Histologic, neurologic, and immunologic effects of methylmercury in captive great egrets

Captive great egret (Ardea albus) nestlings were maintained as controls or were dosed with methylmercury chloride at low (0.5), and high doses (5 mg/kg, wet weight) in fish. Low dosed birds were given methylmercury at concentrations comparable to current exposure of wild birds in the Everglades (Florida, USA). When compared with controls, low dosed birds had lower packed cell volumes, dingy feathers, increased lymphocytic cuffing in a skin test, increased bone marrow cellularity, decreased bursal wall thickness, decreased thymic lobule size, fewer lymphoid aggregates in lung, increased perivascular edema in lung, and decreased phagocytized carbon in lung. High dosed birds became severely ataxic and had severe hematologic, neurologic, and histologic changes. The most severe lesions were in immune and nervous system tissues. By comparing responses in captive and wild birds, we found that sublethal effects of mercury were detected at lower levels in captive than in wild birds, probably due to the reduced sources of variation characteristic of the highly controlled laboratory study. Conversely, thresholds for more severe changes (death, disease) occurred at lower concentrations in wild birds than in captive birds, probably because wild birds were exposed to multiple stressors. Thus caution should be used in applying lowest observed effect levels between captive and wild studies.     

The complementarity of single-species and ecosystem-oriented research in conservation research

There has been much debate about the relative merits of single-species vs ecosystem-oriented research for conservation. This debate has become increasingly important in recent times as resource managers and policy makers in some jurisdictions focus on ecosystem-level problems. We highlight the potential strengths and limitations of both kinds of research, discuss their complementarity and highlight problems that may arise where competition occurs between the two kinds of research.
While a combination of approaches is ideal, a scarcity of funding, time, and expertise means it is impossible to study and manage each species, ecological process, or ecological pattern separately. Making decisions about priorities for the kinds of research, priorities for the kinds of conservation management, and associated allocation of scarce funds is a non-trivial task. We argue for an approach whereby limited resources for conservation research are targeted at projects most likely to close important knowledge gaps, while also promoting ongoing synergies between single-species and ecosystem-oriented research.     

Electron paramagnetic resonance and magnetic circular dichroism studies of a hexa-heme nitrite reductase from Wolinella succinogenes

The nature of the heme centers in the hexa-heme dissimilatory nitrite reductase from the bacterium Wolinella succinogenes has been investigated with EPR and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy. The EPR spectrum of the ferric enzyme is complex showing, in addition to magnetically isolated low-spin ferric hemes with g values of 2.93, 2.3 and 1.48, two sets of signals at g = 10.3, 3.7 and 4.8, 3.21, which we assign to two pairs of exchange coupled hemes. The MCD spectra show that the isolated hemes are bis-histidine coordinated and that there is one high-spin ferric heme. The exchange coupling is lost on treatment with SDS.     

Pollen morphology of Strobilanthes Blume (Acanthaceae) in China and its taxonomic implications

The pollen morphology of 37 Chinese species of Strobilanthes Blume (Acanthaceae), a large and taxonomically problematic genus, was investigated by LM and SEM. Two distinct pollen shape classes, ellipsoid and spheroidal, recognised by earlier workers were found. Eight pollen types could be distinguished on the basis of variation in ornamentation, and the number, distribution and type of apertures. Five of these fall within twenty two pollen types reported from Strobilanthes in southern India and Sri Lanka. Three new pollen types are also described, further extending the palynological diversity of the genus. From the results presented, the characters of palynological diversity and the related taxonomic implications are discussed.     

Prolactin stimulates precursor cells in the adult mouse hippocampus

In the search for ways to combat degenerative neurological disorders, neurogenesis-stimulating factors are proving to be a promising area of research. In this study, we show that the hormonal factor prolactin (PRL) can activate a pool of latent precursor cells in the adult mouse hippocampus. Using an in vitro neurosphere assay, we found that the addition of exogenous PRL to primary adult hippocampal cells resulted in an approximate 50% increase in neurosphere number. In addition, direct infusion of PRL into the adult dentate gyrus also resulted in a significant increase in neurosphere number. Together these data indicate that exogenous PRL can increase hippocampal precursor numbers both in vitro and in vivo. Conversely, PRL null mice showed a significant reduction (approximately 80%) in the number of hippocampal-derived neurospheres. Interestingly, no deficit in precursor proliferation was observed in vivo, indicating that in this situation other niche factors can compensate for a loss in PRL. The PRL loss resulted in learning and memory deficits in the PRL null mice, as indicated by significant deficits in the standard behavioral tests requiring input from the hippocampus. This behavioral deficit was rescued by direct infusion of recombinant PRL into the hippocampus, indicating that a lack of PRL in the adult mouse hippocampus can be correlated with impaired learning and memory.     

