Correlated responses to selection for stress resistance and longevity in a laboratory population of Drosophila melanogaster

Laboratory studies on Drosophila have revealed that resistance to one environmental stress often correlates with resistance to other stresses. There is also evidence on genetic correlations between stress resistance, longevity and other fitness-related traits. The present work investigates these associations using artificial selection in Drosophila melanogaster. Adult flies were selected for increased survival after severe cold, heat, desiccation and starvation stresses as well as increased heat-knockdown time and lifespan (CS, HS, DS, SS, KS and LS line sets, respectively). The number of selection generations was 11 for LS, 27 for SS and 21 for other lines, with selection intensity being around 0.80. For each set of lines, the five stress-resistance parameters mentioned above as well as longevity (in a nonstressful environment) were estimated. In addition, preadult developmental time, early age productivity and thorax length were examined in all lines reared under nonstressful conditions. Comparing the selection lines with unselected control revealed clear-cut direct selection responses for the stress-resistance traits. Starvation resistance increased as correlated response in all sets of selection lines, with the exception of HS. Positive correlated responses were also found for survival after cold shock (HS and DS) and heat shock (KS and DS). With regard to values of resistance across different stress assays, the HS and KS lines were most similar. The resistance values of the SS lines were close to those of the LS lines and tended to be the lowest among all selection lines. Developmental time was extended in the SS and KS lines, whereas the LS lines showed a reduction in thorax length. The results indicate a possibility of different multiple-stress-resistance mechanisms for the examined traits and fitness costs associated with stress resistance and longevity.     

Induction of glutathione synthesis and heme oxygenase 1 by the flavonoids butein and phloretin is mediated through the ERK/Nrf2 pathway and protects against oxidative stress

Butein and phloretin are chalcones that are members of the flavonoid family of polyphenols. Flavonoids have well-known antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. In rat primary hepatocytes, we examined whether butein and phloretin affect tert-butylhydroperoxide (tBHP)-induced oxidative damage and the possible mechanism(s) involved. Treatment with butein and phloretin markedly attenuated tBHP-induced peroxide formation, and this amelioration was reversed by l-buthionine-S-sulfoximine [a glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL) inhibitor] and zinc protoporphyrin [a heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) inhibitor]. Butein and phloretin induced both HO-1 and GCL protein and mRNA expression and increased intracellular glutathione (GSH) and total GSH content. Butein treatment activated the ERK1/2 signaling pathway and increased Nrf2 nuclear translocation, Nrf2 nuclear protein-DNA binding activity, and ARE-luciferase reporter activity. The roles of the ERK signaling pathway and Nrf2 in butein-induced HO-1 and GCL catalytic subunit (GCLC) expression were determined by using RNA interference directed against ERK2 and Nrf2. Both siERK2 and siNrf2 abolished butein-induced HO-1 and GCLC protein expression. These results suggest the involvement of ERK2 and Nrf2 in the induction of HO-1 and GCLC by butein. In an animal study, phloretin was shown to increase GSH content and HO-1 expression in rat liver and decrease carbon tetrachloride-induced hepatotoxicity. In conclusion, we demonstrate that butein and phloretin up-regulate HO-1 and GCL expression through the ERK2/Nrf2 pathway and protect hepatocytes against oxidative stress.     

胸腹腔镜联合Ivor Lewis食管癌根治术对食管癌患者肺功能、红细胞免疫及应激反应的影响

目的:探讨胸腹腔镜联合Ivor Lewis食管癌根治术对食管癌患者红细胞免疫、肺功能及应激反应的影响。方法:选取2016年5月~2018年6月期间我院收治的食管癌患者150例。根据随机数字表法将患者分为A组(n=75)和B组(n=75),A组予以开胸Ivor Lewis食管癌根治术,B组予以胸腹腔镜联合Ivor Lewis食管癌根治术,比较两组围术期指标、肺功能、红细胞免疫、应激反应及并发症。结果:B组手术时间、住院时间短于A组,术中出血量少于A组(P<0.05);两组清扫淋巴结数目比较无差异(P>0.05)。两组术后1个月第1秒末用力呼气容积(FEV1)、用力呼吸肺活量(FVC)、FEV1/FVC均降低,但B组高于A组(P<0.05)。两组术后3d白介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、C反应蛋白(CRP)均升高,但B组低于A组(P<0.05)。两组术后3d红细胞免疫复合物花环率(RBC-ICR)升高,但B组低于A组(P<0.05);红细胞C3b受体花环率(RBC-C3bRR)、肿瘤红细胞花环率(TRR)降低,但B组高于A组(P<0.05)。两组患者术后并发症发生率比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:胸腹腔镜联合Ivor Lewis食管癌根治术治疗食管癌患者,可有效改善围术期各项指标,减轻对机体肺功能、红细胞免疫及应激反应的影响,且不增加并发症发生率。     

