Motility of Mugil cephalus L. spermatozoa in coelomic fluid, seminal fluid and saline media

The aim of this study was to assess the motility duration of Mugil cephalus when exposed to seminal fluid, coelomic fluid and saline media. Hypo-osmotic activation medium (distilled water containing bovine serum albumin 10 or 30 mg ml⁻¹) did not trigger sperm motility. Saline solution containing 500 m m NaCl, 3.1 m m KCl, 0.2 m m Tris, 3.4 m m CaCl₂, pH 7.5 initiated the sperm activation and the motility lasted for more than 2 min. Coelomic fluid showed an inhibitory effect for triggering the motility of spermatozoa. Higher salinity increases the motility duration of sperm. The optimum motility duration was shown in salinity 32 psu.     

Neuropathological and genomic characterization of glioblastoma-induced rat model: How similar is it to humans for targeted therapy?

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a unique aggressive tumor and mostly develops in the brain, while rarely spreading out of the central nervous system. It is associated with a high mortality rate; despite tremendous efforts having been made for effective therapy, tumor recurrence occurs with high prevalence. To elucidate the mechanisms that lead to new drug discovery, animal models of tumor progression is one of the oldest and most beneficial approaches to not only investigating the aggressive nature of the tumor, but also improving preclinical research. It is also a useful tool for predicting novel therapies' effectiveness as well as side effects. However, there are concerns that must be considered, such as the heterogeneity of tumor, biological properties, pharma dynamic, and anatomic shapes of the models, which have to be similar to humans as much as possible. Although several methods and various species have been used for this approach, the real recapitulation of the human tumor has been left under discussion. The GBM model, which has been verified in this study, has been established by using the Rat C6 cell line. By exploiting bioinformatic tools, the similarities between aberrant gene expression and pathways have been predicted. In this regard, 610 common genes and a number of pathways have been detected. Moreover, while magnetic resonance imaging analysis enables us to compare tumor features between these two specious, pathological findings provides most of the human GBM characteristics. Therefore, the present study provides genomics, pathologic, and imaging evidence for showing the similarities between human and rat GBM models.     

The dynamics of interactions between Plasmodium and the mosquito: a study of the infectivity of Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium gallinaceum,and their transmission by Anopheles stephensi,Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti

Knowledge of parasite-mosquito interactions is essential to develop strategies that will reduce malaria transmission through the mosquito vector. In this study we investigated the development of two model malaria parasites, Plasmodium berghei and Plasmodium gallinaceum, in three mosquito species Anopheles stephensi, Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti. New methods to study gamete production in vivo in combination with GFP-expressing ookinetes were employed to measure the large losses incurred by the parasites during infection of mosquitoes. All three mosquito species transmitted P. gallinaceum; P. berghei was only transmitted by Anopheles spp. Plasmodium gallinaceum initiates gamete production with high efficiency equally in the three mosquito species. By contrast P. berghei is less efficiently activated to produce gametes, and in Ae. aegypti microgamete formation is almost totally suppressed. In all parasite/vector combinations ookinete development is inefficient, 500-100,000-fold losses were encountered. Losses during ookinete-to-oocyst transformation range from fivefold in compatible vector parasite combinations (P. berghei/An. stephensi), through >100-fold in poor vector/parasite combinations (P. gallinaceum/An. stephensi), to complete blockade (>1,500 fold) in others (P. berghei/Ae. aegypti). Plasmodium berghei ookinetes survive poorly in the bloodmeal of Ae. aegypti and are unable to invade the midgut epithelium. Cultured mature ookinetes of P. berghei injected directly into the mosquito haemocoele produced salivary gland sporozoites in An. stephensi, but not in Ae. aegypti, suggesting that further species-specific incompatibilities occur downstream of the midgut epithelium in Ae. aegypti. These results show that in these parasite-mosquito combinations the susceptibility to malarial infection is regulated at multiple steps during the development of the parasites. Understanding these at the molecular level may contribute to the development of rational strategies to reduce the vector competence of malarial vectors.     

Alloreactive CD4 T cell activation in vivo: an autonomous function of the indirect pathway of alloantigen presentation

Activation of alloreactive CD4 T cells occurs via the direct and indirect pathways of alloantigen presentation. A novel TCR/alloantigen transgenic system was designed that permitted in vivo visualization of CD4 T cell priming through these pathways. When both pathways of alloantigen presentation were intact, CD4 T cell activation in response to cardiac allografts was rapid and systemic by day 4 after transplantation, in contrast to that seen in response to skin allografts, which was delayed until 10-12 days after transplantation. Despite this systemic CD4 T cell activation in response to cardiac allografts, there was a paucity of activated graft-infiltrating CD4 T cells at 4 days posttransplantation. This finding suggests that the initial priming of alloimmune CD4 T cell responses occurs within draining lymphoid organs. Furthermore, alloantigens derived from cardiac allografts failed to promote thymic negative selection of developing thymocytes expressing the alloreactive TCR clonotype. In the absence of a functional direct pathway, the kinetics of activation, anatomic localization, and effector function of alloreactive CD4 T cells remained unchanged. Overall, the present study defines the anatomic and temporal characteristics of CD4 T cell alloimmune responses and demonstrates that CD4 T cell priming via the indirect pathway proceeds optimally in the absence of the direct pathway of alloantigen presentation.     

