Norepinephrine Turnover in the Hypothalamus of Adult Male Rats: Alteration of Circadian Patterns by Semistarvation

Norepinephrine (NE) turnover, as estimated by 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethyleneglycol concentration, was studied in the mediobasal hypothalamus of control and semistarved adult male rats at eight time points of a 24-h period. The marked circadian periodicity of NE turnover with a peak in the dark phase in control rats is completely suppressed in semistarved rats. The average 24-h concentration of the NE precursor tyrosine in brain and of tyrosine flow into brain (calculated from plasma amino acid concentrations) is reduced in semistarved rats, but both brain tyrosine and tyrosine flow show continuing circadian fluctuations.     

The effect of starvation on the ultrastructure of the red and white myotomal muscles of the crucian carp (Carassius carassius)

Summary The effect of 16 weeks total starvation on the ultrastructure of the red and white myotomal muscles of the crucian carp (Carassius Carassius) has been investigated. In the white fibres the amount of myofibrillar material fell from 89.6% to 70.7% of the total fibre volume whilst in the red fibres the fall was from 72.2% to 70.3%. The sarcoplasmic reticulum appeared to have become swollen during starvation in both fibre types. In the white fibres the terminal cisternae of some triads seem to have fused. The volume of the red fibres occupied by mitochondria was reduced from 16.2 % to 5.9 %. The concentration of mitochondria in the white fibres was too low to detect any quantitative changes. A marked reduction in the amount of euchromatin material was observed in most white fibre nuclei and many red fibre nuclei. Many of the ultrastructural changes noted in the present study can be correlated with biochemical changes known to occur in the red and white myotomal muscles of fish during starvation. This work was supported by a grant from the Natural Environmental Research Council.     

Variables Influencing the Effect of a Meal on Brain Tryptophan

Previous work from our laboratory points to plasma free tryptophan being a useful predictor of brain tryptophan concentration in many circumstances. Other work, in particular various studies on the acute effects of food intake, has emphasized the roles of plasma total tryptophan and of plasma large neutral amino acids that compete with tryptophan for transport to the brain. We have now studied associations between the above variables under different dietary conditions. Rats were allowed to feed for restricted periods during a 12-h light-12-h dark cycle. In the first study, rats were given access to a carbohydrate diet for 2 h midway through the light cycle and following an 18-h fast. The resultant rise of brain tryptophan was explicable largely by the associated fall in large neutral amino acids. In a second study, rats were adapted to a regimen whereby they were allowed access to the standard laboratory diet for 4 h during the dark cycle for 3 weeks. A postprandial decrease in brain tryptophan was associated with a fall in free tryptophan and of its ratio to competing amino acids. The brain change could be attributed neither to changes in plasma total tryptophan (which increased) nor to changes of its ratio to the competers (which remained unchanged). Results as a whole are thus consistent with changes of plasma free tryptophan and large neutral amino acid concentrations affecting brain tryptophan concentration under different dietary circumstances. It is suggested that these influences serve to maintain brain tryptophan when dietary supplies are defective.     

Biochemical composition of the parasitic amphipod Hyperia galba in relation to age and starvation

Summary Hyperia galba was collected in the waters around Helgoland and in the Weser-Elbe-estuary during autumn. Its mode of life is a temporary but obligatory parasitism. The basal biochemical composition of the adults was analyzed in detail and related to the fresh, dry, and ash-free dry weight as well as sex and body length. Hyperia galba (males/females) consists of 85/86% water; the dry matter contains approximately 64/61% protein, 10/11% lipid, 1.2/1.5% carbohydrate, 10/8% chitin, and 23/23% ash. The analyses of basal elemental composition yielded approximately 38% C, 9% N and 6% H. Under natural conditions, individuals may encounter at least two periods of food shortage during their lives. Therefore, the analyses were carried out on individuals of different developmental stages also under food deprivation. The data are discussed with respect to the special mode of life of the species and compared with those found by other authors in several related crustacean species.Abbreviations AFDW ash-free dry weight - BL body length - DW dry weight - SD standard deviation - WW wet weight     

