Hormonal control of uteroglobin secretion in rabbit uterus. Inhibition of uteroglobin synthesis and messenger ribonucleic acid accumulation by oestrogen and anti-oestrogen administration

Investigations were conducted to quantify activity of uteroglobin mRNA and secretion of uteroglobin in rabbit uterus after administration of progesterone and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone, either alone or concomitantly with oestradiol-17beta and tamoxifen, a non-steroidal anti-oestrogen. Poly(A)-containing mRNA was isolated from the uterine tissue by extraction with phenol/chloroform, precipitation with ethanol and chromatography on oligo(dT)-cellulose. Cell-free translation in vitro of the poly(A)-containing mRNA was carried out in a wheat-germ lysate, and the product isolated by specific immuno-precipitation with anti-uteroglobin antiserum purified by affinity chromatography. Radioimmunoassay was utilized to determine uteroglobin content in the uterine flushings and tissue preparations. When given for 5 days, both progesterone (1mg/kg per day) and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (25mg/kg per day) elicited a marked induction of uteroglobin secretion, which was accompanied with accumulation of uteroglobin mRNA in the tissue. Concomitant administration of oestradiol-17beta (50mug/kg per day) or tamoxifen (12.5mg/kg per day) significantly decreased both progesterone- and 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone-induced uteroglobin secretion, with a parallel decrease in the uteroglobin-mRNA activity. The decline in the uteroglobin content of the uterine flushes brought about by oestradiol-17beta or tamoxifen administration was not due to inhibition of secretion of this protein by the endometrial cells, since a simultaneous decrease occurred in the tissue uteroglobin content. After a 5-day pretreatment with progesterone (1mg/kg per day), administration of oestradiol-17beta (50mug/kg per day) during the ensuing 4 days greatly accelerated the decay of the uteroglobin content in the uterine fluid.     

Ultrasonography in early pregnancy diagnosis and measurements of fetal size in reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus)

Transrectal or transabdominal examinations of 13 pluriparous reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) by ultrasonography from the start of mating until week 20 of gestation were conducted to find out when pregnancy could first be detected and to describe fetal development in early pregnancy. The examinations (n=35 per animal) were performed with a 5 MHz linear transducer from 7th October until 1st January and with a 3 MHz sector transducer from that time until 24th February. Time of pregnancy diagnosis by ultrasonography, the first fetal heartbeat and measurements of crown-rump length, chest width and chest depth were recorded during the examinations. Pregnancy was diagnosed by transrectal ultrasonography between the weeks 3 and 7 of gestation. The accuracy of the pregnancy diagnosis, defined as the proportion of females correctly detected to be pregnant, was 15% at week 3, 46% at week 4, 77% at week 5, and 92% at week 6 of gestation. Fetal heartbeat was first detected between the weeks 5 and 8 of gestation. The first measurements of crown-rump length were made on week 3 of gestation, of chest width on week 4 and of chest depth on week 5 of gestation. Chest width and depth were detectable until the end of the study at week 20 of gestation. Transrectal ultrasonography is an efficient tool in early pregnancy diagnosis of reindeer. The fetal growth curves obtained by ultrasonography resembled those obtained in previous morphological studies.     

Microglia Induce Neurotoxic IL-17+ γδ T Cells Dependent on TLR2, TLR4, and TLR9 Activation

Background

Interleukin-17 (IL-17) acts as a key regulator in central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. γδ T cells are an important innate source of IL-17. Both IL-17+ γδ T cells and microglia, the major resident immune cells of the brain, are involved in various CNS disorders such as multiple sclerosis and stroke. Also, activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways contributes to CNS damage. However, the mechanisms underlying the regulation and interaction of these cellular and molecular components remain unclear.

Objective

In this study, we investigated the crosstalk between γδ T cells and microglia activated by TLRs in the context of neuronal damage. To this end, co-cultures of IL-17+ γδ T cells, neurons, and microglia were analyzed by immunocytochemistry, flow cytometry, ELISA and multiplex immunoassays.

