Effects of the antipsychotic drug haloperidol on the somastostatinergic system in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells

Antipsychotics are established drugs in schizophrenia treatment which, however, are not free of side effects. Lipid rafts are critical for normal brain function. Several G protein-coupled receptors, such as somatostatin (SRIF) receptors, have been shown to localize to lipid rafts. The aim of this study was to investigate whether haloperidol treatment affects the composition and functionality of lipid rafts in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells. Haloperidol inhibited cholesterol biosynthesis, leading to a marked reduction in cell cholesterol content and to an accumulation of sterol intermediates, particularly cholesta-8,14-dien-3β-ol. These changes were accompanied by a loss of flotillin-1 and Fyn from the lipid rafts. We next studied the functionality of the SRIF receptor. Treatment with haloperidol reduced the inhibitory effect of SRIF on adenylyl cyclase (AC) activity. On the other side, haloperidol decreased basal AC activity but increased forskolin-stimulated AC activity. Addition of free cholesterol to the culture medium abrogated the effects of haloperidol on lipid raft composition and SRIF signaling whereas the AC response to forskolin remained elevated. The results show that haloperidol, by affecting cholesterol homeostasis, ultimately alters SRIF signaling and AC activity, which might have physiological consequences.     

The effectiveness of phototherapy for surface decontamination against SARS-Cov-2. A systematic review

COVID-19 appeared in December 2019, needing efforts of science. Besides, a range of light therapies (photodynamic therapy, ultraviolet [UV], laser) has shown scientific alternatives to conventional decontamination therapies. Investigating the efficacy of light-based therapies for environment decontamination against SARS-CoV2, a PRISMA systematic review of Phototherapies against SARS-CoV or MERS-CoV species discussing changes in viral RT-PCR was done. After searching MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Literatura Latino-Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde we have found studies about cell cultures irradiation (18), blood components irradiation (10), N95 masks decontamination (03), inanimate surface decontamination (03), aerosols decontamination (03), hospital rooms irradiation (01) with PDT, LED, and UV therapy. The best quality results showed an effective low time and dose UV irradiation for environments and inanimate surfaces without human persons as long as the devices have safety elements dependent on the surfaces, viral charge, humidity, radiant exposure. To interpersonal contamination in humans, PDT or LED therapy seems very promising and are encouraged.     

Protected from fire,but not from harm: seedling emergence of savanna grasses is constrained by burial depth

ABSTRACT

Background

The Cerrado is a fire-prone Neotropical savanna and grass seeds are the main component of the soil seed bank. Although grass seeds are presumed to tolerate heat pulses during fires, the assumption that these seeds will be recruited may be an overestimation, since it does not account for factors that limit seedling emergence from the soil.     

Viruses in sanctuary chimpanzees across Africa

Infectious disease is a major concern for both wild and captive primate populations. Primate sanctuaries in Africa provide critical protection to thousands of wild-born, orphan primates confiscated from the bushmeat and pet trades. However, uncertainty about the infectious agents these individuals potentially harbor has important implications for their individual care and long-term conservation strategies. We used metagenomic next-generation sequencing to identify viruses in blood samples from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in three sanctuaries in West, Central, and East Africa. Our goal was to evaluate whether viruses of human origin or other “atypical” or unknown viruses might infect these chimpanzees. We identified viruses from eight families: Anelloviridae, Flaviviridae, Genomoviridae, Hepadnaviridae, Parvoviridae, Picobirnaviridae, Picornaviridae, and Rhabdoviridae. The majority (15/26) of viruses identified were members of the family Anelloviridae and represent the genera Alphatorquevirus (torque teno viruses) and Betatorquevirus (torque teno mini viruses), which are common in chimpanzees and apathogenic. Of the remaining 11 viruses, 9 were typical constituents of the chimpanzee virome that have been identified in previous studies and are also thought to be apathogenic. One virus, a novel tibrovirus (Rhabdoviridae: Tibrovirus) is related to Bas-Congo virus, which was originally thought to be a human pathogen but is currently thought to be apathogenic, incidental, and vector-borne. The only virus associated with disease was rhinovirus C (Picornaviridae: Enterovirus) infecting one chimpanzee subsequent to an outbreak of respiratory illness at that sanctuary. Our results suggest that the blood-borne virome of African sanctuary chimpanzees does not differ appreciably from that of their wild counterparts, and that persistent infection with exogenous viruses may be less common than often assumed.     

The role of the cell wall in fungal pathogenesis

Fungal infections are a serious health problem. In recent years, basic research is focusing on the identification of fungal virulence factors as promising targets for the development of novel antifungals. The wall, as the most external cellular component, plays a crucial role in the interaction with host cells mediating processes such as adhesion or phagocytosis that are essential during infection. Specific components of the cell wall (called PAMPs) interact with specific receptors in the immune cell (called PRRs), triggering responses whose molecular mechanisms are being elucidated. We review here the main structural carbohydrate components of the fungal wall (glucan, mannan and chitin), how their biogenesis takes place in fungi and the specific receptors that they interact with. Different model fungal pathogens are chosen to illustrate the functional consequences of this interaction. Finally, the identification of the key components will have important consequences in the future and will allow better approaches to treat fungal infections.     

Stream friendly coffee: evaluating the impact of coffee farming on high-elevation streams of the Tarrazú coffee region of Costa Rica

Coffee farming is an important practice in the tropics, but studies addressing its effect on streams, especially at high elevations in high productivity regions, are limited. We evaluated streams draining the high-elevation coffee farming region of Tarrazú, Costa Rica, in terms of water quality and benthic macroinvertebrates over the course of a year. We compared our observations to regulatory benchmarks to determine overall condition, and compared our sites in terms of riparian vegetation (i.e., canopy cover, and riparian width) to determine the role of this management practice. Overall, we found that most streams fell within recommended water quality criteria and supported high proportion of pollution-sensitive taxa. Nevertheless, we found high levels of conductivity during the drier period of the year, which may signal agrochemical pollution. Also during the drier period, we found significantly higher diversity, % scrapers, and % predators, which suggests a boost in basal food sources associated to the observed high conductivity levels. We found that riparian buffer widths were not associated to improvements in water quality indicators or bio-integrity parameters on our sites. However, canopy cover was positively correlated to % shredders and family diversity, and negatively correlated to certain tolerant taxa. Our findings help to better characterize a system that is of great economic importance in the tropics, but that remains relatively under studied. It also helps inform management practices to enhance the potential of coffee agroforestry systems in promoting tropical biodiversity conservation within aquatic ecosystems.