Long-term enhancement of pulmonary gas exchange after high-altitude residence during maturation.

In a previous study, our laboratory showed that young dogs born at sea level (SL) and raised from 2.5 mo of age to beyond somatic maturity at a high altitude (HA) of 3,100 m show enhanced resting lung function (Johnson RL Jr, Cassidy SS, Grover RF, Schutte JE, and Epstein RH. J Appl Physiol 59: 1773-1782, 1985). To examine whether HA-induced adaptation improves pulmonary gas exchange during exercise and whether adaptation is reversible when animals return to SL before somatic maturity, we raised 2.5-mo-old foxhounds at HA (3,800 m) for 5 mo (to age 7.5 mo) before returning them to SL. Lung function was measured under anesthesia 1 mo and 2 yr after return to SL and during exercise approximately 1 yr after return. In animals exposed to HA relative to simultaneous litter-matched SL controls, resting circulating blood and erythrocyte volumes, lung volumes, septal volume estimated by a rebreathing technique, and lung tissue volume estimated by high-resolution computed tomography scan were persistently higher. Lung diffusing capacity, membrane diffusing capacity, and pulmonary capillary blood volume estimated at a given cardiac output were significantly higher in animals exposed to HA, whereas maximal oxygen uptake and hematocrit were similar between groups. We conclude that relatively short exposure to HA during somatic maturation improves long-term lung function into adulthood.     

The karyotype of Alligator mississippiensis,and chromosomal mapping of the ZFY/X homologue,Zfc

Comparative mapping studies of X-linked genes in mammals have provided insights into the evolution of the X chromosome. Many reptiles including the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, do not appear to possess heteromorphic sex chromosomes, and sex is determined by the incubation temperature of the egg during embryonic development. Mapping of homologues of mammalian X-linked genes in reptiles could lead to a greater understanding of the evolution of vertebrate sex chromosomes. One of the genes used in the mammalian mapping studies was ZFX, an X-linked copy of the human ZFY gene which was originally isolated as a candidate for the mammalian testis-determining factor (TDF). ZFX is X-linked in eutherians, but maps to two autosomal locations in marsupials and monotremes, close to other genes associated with the eutherian X. The alligator homologue of the ZFY/ZFX genes, Zfc, has been isolated and described previously. A detailed karyotype of A. mississippiensis is presented, together with chromosomal in situ hybridisation data localising the Zfc gene to chromosome 3. Further chromosomal mapping studies using eutherian X-linked genes may reveal conserved chromosomal regions in the alligator that have become part of the eutherian X chromosome during evolution.     

Dynamic features of cells expressing macrophage properties in tissue cultures of dissociated cerebral cortex from the rat

Summary Two previously identified forms of macrophage were investigated in primary cultures of cerebral cortical cells. Dynamic features were revealed through time-lapse video recording and aspects of macrophage function were assessed. The two cell forms were shown to be different pre-mitotic stages of a single cell type. The cell cycle for these cells involved an initial large, flat, quiescent cell which retracted to yield a slightly rounded form with numerous processes. This latter form lost processes and developed profuse filopodia as it became very rounded just prior to division; both resulting daughter cells then regained the initial large flat appearance. These cells possessed several properties of macrophages, including phagocytosis, nucleoside diphosphatase enzyme, and CR3 receptors. These properties were transient, expressed just before and after mitosis, but subsequently down-regulated in the flat daughter cells. Because of this feature, it was difficult to determine the exact size of this cell population; however, the observed rate of proliferation suggests it may be substantial. It is suggested that these cells correspond to non-microglial macrophages of brain tissue and, because of their significant down-regulation, they may be difficult to detect. This may be important in studies of brain accessory immune cells in tissue culture.     

A Dynamic Corral Model of Receptor Trafficking at a Synapse

The postsynaptic density (PSD) is a cytoskeletal specialization within the postsynaptic membrane of a neuron that helps to concentrate and organize neurotransmitter receptors at a chemical synapse. The total number of receptors within the PSD, which is a major factor in determining the physiological strength or weight of a synapse, fluctuates due to the surface diffusion of receptors into and out of the PSD, and the interactions of receptors with scaffolding proteins and cytoskeletal elements within the PSD. In this article, we present a stochastic model of protein receptor trafficking at the PSD that takes into account these various processes. The PSD is treated as a stochastically gated corral, which contributes a source of extrinsic or environmental noise that supplements the intrinsic noise arising from small receptor numbers. Using a combination of stochastic analysis and Monte Carlo simulations, we determine the time-dependent variation in the mean and variance of synaptic receptor numbers for a variety of initial conditions that simulate fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments, and indicate how such data might be used to infer certain properties of the PSD.     

Habitat deterioration promotes the evolution of direct development in metamorphosing species

Although metamorphosis is widespread in the animal kingdom, several species have evolved life-cycle modifications to avoid complete metamorphosis. Some species, for example, many salamanders and newts, have deleted the adult stage via a process called paedomorphosis. Others, for example, some frog species and marine invertebrates, no longer have a distinct larval stage and reach maturation via direct development. Here we study which ecological conditions can lead to the loss of metamorphosis via the evolution of direct development. To do so, we use size-structured consumer-resource models in conjunction with the adaptive-dynamics approach. In case the larval habitat deteriorates, individuals will produce larger offspring and in concert accelerate metamorphosis. Although this leads to the evolutionary transition from metamorphosis to direct development when the adult habitat is highly favorable, the population will go extinct in case the adult habitat does not provide sufficient food to escape metamorphosis. With a phylogenetic approach we furthermore show that among amphibians the transition of metamorphosis to direct development is indeed, in line with model predictions, conditional on and preceded by the evolution of larger egg sizes.