Resveratrol inhibits the deleterious effects of diet-induced obesity on thymic function

Obesity is associated with an increased risk of infectious diseases. It has been shown to have deleterious effects on cell-mediated immunity, including reducing thymocyte numbers and altering responses of thymocytes to pathogens. In the current study, we examined the efficacy of the antiobesity phytochemical resveratrol in preventing the deleterious effects of a high-fat diet on thymic anatomy and function. Compared to C57Bl/6 male mice fed a low-fat diet, mice on a high-fat diet had a significant increase in thymic weight and lipid content, and a disrupted anatomy, including a reduction of the medullary compartment and absence of a corticomedullary junction. There were a decrease in thymic cellularity and mature T-cell output, and a disrupted T-cell maturation, as evidenced by increased double-negative and decreased single- and double-positive thymocytes. Mice that had been fed resveratrol along with a high-fat diet had a dose-dependent reversal in all these parameters. Western blots from thymi showed that obese mice had lower levels of the key stimulators of lipid metabolism, phospho-5′ adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase and its downstream target, carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1; this was restored to normal levels in resveratrol-fed mice. Resveratrol also reversed an increase in glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase-1, the enzyme that catalyzes the first step in triglycerol synthesis. Taken together, these results indicate that resveratrol is a potent inhibitor of the deleterious effects of diet-induced obesity on thymic anatomy and function, and this may hold promise in preventing obesity-related deficits in cell-mediated immunity.     

Properties and Nematicide Performance of Avermectins

In 1979, the anthelmintic activity of abamectin, a mixture of avermectins B_1a and B_1b, was first reported. Since then, multiple articles have investigated avermectins' degradation and its efficacy against a wide variety of pests under different conditions and using different modes of application. However, there is a gap in the literature of analysing abamectin properties and its performance as a non‐fumigant nematicide when applied liquid or granular vs. new avenues of application based on seed and seedling treatment. Therefore, this article reviewed literature to discuss the mode of action, environmental aspects, the nematicidal effectiveness of treatment forms and the range of activity to address these topics.     

Embryonic development of adriatic sturgeon,Acipenser naccarii (Bonaparte 1836), in farming conditions: a guide

The sequence and timing of the embryonic development of Adriatic sturgeon (Acipenser naccarii) are described at a constant temperature (17 ± 1 °C), from fertilisation to hatch in a hatchery. Fertilised eggs, obtained from one female and two males, were held in a flow‐through system. On the first day, embryos were sampled every 20 min during the first 12 h, and every 40 min in the following 12 h. Embryos were sampled hourly on the second day. On the third and fourth days, embryos were sampled every 2 h, and every 3 h on the fifth and sixth days. The first cleavage furrow appeared at 1 h 40 min postfertilisation. Blastulation concluded at 12 HPF (hours postfertilisation), when the dorsal blastopore lip formed. The completion of gastrulation was at 18 HPF, closing of the neural tube at 23 HPF and formation of the s‐shape heart at 31 HPF. The mass hatch occurred at 120 HPF. A. naccarii is a relatively common sturgeon species in aquaculture and possesses similar developmental patterns to those of other sturgeons; hence, we can use this species as a model for further studies about sturgeon species which are more difficult to breed artificially. Information about the embryonic development of the Adriatic sturgeon could assist restocking programmes.     

Paracrystalline Sheets Reaggregated from Solubilized Exosporium of Bacillus cereus

Fragments of exosporium, isolated from dormant spores of Bacillus cereus, were disintegrated by treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) or with phenol and acetic acid. After centrifugation of each preparation, proteins in the supernatant fractions were resolved by disc gel electrophoresis into either two or eight bands, respectively. The SDS-solubilized fraction contained spheroidal particles 11 to 44 nm in diameter. When centrifuged until clear, this fraction after dialysis still gave rise to crystal-like sheets which had the same lattice symmetry and major chemical components (protein, lipid, and carbohydrate) as fragments of the native exosporium.     

