Microfilariae in Galápagos penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) and flightless cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi): genetics, morphology, and prevalence

Galapagos penguins (Spheniscus mendiculus) and flightless cormorants (Phalacrocorax harrisi) live in small, isolated populations on the westernmost islands of Isabela and Fernandina in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Between August 2003 and February 2005, 4 field trips, 2 in the cool, dry season (August 2003 and August 2004) and 2 in the hot, rainy season (March 2004 and February 2005), were undertaken; 298 Galápagos penguins and 380 cormorants were sampled for prevalence and intensity of hemoparasites. Microfilariae were found in both the penguins and the cormorants. Blood smears were negative for the presence of other species of hemoparasites. Overall prevalence of microfilariae across seasons was 42.0% in cormorants and 13.8% in the penguins. Intensity of infection was generally low (mean = 3.2-31.7 in 25 fields across seasons and species) with the exception of a few individuals with markedly high intensities of parasites (>300 in 25 fields in 1 cormorant). Prevalence of microfilariae increased significantly over the 4 sampling periods for cormorants, but not for penguins. Prevalences were significantly higher in cormorants than in penguins for 3 of the 4 collecting trips. Male penguins had higher prevalences than females; however, there were no gender differences in cormorants. No relation was detected between body mass and either presence or intensity of parasitism. Morphological characteristics of the microfilariae are also described and specimens from each host species were similar in all characters measured. DNA sequence data from the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene were consistent with the morphological evidence and together demonstrate that the penguins and cormorants are likely to be infected with the same species of microfilariae.     

γ<Subscript>1</Subscript>-Dependent Down-regulation of Recombinant Voltage-gated Ca<Superscript>2+</Superscript> Channels

(1) Voltage-gated Ca²⁺ (Ca_V) channels are multi-subunit membrane complexes that allow depolarization-induced Ca²⁺ influx into cells. The skeletal muscle L-type Ca_V channels consist of an ion-conducting Ca_V1.1 subunit and auxiliary α₂δ−1, β₁ and γ₁ subunits. This complex serves both as a Ca_V channel and as a voltage sensor for excitation–contraction coupling. (2) Though much is known about the mechanisms by which the α₂δ−1 and β₁ subunits regulate Ca_V channel function, there is far less information on the γ₁ subunit. Previously, we characterized the interaction of γ₁ with the other components of the skeletal Ca_V channel complex, and showed that heterologous expression of this auxiliary subunit decreases Ca²⁺ current density in myotubes from γ₁ null mice. (3) In the current report, using Western blotting we show that the expression of the Ca_V1.1 protein is significantly lower when it is heterologously co-expressed with γ₁. Consistent with this, patch-clamp recordings showed that transient transfection of γ₁ drastically inhibited macroscopic currents through recombinant N-type (Ca_V2.2/α₂δ−1/β₃) channels expressed in HEK-293 cells. (4) These findings provide evidence that co-expression of the auxiliary γ₁ subunit results in a decreased expression of the ion-conducting subunit, which may help to explain the reduction in Ca²⁺ current density following γ₁ transfection.     

Ubiquitin-conjugating Enzyme Cdc34 and Ubiquitin Ligase Skp1-Cullin-F-box Ligase (SCF) Interact through Multiple Conformations

In the ubiquitin-proteasome system, protein substrates are degraded via covalent modification by a polyubiquitin chain. The polyubiquitin chain must be assembled rapidly in cells, because a chain of at least four ubiquitins is required to signal for degradation, and chain-editing enzymes in the cell may cleave premature polyubiquitin chains before achieving this critical length. The ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme Cdc34 and ubiquitin ligase SCF are capable of building polyubiquitin chains onto protein substrates both rapidly and processively; this may be explained at least in part by the atypically fast rate of Cdc34 and SCF association. This rapid association has been attributed to electrostatic interactions between the acidic C-terminal tail of Cdc34 and a feature on SCF called the basic canyon. However, the structural aspects of the Cdc34-SCF interaction and how they permit rapid complex formation remain elusive. Here, we use protein cross-linking to demonstrate that the Cdc34-SCF interaction occurs in multiple conformations, where several residues from the Cdc34 acidic tail are capable of contacting a broad region of the SCF basic canyon. Similar patterns of cross-linking are also observed between Cdc34 and the Cul1 paralog Cul2, implicating the same mechanism for the Cdc34-SCF interaction in other members of the cullin-RING ubiquitin ligases. We discuss how these results can explain the rapid association of Cdc34 and SCF.     

