Lifelong exposure to dietary fish oil alters macrophage responses in Walker 256 tumor-bearing rats

Supplementation of the diet with fish oil (FO) decreases growth of the Walker 256 tumor and decreases the cachexia associated with tumor-bearing. The mechanisms by which FO inhibits tumor growth and cachexia are unknown. Macrophages are very important in host defence against tumors since they produce several anti-tumor agents which in turn have been shown to be modified by dietary FO, but rarely in the setting of tumor bearing and never in relation to lifelong exposure. In this study, we compared the effects of supplementation of the diet of pregnant and lactating rats and subsequent supplementation of the offspring with coconut fat or FO on macrophage activities involved in anti-tumor defence. FO supplementation was able to induce an increase in phagocytosis, in O2-, H2O2, nitric oxide, and TNF-alpha production by macrophages and in lysosomal volume in non-tumor-bearing rats. However, phagocytosis, production of O2- and H2O2 and lysosomal volume were not affected by the FO diet when rats were bearing tumors, although nitric oxide production was higher in these animals. It appears that tumor bearing activates the innate immune system and that dietary FO has little effect on innate immunity in the presence of Walker 256 tumors. Thus, it is still unclear how FO decreases the growth of Walker 256 tumors and the associated cachexia.     

Sex differences in acetylcholine-induced sweating responses due to physical training

Purpose

The present study examined sex differences in the sweat gland response to acetylcholine (ACh) in physically trained and untrained male and female subjects.

Methods

Sweating responses were induced on the forearm and thigh in resting subjects by ACh iontophoresis using a 10% solution at 2 mA for 5 min at 26°C and 50% relative humidity.

Results

The ACh-induced sweating rate (SR) on the forearm and thigh was greater in physically trained male (P < 0.001 for the forearm and thigh, respectively) and female (P = 0.08 for the forearm, P < 0.001 for the thigh) subjects than in untrained subjects of both sexes. The SR was also significantly greater in physically trained males compared to females at both sites (P < 0.001) and in untrained males compared to females on the thigh (P < 0.02) only, although the degree of difference was greater in trained subjects than in untrained subjects. These sex differences can be attributed to the difference in sweat output per gland rather than the number of activated sweat glands.

Conclusion

We conclude that physical training enhances the ACh-induced SR in both sexes but that the degree of enhancement is greater in male than in female subjects. The effects of physical training and sex on the SR may be due to changes in peripheral sensitivity to ACh and/or sweat gland size.     

The stress and metabolic responses of juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua L. to an acute thermal challenge

Survival, oxygen consumption (     ), total plasma cortisol and glucose levels and gill heat-shock protein 70 (hsp70) expression were measured in 10 and 50 g juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua during an acute temperature increase (2° C h⁻¹) to their critical thermal maximum. Ninety three per cent of the fish in both size classes survived to 24° C; however, mortality was 100% within 15 min of reaching this temperature. The     for both size classes increased significantly with temperature, reaching peak values at 22° C that were c. 2·8-fold those of control (10° C) fish. Resting plasma cortisol and glucose levels were lower in 10 g as compared to 50 g fish. Plasma glucose levels were highly variable in both size classes, and significant increases were only seen at >22° C for the 10 g fish. In contrast, plasma cortisol showed an exponential increase with temperature starting at 16° C in both size classes, and reached maximum levels at 22° C that were 19-fold (10 g fish) and 35-fold (50 g fish) higher than their respective control groups. Both the constitutive (73 kDa) and inducible (72 kDa) isoforms of hsp70 were detected in both size classes using the widely utilized mouse monoclonal antibody. Expression of these isoforms, however, did not change when Atlantic cod were exposed to elevated temperature, and the 72 kDa isoform was not detected using salmonid-specific antibodies. These results indicate that juvenile Atlantic cod are very sensitive to acute increases in water temperature. In addition, they (1) show that     and plasma cortisol, but not plasma glucose or gill hsp 70 levels, are sensitive indicators of thermal stress in Atlantic cod and (2) support previous reports that the upper critical temperature for this species is 16° C.     