Ghrelin inhibited serotonin release from hippocampal slices

Ghrelin (Ghr) is a peptide produced peripherally and centrally. It participates in the modulation of different biological processes. In our laboratory we have shown that (a) Ghr administration, either intracerebroventricular or directly into the hippocampus enhanced memory consolidation in a step down test in rats (b) the effect of Ghr upon memory decreases in animals pretreated with a serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, Fluoxetine, suggesting that Ghr effects in the hippocampus could be related to the availability of 5-HT. It has been demonstrated that Ghr inhibits 5-HT release from rat hypothalamic synaptosomes. Taking in mint these evidences, we studied the release of radioactive 5-HT to the superfusion medium from hippocampal slices treated with two doses of Ghr (0.3 and 3 nm/μl). Ghr inhibited significantly the 5-HT release in relation to those superfused with artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF) (H = 9.48, df = 2, p ≤ 0.05). In another set of experiments, Ghr was infused into the CA1 area of hippocampus of the rats immediately after training in the step down test and the 5-HT release from slices was studied 24 h after Ghr injection showing that in this condition also the 5-HT release was inhibited (H = 11.72, df = 1, p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, results provide additional evidence about the neurobiological bases of Ghr action in hippocampus.     

A Nanoconjugate Apaf-1 Inhibitor Protects Mesothelial Cells from Cytokine-Induced Injury

Background

Inflammation may lead to tissue injury. We have studied the modulation of inflammatory milieu-induced tissue injury, as exemplified by the mesothelium. Peritoneal dialysis is complicated by peritonitis episodes that cause loss of mesothelium. Proinflammatory cytokines are increased in the peritoneal cavity during peritonitis episodes. However there is scarce information on the modulation of cell death by combinations of cytokines and on the therapeutic targets to prevent desmesothelization.

Methodology

Human mesothelial cells were cultured from effluents of stable peritoneal dialysis patients and from omentum of non-dialysis patients. Mesothelial cell death was studied in mice with S. aureus peritonitis and in mice injected with tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma.Tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma alone do not induce apoptosis in cultured mesothelial cells. By contrast, the cytokine combination increased the rate of apoptosis 2 to 3-fold over control. Cell death was associated with the activation of caspases and a pancaspase inhibitor prevented apoptosis. Specific caspase-8 and caspase-3 inhibitors were similarly effective. Co-incubation with both cytokines also impaired mesothelial wound healing in an in vitro model. However, inhibition of caspases did not improve wound healing and even impaired the long-term recovery from injury. By contrast, a polymeric nanoconjugate Apaf-1 inhibitor protected from apoptosis and allowed wound healing and long-term recovery. The Apaf-1 inhibitor also protected mesothelial cells from inflammation-induced injury in vivo in mice.

Conclusion

Cooperation between tumor necrosis factor alpha and interferon gamma contributes to mesothelial injury and impairs the regenerative capacity of the monolayer. Caspase inhibition attenuates mesothelial cell apoptosis but does not facilitate regeneration. A drug targeting Apaf-1 allows protection from apoptosis as well as regeneration in the course of inflammation-induced tissue injury.     

Inter-locality variation in reproductive success of the citril finch Serinus citrinella

Habitat quality is generally thought to affect breeding success. We tested this effect comparing differences in clutch size and reproductive success between citril finch Serinus citrinella sub-populations closely located (<5 km) but differing in habitat quality, within the Port del Comte mountain, in the Catalonian Pre-Pyrenees. We found that birds in the low quality area (Bofia) showed significantly lower hatching, breeding and nesting success than finches in the high quality area (Vansa). These differences in reproductive success fit well with recently found differences in citril finch body mass, fat score, diet, survival rate and speed of moult between these two localities.     

