Assessment of therapeutic responses to gametocytocidal drugs in Plasmodium falciparum malaria

Background

Effective mating between laboratory-reared males and wild females is paramount to the success of vector control strategies aiming to decrease disease transmission via the release of sterile or genetically modified male mosquitoes. However mosquito colonization and laboratory maintenance have the potential to negatively affect male genotypic and phenotypic quality through inbreeding and selection, which in turn can decrease male mating competitiveness in the field. To date, very little is known about the impact of those evolutionary forces on the reproductive biology of mosquito colonies and how they ultimately affect male reproductive fitness.

Methods

Here several male reproductive physiological traits likely to be affected by inbreeding and selection following colonization and laboratory rearing were examined. Sperm length, and accessory gland and testes size were compared in male progeny from field-collected females and laboratory strains of Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto colonized from one to over 25 years ago. These traits were also compared in the parental and sequentially derived, genetically modified strains produced using a two-phase genetic transformation system. Finally, genetic crosses were performed between strains in order to distinguish the effects of inbreeding and selection on reproductive traits.

Results

Sperm length was found to steadily decrease with the age of mosquito colonies but was recovered in refreshed strains and crosses between inbred strains therefore incriminating inbreeding costs. In contrast, testes size progressively increased with colony age, whilst accessory gland size quickly decreased in males from colonies of all ages. The lack of heterosis in response to crossing and strain refreshing in the latter two reproductive traits suggests selection for insectary conditions.

Conclusions

These results show that inbreeding and selection differentially affect reproductive traits in laboratory strains overtime and that heterotic ‘supermales’ could be used to rescue some male reproductive characteristics. Further experiments are needed to establish the exact relationship between sperm length, accessory gland and testes size, and male reproductive success in the laboratory and field settings.     

Intranasal Administration of Recombinant TRAIL Down-Regulates CXCL-1/KC in an Ovalbumin-Induced Airway Inflammation Murine Model

Ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized BALB/c mice were i.n. instilled with recombinant TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) 24 hours before OVA challenge. The total number of leukocytes and the levels of the chemokine CXCL-1/KC significantly increased in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids of allergic animals with respect to control littermates, but not in the BAL of mice i.n. pretreated with recombinant TRAIL before OVA challenge. In particular, TRAIL pretreatment significantly reduced the BAL percentage of both eosinophils and neutrophils. On the other hand, when TRAIL was administrated simultaneously to OVA challenge its effect on BAL infiltration was attenuated. Overall, the results show that the i.n. pretreatment with TRAIL down-modulated allergic airway inflammation.     

Chemical constituents of some Tricholomataceae

Sterols, fatty acids and free amino acids of four species of Tricholomataceae were investigated. They contained ergosterol in high amount and the related sterols, fucosterol, sitosterol, cholesterol and brassicasterol. Linoleic and palmitic are the main unsaturated and saturated fatty acids respectively. The most abundant free amino acids were alanine, valine and proline.     

环境DNA在两栖动物监测中的应用研究进展

两栖动物是我国受威胁程度最高的动物类群,加强两栖动物资源调查和多样性监测,是开展两栖动物保护和濒危物种拯救行动的关键性基础工作。传统的两栖动物监测主要以形态学和声学为基础,耗时费力,且难以发现一些隐蔽性较强的稀有物种。基于环境DNA(environmental DNA, eDNA)的调查方法以其快速、灵敏、高效、无创等独特优势,为两栖动物多样性监测及保护提供了新的工具。综述了eDNA在两栖动物多样性监测、外来入侵和珍稀濒危物种调查、物种丰度或生物量估测等研究领域的应用进展,分析了两栖动物eDNA产生、扩散、迁移和降解的动态变化特征及其关键影响因子,探讨了eDNA应用于两栖动物监测研究的局限性并提出了优化建议,同时对未来的研究方向进行了展望,以充分挖掘eDNA在两栖动物监测中的应用潜力,为两栖动物多样性保护和管理提供新的思路。     

Two flavonol glycosides from Chenopodium quinoa.

