Thyrotropic activity of salmon pituitary glycoprotein hormones in the Hawaiian parrotfish thyroid in vitro

The thyrotropic activities of salmon pituitary extract, thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), gonadotropins (GTH), and glycoprotein fractions obtained during purification of salmon TSH and GTH were measured using the parrotfish thyroid culture system. Purified salmon TSH was approximately 1,000 times more potent than bovine TSH in stimulating thyroxine release into the culture medium. Most of the forms of salmon GTH had no thyrotropic activity. One of the forms of salmon GTH (GTH-F) and three chromatofocusing fractions (CF-B, -C, and -E) that were devoid of activity in the coho salmon in vivo had some thyrotropic activity in the parrotfish thyroid culture. Whether the activity of these fractions was due to contamination with TSH, less potent forms of TSH, or inherent thyrotropic activity of a form of GTH is discussed. These results indicate that the parrotfish thyroid culture system can be used to detect thyrotropic activity of fractions obtained during the purification of teleost TSH.     

The influence of radiation dose on the magnitude and kinetics of reoxygenation in a C3H mammary carcinoma

The variation in hypoxic fraction as a function of time after various priming doses of radiation has been investigated in a C3H mouse mammary carcinoma in situ. The hypoxic fraction was calculated from data for local tumor control. Untreated tumors were found to contain 4.8% radiobiologically hypoxic cells. Within minutes after a priming dose of 20 Gy given in air, the hypoxic fraction increased to a value not significantly different from 100%. After 4 h, reoxygenation was complete (hypoxic fraction 1.3%), and the hypoxic fraction stabilized at a level significantly below the untreated value. Following a priming dose of 40 Gy the reoxygenation pattern was different: The hypoxic fraction stayed above the pretreatment value for 4 h, and pronounced reoxygenation occurred after 12 h (hypoxic fraction 0.4%). At longer time intervals the hypoxic fraction again increased to--and slightly above--the oxygenation level of untreated tumors. The present findings show that reoxygenation in solid tumors is a function of radiation dose, and the data suggest that mechanisms other than a decrease in tumor cell O2 consumption are involved in tumor reoxygenation.     

Polymorphism: a weak influence on worker aggregation level in ants

Abstract.  1. Aggregation of individuals, a basic behaviour in social species, plays an essential role in many aspects of animal life (reproduction, defence, and alimentation). Understanding how this phenomenon is modulated is important to comprehend the social organisation of the group.
2. In social insects, aggregation is influenced by environmental (e.g. the light level) and social (e.g. polyethism in monomorphic ants) factors. Ants display a great variation of biological characteristics (e.g. queen number, polymorphism, division of labour, etc.) that are likely to influence the level of inter-attraction and so the aggregation.
3. The present research focused on one biological characteristic: the morphological castes (minors, majors), testing the hypothesis that minors will aggregate more than majors due to their greater need to fight against the loss of heat and to increase their self-protection.
4. Aggregation experiments were conducted on two highly polymorphic species, Atta sexdens rubropilosa and Solenopsis interrupta , using the two extreme morphological castes (majors and minors).
5. All castes exhibited a low level of aggregation: 40–50% of workers assembled for both species, the biggest cluster involving 20% of the total population. The lack of difference between morphological castes in the aggregation shows the weak influence of polymorphism on the interactions between ants.
6. It is concluded that the main factor modulating the aggregation behaviour is polyethism, i.e. the division of labour associated with the presence of an outside-the-nest experience: workers that only take care of the brood, without outside world experience (brood-tenders) assembling more than foraging workers (foragers).     

Asymmetrical costs of sexual conflict in the seaweed fly, Coelopa frigida

Abstract.  1. Sexual conflict can play an important role in the evolution of animal life-history characteristics, including lifespan. Seaweed flies show an increase in mortality rates when exposed to brown algae. The seaweed stimulates females to oviposit and males to mount females. Females typically respond to male mounts by performing a violent rejection response.
2. Here the contribution of sexual conflict to the increase in mortality seen in the presence of seaweed was determined. The survival of single and mixed sex pairs of flies was followed in the presence and absence of seaweed.
3. The two sexes showed differential survival rates, with females living longer in the absence of seaweed. The presence of seaweed reduced survival in both sexes. In the presence of seaweed, female survival was lower when paired with a male. Over 40% of the reduction in survival in females in the presence of seaweed appears to be attributable to sexual conflict.
4. The presence of a female did not significantly affect male survival. Thus the mortality cost of being in the presence of the opposite sex and seaweed appears highly asymmetric.
5. In the presence of seaweed, female survival was lower when females were paired with small males. Small males exhibit higher levels of harassment of females, thus it is argued that pre-copulatory sexual conflict is the probable cause of the increased mortality cost to females of being in the presence of both males and seaweed.     