Targeting FGFR4 inhibits hepatocellular carcinoma in preclinical mouse models

The fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-FGF receptor (FGFR) signaling system plays critical roles in a variety of normal developmental and physiological processes. It is also well documented that dysregulation of FGF-FGFR signaling may have important roles in tumor development and progression. The FGFR4-FGF19 signaling axis has been implicated in the development of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) in mice, and potentially in humans. In this study, we demonstrate that FGFR4 is required for hepatocarcinogenesis; the progeny of FGF19 transgenic mice, which have previously been shown to develop HCCs, bred with FGFR4 knockout mice fail to develop liver tumors. To further test the importance of FGFR4 in HCC, we developed a blocking anti-FGFR4 monoclonal antibody (LD1). LD1 inhibited: 1) FGF1 and FGF19 binding to FGFR4, 2) FGFR4-mediated signaling, colony formation, and proliferation in vitro, and 3) tumor growth in a preclinical model of liver cancer in vivo. Finally, we show that FGFR4 expression is elevated in several types of cancer, including liver cancer, as compared to normal tissues. These findings suggest a modulatory role for FGFR4 in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma and that FGFR4 may be an important and novel therapeutic target in treating this disease.     

Short-term feedback regulation of cAMP by accelerated degradation in rat tissues

A recent study showed that cAMP analogs lowered cAMP levels in rat hepatocytes (Corbin, J.D., Beebe, S.J., and Blackmore, P.F. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 8731-8735). The present work demonstrates that cAMP analogs also lowered cAMP in a rapid, concentration-dependent manner in heart and fat cells. In order to determine if the cAMP-dependent protein kinase mediated this effect, techniques were developed to assay the protein kinase activity ratio in hepatocytes treated with cAMP analogs. The activation of protein kinase and phosphorylase in hepatocytes by 8-pCl phi S-cAMP (where 8-pCl phi S- indicates 8-parachlorothiophenyl-) was concentration-dependent and occurred in parallel to proportionate decreases in cAMP. More than 20% of the cAMP binding sites on the protein kinase were unoccupied at concentrations of 8-pCl phi S-cAMP that produced maximal cAMP lowering. Thus, the possibility that 8-pCl phi S-cAMP lowered cAMP by displacing it from protein kinase binding sites, making it available for hydrolysis, seemed unlikely. In adipocytes, the lowering of cAMP by 8-pCl phi S-cAMP occurred in parallel with increases in lipolysis and activation of low Km phosphodiesterase, suggesting that the phosphodiesterase was responsible for the cAMP lowering. Further evidence for this assertion was the finding that in hepatocytes preloaded with low concentrations of 8-pCl phi S-cAMP, glucagon lowered 8-pCl phi S-cAMP by about 50%, an amount similar to the cAMP lowering observed with 8-pCl phi S-cAMP treatment. The results were consistent with a cAMP-dependent protein kinase-catalyzed activation of a phosphodiesterase and suggested that 8-pCl phi S-cAMP-mediated hydrolysis of cAMP mimicked a physiologically significant response. The observation of this phenomenon in several tissues further suggested that it may be a general mechanism for dampening and terminating the hormonal signal through accelerated degradation of cAMP.     

Absence of insulinotropic glucagon-like peptide-I(7-37) receptors on isolated rat liver hepatocytes.

The effects of glucagon and the glucagon-like peptide GLP-1(7-37) were compared in rat liver hepatocytes. Glucagon elevated cAMP, elevated intracellular free calcium ([Ca2+]i), activated phosphorylase and stimulated gluconeogenesis, whereas GLP-1(7-37) was without effect on any of these parameters. GLP-1(7-37) did not block any of the actions of glucagon. The glucagon analog, des His1[Glu9] glucagon amide, was a partial agonist in liver, but also was an effective antagonist of glucagon actions in liver but not those of GLP-1(7-37) in islet B cells. It was concluded that in the rat, GLP-1(7-37) is a potent insulin secretagogue [1] but is without effect on liver.