Modelling regional differences in 'sealworm', Pseudoterranova decipiens (Nematoda, Ascaridoidea), infections in some North Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, stocks

The ascaridoid nematode Pseudoterranova decipiens has a complex life-cycle. Adult worms reproduce in the stomach of grey seals, Halichoerus grypus , and other pinnipeds, and the larvae are found encysted in the musculature of Atlantic cod, a common host. An increase in infection levels in Canadian, Icelandic and Norwegian cod stocks over the last decade has been attributed to recent increases in seal population numbers. A simple model is proposed for the accumulation of larval parasites in the fish through its food. The model describes how regional differences in fish growth can also explain some differences in infection levels.     

Reduced neutrophil superoxide generation and plasma lipoperoxide levels in pigs fed with cod liver oil.

Circulating neutrophils, isolated from pigs fed for 8 weeks with a diet supplemented with CLO, had an accentuated n-3 fatty acid incorporation into the plasma membrane, as evidenced by an approximately four-fold greater n-3/n-6 ratio as compared with the control diet group. Moreover, the neutrophils of the CLO fed pigs produced less superoxide when stimulated with PMA or f-MLP, as well as showing a more prolonged latency period before O2(-)-generation. In the plasma of pigs fed with CLO there were higher levels of thiobarbituric reactive material and lipofuscin, while the content of GSSG was similar in both dietary groups. The results of this study indicate that dietary supplementation with CLO reduces the activation of circulating neutrophils and favours the presence in the plasma of lipoperoxides.     

Sex differences in murine cardiac pathophysiology with hyperoxia exposure

Hyperoxia (>90% oxygen) is commonly implemented in mechanically ventilated patients. Reports suggest that hyperoxia is directly associated with in-hospital mortality in ventilated patients. Certain studies also show that mortality in women undergoing mechanical ventilation is significantly higher than that in men. Additionally, females are predisposed to certain cardiac electrophysiological risks, including QTc prolongation. In this study, we assessed the impact of hyperoxia in male and female mice (C57BL/6J) at age 8–10 weeks. On completion of either hyperoxia or normoxia exposures, physical, hemodynamic, biochemical, functional, electrophysiological, and molecular assessments were conducted. Hyperoxia-exposed mice lost a significant amount of body mass, compared with normoxia controls, in both sexes. However, while both genders developed brady-arrhythmia after hyperoxia exposure, female mice exhibited significantly reduced heart rates compared with males, with significantly elevated RR intervals. Additionally, 50% mortality was observed in females, whereas no mortality was reported in males. Furthermore, unlike in male mice, we observed no hypertrophy upon hyperoxia exposure in female mice. We reported that both hyperoxia-treated male and female mice exhibit significant hyperdynamic left ventricular ejection fraction, which is marked by % ejection fraction > 70 compared with the normoxia controls. We also noted significant reductions in stroke volume and cardiac output in both mice with hyperoxia. Surface ECG also demonstrated that hyperoxia exposure significantly augments RR, PR, QRS, QTc, and JT intervals in both sexes. Molecular analysis of left ventricular tissue demonstrated dysregulation of potassium ion channels in hyperoxia-treated males and females. In summary, we determined that sex differences are present with 72 hr hyperoxia exposure.     

Sex differences in hormonal responses to social conflict in the monogamous California mouse

Monogamous species are usually considered to be less likely to exhibit sex differences in behavior or brain structure. Most previous studies examining sex differences in stress hormone responses have used relatively sexually dimorphic species such as rats. We examined the stress hormone responses of monogamous California mice (Peromyscus californicus) to resident-intruder tests. We also tested males and females under different photoperiods, because photoperiod has been shown to affect both aggression and stress hormone responses. Females, but not males showed a significant increase in corticosterone levels immediately following a resident-intruder test. Males but not females showed elevated corticosterone levels under short days. Females tested in aggression tests also showed a significant increase in plasma oxytocin levels, but only when housed in long days. This was consistent with our observation that females but not males had more oxytocin positive cells in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) when housed under long days. Our data show that sex differences in glucocorticoid responses identified in other rodents are present in a monogamous species.     