Selectivity in the mechanism of action of antimicrobial mastoparan peptide Polybia-MP1

Many potent antimicrobial peptides also present hemolytic activity, an undesired collateral effect for the therapeutic application. Unlike other mastoparan peptides, Polybia-MP1 (IDWKKLLDAAKQIL), obtained from the venom of the social wasp Polybia paulista, is highly selective of bacterial cells. The study of its mechanism of action demonstrated that it permeates vesicles at a greater rate of leakage on the anionic over the zwitterionic, impaired by the presence of cholesterol or cardiolipin; its lytic activity is characterized by a threshold peptide to lipid molar ratio that depends on the phospholipid composition of the vesicles. At these particular threshold concentrations, the apparent average pore number is distinctive between anionic and zwitterionic vesicles, suggesting that pores are similarly formed depending on the ionic character of the bilayer. To prospect the molecular reasons for the strengthened selectivity in Polybia-MP1 and its absence in Mastoparan-X, MD simulations were carried out. Both peptides presented amphipathic alpha-helical structures, as previously observed in Circular Dichroism spectra, with important differences in the extension and stability of the helix; their backbone solvation analysis also indicate a different profile, suggesting that the selectivity of Polybia-MP1 is a consequence of the distribution of the charged and polar residues along the peptide helix, and on how the solvent molecules orient themselves according to these electrostatic interactions. We suggest that the lack of hemolytic activity of Polybia-MP1 is due to the presence and position of Asp residues that enable the equilibrium of electrostatic interactions and favor the preference for the more hydrophilic environment.     

Molecular analysis of a microaerobically induced operon required for hydrogenase synthesis in Rhizobium leguminosarum biovar viciae

The nucleotide sequence (6138 bp) of a microaerobically inducible region (hupV/VI) from the Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. viciae hydrogenase gene cluster has been determined. Six genes, arranged as a single operon, were identified, and designated hypA, B, F, C, D and E based on the sequence similarities of all of them, except hypF, to genes from the hydrogenase pleiotropic operon (hyp) from Escherichia coli. The gene products from hypBFCDE were identified by in vivo expression analysis in E. coli, and their molecular sizes were consistent with those predicted from the nucleotide sequence. Transposon Tn5 insertions into hypB, hypF, hypD and hypE resulted in R. leguminosarum mutants that lacked any hydrogenase activity in symbiosis with peas, but still were able to synthesize the polypeptide for the hydrogenase large subunit. The gene products HypA, HypB, HypF and HypD contained CX₂C motifs characteristic of metal-binding proteins. In addition, HypB bore a long histidine-rich stretch of amino acids near the N-terminus, suggesting a possible role in nickel binding for this protein. The gene product HypF, which was translationally coupled to HypB, presented two cysteine motifs (CX₂CX₈₁CX₂C) with a capacity to form zinc finger-like structures in the N-terminal third of the protein. A role in nickel metabolism in relation to hydrogenase synthesis is postulated for proteins HypB and HypF.     

A fertile amphiploid between durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) and the x Agroticum amphiploid (Agropyron cristatum x T. tauschii)

Agropyron (Gaertn) is a genus of Triticeae which includes the crested wheatgrass complex, i.e. A. cristatum (L.) as representative species containing the P genome. This species is an important source for increase the genetic variability of both durum and bread wheat. Among the possible interesting features to be introgressed into wheat are resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus, rust diseases, and tolerance to drought, cold and moderate salinity. By crossing tetraploid wheat (Triticum turgidum conv durum, 2n = 4x = 28; AABB) with a fertile allotetraploid (2n = 4x = 28; DDPP) between diploid wheat (T. tauschii) and crested wheatgrass (A. cristatum L.), amphiploid plants were obtained. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using both genomic DNA from A. cristatum and the repetitive probe pAs1, proved that the plants were true amphiploids with a chromosome number 2n = 8x = 56 and genomic constitution AABBDDPP. Using total genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) to study meiotic metaphase I, data on allosyndetic and autosyndetic chromosome pairing were obtained. The amphiploids were perennial like the male parent but their morphology was close to that of the wheat parent. They were resistant to wheat leaf rust and powdery mildew under field conditions.