Cardiac myoglobin deficit has evolved repeatedly in teleost fishes

Myoglobin (Mb) is the classic vertebrate oxygen-binding protein present in aerobic striated muscles. It functions principally in oxygen delivery and provides muscle with its characteristic red colour. Members of the Antarctic icefish family (Channichthyidae) are widely thought to be extraordinary for lacking cardiac Mb expression, a fact that has been attributed to their low metabolic rate and unusual evolutionary history. Here, we report that cardiac Mb deficit, associated with pale heart colour, has evolved repeatedly during teleost evolution. This trait affects both gill- and air-breathing species from temperate to tropical habitats across a full range of salinities. Cardiac Mb deficit results from total pseudogenization in three-spined stickleback and is associated with a massive reduction in mRNA level in two species that evidently retain functional Mb. The results suggest that near or complete absence of Mb-assisted oxygen delivery to heart muscle is a common facet of teleost biodiversity, even affecting lineages with notable oxygen demands. We suggest that Mb deficit may affect how different teleost species deal with increased tissue oxygen demands arising under climate change.     

Mysterious bio-duck sound attributed to the Antarctic minke whale (Balaenoptera bonaerensis)

For decades, the bio-duck sound has been recorded in the Southern Ocean, but the animal producing it has remained a mystery. Heard mainly during austral winter in the Southern Ocean, this ubiquitous sound has been recorded in Antarctic waters and contemporaneously off the Australian west coast. Here, we present conclusive evidence that the bio-duck sound is produced by Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis). We analysed data from multi-sensor acoustic recording tags that included intense bio-duck sounds as well as singular downsweeps that have previously been attributed to this species. This finding allows the interpretation of a wealth of long-term acoustic recordings for this previously acoustically concealed species, which will improve our understanding of the distribution, abundance and behaviour of Antarctic minke whales. This is critical information for a species that inhabits a difficult to access sea-ice environment that is changing rapidly in some regions and has been the subject of contentious lethal sampling efforts and ongoing international legal action.     

A sticky situation: CCN1 promotes both proliferation and apoptosis of cancer cells

Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF/CCN2) is overexpressed in diabetes. Diabetic rats possess myocardial and cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. In a recent report, Wang and colleagues (Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2009 Jul 22. [Epub ahead of print]) show that CCN2 directly mediates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy as well as that induced by high glucose and fatty acid. CCN2 acted via the TrkA receptor. These data are the subject of this commentary, and emphasize that CCN2 may be an excellent target for therapy in diabetes.     

Percutaneous fine needle aspiration biopsy of the lung. A study of 1,015 patients

From the time of its introduction, in 1973, through November 1983, fine needle aspiration biopsy ( FNAB ) of the lung was used in the diagnostic evaluation of 1,015 patients at the Duke University Medical Center and Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center. A diagnosis of a primary lung cancer was established in 49.4% of the cases and malignant neoplasm metastatic to the lung in 14.1%; a benign diagnosis was made in 31.1% and an inconclusive one in 5.4%. In 123 patients in whom lung tissue was also available, cancer was correctly diagnosed by FNAB in 83.8%, not diagnosed by FNAB in 14.6% and incorrectly diagnosed in 1.6%. In 37 patients without cancer, FNAB detected an infectious organism or a specific morphologic type of inflammation (abscess and granuloma).     

GABA UPTAKE IN RAT BRAIN SLICES: INHIBITION BY GABA ANALOGUES AND BY VARIOUS DRUGS

Abstract— 2-Hydroxy-, 2-chloro-, 2- and Cmethyl-GABA are linear competitive inhibitors of GABA uptake in rat brain slices. These analogues are thus potential substrates for the GABA transport system and possible'false transmitters'. 2-Hydroxy-GABA is the most potent inhibitor of GABA uptake yet described. No specific inhibitor of GABA uptake was revealed amongst the drugs tested.