Pituitary control of branchial NCC,NKCC and Na+, K+-ATPase α-subunit gene expression in Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus

This study investigated endocrine control of branchial ionoregulatory function in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) by prolactin (Prl₁₈₈ and Prl₁₇₇), growth hormone (Gh) and cortisol. Branchial expression of Na⁺/Cl^? cotransporter (ncc) and Na⁺/K⁺/2Cl^? cotransporter (nkcc) genes were employed as specific markers for freshwater- and seawater-type ionocytes, respectively. We further investigated whether Prl, Gh and cortisol direct expression of two Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase (nka)-α1 subunit genes, denoted nka-α1a and nka-α1b. Tilapia transferred to fresh water following hypophysectomy failed to adequately activate gill ncc expression; ncc expression was subsequently restored by Prl replacement. Prl₁₈₈ and Prl₁₇₇ stimulated ncc expression in cultured gill filaments in a concentration-related manner, suggesting that ncc is regulated by Prl in a gill-autonomous fashion. Tilapia transferred to brackish water (23 ‰) following hypophysectomy exhibited a reduced capacity to up-regulate nka-α1b expression. However, Gh and cortisol failed to affect nka-α1b expression in vivo. Similarly, we found no clear effects of Gh or cortisol on nkcc expression both in vivo and in vitro. When considered with patterns previously described in euryhaline Mozambique tilapia (O. mossambicus), the current study suggests that ncc is a conserved target of Prl in tilapiine cichlids. In addition, we revealed contrasting dependencies upon the pituitary to direct nka-α1b expression in hyperosmotic environments between Nile and Mozambique tilapia.     

Real-Time Imaging Reveals the Dynamics of Leukocyte Behaviour during Experimental Cerebral Malaria Pathogenesis

During experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) mice develop a lethal neuropathological syndrome associated with microcirculatory dysfunction and intravascular leukocyte sequestration. The precise spatio-temporal context in which the intravascular immune response unfolds is incompletely understood. We developed a 2-photon intravital microscopy (2P-IVM)-based brain-imaging model to monitor the real-time behaviour of leukocytes directly within the brain vasculature during ECM. Ly6C^hi monocytes, but not neutrophils, started to accumulate in the blood vessels of Plasmodium berghei ANKA (PbA)-infected MacGreen mice, in which myeloid cells express GFP, one to two days prior to the onset of the neurological signs (NS). A decrease in the rolling speed of monocytes, a measure of endothelial cell activation, was associated with progressive worsening of clinical symptoms. Adoptive transfer experiments with defined immune cell subsets in recombinase activating gene (RAG)-1-deficient mice showed that these changes were mediated by Plasmodium-specific CD8⁺ T lymphocytes. A critical number of CD8⁺ T effectors was required to induce disease and monocyte adherence to the vasculature. Depletion of monocytes at the onset of disease symptoms resulted in decreased lymphocyte accumulation, suggesting reciprocal effects of monocytes and T cells on their recruitment within the brain. Together, our studies define the real-time kinetics of leukocyte behaviour in the central nervous system during ECM, and reveal a significant role for Plasmodium-specific CD8⁺ T lymphocytes in regulating vascular pathology in this disease.     

A Nasal Epithelial Receptor for Staphylococcus aureus WTA Governs Adhesion to Epithelial Cells and Modulates Nasal Colonization

Nasal colonization is a major risk factor for S. aureus infections. The mechanisms responsible for colonization are still not well understood and involve several factors on the host and the bacterial side. One key factor is the cell wall teichoic acid (WTA) of S. aureus, which governs direct interactions with nasal epithelial surfaces. We report here the first receptor for the cell wall glycopolymer WTA on nasal epithelial cells. In several assay systems this type F-scavenger receptor, termed SREC-I, bound WTA in a charge dependent manner and mediated adhesion to nasal epithelial cells in vitro. The impact of WTA and SREC-I interaction on epithelial adhesion was especially pronounced under shear stress, which resembles the conditions found in the nasal cavity. Most importantly, we demonstrate here a key role of the WTA-receptor interaction in a cotton rat model of nasal colonization. When we inhibited WTA mediated adhesion with a SREC-I antibody, nasal colonization in the animal model was strongly reduced at the early onset of colonization. More importantly, colonization stayed low over an extended period of 6 days. Therefore we propose targeting of this glycopolymer-receptor interaction as a novel strategy to prevent or control S. aureus nasal colonization.