Determination of Moisture Sorption Characteristics of Oat Flour by Static and Dynamic Techniques with and Without Thymol as an Antimicrobial Agent

The effectiveness of thymol as an antimicrobial agent during the determination of equilibrium moisture sorption data at high-water activities (0.50–0.98) was studied at 5, 23, and 45 °C in oat flour. The static gravimetric (SG) method (with and without added thymol) and the dynamic vapor sorption technique (DVS) were used. Microbial growth in samples conditioned in these environments at temperatures of 5 and 45 °C was null indicating no need for the use of thymol at these temperatures. However, samples confined in environments kept at 23 °C, when the SG method was used, needed addition of thymol since mold growth took place in its absence. The statistical comparison between experimental equilibrium moisture content (EMC) mean values showed that, at 45 °C, EMC values obtained using the SG technique with added thymol were significantly higher than those obtained without thymol by both SG and DVS techniques. This could indicate an interaction of thymol with food components or absorption by lipids present. Therefore, caution must be exerted when using thymol as an antimicrobial agent at elevated temperatures and high equilibrium relative humidity. Moisture adsorption isotherms for oat flour were determined using a DVS technique and no isotherm crossover with temperature, as previously reported for this product using thymol as an antimicrobial agent, was exhibited. Moisture sorption data obtained in this work by DVS can be considered more accurate than those previously reported for oat flour, since no external agent was involved during isotherm determinations.     

Pronounced hypoxia in models of murine and human leukemia: high efficacy of hypoxia-activated prodrug PR-104

Recent studies indicate that interactions between leukemia cells and the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment promote leukemia cell survival and confer resistance to anti-leukemic drugs. There is evidence that BM microenvironment contains hypoxic areas that confer survival advantage to hematopoietic cells. In the present study we investigated whether hypoxia in leukemic BM contributes to the protective role of the BM microenvironment. We observed a marked expansion of hypoxic BM areas in immunodeficient mice engrafted with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) cells. Consistent with this finding, we found that hypoxia promotes chemoresistance in various ALL derived cell lines. These findings suggest to employ hypoxia-activated prodrugs to eliminate leukemia cells within hypoxic niches. Using several xenograft models, we demonstrated that administration of the hypoxia-activated dinitrobenzamide mustard, PR-104 prolonged survival and decreased leukemia burden of immune-deficient mice injected with primary acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. Together, these findings strongly suggest that targeting hypoxia in leukemic BM is feasible and may significantly improve leukemia therapy.     

Quantitative intravital microscopy using a Generalized Polarity concept for kidney studies

In this article, we describe a ratiometric intravital two-photon microscopy technique for studying glomerular permeability and differences in proximal tubule cell reabsorption. This quantitative approach is based on the Generalized Polarity (GP) concept, in which the intensity difference between two fluorescent molecules is normalized to the total intensity produced by the two dyes. After an initial intravenous injection of a mixture of 3-, 40-, and 70-kDa fluorescently labeled dextrans into live Munich-Wistar-Frömter (MWF) rats, we were able to monitor changes in the GP values between any two dyes within local regions of the kidney, including the glomerulus, Bowman's capsule, proximal tubule lumens and proximal tubule cells, and individual capillary vessels. We were able to quantify accumulations of different dextrans in the Bowman's space and in tubular lumens as well as reabsorption by proximal tubular cells at different time points in the same rat. We found that for 6- to 8-wk-old MWF rats that developed spontaneous albuminuria, the 40- and 70-kDa dextrans, with hydrodynamic radii larger than albumin, were differentially filtered, but both were able to pass the glomerular filtration barrier and enter into the urinary space of the Bowman's capsule within a few seconds after intravenous infusion. Using GP image analysis, we found that negatively charged dextrans of both 40 and 70 kDa were better reabsorbed by the proximal tubule cells than the neutrally charged 40-kDa dextran. These results demonstrate the potential power of the GP imaging technique for quantitative studies of glomerular filtration and tubular reabsorption. glomerular permeability; tubular reabsorption; charge selectivity; two-photon excitation; multiphoton     

Unifying nomenclature for the isoforms of the lysosomal membrane protein LAMP-2

The present nomenclature of the splice variants of the lysosome-associated membrane protein type 2 (LAMP-2) is confusing. The LAMP-2a isoform is uniformly named in human, chicken, and mouse, but the LAMP-2b and LAMP-2c isoforms are switched in human as compared with mouse and chicken. We propose to change the nomenclature of the chicken and mouse b and c isoforms to agree with that currently used for the human isoforms. To avoid confusion in the literature, we further propose to adopt the use of capital letters for the updated nomenclature of all the isoforms in all three species: LAMP-2A, LAMP-2B, and LAMP-2C.