Results

We report here that IL-17+ γδ T cells but not naïve γδ T cells induce a dose- and time-dependent decrease of neuronal viability in vitro. While direct stimulation of γδ T cells with various TLR ligands did not result in up-regulation of CD69, CD25, or in IL-17 secretion, supernatants of microglia stimulated by ligands specific for TLR2, TLR4, TLR7, or TLR9 induced activation of γδ T cells through IL-1β and IL-23, as indicated by up-regulation of CD69 and CD25 and by secretion of vast amounts of IL-17. This effect was dependent on the TLR adaptor myeloid differentiation primary response gene 88 (MyD88) expressed by both γδ T cells and microglia, but did not require the expression of TLRs by γδ T cells. Similarly to cytokine-primed IL-17+ γδ T cells, IL-17+ γδ T cells induced by supernatants derived from TLR-activated microglia also caused neurotoxicity in vitro. While these neurotoxic effects required stimulation of TLR2, TLR4, or TLR9 in microglia, neuronal injury mediated by bone marrow-derived macrophages did not require TLR signaling. Neurotoxicity mediated by IL-17+ γδ T cells required a direct cell-cell contact between T cells and neurons.

Conclusion

Taken together, these results point to a crucial role for microglia activated through TLRs in polarization of γδ T cells towards neurotoxic IL-17+ γδ T cells.     

Using the ecosystem services approach for better planning and conservation of urban green spaces: a Finland case study

Ecosystem services are vital for humans in urban regions. However, urban development poses a great risk for the ability of ecosystems to provide these services. In this paper we first address the most important ecosystem services in functional urban regions in Finland. Well accessible and good quality recreational ecosystem services, for example, provided by urban nature, are an important part of a high-quality living environment and important for public health. Vegetation of urban regions can have a role in carbon dioxide sequestration and thus in climate change mitigation. For instance, estimates of carbon sinks can be compared to total CO₂ emissions of an urban region, and the municipality can aim at both increasing carbon sinks and decreasing CO₂ emissions with proper land-use planning. Large and contiguous core nature areas, smaller green areas and ecological connections between them are the essence of regional ecological networks and are essential for maintaining interconnected habitats for species and thus biological diversity. Thus, both local and regional level ecological networks are vital for maintaining ecosystem services in urban regions. The impacts of climate change coupled with land-use and land cover change will bring serious challenges for maintaining ecosystem services in urban areas. Although not yet widely used in planning practices, the ecosystem services approach can provide an opportunity for land-use planning to develop ecologically sustainable urban regions. Currently, information on ecosystem services of urban regions is lacking and there is a need to improve the knowledge base for land-use planning.     

Effect of elevated [CO2] on stem wood properties of mature Norway spruce grown at different soil nutrient availability

The objective of the present study was to investigate the interactive effects of elevated [CO₂] and soil nutrient availability on secondary xylem structure and chemical composition of 41‐year‐old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) trees. The nonfertilized and irrigated‐fertilized trees were, for 3 years, continuously exposed to elevated [CO₂] in whole‐tree chambers. Elevated [CO₂] decreased concentrations of soluble sugars, acid‐soluble lignin and nitrogen in stem wood, but the effects were not consistent between sampling height and/or fertilization. The effect of 2*ambient [CO₂] on wood structure depended on the exposure year and/or fertilization. Radial lumen diameter decreased and annual ring width increased in the second year of exposure (1999) in elevated [CO₂]. In the latter, the CO₂ effect was significant only in the nonfertilized trees. Stem wood chemistry and structure were significantly affected by fertilization. Fertilization increased the concentrations of nitrogen and gravimetric lignin, annual ring width, and radial lumen diameter. Fertilization decreased C/N ratio, mean ring density, earlywood density, latewood density, cell wall thickness, cell wall index, and latewood percentage. We conclude that elevated [CO₂] had only minor effects on wood properties while fertilization had more marked effects and thus may affect ecosystem processes and suitability of wood for different end‐use purposes.     