Sex differences in immune responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with COVID-19

Millions of people infected by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been diagnosed with coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19). The prevalence and severity of COVID-19 differ between sexes. To explain these differences, we analyzed clinical features and laboratory values in male and female COVID-19 patients. The present study included a cohort of 111 people, i.e. 36 COVID-19 patients, 54 sex- and age-matched common viral community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) patients, and 21 healthy controls. Monocyte counts, lymphocyte subset counts, and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in the peripheral blood were analyzed. Higher Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scores, monocyte counts, and CRP and ALT levels were found in male COVID-19 patients. Decreased lymphocyte subset counts and proportions were observed in COVID-19 patients, except for the CD3⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell proportions. The lower CD4⁺ T cell proportions and higher CD8⁺ T cell proportions were observed in male and severe COVID-19 patients and the differences were independent of estrogen level. The CD4⁺ T cell proportion was negatively associated with the CD8⁺ T cell proportion in male COVID-19 patients; this correlation was non-significant in females. Our work demonstrates differences between sexes in circulating monocyte counts and CD4⁺ T cell and CD8⁺ T cell proportions in COVID-19 patients, independent of estrogen levels, are associated with the clinical manifestations in COVID-19 patients with high specificity.     

Inter‐individual differences in rates of routine energy loss and growth in young‐of‐the‐year juvenile Atlantic cod

Inter‐individual differences in rates of routine (non‐feeding) metabolism and growth were evaluated in young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) juvenile Atlantic cod Gadus morhua . Rates of O₂ consumption, CO₂ production and ammonia (TAN) excretion were measured in 64, 25–43 mm standard length ( L _S) YOY growing at different rates (0·27–0·47 mm day⁻¹) in a common rearing tank. Parameter rates ( y ) increased allometrically ( y = a·M^b ) with increasing body mass ( M ) with b ‐values for O₂ production, CO₂ consumption and TAN excretion equal to 0·81, 0·89 and 0·56, respectively. In some cases, residuals from these regressions were significantly negatively correlated to fish growth rate. In no cases did residuals of parameter rates increase with increasing growth rate. These data suggest that, during unfed periods, relatively fast‐growing fish were more metabolically efficient than slower‐growing fish from the same cohort. The fish condition factor, derived from     , also significantly decreased with increasing growth rate. Results indicated differences in both the rates of routine energy loss and the patterns of growth allocation among YOY Atlantic cod. Since these physiological attributes were positively correlated with growth rate, they may be indicative of 'survivors' in field populations.     

Effects of cod liver oil on tissue antioxidant pathways in normal and streptozotocin-diabetic rats

Lipid disorders and increased oxidative stress may exacerbate some complications of diabetes mellitus. Previous studies have implicated the beneficial effects of some antioxidants, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the protection of cells from the destructive effect of increased lipids and lipid peroxidation products. This study, therefore, was designed to investigate the effects of cod liver oil (CLO, Lysi Ltd. Island), which comprises mainly vitamin A, PUFAs, EPA and DHA. Effects were monitored on plasma lipids, lipid peroxidation products (MDA) and the activities of antioxidant enzymes, glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and catalase in heart, liver, kidney and lung of non-diabetic control and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced-diabetic rats. Two days after STZ-injection (55 mg kg(-1) i.p.), non-diabetic control and diabetic rats were divided randomly into two groups as untreated or treated with CLO (0.5 ml kg(-1) rat per day) for 12 weeks. Plasma glucose, triacylglycerol and cholesterol concentrations were significantly elevated in 12-week untreated-diabetic animals; CLO treatment almost completely prevented these abnormalities in triacylglycerol and cholesterol, but hyperglycaemia was partially controlled. CLO also provided better weight gain in diabetic animals. In untreated diabetic rats, MDA markedly increased in aorta, heart and liver but was not significantly changed in kidney and lung. This was accompanied by a significant increase in both GSHPx and catalase enzyme activities in aorta, heart, and liver of diabetic rats. In kidney and lung, diabetes resulted in reduced catalase while GSHPx was significantly activated. In aorta, heart, and liver, diabetes-induced changes in MDA were entirely prevented by CLO treatment. In the tissues of CLO-treated diabetic animals, GSHPx activity paralleled those of control animals. CLO treatment also caused significant improvements in catalase activities in every tissue of diabetic rats, but failed to affect MDA and antioxidant activity in control animals. The current study suggests that the treatment of diabetic rats with CLO provides better control of glucose and lipid metabolism, allows recovery of normal growth rate, prevents oxidative/peroxidative stress and ameliorates endogenous antioxidant enzyme activities in various tissues. Because CLO contains a plethora of beneficial compounds together, its use for the management of diabetes-induced complications may provide important advantages.     

