Interleukin 1 slowly increases lung fibroblast Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase activity levels

Certain pulmonary stress raises rat lung Cu-Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity levels, but cytokines released during stress are reported to exert no regulatory effects on Cu-Zn SOD levels in cultured cells. In contrast, our study found that interleukin 1 (IL-1) can increase Cu-Zn SOD activities in human W138 lung fibroblasts. The difference in results could be explained by differences in experimental conditions. The increases seen here did not occur during the first 24 hr, but Cu-Zn SOD activities more than doubled by 3 days. In addition, little increase occurred unless the medium was changed at 24-hr intervals. On the other hand, some other potential experimental variables showed little or no effects on IL-1-induced increases in Cu-Zn SOD activities. These variables included IL-1 isoform (alpha, beta, or both), IL-1 concentration (0.5, 2, 5, or 7 units IL-1 alpha/ml medium), and the presence or absence of exogenously added copper as CuO or ceruloplasmin. In addition, combining IL-1 with dexamethasone, a synthetic glucocorticoid that enhances some IL-1 actions, produced only additive, not synergistic, increases in Cu-Zn SOD activities. In conclusion, IL-1, in several different experimental protocols, raised lung fibroblast Cu-Zn SOD activity levels, but only after a 1 day lag time. Stress-induced increases in Cu-Zn SOD activity levels in vivo also tend to occur only after lag times.     

Replicated high-density genetic maps of two great tit populations reveal fine-scale genomic departures from sex-equal recombination rates

Linking variation in quantitative traits to variation in the genome is an important, but challenging task in the study of life-history evolution. Linkage maps provide a valuable tool for the unravelling of such trait−gene associations. Moreover, they give insight into recombination landscapes and between-species karyotype evolution. Here we used genotype data, generated from a 10k single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip, of over 2000 individuals to produce high-density linkage maps of the great tit (Parus major), a passerine bird that serves as a model species for ecological and evolutionary questions. We created independent maps from two distinct populations: a captive F2-cross from The Netherlands (NL) and a wild population from the United Kingdom (UK). The two maps contained 6554 SNPs in 32 linkage groups, spanning 2010 cM and 1917 cM for the NL and UK populations, respectively, and were similar in size and marker order. Subtle levels of heterochiasmy within and between chromosomes were remarkably consistent between the populations, suggesting that the local departures from sex-equal recombination rates have evolved. This key and surprising result would have been impossible to detect if only one population was mapped. A comparison with zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata, chicken Gallus gallus and the green anole lizard Anolis carolinensis genomes provided further insight into the evolution of avian karyotypes.     

Normal structure and expression of Zfy genes in XY female mice mutant in Tdy.

Zfy-1 and Zfy-2 are candidate genes for Tdy, the testis-determining gene in mice. We have analysed these genes in a line of XY female mice that have been shown to be mutated in Tdy. We have used Southern blot analysis to show that the Zfy genes have not undergone any major structural alterations, and have also demonstrated that both genes are transcribed normally from the mutant Y chromosome (Y) in both adult XYY testis and XY female embryonic gonads. The fact that these genes show a normal structure and expression pattern in mice with a Y chromosome known to carry a mutation in Tdy and that mutant embryos develop into females despite Zfy-1 expression, strongly supports other recent evidence that Zfy genes are not directly involved in primary testis determination.     

Pelodera (syn. Rhabditis) strongyloides as a cause of dermatitis – a report of 11 dogs from Finland

Background  

Pelodera (Rhabditis) strongyloides is a small saprophytic nematode that lives in decaying organic matter. On rare occasions, it can invade the mammalian skin, causing a pruritic, erythematous, alopecic and crusting dermatitis on skin sites that come into contact with the ground. Diagnosis of the disease is based on case history (a dog living outdoors on damp straw bedding) with characteristic skin lesions and on the demonstration of typical larvae in skin scrapings or biopsy. Pelodera (rhabditic) dermatitis cases have been reported mainly from Central European countries and the United States.     

Bases and spaces: resources on the web for accessing the draft human genome - II - After publication of the draft

The volume of human genome sequence and the variety of web-based tools to access it continue to grow at an impressive rate, but a working knowledge of certain key resources can be sufficient to get the most from your genome. This article provides an update to Genome Biology 2000, 1(4):reviews2001.1-2001.5.