电生理技术在鱼类尾部神经分泌系统研究中的应用

<正>200多年前,Galvani通过神经-肌肉兴奋性实验发现了神经系统与电活动在功能上具有本质的联系[1,2]。此后,众多研究者投入了大量的精力研发电生理设备,逐步开发出多种能够精确测量和控制神经元电活动的仪器,如:放大器、示波器、刺激器、数模/模数转换器、微电极等。现代电生理设备和技术的更新换代为研究单离子通道电     

Immunocytochemical localization of urotensin I neurons in the caudal neurosecretory system of the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni)

Summary The localization of urotensin I has been investigated in the caudal neurosecretory system of the white sucker (Catostomus commersoni). The peptide is present in all the cells of the system both large and small, in the large axons passing to the urophysis, and in fine beaded fibres not only within the urophysis but also in a fine plexus lateral to the large cells in the spinal cord proper. The possibility that the caudal neurosecretory system is not a functionally uniform system but rather a collection of dissimilar cells of different synaptic inputs with a common entity, urotensin I, is discussed. Moreover, the feasibility of a urotensin I feedback loop is described.Financial support for this investigation was provided in part by MRC (Canada). K.L. is MRC career investigator; K.L.W, was in receipt of an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research Fellowship. It is a pleasure to record the valuable technical assistance of Mrs. W. Ho and the dedicated assistance in the collection of the experimental animals by Mrs. Helen Wilson of Nanton, Alberta.     

TGR5和CDX2在胃黏膜肠化生及胃癌中的表达及意义

目的:探讨G蛋白偶联受体(G protein-coupled receptor,TGR5)和尾型同源盒2(Caudal type homeobox 2,CDX2)在胃黏膜肠化生(Intestinal Metaplasia,IM)及胃癌中的表达和意义。方法:采用免疫组织化学染色法检测TGR5和CDX2在57例慢性胃炎、85例IM、98例胃癌组织中的表达。比较各组间TGR5和CDX2的表达差异,并分析其与胃癌临床病理参数的关系及与胃癌患者预后的关系。利用Spearman秩相关检验分析TGR5和CDX2表达的相关性。结果:IM和胃癌组织中TGR5的高表达率分别为54.1%和58.2%,二者比较无显著差异(P0.05),但均显著高于慢性胃炎组织(P0.01)。TGR5高表达与胃癌患者TNM分期(III+IV期)(P=0.004)、淋巴结转移(P=0.046)及预后较差(P=0.006)相关。胃癌组织中CDX2的高表达率(30.6%)较IM组织(48.2%)显著降低(P0.05),但其均显著高于慢性胃炎组织(P0.01)。CDX2高表达与胃癌患者TNM分期(I+II期)(P=0.008)、无淋巴结转移(P=0.014)、预后较好(P=0.023)相关。TGR5和CDX2表达在慢性胃炎和IM中无相关性(P0.05),在胃癌中呈显著正相关(P=0.003)。结论:TGR5和CDX2在IM和胃癌组织中均显著上调,可能参与了IM和胃癌的发生发展。     

Shared extremes by ectotherms and endotherms: Body elongation in mustelids is associated with small size and reduced limbs

An elongate body with reduced or absent limbs has evolved independently in many ectothermic vertebrate lineages. While much effort has been spent examining the morphological pathways to elongation in these clades, quantitative investigations into the evolution of elongation in endothermic clades are lacking. We quantified body shape in 61 musteloid mammals (red panda, skunks, raccoons, and weasels) using the head‐body elongation ratio. We also examined the morphological changes that may underlie the evolution toward more extreme body plans. We found that a mustelid clade comprised of the subfamilies Helictidinae, Guloninae, Ictonychinae, Mustelinae, and Lutrinae exhibited an evolutionary transition toward more elongate bodies. Furthermore, we discovered that elongation of the body is associated with the evolution of other key traits such as a reduction in body size and a reduction in forelimb length but not hindlimb length. This relationship between body elongation and forelimb length has not previously been quantitatively established for mammals but is consistent with trends exhibited by ectothermic vertebrates and suggests a common pattern of trait covariance associated with body shape evolution. This study provides the framework for documenting body shapes across a wider range of mammalian clades to better understand the morphological changes influencing shape disparity across all vertebrates.     

Head‐turning morphologies: Evolution of shape diversity in the mammalian atlas–axis complex

Mammals flex, extend, and rotate their spines as they perform behaviors critical for survival, such as foraging, consuming prey, locomoting, and interacting with conspecifics or predators. The atlas–axis complex is a mammalian innovation that allows precise head movements during these behaviors. Although morphological variation in other vertebral regions has been linked to ecological differences in mammals, less is known about morphological specialization in the cervical vertebrae, which are developmentally constrained in number but highly variable in size and shape. Here, we present the first phylogenetic comparative study of the atlas–axis complex across mammals. We used spherical harmonics to quantify 3D shape variation of the atlas and axis across a diverse sample of species, and performed phylogenetic analyses to investigate if vertebral shape is associated with body size, locomotion, and diet. We found that differences in atlas and axis shape are partly explained by phylogeny, and that mammalian subclades differ in morphological disparity. Atlas and axis shape diversity is associated with differences in body size and locomotion; large terrestrial mammals have craniocaudally elongated vertebrae, whereas smaller mammals and aquatic mammals have more compressed vertebrae. These results provide a foundation for investigating functional hypotheses underlying the evolution of neck morphologies across mammals.     

