SnoRNA Snord116 (Pwcr1/MBII-85) deletion causes growth deficiency and hyperphagia in mice

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is the leading genetic cause of obesity. After initial severe hypotonia, PWS children become hyperphagic and morbidly obese, if intake is not restricted. Short stature with abnormal growth hormone secretion, hypogonadism, cognitive impairment, anxiety and behavior problems are other features. PWS is caused by lack of expression of imprinted genes in a approximately 4 mb region of chromosome band 15q11.2. Our previous translocation studies predicted a major role for the C/D box small nucleolar RNA cluster SNORD116 (PWCR1/HBII-85) in PWS. To test this hypothesis, we created a approximately 150 kb deletion of the > 40 copies of Snord116 (Pwcr1/MBII-85) in C57BL/6 mice. Snord116del mice with paternally derived deletion lack expression of this snoRNA. They have early-onset postnatal growth deficiency, but normal fertility and lifespan. While pituitary structure and somatotrophs are normal, liver Igf1 mRNA is decreased. In cognitive and behavior tests, Snord116del mice are deficient in motor learning and have increased anxiety. Around three months of age, they develop hyperphagia, but stay lean on regular and high-fat diet. On reduced caloric intake, Snord116del mice maintain their weight better than wild-type littermates, excluding increased energy requirement as a cause of hyperphagia. Normal compensatory feeding after fasting, and ability to maintain body temperature in the cold indicate normal energy homeostasis regulation. Metabolic chamber studies reveal that Snord116del mice maintain energy homeostasis by altered fuel usage. Prolonged mealtime and increased circulating ghrelin indicate a defect in meal termination mechanism. Snord116del mice, the first snoRNA deletion animal model, reveal a novel role for a non-coding RNA in growth and feeding regulation.     

Paleodistributions and comparative molecular phylogeography of leafcutter ants (Atta spp.) provide new insight into the origins of Amazonian diversity

The evolutionary basis for high species diversity in tropical regions of the world remains unresolved. Much research has focused on the biogeography of speciation in the Amazon Basin, which harbors the greatest diversity of terrestrial life. The leading hypotheses on allopatric diversification of Amazonian taxa are the Pleistocene refugia, marine incursion, and riverine barrier hypotheses. Recent advances in the fields of phylogeography and species-distribution modeling permit a modern re-evaluation of these hypotheses. Our approach combines comparative, molecular phylogeographic analyses using mitochondrial DNA sequence data with paleodistribution modeling of species ranges at the last glacial maximum (LGM) to test these hypotheses for three co-distributed species of leafcutter ants (Atta spp.). The cumulative results of all tests reject every prediction of the riverine barrier hypothesis, but are unable to reject several predictions of the Pleistocene refugia and marine incursion hypotheses. Coalescent dating analyses suggest that population structure formed recently (Pleistocene-Pliocene), but are unable to reject the possibility that Miocene events may be responsible for structuring populations in two of the three species examined. The available data therefore suggest that either marine incursions in the Miocene or climate changes during the Pleistocene--or both--have shaped the population structure of the three species examined. Our results also reconceptualize the traditional Pleistocene refugia hypothesis, and offer a novel framework for future research into the area.     

A perivascular origin for mesenchymal stem cells in multiple human organs

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the archetypal multipotent progenitor cells derived in cultures of developed organs, are of unknown identity and native distribution. We have prospectively identified perivascular cells, principally pericytes, in multiple human organs including skeletal muscle, pancreas, adipose tissue, and placenta, on CD146, NG2, and PDGF-Rbeta expression and absence of hematopoietic, endothelial, and myogenic cell markers. Perivascular cells purified from skeletal muscle or nonmuscle tissues were myogenic in culture and in vivo. Irrespective of their tissue origin, long-term cultured perivascular cells retained myogenicity; exhibited at the clonal level osteogenic, chondrogenic, and adipogenic potentials; expressed MSC markers; and migrated in a culture model of chemotaxis. Expression of MSC markers was also detected at the surface of native, noncultured perivascular cells. Thus, blood vessel walls harbor a reserve of progenitor cells that may be integral to the origin of the elusive MSCs and other related adult stem cells.     

Exercise and diet enhance fat oxidation and reduce insulin resistance in older obese adults.

Older, obese, and sedentary individuals are at high risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exercise training improves metabolic anomalies associated with such diseases, but the effects of caloric restriction in addition to exercise in such a high-risk group are not known. Changes in body composition and metabolism during a lifestyle intervention were investigated in 23 older, obese men and women (aged 66 +/- 1 yr, body mass index 33.2 +/- 1.4 kg/m(2)) with impaired glucose tolerance. All volunteers undertook 12 wk of aerobic exercise training [5 days/wk for 60 min at 75% maximal oxygen consumption (Vo(2max))] with either normal caloric intake (eucaloric group, 1,901 +/- 277 kcal/day, n = 12) or a reduced-calorie diet (hypocaloric group, 1,307 +/- 70 kcal/day, n = 11), as dictated by nutritional counseling. Body composition (decreased fat mass; maintained fat-free mass), aerobic fitness (Vo(2max)), leptinemia, insulin sensitivity, and intramyocellular lipid accumulation (IMCL) in skeletal muscle improved in both groups (P < 0.05). Improvements in body composition, leptin, and basal fat oxidation were greater in the hypocaloric group. Following the intervention, there was a correlation between the increase in basal fat oxidation and the decrease in IMCL (r = -0.53, P = 0.04). In addition, basal fat oxidation was associated with circulating leptin after (r = 0.65, P = 0.0007) but not before the intervention (r = 0.05, P = 0.84). In conclusion, these data show that exercise training improves resting substrate oxidation and creates a metabolic milieu that appears to promote lipid utilization in skeletal muscle, thus facilitating a reversal of insulin resistance. We also demonstrate that leptin sensitivity is improved but that such a trend may rely on reducing caloric intake in addition to exercise training.     