Melatonin Entrains Free‐running Blind People According to a Physiological Dose‐response Curve

The specific circadian role proposed for endogenous melatonin production was based on a study of sighted people who took low pharmacological doses (500 µg) of this chemical signal for the “biological night”: the magnitude and direction of the induced phase shifts were dependent on what time of day exogenous melatonin was administered and were described by a phase‐response curve that turned out to be the opposite of that for light. We now report that lower (physiological) doses of up to 300 µg can entrain (synchronize) free‐running circadian rhythms of 10 totally blind subjects that would otherwise drift later each day. The resulting log‐linear dose‐response curve in the physiological range adds support for a circadian function of endogenous melatonin in humans. Efficacy of exogenous doses in the physiological range are of clinical significance for totally blind people who will need to take melatonin daily over their entire lifetimes in order to remain entrained to the 24 h day. Left untreated, their free‐running endocrine, metabolic, behavioral, and sleep/wake cycles can be almost as burdensome as not having vision.     

芸香苷对慢性脑低灌注大鼠认知功能障碍和脑损伤的神经保护作用

目的:研究芸香苷对慢性脑低灌注导致大鼠认知功能障碍和脑损伤的影响。方法:采用双侧颈总动脉结扎法(bilateral common carotid artery occlusion,BCCAO)建立慢性脑低灌注大鼠模型,随机分为4组(n=10):生理盐水治疗模型组、芸香苷治疗模型组、生理盐水治疗假手术组、芸香苷治疗假手术组;连续腹腔注射芸香苷和生理盐水共12周。采用Morris水迷宫评定大鼠学习和记忆能力。采用分光光度法检测脑组织中枢胆碱能相关指标和氧化应激指标。应用免疫组织化学和El ISA方法检测脑组织炎症反应。采用Nissl染色法检测脑组织神经元缺失。结果:芸香苷治疗模型组大鼠的逃脱潜伏期较生理盐水治疗模型组明显减少(P0.01)。与生理盐水治疗模型组相比,芸香苷治疗后显著提高了BCCAO大鼠脑组织中ACh水平(P0.01)和Ch AT活性(P0.01),并降低了ACh E活性(P0.01)。与生理盐水治疗模型组相比,芸香苷治疗模型组显著增加了大鼠脑组织中SOD活性(P0.01)和GPX活性(P0.01),降低了MDA水平(P0.01)和蛋白质羰基化合物水平(P0.01)。芸香苷治疗模型组大鼠海马区GFAP-免疫阳性星型胶质细胞(P0.01)和Iba1-免疫阳性小胶质细胞(P0.01)面积百分比较生理盐水治疗模型组显著减少。芸香苷治疗模型组大鼠海马区正常神经元的数量较生理盐水治疗模型组大鼠显著增加(P0.01)。结论:芸香苷可改善慢性脑低灌注引起的大鼠认知功能障碍和脑损伤。     

Impact of landscape patterns on ecological vulnerability and ecosystem service values: An empirical analysis of Yancheng Nature Reserve in China

In this study, an ecological vulnerability assessment indicator system was constructed using the “exposure–climate sensitivity–adaptive capacity” framework according to the theory of ecological vulnerability. An improved ecosystem service value calculation model was proposed based on empirical parameters. Using Yancheng Nature Reserve in China as an example, we employed remote sensing data to conduct an empirical analysis of the changes in the spatiotemporal pattern, ecological vulnerability, and ecosystem services of typical landscape types over the period from 1987 to 2013. The statistical results derived from landscape pattern indices (LPIs) showed that during the investigation period, three natural wetland landscape types (i.e., Spartina alterniflora, Suaeda glauca, and Phragmites australis) showed gradually increased fragmentation in the study area. The ecological vulnerability scores of the major landscape types (in descending order) were P. australis (0.053), farmland (0.047), S. alterniflora (0.042), S. glauca (0.031), and bare mud flat (0.002). The results derived from the ecosystem service value fluctuation index (ESVFI) showed that from 1987 to 1997, the value of the ecosystem services provided by S. glauca and P. australis wetlands decreased, whereas that of S. alterniflora wetlands increased continuously. From 2002 to 2013, the value of the ecosystem services provided by all three types of natural wetland showed a downward trend. In conclusion, the combined effects of human and natural factors, including the expansion of farmland and the invasion of S. alterniflora, and changes in seawater erosion and deposition led to changes in the landscape patterns, ecological vulnerability, and ecosystem services of the Yancheng Nature Reserve during the investigation period. The results indicate that a “dual adaptive” management system based on natural succession and supplemented by appropriate manual intervention should be implemented, and the management efficiency and flexibility should be improved to meet the common needs of biodiversity conservation and economic development.     