Characterization of Radioiodinated TISCH: A High-Affinity and Selective Ligand for Mapping CNS D1 Dopamine Receptor

In developing CNS D1 dopamine receptor-imaging agents with improved specificity and longer brain retention, an iodinated D1 ligand was synthesized. In vitro and in vivo radiolabeling studies of a new iodinated benzazepine, TISCH [7-chloro-8-hydroxy-1-(3'-iodophenyl)-3-methyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3- benzazepine], an analog of SCH 23390 (7-chloro-8-hydroxy-3-methyl-1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-3-benzazepin e), were investigated. After an intravenous injection, the R(+) isomer of TISCH showed high brain uptake in rats (2.20 and 0.57% dose per whole brain at 2 and 60 min, respectively). The striatum/cerebellum ratio increased progressively with time (12 at 60 min). Ex vivo autoradiography of rat brain sections, after intravenous injection of R(+)-[125I]TISCH, displayed the highest uptake in striatum and substantia nigra, regions known to have a high concentration of D1 receptors, whereas the S(-) isomer displayed no specific uptake. Furthermore, the specific uptake can be blocked by pretreatment with SCH 23390. In vitro binding studies using the rat striatum tissue preparation showed high specific and low nonspecific bindings (KD = 0.21 +/- 0.03 nM). The rank order of potency exhibiting high specificity to the D1 receptor was SCH 23390 greater than (+/-)-TISCH greater than (+)-butaclamol = (+/-)-FISCH [7-chloro-8-hydroxy-1-(4'-iodophenyl)-3-methyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1 H-3-benzazepine] much greater than WB4101 = spiperone greater than dopamine, serotonin, (+/-)-propranolol, and naloxone. Imaging studies in a monkey with the resolved isomer, R(+)-[123I]TISCH, demonstrated a high uptake in the basal ganglia and prolonged retention. The preliminary data suggest that R(+)-TISCH is selective for the CNS D1 receptor and is potentially useful for in vivo and in vitro pharmacological studies. When labeled with iodine-123, it may be suitable for noninvasive imaging in humans.     

Nutritional Differences between Two Orangutan Habitats: Implications for Population Density

Bottom-up regulatory factors have been proposed to exert a strong influence on mammalian population density. Studies relating habitat quality to population density have typically made comparisons among distant species or communities without considering variation in food quality among localities. We compared dietary nutritional quality of two Bornean orangutan populations with differing population densities in peatland habitats, Tuanan and Sabangau, separated by 63 km. We hypothesized that because Tuanan is alluvial, the plant species included in the orangutan diet would be of higher nutritional quality compared to Sabangau, resulting in higher daily caloric intake in Tuanan. We also predicted that forest productivity would be greater in Tuanan compared to Sabangau. In support of these hypotheses, the overall quality of the diet and the quality of matched dietary items were higher in Tuanan, resulting in higher daily caloric intake compared to Sabangau. These differences in dietary nutritional quality may provide insights into why orangutan population density is almost two times greater in Tuanan compared to Sabangau, in agreement with a potentially important influence of diet quality on primate population density.     

Ribonucleotide Reductase Subunit M2 Predicts Survival in Subgroups of Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Carcinoma: Effects of Gender and Smoking Status

BackgroundRibonucleotide reductase catalyzes the conversion of ribonucleotide diphosphates to deoxyribonucleotide diphosphates. The functional enzyme consists of two subunits - one large (RRM1) and one small (RRM2 or RRM2b) subunit. Expression levels of each subunit have been implicated in prognostic outcomes in several different types of cancers.ResultsIn non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), RRM2 expression was strongly predictive of disease-specific survival in women, non-smokers and former smokers who had quit at least 10 years prior to being diagnosed with lung cancer. Higher expression was associated with worse survival. This was not the case for men, current smokers and those who had stopped smoking for shorter periods of time. RRM1 was not predictive of survival outcomes in any subset of the patient group.ConclusionRRM2, but not RRM1, is a useful predictor of survival outcome in certain subsets of NSCLC patients.