Adaptive response of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle to length change.

Hypervasoconstriction is associated with pulmonary hypertension and dysfunction of the pulmonary arterial smooth muscle (PASM) is implicated. However, relatively little is known about the mechanical properties of PASM. Recent advances in our understanding of plastic adaptation in smooth muscle may shed light on the disease mechanism. In this study, we determined whether PASM is capable of adapting to length changes (especially shortening) and regain its contractile force. We examined the time course of length adaptation in PASM in response to step changes in length and to length oscillations mimicking the periodic stretches due to pulsatile arterial pressure. Rings from sheep pulmonary artery were mounted on myograph and stimulated using electrical field stimulation (12-16 s, 20 V, 60 Hz). The length-force relationship was determined at L(ref) to 0.6 L(ref), where L(ref) was a reference length close to the in situ length of PASM. The response to length oscillations was determined at L(ref), after the muscle was subjected to length oscillation of various amplitudes for 200 s at 1.5 Hz. Release (or stretch) of resting PASM from L(ref) to 0.6 (and vice versa) was followed by a significant force recovery (73 and 63%, respectively), characteristic of length adaptation. All recoveries of force followed a monoexponential time course. Length oscillations with amplitudes ranging from 5 to 20% L(ref) caused no significant change in force generation in subsequent contractions. It is concluded that, like many smooth muscles, PASM possesses substantial capability to adapt to changes in length. Under pathological conditions, this could contribute to hypervasoconstriction in pulmonary hypertension.     

The spatial and temporal distribution of predatory and phytophagous mites in field-grown strawberry in the UK

Extensive sampling of strawberry plants in everbearing and June-bearing strawberry plantations and on potted plants showed that different species of mites were spatially separated. Of the two phytophagous species recorded, Tetranychus urticae was most abundant on old leaves and Phytonemus pallidus on folded leaves and flower/fruit clusters. Predatory phytoseiid mites were found on all plant parts but different species were spatially separated; Neoseiulus cucumeris and N. aurescens were found mostly on folded leaves and clusters, and N. californicus and Phytoseiulus persimilis on old and medium aged leaves. No Typhlodromus pyri were found in the field plantations. These patterns of distribution did not change over sampling dates in summer and early autumn. An understanding of this within-plant zonation of mite species is important when studying predator–prey interactions and when designing sampling strategies for strawberry. A programme to sample the entire mite system on strawberry should be stratified to include all the above mentioned parts of the plant. Different sampling protocols, as appropriate, are required for sampling different pest species and their associated predators.     

Upregulation of the let-7 microRNA with precocious development in lin-12/Notch hypermorphic Caenorhabditis elegans mutants

The lin-12/Notch signaling pathway is conserved from worms to humans and is a master regulator of metazoan development. Here, we demonstrate that lin-12/Notch gain-of-function (gf) animals display precocious alae at the L4 larval stage with a significant increase in let-7 expression levels. Furthermore, lin-12(gf) animals display a precocious and higher level of let-7 gfp transgene expression in seam cells at L3 stage. Interestingly, lin-12(gf) mutant rescued the lethal phenotype of let-7 mutants similar to other known heterochronic mutants. We propose that lin-12/Notch signaling pathway functions in late developmental timing, upstream of or in parallel to the let-7 heterochronic pathway. Importantly, the human microRNA let-7a was also upregulated in various human cell lines in response to Notch1 activation, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved cross-talk between let-7 and the canonical lin-12/Notch signaling pathway.     

Cell Death is Associated with Reduced Base Excision Repair During Chronic Alcohol Administration in Adult Rat Brain

The cell death cascades in different brain regions namely hippocampus and frontal cortex of rats fed with 10% (v/v) ethanol for 12 weeks, was examined. After Western blotting, different cell death associated proteins displayed differential activation in the two regions observed. In hippocampus, activated caspase-3 and caspase-7 resulted in subsequent cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1). Cytochrome c release to cytosol and apoptosis inducing factor (AIF) translocation to nucleus was marginal. B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) translocation to cytosol was significant whereas Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax) and Bcl-associated death protein (Bad) were largely located in cytosol. Further, upregulation of N-methyl d-aspartate receptor subunit 1 (NMDAR1), N-methyl d-aspartate receptor subunit 2B (NMDAR2B), N-methyl d-aspartate receptor subunit 2C (NMDAR2C) and activation of calpains were observed. In frontal cortex, caspase-3 activation, cleavage of PARP-1 and nuclear translocation of AIF were more pronounced. Moreover, cytochrome c release to cytosol, Bcl-2 translocation to cytosol was evident. However, levels of Bax, Bad, NMDA receptor subunits, and calpains were unaffected. Apoptosis was further substantiated by in situ staining for terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL). Results of the current study revealed that frontal cortex exhibits a higher level of ethanol-induced apoptosis relative to hippocampus. DNA polymerase beta assay and immunoblot showed significant loss in base excision repair in ethanol treated group.