Two new flavonol glycosides from the seeds of Chenopodium quinoa have been isolated. Their structures were established as kaempferol 3-apiofuranosyl(1"'----2")rhamnopyranosyl(1"----6")galactoside and kaempferol 3-apiofuranosyl(1"'----2")rhamnopyranosyl(1"----6")galactoside. The main flavonoid glycoside was kaempferol 3-(2,6-dirhamnopyranosyl)galactoside.     

Class II genes of miniature swine

Genomic clones corresponding to class II genes of theSLA ^c haplotype of miniature swine have been isolated and characterized. These genes have been grouped into seven non-overlapping clusters on the basis of restriction mapping. Ordering of exons within each cluster was accomplished by hybridization of Southern blots of restriction fragments with exon-specific probes. The two clusters (clusters 2 and 3) encoding theDRB andDQB genes were identified on the basis of hybridization with locus-specific 3 untranslated cDNA probes. Cluster 4 contained exons of bothDOB andDQB genes, the basis for which remains to be determined. The remaining four clusters (1, 5, 6, 7) were identified as containingDP, DR, andDO coding sequences, respectively, on the basis of sequence analysis. The porcine class II region appears very similar to that of man in number and nature of the class II genes identified and in the intron/exon organization of corresponding genes.The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper have been submitted to the GenBank nucleotide sequence database and have been assigned the association number M29944. Address correspondence and offprint requests to: C. LeGuern.     

Characterization of a polymorphism of CD4 in miniature swine.

A polymorphism of CD4 in miniature swine has been identified by failure of cells from some animals to react with mAb 74-12-4. The phenotypic, molecular genetic, and functional characteristics of these animals have been defined. Cells from heterozygous animals bear approximately 50% the number of 74-12-4-reactive molecules on their surface as do cells from animals homozygous for the wild type. Animals of both phenotypes demonstrate similar flow cytometric profiles for CD8+ T cells. Northern blot analysis confirms the presence of mRNA for CD4 among PBL of animals failing to stain with 74-12-4. CD4 allelism is confirmed by Southern blot analysis, revealing RFLP. Function of the CD4 subset in vivo, as demonstrated by antibody production against a T cell-dependent Ag, is similar between animals of both phenotypes. Proliferative responses to PHA and alloantigen stimulation by a full haplotype mismatch or a class II mismatch alone are equivalent for animals of both phenotypes. These data suggest that the allelic form of CD4, designated CD4.2 in contrast to the wild-type CD4.1, is capable of performing normally as an accessory molecule in the generation of immune responses. Furthermore, antixenogeneic responses to C57B10.BR were equivalent, suggesting that both CD4 molecular types may be capable of interacting with xenogeneic class II molecules. Although the polymorphism includes differences in exons 3 and 4, regions thought to encode portions of the molecule interacting with MHC class II, these results imply that this naturally occurring CD4 polymorphism does not affect the interaction with class II molecules.     

Oxidative stress and aging: Learning from yeast lessons

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has played a vital role in the understanding of the molecular basis of aging and the relationship of aging process with oxidative stress (non-homeostatic accumulation of Reactive Oxygen Species, ROS). The mammalian and yeast antioxidant responses are similar and over 25 % of human-degenerative disease related genes have close homologues in yeast. The reduced genetic redundancy of yeast facilitates visualization of the effect of a deleted or mutated gene. By manipulating growth conditions, yeast cells can survive only fermenting (low ROS levels) or respiring (increased ROS levels), which facilitates the elucidation of the mechanisms involved with acquisition of tolerance to oxidative stress. Furthermore, the yeast databases are the most complete of all eukaryotic models. In this work, we highlight the value of S. cerevisiae as a model to investigate the oxidative stress response and its potential impact on aging and age-related diseases.