Helix aspersa as sentinel of development damage for biomonitoring purpose: A validation study

Environmental health has always been threatened by the bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the terrestrial ecosystem, affecting its quality and safety. The aim of this review is to investigate the effects of heavy metal soil contamination, using the land snail Helix aspersa as a bioindicator. H. aspersa, a common species of land snail present in the area, has been used as a bioindicator of metal contamination and represents a promising ecological indicator. Various land snails species have become popular in microcosm studies because they accumulate high concentrations of certain trace metals. They express contamination as a whole through ingestion of polluted foods, such as live plants, microorganisms, soil, and water and also through cutaneous contact and from the polluted air they breathe. Land snails are considered appropriate sentinel species because trace metals tend to accumulate in their digestive gland to allow biomonitoring of metal pollution. Different experiments demonstrate that exposure in areas chronically polluted with metals, especially with lead, often causes changes in reproduction, with a variation in the mineral composition in the snail's eggs and also in its development, due to increased energy expenses associated with detoxi?cation and the excretion process.     

Chemoattractant action and molecular signaling pathways of Kit ligand on mouse primordial germ cells

Using a Transwell chamber as migration assay for mouse primordial germ cells (PGCs), we show here that these cells posses directional migration in the absence of somatic cell and defined matrix support and in response to a Kit ligand (KL) gradient or medium conditioned by Aorta/Gonad/Mesonephros and gonadal ridges. Other putative PGC chemoattractants such as SDF1 and TGFbeta did not exert any attractive action on PGCs. The chemoattractant activity of KL and conditioned medium was also evidenced by their ability to stimulate actin reorganization in PGCs. In the aim to identify downstream signaling pathways governing KL chemoattraction on PGCs, we demonstrated that in such cells KL rapidly (5 min) increased autophosphorylation of its receptor c-Kit and caused phosphorylation of the serine-threonine kinase AKT through the action of PI3K. 740Y-P peptide, a direct activator of PI3 kinase, stimulated PGC migration at levels similar to those elicited by KL. LY294002 (a specific inhibitor of PI3K) abolished KL-dependent PGC migration or the chemoattractant activity of the conditioned medium and inhibited AKT phosphorylation; Src kinase inhibitors PP2 and SU6656, caused significant reduction of the KL-dependent PGC migration and AKT phosphorylation, while U0126, a selective inhibitor of the MEK/ERK protein kinase cascade, reduced PGC migration and AKT phosphorylation at lesser extent. SU6656 completely abolished the chemoattractant activity of the conditioned medium. Finally, SB202190 (a p38 inhibitor) and rapamycin (mTOR inhibitor) did not affect PGC migration. In addition, to demonstrate that somatic cells are not essential for PGC motility and directional migration, we evidenced a novel role for KL as PGC chemoattractant and for PI3K/AKT and Src kinase, as players involved in the activation of the PGC migratory machinery and likely important for their directional movement towards the gonadal ridges.     

Growth hormone and ghrelin secretion in severely obese women before and after bariatric surgery