Cell death induction in Giardia lamblia: Effect of beta-lapachone and starvation

Giardia lamblia is a protozoan that parasitizes the small intestine of vertebrates. It is a cause of intestinal infection and diarrhea and infects millions of people worldwide. This protozoan presents many characteristics common to eukaryotic cells but it lacks organelles found in most eukaryotes (e.g., peroxisomes, typical Golgi complex and mitochondria). Also it presents mitosomes, a relic organelle that appears to be a mitochondrial remnant. Cell death in Giardia was induced by the drug β-Lapachone and by starvation. Giardia behavior was followed by scanning, transmission and fluorescence microscopy, quantification of cell metabolism using MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyltetrazolium bromide), changes in lipid rafts, using DiIC₁₆ and cholera toxin. Cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, membrane blebbing and vacuolization provided ultrastructural evidence of apoptosis, whereas the myelinic figures in large vacuoles and LC-3 staining suggested an autophagic process. Lipids rafts were altered by drug treatment and co-localized with regions containing membrane blebbing. The treatment with β-Lap induced encystation. A search for sequence similarities in databases and protein alignments was carried out. Although Giardia is an amitochondrial organism, it presented some autophagic-like cell death characteristics and several, but not all, apoptotic characteristics, induced by β-Lapachone and starvation.     

The genetic basis for mating-induced sex differences in starvation resistance in Drosophila melanogaster

Multiple genetic and environmental factors interact to influence starvation resistance, which is an important determinant of fitness in many organisms, including Drosophila melanogaster. Recent studies have revealed that mating can alter starvation resistance in female D. melanogaster, but little is known about the behavioral and physiological mechanisms underlying such mating-mediated changes in starvation resistance. In the present study, we first investigated whether the effect of mating on starvation resistance is sex-specific in D. melanogaster. As indicated by a significant sex × mating status interaction, mating increased starvation resistance in females but not in males. In female D. melanogaster, post-mating increase in starvation resistance was mainly attributed to increases in food intake and in the level of lipid storage relative to lean body weight. We then performed quantitative genetic analysis to estimate the proportion of the total phenotypic variance attributable to genetic differences (i.e., heritability) for starvation resistance in mated male and female D. melanogaster. The narrow-sense heritability (h²) of starvation resistance was 0.235 and 0.155 for males and females, respectively. Mated females were more resistant to starvation than males in all genotypes, but the degree of such sexual dimorphism varied substantially among genotypes, as indicated by a significant sex × genotype interaction for starvation resistance. Cross-sex genetic correlation was greater than 0 but less than l for starvation resistance, implying that the genetic architecture of this trait was partially shared between the two sexes. For both sexes, starvation resistance was positively correlated with longevity and lipid storage at genetic level. The present study suggests that sex differences in starvation resistance depend on mating status and have a genetic basis in D. melanogaster.     

Proteomics analysis of starved cells revealed Annexin A1 as an important regulator of autophagic degradation

Macroautophagy is involved in the bulk degradation of long-lived cytosolic proteins and subcellular organelles, which is important for the survival of cells during starvation. To identify potential players of the autophagy process, we subjected HCT116 cells cultured in complete medium and in Earle’s balanced salt solution to proteomics analysis. In approximately 1500 protein spots detected, we characterized 52 unique proteins, whose expression levels were significantly changed following starvation. Notably, we found that Annexin A1 was significantly upregulated following starvation at both mRNA and protein levels. Inhibition of Annexin A1 expression with specific siRNA did not alter starvation-induced autophagy as measured by the level of lipidated LC3, but significantly reversed autophagy degradation as measured by the level of p62/SQSTM 1. Thus Annexin A1 seemed to be positively upregulated during starvation to promote autophagic degradation. Overall, the data presented in this study established a expression profile of the proteome in starved cells, which allowed the identification of proteins with potential significance in starvation-induced autophagy.     

Histochemical changes of carbohydrate and protein contents in the digestive gland cells of the land snail Monacha cartusiana following starvation

The present study was designed to investigate histochemically the detection of carbohydrate and protein in the normally feeding snails and after 15 and 30 days of starvation. Generally, abundant carbohydrate and protein materials were detected in the component cells of the digestive gland of normally feeding snails. The results of this investigation revealed a pronounced decline of carbohydrates in the digestive gland cells of Monacha cartusiana snails after starvation. Severe decline in carbohydrate content was observed especially after 30 days of starvation. Moreover, protein inclusions have exhibited a week stainability in the digestive gland cells of these snails as a consequence of starvation.     