Effects of growth differences due to geographic location and N-fertilisation on wood chemistry of Norway spruce

We studied the effect of long-term nitrogen fertilisation on wood chemistry at two boreal sites in Finland: the northern site (Kemijärvi) and the southern site (Heinola). N-fertilisation was repeated in five-year intervals from the 1960s. Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst.) trees that had been planted in 1938 and 1954, in the northern and the southern site, respectively, were harvested in October 2002. Altogether 20 trees, in five different size classes, either unfertilised or fertilised, were felled. Wood sections at breast height, consisting of five consecutive annual rings, from six (Kemijärvi) or five (Heinola) points with different distances from the pith were examined. Differences in growth between the northern and southern sites were marked in favour of the southern site. In the northern site fertilisation had clearly increased the diameter growth, while in the southern site fertilisation had no effect. Nitrogen fertilisation resulted in slight changes in wood chemistry that included increased nitrogen concentrations in the northern site and extractives in the southern site. Stem wood had higher concentrations of extractives, starch, and uronic acids, and lower concentration of cellulose, in the northern than in the southern site. Changes in the stem wood chemistry along radial axis were marked. The changes in wood chemistry are discussed in relation to the physiological function and also how the changes can influence the suitability of wood for different end-use purposes.     

Fatty acids,starch and biomass of Scots pine needles and roots in open-air ozone exposure

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlings were fumigated with 1.2–1.5 x ambient ozone (cumulative exposure) over 2 seasons in an open-air experiment. Starch and fatty acid concentrations were analyzed in needle and root tissue in the summer, autumn and early winter. Seedling growth was determined by measuring the height of the stem and the total shoot and root biomass. Significant decreases in growth were found in exposed seedlings, even though visible symptoms were lacking. Almost significant reductions in needle and root starch concentrations were found. In the ozone treated foliage, significant increases in myristic acid (140) were detected, but the major fatty acids remained unchanged. Fatty acid ratios showed that the degree of unsaturation decreased in treated needles in the summer. In the roots of ozone treated seedlings, changes in fatty acids were different from those in the foliage. Decreases of the main root fatty acids (160, 180, 181, 18:2, 183) were detected in the summer. These results show that Scots pine is susceptible to enhanced levels of ozone. If the tropospheric ozone levels continue to increase it may have deleterious effects on Scots pine forests in Finland.     

High-performance liquid chromatographic determination of sotalol in biological fluids

A sensitive, selective and reproducible reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic method is described for the quantification of sotalol in human serum and urine. Sotalol and the internal standard, atenolol, were extracted from alkalinized serum and urine (pH 9.0) into 1-butanol—chloroform (20:60, v/v). The organic phase was evaporated, and to the residue was added 0.1 M sulphuric acid (serum analysis) or mobile phase (urie analysis). The mobile phase consisted of 0.01 M phosphate buffer (pH 3.2) and acetonitrile (20:80, v/v) containing 3 mM n-octylsodium sulphate. The flow-rate was 1.5 ml/min. The retention times of atenolol and sotalol were 7 and 10 min, respectively. Ultraviolet detection at 226 nm made it possible to achieve a detection limit of 0.03 μmol/l.     

Potential phytoplankton indicator species for monitoring Baltic coastal waters in the summer period

There are very few time series documenting clear trends of change in the biomass of total phytoplankton or single taxa that coincide with trends of increasing nutrient concentrations. Weekly or biweekly monitoring since 1997 on a cross section of the central Gulf of Finland (NE Baltic Sea) with similar climatic and hydrographic conditions, but different nutrient levels, provided a uniform dataset. In order to evaluate seasonal (June–September) patterns of phytoplankton succession, more than 1,200 samples were statistically analyzed by selecting 12 dominant taxa using wet weight biomass values. In addition, the continuously measured hydrographic parameters on board the ships of opportunity, and simultaneous nutrient analyses gave high frequency information on the water masses. The objective of this study was to identify the taxa that may prove indicative in the assessment of eutrophication in the appropriate monitoring time periods. None of the most common bloom-forming species (Aphanizomenon sp., Nodularia spumigena, and Heterocapsa triquetra) showed reliable correlations with enhanced nutrient concentrations. The species we suggest as reliable eutrophication indicators—oscillatorialean cyanobacteria and the diatoms Cyclotella choctawhatcheeana and Cylindrotheca closterium—showed the best relationships with total phosphorus concentrations. Their maxima appear toward the end of July or in August–September when phytoplankton community structure is more stable, and less frequent observations may give adequate results. Another diatom, Skeletonema costatum, exhibited stronger correlations with dissolved inorganic and total nitrogen in June, during the period of the summer phytoplankton minimum. Guest editors: J. H. Andersen & D. J. Conley Eutrophication in Coastal Ecosystems: Selected papers from the Second International Symposium on Research and Management of Eutrophication in Coastal Ecosystems, 20–23 June 2006, Nyborg, Denmark