Geometric morphometric analysis of the effect of temperature on wing size and shape in Aedes albopictus

Wing geometry helps to identify mosquito species, even cryptic ones. On the other hand, temperature has a well‐known effect on insect metric properties. Can such effects blur the taxonomic signal embedded in the wing? Two strains of Aedes albopictus (laboratory and field strain) were examined under three different rearing temperatures (26, 30 and 33 °C) using landmark‐ and outline‐based morphometric approaches. The wings of each experimental line were compared with Aedes aegypti. Both approaches indicated similar associations between wing size and temperature. For the laboratory strain, the wing size significantly decreased as the temperature increased. For the field strain, the largest wings were observed at the intermediate temperature. The two morphometric approaches describing shape showed different sensibilities to temperature. For both strains and sexes, the landmark‐based approach disclosed significant wing shape changes with temperature changes. The outline‐based approach showed lesser effects, detecting significant changes only in laboratory females and in field males. Despite the size and shape changes induced by temperature, the two strains of Ae. albopictus were always distinguished from Ae. aegypti. The present study confirms the lability of size. However, it also suggests that, despite environmentally‐induced variation, the architecture of the wing still provides a strong taxonomic signal.     

Blocking of acidosis-mediated apoptosis by a reduction of lactate dehydrogenase activity through antisense mRNA expression.

Lactic acid produced from the cells is a potential cause of extra- and intracellular acidification. Due to scarce technical tools, lactic acid that leads to acidification could not be reduced and direct evidence of the relationship between metabolic lactate and apoptosis has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we designed a cellular pH regulation system in CHO cells by a reduction of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity through LDH antisense mRNA expression. This inhibited lactate production and, therefore, acidification of the cytosol. Under HCO3(-)-buffered growth conditions, both the parent CHO cells and the engineered CHO cells maintained their extracellular pH and intracellular pH fairly well. However, upon acidification of the cytosol, only the parent CHO cells underwent apoptosis under HCO3(-)-free conditions. In fact, we observed a number of apoptosis-related events only in control cells, including mitochondrial dysfunction, cytochrome c release, and an increase in caspase-3 enzymatic activity.     

Differential Effects of Long-Term Electroconvulsive Shock on Brain Levels of Enkephalin and Humoral-Endorphin

Abstract: Electroconvulsive shock (ECS) administrations repeated for 10 consecutive days cause an elevation in the opioid content of the rat brain. Two different endogenous opioids, enkephalin and humoral-endorphin, undergo independent changes that differ in both their time course and intracerebral localization. These metabolic changes parallel long-term behavioral modifications such as the development and dissipation of tolerance to the analgesic effect of ECS. The activation of two different, independent, endogenous opioid systems by ECS is in agreement with previous behavioral and pharmacological studies.