Protective parenting may have population-level consequences

In many animal species, recruitment is facilitated by adults’ efforts to protect offspring from predation. Theoretical studies of this phenomenon have usually focused on resolving the conflict between an individual's self-preservation and its attempts to successfully reproduce. While the decision to protect is made at the level of a single individual, the aggregation of these decisions may affect population density and structure. This idea motivates the development of a functional response for predators that is compatible with the protective behaviour of prey. We use this functional response to study the long-term behaviour of a protective prey population under different levels of predation. We find that contribution of protective effort may promote or inhibit population density depending on the riskiness associated with interference. Moreover, our results suggest that, in environments characterised by intense predation, a protection-driven Allee effect allows sufficiently large populations to persist. We interpret these results in the context of different strategies for newborn defence.     

The electromagnetic basis of social interactions

It has been established that living things are sensitive to extremely low-frequency magnetic fields at vanishingly small intensities, on the order of tens of nT. We hypothesize, as a consequence of this sensitivity, that some fraction of an individual’s central nervous system activity can be magnetically detected by nearby individuals. Even if we restrict the information content of such processes to merely simple magnetic cues that are unconsciously received by individuals undergoing close-knit continuing exposure to these cues, it is likely that they will tend to associate these cues with the transmitting individual, no less than would occur if such signals were visual or auditory. Furthermore, following what happens when one experiences prolonged exposure to visual and like sensory inputs, it can be anticipated that such association occurring magnetically will eventually also enable the receiving individual to bond to the transmitting individual. One can readily extrapolate from single individuals to groups, finding reasonable explanations for group behavior in a number of social situations, including those occurring in families, animal packs, gatherings as found in concerts, movie theaters and sports arenas, riots and selected predatory/prey situations. The argument developed here not only is consistent with the notion of a magnetic sense in humans, but also provides a new approach to electromagnetic hypersensitivity, suggesting that it may simply result from sensory overload.     

Thio-functionalized carbohydrate thiosemicarbazones and evaluation of their anticancer activity

Thiosemicarbazides and their analogs have shown potential medical applications as antiviral, antibacterial and anticancer drugs. We designed, synthesized and evaluated in vitro anticancer activity against ovarian (A2780), cervix (HeLa), colon (LoVo), breast (MCF-7) and brain (MO59J) human cancer cell lines of seven novel compounds –S-glycosylated thiosemicarbazones. We assessed the cyto- and genotoxic properties of all novel compounds using a variety of methods including comet assay, XTT assay, various fluorescent assays and toxicology PathwayFinder expression array. We tried to evaluate their possible mechanism of action with particular attention to induction of DNA damage and repair, apoptosis, oxidative stress analysis and cellular response in terms of changes in gene expression. The most sensitive cell line was human ovarian cancer. The results revealed that the major activity against A2780 cancer cell line displayed by our compounds is induction of DNA damage. This effect is not associated with apoptosis or oxidative stress induction and the resulting damage will not lead to cell cycle arrest. We also observed up-expression of heat shock related genes and NQO1 gene in response to our compounds. The second effect seems to be specific to glycosylated S-bond compounds as we observed it earlier. Upregulation of heat shock protein encoding genes suggest that our compounds induce stressful conditions. The nature of this phenomena (heat shock, pH shift or hypoxia) needs further study.     

Selection and inheritance of developmental variants of Propylea dissecta under thermal stress conditions

The present study aims to understand the influence of two thermal extremes (15 °C and 35 °C) as thermal stressors on the selected line of developmental variants (slow and fast developers) in Propylea dissecta and to compare it with the response at the optimal temperature (27 °C). The ratio of slow and fast developers within an egg batch differed with thermal extremes irrespective of F1 and F15 generations. Adult body mass got depressed after selection for control slow developers at 15 °C while it got enhanced for selected fast developers at 35 °C. More selected slow developers were found at low temperature and more selected fast developers at high temperature. Selection probably favours the enhancement of immature survival and emergence ratio which was found to be highest for selected fast developers at 35 °C and selected slow developers at 15 °C. Population level disparity on thermal confliction was observed in ladybird post selection over several generations. Therefore, we put forward that exposure thermal extremes over a long duration, causes an adaptive differentiation in thermal responses of slow and fast developers.