Objective: The objective was to evaluate ghrelin and growth hormone (GH) interactions and responses to a growth hormone‐releasing hormone (GHRH)/arginine test in severe obesity before and after surgically‐induced weight loss. Research Methods and Procedures: Our study population included 11 severely obese women 39 ± 12 years of age, with a mean BMI of 48.6 ± 2.4 kg/m², re‐studied in a phase of stabilized body weight, with a BMI of 33.4 ± 1.2 kg/m², 18 months after having successfully undergone biliopancreatic diversion (BPD). A GHRH/arginine test was performed before and 18 months after BPD to evaluate ghrelin and GH interactions. Active ghrelin, measured by radioimmunoassay (RIA), and GH, measured by chemiluminescence assay, were assayed before and after the GHRH/arginine test. Results: Fasting serum GH levels and GH area under the curve (AUC) significantly increased from 0.2 ± 0.05 ng/mL to 1 ± 0.3 ng/mL (p < 0.05) and from 514.76 ± 98.7 ng/mL for 120 minutes to 1957.3 ± 665.1 ng/mL for 120 minutes after bariatric surgery (p < 0.05), respectively. Although no significant change in fasting ghrelin levels was observed (573 ± 77.9 before BPD vs. 574.1 ± 32.7 after BPD), ghrelin AUC significantly increased from ?3253.9 ± 2180.9 pg/mL for 120 minutes to 1142.3 ± 916.4 pg/mL for 120 minutes after BPD (p < 0.05). Fasting serum insulin‐like growth factor (IGF)‐1 concentration did not change significantly (133.6 ± 9.9 ng/mL before vs. 153.3 ± 25.2 ng/mL after BPD). Discussion: Our study demonstrates that the mechanisms involved in ghrelin and GH secretion after the secretagogue stimulus (GHRH/arginine) are consistent with patterns observed in other populations.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene pollen stratigraphy at Lago di Vico, central Italy

A new pollen record from Lago di Vico (core V1) provides fundamental new information towards reconstruction of flora and vegetation history in central Italy during the last 90 000 years. The chronological framework is secured by seventeen AMS¹⁴C dates, one⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar date and tephra analyses. At the base of the pollen record, i.e. shortly after the⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar date 87 000±7000 B.P., three phases with significant expansion of trees are recorded in close succession. These forest phases, which stratigraphically correspond to St Germain II (and Ognon?) and precede pleniglacial steppe vegetation, are designated by the local names Etruria I, Etruria II and Etruria III. During the pleniglacial, a number of fluctuations of angiosperm mesophilous trees suggest the presence of tree refugia in the area. The lowest pollen concentration values are recorded at ca. 22 000 B.P. which corresponds with other pollen records from the region. The late-glacial is characterized by an expansion in the arboreal pollen curves that is less pronounced, however, than in other pollen profiles from Italy. The Holocene part of the profile is consistently dominated by deciduous oak pollen. No major changes in arboreal pollen composition are recorded but several marked and sudden declines of the tree pollen concentration suggest that the forest cover underwent dramatic changes. Clear evidence for human impact is recorded only when cultivated crops became important which dates to ca. 2630±95 B.P.     

Novel role for E4 region genes in protection of adenovirus vectors from lysis by cytotoxic T lymphocytes

Target cells infected with adenovirus (Ad) vectors containing intact E3 and E4 regions were found to be relatively resistant to lysis by Ad-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Elements from both the E3 and the E4 regions were required for this effect, leading to the identification of a previously undescribed role for E4 gene products in resistance to cytolysis.     

Structure of Pyridoxal Kinase from Sheep Brain and Role of the Tryptophanyl Residues

The primary structure of sheep brain pyridoxal kinase has been determined by direct chemical and physical methods. The enzyme contains 312 amino acid residues with an acetylated methionine at the N-terminus, yielding a molecular mass of 34,861 Da. The functional role played by the two tryptophanyl residues in positions 52 and 244 of the polypeptide chain has been investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. The tryptophanyl residues are not completely exposed to the rapidly relaxing solvent and they are poorly accessible to collisional quenchers. Chemical modification with NBS abolishes the catalytic activity of the kinase. The amino acid sequence of the sheep brain enzyme shows high similarity (86.2% identity) with the human pyridoxal kinase recently reported [Hanna, Turner, and Kirkness, (1997), J. Biol. Chem. 272, 10756–10760]. Comparison of the mammalian proteins with bacterial and yeast putative pyridoxal kinases retrieved from the Swiss-Prot data bank shows a low degree of overall similarity. In particular, the putative ATP-binding domain is conserved, whereas the region that appears to be crucial in the binding of the pyridoxal substrate is not. Thus, the assignment of the bacterial and yeast cDNA-deduced proteins as pyridoxal kinases should be taken with caution.