A tall-spined ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Salas de los Infantes (Burgos, Spain)

A tall-spined ornithopod dinosaur from the Pinilla de los Moros Formation (Upper Hauterivian-Lower Barremian) of Salas de los Infantes (Burgos, Spain) is described. The material consists of seven associated axial remains, including five middle dorsal vertebrae, a fragmentary neural spine and a dorsal rib, from a single medium-sized individual. This material was previously referred to Iguanodon cf. fittoni. It is characterised by having a high dorsal neurapophysis that is approximately 4.5 times the height of the centrum. The elongation and vertical orientation of the dorsal neural spines allow it to be distinguished from other ornithopods from the Wealden of Europe, including Hypselospinus and Barilium from the Valanginian, and Iguanodon and Mantellisaurus from the Barremian-Aptian. The material is here referred to Iguanodontia indet. because it is so incomplete, but it is potentially a distinct taxon. Among the ornithopods, only Ouranosaurus and the hadrosaurid Hypacrosaurus possess higher dorsal neural spines.     

Tail morphology in the Western Diamond‐backed rattlesnake,Crotalus atrox

The shaker muscles in the tails of rattlesnakes are used to shake the rattle at very high frequencies. These muscles are physiologically specialized for sustaining high‐frequency contractions. The tail skeleton is modified to support the enlarged shaker muscles, and the muscles have major anatomical modifications when compared with the trunk muscles and with the tail muscles of colubrid snakes. The shaker muscles have been known for many years to consist of three large groups of muscles on each side of the tail. However, the identities of these muscles and their serial homologies with the trunk muscles were not previously known. In this study, we used dissection and magnetic resonance imaging of the tail in the Western Diamond‐backed Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox, to determine that the three largest muscles that shake the rattle are the M. longissimus dorsi, the M. iliocostalis, and the M. supracostalis lateralis. The architecture of these muscles differs from their serial homologs in the trunk. In addition, the rattlesnake tail also contains three small muscles. The M. semispinalis‐spinalis occurs in the tail, where it is a thin, nonvibratory, postural muscle that extends laterally along the neural spines. An additional muscle, which derives from fusion of the M. interarticularis inferior and M. levator costae, shares segmental insertions with the M. longissimus dorsi and M. iliocostalis. Several small, deep ventral muscles probably represent the Mm. costovertebrocostalis, intercostalis series, and transversohypapophyseus. The architectural rearrangements in the tail skeleton and shaker muscles, compared with the trunk muscles, probably relate to their roles in stabilizing the muscular part of the tail and to shaking the rattle at the tip of the tail. Based on comparisons with the tail muscles of a colubrid snake described in the literature, the derived tail muscle anatomy in rattlesnakes evolved either in the pitvipers or within the rattlesnakes. J. Morphol., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

VERTEBRAL OSTEOLOGY AND COMPLEXITY IN LAGENORHYNCHUS ACUTUS (DELPHINIDAE) WITH COMPARISON TO OTHER DELPHINOID GENERA

The vertebral column of the Atlantic white-sided dolphin, Lagenorhynchus acutus , reflects the radical reorganization of the cetacean column for locomotion in water. Both posterior thoracic and anterior caudal vertebrae have been "lumbarized," and discontinuities occur within the caudal series at the synclinal point and fluke base. Morphology changes subtly as body size increases. Neural process height increases more rapidly, and centrum length more variably, than other vertebral parameters. As a result, large animals have disproportionately tall neural processes, short necks, long mid-body regions, and short flukes. Vertebral columns of large animals also show greater complexity (range, irregularity, and polarization) of centrum length than do those of smaller animals. Comparisons among dolphins reveal that complexity trends with respect to differentiation of parts run counter to the trend with respect to number of parts, a relationship predicted by Williston in 1914.     

A reassessment of the eels of the genus Bathycongrus in the Indo-west Pacific

Difficulties in identifying the species of the congrid eel genus Bathycongrus Ogilby, 1898 that frequent the upper slope in the Indo-west Pacific arise principally because these eels possess very few distinctive external characters. The differences in body proportions between the seven species that are recognized here are not easy to evaluate because of the frequent loss and subsequent regrowth of the tail tip. There are differences in the size and number of vomerine teeth, though these are not readily quantifiable, and in the number of vertebrae. However, the combination of these two characters allows the recognition of large/small-toothed forms and those with low-count, mid-count, and high-count vertebral numbers. The solution here has been to lump together some of the 16 nominal species.
Accordingly, seven Indo-west Pacific species are recognized in this account. Uranoconger Fowler, 1934 is synonymized with Bathycongrus. Larval characters, especially the number of myomeres, may be of some assistance in resolving the problems of species identification. A key to the species is given.