An unusual receptor in the octopus

The epithelium of the rim of the octopus sucker is the site of several different types of primary receptors. One is a non-ciliated cell with unusual characteristics. (1) The surface of the cell is extremely irregular with finger-like extensions of cytoplasm, especially far reaching in the basal region. (2) The slender neck contains a canal whose apical opening is in contact with the environment. This canal is lined with microvilli and contains granular material in an electron-dense matrix. (3) Patches of presumed glycogen granules occur throughout the cell, being especially abundant in the outer reaches of the cytoplasmic extensions. Their presence, together with numerous mitochondria and free ribosomes, indicate a high intrinsic metabolism. (4) Small fascicles of microtubules are randomly situated throughout the perikaryon. They gather into a coherent system of larger and larger bundles which ultimately enter the axon leading from the cell. This axon extends some distance in the basal region of the epithelium before crossing the subepithelial space to enter the infundibular muscle. Possible functions of this cell are discussed. On the basis of its specific position on the sucker and its intrinsic morphology we suggest that it is a mechanoreceptor involved in shape and/or negative pressure discrimination.     

Cytokine regulation of facilitated glucose transport in human articular chondrocytes.

Glucose serves as the major energy substrate and the main precursor for the synthesis of glycosaminoglycans in chondrocytes. Facilitated glucose transport represents the first rate-limiting step in glucose metabolism. This study examines molecular regulation of facilitated glucose transport in normal human articular chondrocytes by proinflammatory cytokines. IL-1beta and TNF-alpha, and to a lesser degree IL-6, accelerate facilitated glucose transport as measured by [(3)H]2-deoxyglucose uptake. IL-1beta induces an increased expression of glucose transporter (GLUT) 1 mRNA and protein, and GLUT9 mRNA. GLUT3 and GLUT8 mRNA are constitutively expressed in chondrocytes and are not regulated by IL-1beta. GLUT2 and GLUT4 mRNA are not detected in chondrocytes. IL-1beta stimulates GLUT1 protein glycosylation and plasma membrane incorporation. IL-1beta regulation of glucose transport in chondrocytes depends on protein kinase C and p38 signal transduction pathways, and does not require phosphoinositide 3-kinase, extracellular signal-related kinase, or c-Jun N-terminal kinase activation. IL-1beta-accelerated glucose transport in chondrocytes is not mediated by endogenous NO or eicosanoids. These results demonstrate that stimulation of glucose transport represents a component of the chondrocyte response to IL-1beta. Two classes of GLUTs are identified in chondrocytes, constitutively expressed GLUT3 and GLUT8, and the inducible GLUT1 and GLUT9.     

Human body odour, symmetry and attractiveness.

Several studies have found body and facial symmetry as well as attractiveness to be human mate choice criteria. These characteristics are presumed to signal developmental stability. Human body odour has been shown to influence female mate choice depending on the immune system, but the question of whether smell could signal general mate quality, as do other cues, was not addressed in previous studies. We compared ratings of body odour, attractiveness, and measurements of facial and body asymmetry of 16 male and 19 female subjects. Subjects wore a T-shirt for three consecutive nights under controlled conditions. Opposite-sex raters judged the odour of the T-shirts and another group evaluated portraits of the subjects for attractiveness. We measured seven bilateral traits of the subject's body to assess body asymmetry. Facial asymmetry was examined by distance measurements of portrait photographs. The results showed a significant positive correlation between facial attractiveness and sexiness of body odour for female subjects. We found positive relationships between body odour and attractiveness and negative ones between smell and body asymmetry for males only if female odour raters were in the most fertile phase of their menstrual cycle. The outcomes are discussed in the light of different male and female reproductive strategies.     

Citromicrobium bathyomarinum, a novel aerobic bacterium isolated from deep-sea hydrothermal vent plume waters that contains photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes.

We have taxonomically and phylogenetically characterized a new aerobic bacterial strain (JF-1) that contains photosynthetic pigment-protein complexes and which was recently isolated from black smoker plume waters of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Strain JF-1 is a gram-negative, yellow-pigmented, motile bacterium that is salt-, pH-, and thermotolerant. These properties are consistent with an oligotrophic adaptation to varied environmental conditions thought to exist around deep-sea hydrothermal vents. The analysis of 16S rDNA sequences revealed that strain JF-1 forms a separate phylogenetic branch between the genus Erythromonas and the Erythromicrobium-Porphyrobacter-Erythrobacter cluster within the alpha subclass of the Proteobacteria. The taxonomic name Citromicrobium bathyomarinum (gen. nov., sp. nov.) is proposed for strain JF-1.