Age-related changes to adipose tissue and peripheral neuropathy in genetically diverse HET3 mice differ by sex and are not mitigated by rapamycin longevity treatment

Neural communication between the brain and adipose tissues regulates energy expenditure and metabolism through modulation of adipose tissue functions. We have recently demonstrated that under pathophysiological conditions (obesity, diabetes, and aging), total subcutaneous white adipose tissue (scWAT) innervation is decreased (‘adipose neuropathy’). With advanced age in the C57BL/6J mouse, small fiber peripheral nerve endings in adipose tissue die back, resulting in reduced contact with adipose-resident blood vessels and other cells. This vascular neuropathy and parenchymal neuropathy together likely pose a physiological challenge for tissue function. In the current work, we used the genetically diverse HET3 mouse model to investigate the incidence of peripheral neuropathy and adipose tissue dysregulation across several ages in both male and female mice. We also investigated the anti-aging treatment rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, as a means to prevent or reduce adipose neuropathy. We found that HET3 mice displayed a reduced neuropathy phenotype compared to inbred C56BL/6 J mice, indicating genetic contributions to this aging phenotype. Compared to female HET3 mice, male HET3 mice had worse neuropathic phenotypes by 62 weeks of age. Female HET3 mice appeared to have increased protection from neuropathy until advanced age (126 weeks), after reproductive senescence. We found that rapamycin overall had little impact on neuropathy measures, and actually worsened adipose tissue inflammation and fibrosis. Despite its success as a longevity treatment in mice, higher doses and longer delivery paradigms for rapamycin may lead to a disconnect between life span and beneficial health outcomes.     

Feasibility test of a sapphire cryoprobe with optical monitoring of tissue freezing

This article describes a sapphire cryoprobe as a promising solution to the significant problem of modern cryosurgery that is the monitoring of tissue freezing. This probe consists of a sapphire rod manufactured by the edge-defined film-fed growth technique from Al₂O₃ melt and optical fibers accommodated inside the rod and connected to the source and the detector. The probe's design enables detection of spatially resolved diffuse reflected intensities of tissue optical response, which are used for the estimation of tissue freezing depth. The current type of the 12.5-mm diameter sapphire probe cooled down by the liquid nitrogen assumes a superficial cryoablation. The experimental test made by using a gelatin-intralipid tissue phantom shows the feasibility of such concept, revealing the capabilities of monitoring the freezing depth up to 10 mm by the particular instrumentation realization of the probe. This justifies a potential of sapphire-based instruments aided by optical diagnosis in modern cryosurgery.     

Effect of Myxovirus Infection on Synthesis of Cellular Ribonucleic Acid

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis of chick embryo fibroblasts was inhibited by two members of the myxovirus group, Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and fowl plague virus. It was also found that cellular deoxyribonucleic acid-dependent RNA polymerase was inhibited by a cytoplasmic factor induced by NDV infection.     

Pathways for transmission of visual and auditory information to the cat caudate nucleus

Visual and auditory projections to the cat caudate nucleus were investigated using the horseradish peroxidase retrograde axonal transport technique in conjunction with that of experimental degeneration of retinal axons. It was found that visual information may reach the caudate nucleus not just through well-known polysynaptic pathways from the cerebral cortex but also following oligosynaptic (transpulvinar, lateroposterior nucleus, suprageniculate nucleus, and nucleus limitans of the thalamus) as well as bisynaptic pathways (via the medial and lateral terminal nuclei of the accessory optical tract, pulvinar, pretectum, intermediary layer of the superior colliculus, and the supraoptic nucleus); some of these pathways were identified for the first time. Direct retinal inputs were found in the suprageniculate nucleus. Additional structures were discovered through which auditory information may reach the caudate nucleus, i.e., the dorsal nucleus of the parvocellular portion of the lateral geniculate body, the deep-lying superior colliculus, and the dorsal and ventral nuclei of the lateral lemniscus. The physiological significance of the pathways described for possible transmission of visual and auditory impulses is discussed and a new principle underlining the organization of sensory inputs into the caudate nucleus is put forward.A. A. Bogomolets Institute of Physiology, Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, Kiev. Translated from Neirofiziologiya, Vol. 19, No. 4, pp. 512–520, July–August, 1987.     

Plasmid-Related Quinolone Resistance Determinants in Epidemic Vibrio parahaemolyticus,Uropathogenic Escherichia coli,and Marine Bacteria from an Aquaculture Area in Chile

Marine bacteria from aquaculture areas with industrial use of quinolones have the potential to pass quinolone resistance genes to animal and human pathogens. The VPA0095 gene, related to the quinolone resistance determinant qnrA, from clinical isolates of epidemic Vibrio parahaemolyticus conferred reduced susceptibility to quinolone after cloning into Escherichia coli K-12 either when acting alone or synergistically with DNA gyrase mutations. In addition, a plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance gene from marine bacteria, aac(6′)-Ib-cr, was identical to aac(6′)-Ib-cr from urinary tract isolates of E. coli, suggesting a recent flow of this gene between these bacteria isolated from different environments. aac(6′)-Ib-cr from E. coli also conferred reduced susceptibility to quinolone and kanamycin when cloned into E. coli K-12.     

Patterns of maximum body size evolution in Cenozoic land mammals: eco-evolutionary processes and abiotic forcing

There is accumulating evidence that macroevolutionary patterns of mammal evolution during the Cenozoic follow similar trajectories on different continents. This would suggest that such patterns are strongly determined by global abiotic factors, such as climate, or by basic eco-evolutionary processes such as filling of niches by specialization. The similarity of pattern would be expected to extend to the history of individual clades. Here, we investigate the temporal distribution of maximum size observed within individual orders globally and on separate continents. While the maximum size of individual orders of large land mammals show differences and comprise several families, the times at which orders reach their maximum size over time show strong congruence, peaking in the Middle Eocene, the Oligocene and the Plio-Pleistocene. The Eocene peak occurs when global temperature and land mammal diversity are high and is best explained as a result of niche expansion rather than abiotic forcing. Since the Eocene, there is a significant correlation between maximum size frequency and global temperature proxy. The Oligocene peak is not statistically significant and may in part be due to sampling issues. The peak in the Plio-Pleistocene occurs when global temperature and land mammal diversity are low, it is statistically the most robust one and it is best explained by global cooling. We conclude that the macroevolutionary patterns observed are a result of the interplay between eco-evolutionary processes and abiotic forcing.