Sex differences in provisioning rules: responses of Manx shearwaters to supplementary chick feeding

Sex differences in food provisioning have been found in a numberof socially monogamous birds with biparental care, but the reasonsremain unclear. In Manx shearwaters, males provide 40–50%more food for chicks than do females, and previous empiricaldata have suggested that this difference could arise becausefemales are able to regulate food delivery by reducing the provisioningof well-nourished chicks, whereas males are not (hypothesis1). Alternatively, however, males may be as capable as femalesof assessing and responding to the variation in the nutritionalrequirements of their chick but have a higher threshold forreducing food delivery to well-nourished chicks (hypothesis2). To test these two hypotheses, we used supplementary feedingto manipulate the nutritional status of chicks and then examinedthe responses of male and female parents and their offspring.Supplementary feeding significantly reduced both the beggingbehavior of chicks and the frequency and sizes of meals deliveredby parents. Males and females reduced their overall provisioningrates to a similar extent (males by 38%, females by 42%), somaintaining the same difference in contributions to provisioningin the control group (males 58%, females 42%) and the experimentaltreatment (males 59%, females 41%). These data strongly supporthypothesis 2. Supplementary feeding of chicks resulted in fewervisits by parents and a higher proportion of long trips in bothsexes (4 days for males, 5–7 days for females). However,maximum trip durations were unchanged, suggesting that supplementaryfeeding of chicks had no effect on the foraging ranges or overallfood-provisioning strategies of parents.     

Effects of dietary soybean meal and photoperiod cycle on osmoregulation following seawater exposure in Atlantic salmon smolts

Atlantic salmon Salmo salar juveniles were fed either fishmeal-based diets (FM) or diets in which soybean meal (SBM) partly replaced the FM from first feeding on. The fish were kept at continuous daylight during the juvenile stage. During the last 3 weeks before reaching 100 g body mass, all fish were subjected to 12L:12D. Starting at 100 g body mass, groups of 60 fish from each feeding background were subjected to continuous light for 12 weeks (short winter), or a square-wave photoperiod cycle to stimulate parr to smolt transformation with 8L:16D during the first 6 weeks, and then continuous light during the last 6 weeks (long winter). After the 12 weeks, 20 fish from each treatment were subjected to 0, 24 or 96 h seawater exposure at a water salinity of 34. Hypo-osmoregulatory ability at seawater exposure was assessed by mortality, intestinal pathology, plasma ion concentrations and osmolality, gill Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity and element concentrations in the cytoplasm of distal intestinal enterocytes using X-ray microanalysis. The hypo-osmoregulatory capacity was higher in fish kept at short winter than at long winter, apparently due to more rapid development of gill Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity. Fish fed SBM suffered typical soybean meal-induced histological alterations of the distal intestine and apparent reductions in digestive function in the more proximal gastrointestinal regions. The net osmoregulatory capacity of these fish was maintained, as indicated by higher gill Na⁺/K⁺-ATPase activity and lower plasma Na⁺, Ca²⁺ and osmolality compared to the FM-fed fish. Thus, feeding SBM did not impair the hypo-osmoregulatory ability of the Atlantic salmon following seawater exposure.     

