. The possible implications of these movements for estimates of calving interval and survival rate based on resightings in coastal waters are discussed. The potential for intermingling between populations on either side of the South Atlantic seems greater than was previously considered likely from a comparison of animals photographed in coastal waters.     

RIGHT WHALES (EUBALAENA GLACIALIS) ON JEFFREYS LEDGE: A HABITAT OF UNRECOGNIZED IMPORTANCE?

North Atlantic right whales ( Eubalaena glacialis ) are known to spend the majority of the year between the Great South Channel southeast of Cape Cod, and the Nova Scotian shelf. We examined sightings of right whales on and around Jeffreys Ledge, a 54-km-long glacial deposit off the coast of northern Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. Sightings on Jeffreys Ledge were extracted from three data sets: (1) a systematic survey of the entire northeastern continental shelf between 1979 and 1982, (2) whale-watch and research-cruise sighting data from 1984 to 1997, and (3) a collaborative database of sightings collected by organizations conducting right whale research and all other available sources. Each database supported two seasonal sighting peaks. During summer (especially July and August) sightings were primarily of mother-calf pairs. Several cow-calf pairs were seen over several days to weeks. Several females were resighted in more than one year, but only when calves were present. During October, November, and December, sightings included all age classes, surface-feeding behavior was frequently observed, and some animals were resighted over several weeks. Given the relatively reduced sighting effort during fall, this number of sightings is surprising. During the 20 yr of observations, 52 of 374 photo-identified North Atlantic right whales (13.9%) were seen at least once on Jeffreys Ledge. We suggest that Jeffreys Ledge may be a more important right whale habitat than previously believed, and that it may play an important role in annual movements and distribution of this population.     

Roma political agency and spaces of social inclusion and exclusion: the contradictions of Roma self-governance amidst the rise of Hungary’s radical right

This paper examines the perspectives of local Roma leaders regarding the ongoing impacts, contradictions and civic outcomes of Hungary’s 1993 Act 77 on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities, legislation that created the framework for minority self-governance among Hungary’s thirteen recognized minority groups. We use interview data with Roma self-government leaders to examine the perceptions and experiences of Roma leaders regarding nationality self-governance as, alternately, a mechanism for enhancing social inclusion and political agency and/or, an institution that only exacerbates the exact exclusions it purports to address. We find that while some Roma nationality self-government leaders have been able to assert political agency and use local nationality self-governments for local initiatives, they report marked limitations in the scope of what they are able to do. This is accentuated in places marked by ethnic conflict where leaders struggle with balancing political agency against political cooptation.     

SPARCL1 as a biomarker of maladaptive right ventricular remodelling in pulmonary hypertension

Abstract

Aim: This study assessed the utility of SPARC-like protein 1 (SPARCL1) as a biomarker of maladaptive right ventricular (RV) function in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH).

Methods: In this prospective study, we examined SPARCL1 levels in 105 patients with adaptive (n?=?34) and maladaptive RV (n?=?32) pressure overload caused by PH, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM, n?=?18) with LVEF < 35% and preserved RV function and controls without LV or RV abnormalities (n?=?21).

Results: The median SPARCL1 concentration in patients with maladaptive RV function was higher than in those with adaptive RV function (p?<?0.01), DCM (p?<?0.001) or controls (p?<?0.001). Patients with adaptive RV function had higher SPARCL1 concentrations than controls (p?<?0.05), whereas there was no difference between adaptive RV and DCM. SPARCL1 showed good predictive power for maladaptive RV (AUC 0.77, p?<?0.001) with an optimal cut-off value of 9.66?ng/ml. The TAPSE/PASP ratio was the only independent predictor of SPARCL1?≥?9.66?ng/ml in multivariable logistic regression analysis.

Conclusion: SPARCL1 shows potential as novel biomarker of RV pathological remodelling and is associated with RV maladaptation and ventriculoarterial uncoupling in PH.     

Enteric VIP-producing neurons maintain gut microbiota homeostasis through regulating epithelium fucosylation

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Wnt5a attenuates hypoxia-induced pulmonary arteriolar remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy in mice

Hypoxic pulmonary hypertension (HPH), which is characterized by pulmonary arteriolar remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy, is still a life-threatening disease with the current treatment strategies. The underlying molecular mechanisms of HPH remain unclear. Our previously published study showed that Wnt5a, one of the ligands in the Wnt family, was critically involved in the inhibition of hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cell proliferation by downregulation of β-catenin/cyclin D1 in vitro. In this study, we investigated the possible functions and mechanisms of Wnt5a in HPH in vivo. Recombinant mouse Wnt5a (rmWnt5a) or phosphate buffered saline (PBS) was administered to male C57/BL6 mice weekly from the first day to the end of the two or four weeks after exposed to hypoxia (10% O₂). Hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension was associated with a marked increase in β-catenin/cyclin D1 expression in lungs. Right ventricular systolic pressure and right ventricular hypertrophy index were reduced in animals treated with rmWnt5a compared with PBS. Histology showed less pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy in the group treated with rmWnt5a than with PBS. Treatment with rmWnt5a resulted in a concomitant reduction in β-catenin/cyclin D1 levels in lungs. These data demonstrate that Wnt5a exerts its beneficial effects on HPH by regulating pulmonary vascular remodeling and right ventricular hypertrophy in a manner that is associated with reduction in β-catenin/cyclin D1 signaling. A therapy targeting the β-catenin/cyclin D1 signaling pathway might be a potential strategy for HPH treatment.