Effects of starvation on larval growth, survival, and metamorphosis of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum

The effects of starvation on larval growth, survival, and metamorphosis of Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum at the temperature of 19.6–21.6 °C, the salinity of 34‰ and pH of 8.0 were investigated from May 18 to July 18, 2006. In this study, the early, middle and late umbo-veliger larvae with the shell lengths of 100, 140, and 190 μm were subject to temporary food deprivation for up to 4.5, 20, and 25d at 0.5, 4, 5d intervals, followed by refeeding for the remaining of a 24, 20, 25d period, respectively. The results suggested that the larvae should have shown considerable tolerance to starvation due to their endogenous and exterior nutrition material, for larvae and time to the point-of-no-return (PNR: the threshold point during starvation after which larvae could no longer metamorphose even if food is provided) were calculated to be 4.25, 17.54, and 22.17d. As the starvation period prolonged, the mean shell length of larvae starved got close to constants at 1.5, 4, and 15d after starvation, which were different for larvae at different stages when starvation began, survival of larvae decreased, and was lower in treatments starved earlier in development than those starved later, for the early, middle and late umbo-veliger larvae, after 4.5, 20 and 25d of starvation period, few larvaes were alive. After starvation period, the alive larvaes were able to metamorphose and had a capability of compensatory growth when refeeding was given. Starvation not only affected metamorphosis rate, but also caused the delay in the time to metamorphosis and the decrease in the metamorphosed sizes. For example, for the continuously-fed larvae, duration to metamorphosis was 20.7d, for larvae with a size of 100-μm starved for up to 4d, larvae with a size of 140-μm starved for up to 16d, larvae with a size of 190-μm starved for up to 20d, duration to metamorphosis were 29.7, 31.7, and 37.7d, the delay in duration to metamorphosis were 9, 11, and 17d, respectively. Furthermore, importance of nutrition material for maintaining larval survival during starvation and the compensatory growth on larvae at the same feeding time were discussed.     

淡水养殖太平洋鲑循环饥饿后补偿性生长效果研究

用16.1%脂肪,38.1%蛋白质含量日粮饲养108尾初始重约为240g的太平洋鲑(Oncorhynchusspp.)于0.25m3的水族箱中64d,水温为15.5±3.7℃。实验分6组,分别为对照组(每天投喂),实验1组(隔天投喂),实验2组(隔2天投喂2天),实验3组(隔4天投喂4天),实验4组(隔8天投喂8天),实验5组(隔16天投喂16天)。每组设3个平行水族箱,每箱6尾鱼。研究淡水养殖太平洋鲑多重周期饥饿后补偿性生长效果。实验结果表明:(1)各试验组太平洋鲑成活率均为100%。实验1、2、3组太平洋鲑鱼体增重接近对照组,其恢复摄食期间特定生长率、摄食率、食物转化率均显著或极显著高于对照组(P<0.05或0.01)。而实验4、5组鱼恢复摄食期间虽摄食率极显著高于对照组(P<0.01),但其鱼体增重、特定生长率、食物转化率均极显著低于对照组(P<0.01);(2)实验各组鱼肥满度、肝体比、肝脏脂肪和糖原含量、肌肉中脂肪含量较对照组均有不同程度下降,肝脏脂肪中总饱和脂肪酸比例上升,而总多不饱和脂肪酸比例下降;(3)实验1、2、3组血浆中甘油三酯、胆固醇和低密度脂蛋白显著低于对照组,而葡萄糖、血清中甲状腺激素T4浓度显著高于对照组(P<0.05)。实验结果表明,初重约240g太平洋鲑饥饿1—4d,再循环投喂相同时间64d后,获得了接近完全补偿生长效果,表现为其恢复摄食期间摄食率和食物转化率明显上升,生长速率明显加快,饲料报酬明显提高,鱼体增重接近持续喂食的对照组,养殖效益明显提高。但饥饿8—16d再循环投喂相同时间后,表现为无补偿生长效应,食物转化率和生长速率明显下降,鱼体增重极显著低于持续喂鱼的对照组。