Synthesis and biological evaluation of 1,7,8,8a-tetrahydro-3H-oxazolo[3,4-a]pyrazin-6(5H)-ones as antitumoral agents

A series of 1,7,8,8a-tetrahydro-3H-oxazolo[3,4-a]pyrazin-6(5H)-ones has been synthesized by an intramolecular, palladium(II) catalyzed, aminooxygenation of alkenyl ureas, readily available from glycine allylamides as starting materials. Biological tests showed that the obtained compounds are endowed with an interesting antitumoral activity against two human thyroid cancer cell lines, namely FTC-133 and 8305C, by promoting the apoptotic pathway and DNA fragmentation.     

Preparation of dehydroepiandrosterone,testosterone and progesterone antigens through 7-carboxymethyl derivatives: Characteristics of the antisera to testosterone and progesterone

Dehydroepiandrosterone, testosterone and progesterone 7-carboxymethyl derivatives were prepared : 7α and 7β epimers were separated and coupled to bovine serum albumin. Preliminary studies of the antisera induced by these antigens showed that they have high affinity and good specificity.     

Complex relationships between physiological stress and endoparasite infections in natural populations

Short-term elevation of glucocorticoids (GCs) is one of the major physiological mechanisms by which vertebrates cope with challenging environmental or social factors (stressors). However, when exposure to stressors occurs repeatedly or over a prolonged period of time, animals may experience chronic elevation of GCs, which reduces the immune response efficiency and can lead to higher intensity of parasitic infection. Here, we used invasive gray squirrels Sciurus carolinensis introduced in Northern Italy and their 2 most prevalent gastrointestinal parasites, the nematode Strongyloides robustus and coccidia of the genus Eimeria, as a model to investigate relationships among macroparasite infection and concentrations of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs), an integrated measure of circulating GCs. Our results revealed an association of FGMs with infection by St. robustus, but not with coccidia. Individuals with higher FGMs appear to be responsible for the greatest St. robustus egg shedding within gray squirrel populations, thus possibly acting as superspreaders. However, FGMs were negatively associated with adult St. robustus, suggesting that the abundance of adults of this nematode species does not induce elevation in FGMs, but is only affected by it through immune-mediated effects on its fecundity. Finally, the relationship between St. robustus (both eggs and adult parasites) and FGMs was not linear, suggesting that only high levels of physiological stress influence parasite infection. Our findings highlight that the direction and magnitude of the stress–infection relationship may depend not only on the specific host–parasite system, but also on the different life stages of the same parasite.     

Detection of influent virulence and resistance genes in microarray data through quasi likelihood modeling

Publicly available genomic data are a great source of biological knowledge that can be extracted when appropriate data analysis is used. Predicting the biological function of genes is of interest to understand molecular mechanisms of virulence and resistance in pathogens and hosts and is important for drug discovery and disease control. This is commonly done by searching for similar gene expression behavior. Here, we used publicly available Streptococcus pyogenes microarray data obtained during primate infection to identify genes that have a potential influence on virulence and Phytophtora infestance inoculated tomato microarray data to identify genes potentially implicated in resistance processes. This approach goes beyond co-expression analysis. We employed a quasi-likelihood model separated by primate gender/inoculation condition to model median gene expression of known virulence/resistance factors. Based on this model, an influence analysis considering time course measurement was performed to detect genes with atypical expression. This procedure allowed for the detection of genes potentially implicated in the infection process. Finally, we discuss the biological meaning of these results, showing that influence analysis is an efficient and useful alternative for functional gene prediction.     

New Data on the Stomiid Teleost Bathophilus nigerrimus from Mediterranean Waters

Journal of Ichthyology - In this paper new data on the scaleless dragonfish Bathophilus nigerrimus Giglioli 1882 (Stomiidae) are provided. We examined an individual found stranded on the shore of...