Sex differences in disease avoidance behavior vary across modes of pathogen exposure

Sex differences in disease susceptibility are widespread, and these disparities are often compounded in cases where sexual dimorphism increases exposure risk to parasites for one sex more than the other. Studies rarely link sex differences in disease susceptibility to sex differences in infection avoidance behavior. Yet, understanding the intersection of hosts’ susceptibility to infection and infection avoidance behavior is essential to predicting infection risk variation. Here, we use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and a generalist entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium robertsii, which can be transmitted directly, indirectly, and post-mortem as a model host–pathogen system. We test whether the relationship between susceptibility to infection and pathogen avoidance behavior covaries with host sex. We first measured differences in resistance between male and female flies after three different types of exposure—direct, sexual, and environmental—to infectious fungal conidiospores. Then, we tested whether male and female flies differed in the likelihood of mating with infected partners and their avoidance of food patches with increased infection risk. Females were more susceptible to infection under all three exposure techniques. When confronted with an infectious partner, females mated sooner than males. However, when given a choice between an exposed partner and an unexposed partner, females take longer to begin copulating compared with males, though neither sex was more likely to choose the unexposed partner than expected by chance. Neither male nor females flies avoided food patches containing infectious conidiospores, though only females show an aversion to food sites containing an infectious fly corpse. These experiments suggest that sex differences in disease susceptibility may be counteracted via differential pathogen avoidance behavior, though the strength of avoidance behavior appears to vary across different contexts of infection risk.     

Sex differences in mate selection strategies: Content analyses and responses to personal advertisements in Brazil

We studied mate selection strategies as revealed in heterosexual personal advertisements published in a Brazilian newspaper, analyzing both the ads' content, with respect to the attributes that men and women offered and sought, and predictors of the number of responses that each ad received. Demands made for a prospective partner changed as a function of the age of the advertiser in predictable sex-differentiated ways: women became less demanding as they aged, whereas men became more demanding. The number of responses received by men and women as a function of age followed a similarly sex-differentiated pattern, with older women receiving fewer responses than younger women, and older men receiving more responses than younger men. In general, results of the present study provided support for our predictions. People who used personal advertisements, a relatively recent unconventional way for selecting mates, expressed conventional preferences, suggestive of evolved psychological mechanisms.     

The ability of Baltic cod eggs to maintain neutral buoyancy and the opportunity for survival in fluctuating conditions in the Baltic Sea

In the brackish water of the Baltic Sea successful spawning of Baltic cod Gadus morhua is restricted to the Bornholm, Gdansk and Gotland basins below the halocline, occurring at 50–80 m depth. Due to irregular mixing of the deep water, stagnant conditions occur regularly accompanied with unfavourable oxygen conditions. In avoiding stressful oxygen conditions maintenance of egg buoyancy is considered a major limiting factor for successful spawning of Baltic cod. Batches of eggs were incubated experimentally in a density gradient column. Egg specific gravity changed during development, decreasing from the time of gastrulation, then increasing prior to hatching. The changes in specific gravity varied among egg batches from different females and were related to egg quality, egg size and ambient salinity. Eggs achieve different specific gravity depending on incubation salinity. Initial egg specific gravity together with the ability of eggs to gain and maintain buoyancy up to hatching, determine larval specific gravity and the depth where hatching will occur, and thus opportunities for larval survival, avoiding stressful oxygen conditions and developing at favourable feeding conditions.     

Oocyte size and structure in relation to blood plasma steroid hormones in individually monitored, spawning Atlantic cod

A series of seasonal blood and ovarian tissue samples were taken from five female Atlantic cod Gadus morhua at different times between various batches of eggs and subsequently examined for oocyte size, plasma steroid hormones and ultrastructure of the cortex oocyte cytoplasm and follicle layer. This detailed protocol demonstrated that the spawning cod ovary is vitellogenically very active. Individual oocytes were able to develop at different rates, and at least two cohorts of oocytes with a different developmental status were present simultaneously. The concentration of estradiol-17β varied between batches and decreased over the season. The levels of 17,20β-P and 11-deoxycortisol were generally low. Oocytes of an advanced developing cohort showed numerous coated vesicles and closely apposed oocytic and follicular microvilli located in the chorionic pores. The number of oocytic microvilli was estimated at about 1–8 million cell⁻¹, which increased the oocyte surface area by a factor of 12. Furthermore, the oocytic microvilli were found to stretch during final maturation. This stage-specific mobility of microvilli is discussed in relation to further incorporation of yolk and the relevant actin-based cytoskeleton observed for other classes of animals.