Soil nutrient dissimilarity and litter nutrient limitation as major drivers of home field advantage in riparian tropical forests

Decomposition is a key process driving carbon and nutrient cycling in ecosystems worldwide. The home field advantage effect (HFA) has been found to accelerate decomposition rates when litter originates from “home” when compared to other (“away”) sites. It is still poorly known how HFA plays out in tropical, riparian forests, particularly in forests under restoration. We carried out three independent reciprocal litter transplant experiments to test how litter quality, soil nutrient concentrations, and successional stage (age) influenced HFA in tropical riparian forests. These experimental areas formed a wide gradient of soil and litter nutrients, which we used to evaluate the more general hypothesis that HFA varies with dissimilarity in soil nutrients and litter quality. We found that HFA increased with soil nutrient dissimilarity, suggesting that litter translocation uncouples relationships between decomposers and litter characteristics; and with litter N:P, indicating P limitation in this system. We also found negative HFA effects at a site under restoration that presented low decomposer ability, suggesting that forest restoration does not necessarily recover decomposer communities and nutrient cycling. Within each of the independent experiments, the occurrence of HFA effects was limited and their magnitude was not related to forest age, nor soil and litter quality. Our results imply that HFA effects in tropical ecosystems are influenced by litter nutrient limitation and soil nutrient dissimilarity between home and away sites, but to further disentangle major HFA drivers in tropical areas, a gradient of dissimilarity between litter and soil properties must be implemented in future experimental designs.     

Further characterization of the binding of human recombinant interleukin 2 to heparin and identification of putative binding sites

We have previously provided compelling evidence that human recombinant interleukin 2 (IL-2) binds to the sulfated polysaccharides heparin, highly sulfated heparan sulfate and fucoidan. Here we show that IL-2 binding is dependent on heparin chain length, but with fragments as small as 15-mers retaining binding activity. The addition of exogenous heparin has no effect on the in vitro biological activity of IL-2. In addition soluble IL-2 receptor alpha and beta polypeptides do not compete with heparin for the binding of IL-2. IL-2 bound by heparin is still recognized by two IL-2 specific monoclonal antibodies, 3H9 and H2- 8, whose epitopes lie in the amino terminal region. Murine IL-2 unlike its human counterpart fails to bind to heparin. Human IL-2 analogs with single amino acid substitutions at positions Lys43, Thr51, and Gln126 analogs no longer bind to heparin. By contrast the Arg38Ala analog retains heparin full heparin binding activity. These experimental findings together with molecular modeling studies suggest two putative heparin binding sites on human IL-2, one involving four basic residues, Lys48, Lys49, Lys54, and His55, and the other being a discontinuous site comprising Lys43, Lys64, Arg81, and Arg83. Neither of these two clusters is completely conserved in murine IL-2. Overall our data suggest that the binding of human IL-2 to heparin and heparan sulfate does not interfere with IL-2/IL-2 receptor interactions. Therefore, binding to glycosaminoglycan may be a mechanism for retaining the cytokine in an active form close to its site of secretion in the tissue, thus favoring a paracrine role for IL-2.      

P-I Snake Venom Metalloproteinase Is Able to Activate the Complement System by Direct Cleavage of Central Components of the Cascade

Background

Snake Venom Metalloproteinases (SVMPs) are amongst the key enzymes that contribute to the high toxicity of snake venom. We have recently shown that snake venoms from the Bothrops genus activate the Complement system (C) by promoting direct cleavage of C-components and generating anaphylatoxins, thereby contributing to the pathology and spread of the venom. The aim of the present study was to isolate and characterize the C-activating protease from Bothrops pirajai venom.

Results

Using two gel-filtration chromatography steps, a metalloproteinase of 23 kDa that activates Complement was isolated from Bothrops pirajai venom. The mass spectrometric identification of this protein, named here as C-SVMP, revealed peptides that matched sequences from the P-I class of SVMPs. C-SVMP activated the alternative, classical and lectin C-pathways by cleaving the α-chain of C3, C4 and C5, thereby generating anaphylatoxins C3a, C4a and C5a. In vivo, C-SVMP induced consumption of murine complement components, most likely by activation of the pathways and/or by direct cleavage of C3, leading to a reduction of serum lytic activity.

Conclusion

We show here that a P-I metalloproteinase from Bothrops pirajai snake venom activated the Complement system by direct cleavage of the central C-components, i.e., C3, C4 and C5, thereby generating biologically active fragments, such as anaphylatoxins, and by cleaving the C1-Inhibitor, which may affect Complement activation control. These results suggest that direct complement activation by SVMPs may play a role in the progression of symptoms that follow envenomation.     

Biodeterioration of Mayan buildings at uxmal and tulum,Mexico

Uxmal and Tulum are two important Mayan sites in the Yucatan peninsula. The buildings are mainly composed of limestone and grey/black discoloration is seen on exposed walls and copious greenish biofilms on inner walls. The principal microorganisms detected on interior walls at both Uxmal and Tulum were cyanobacteria; heterotrophic bacteria and filamentous fungi were also present. A dark‐pigmented mitosporic fungus and Bacillus cereus, both isolated from Uxmal, were shown to be acidogenic in laboratory cultures. Cyanobacteria belonging to rock‐degrading genera Synechocystis and Gloeocapsa were identified at both sites. Surface analysis previously showed that calcium ions were present in the biofilms on buildings at Uxmal and Tulum, suggesting the deposition of biosolubilized stone. Apart from their potential to degrade the substrate, the coccoid cyanobacteria supply organic nutrients for bacteria and fungi, which can produce organic acids, further increasing stone degradation.     

Daily rhythms of leukocytes populations,biochemical and enzymatic blood parameters in a carnivorous freshwater catfish (Lophiosilurus alexandri)

The aim of this study was to investigate the daily rhythms of hematological, biochemical and enzymatic parameters of the blood of a nocturnal model of fish (Lophiosilurus alexandri) bred in the laboratory (F1). Thirty-six juveniles were stocked in six tanks of a recirculation aquaculture system for 20 days. The fish were exposed to a light:dark cycle of 12:12 h and were fed 1% of biomass twice a day with commercial diet. The daily rhythms of hematological, biochemical and enzymatic parameters were then measured at six sampling times “zeitgeber time = ZT” at four-hour intervals under light:dark 12:12 h (lights on = ZT0, at 8.00 a.m). No differences were observed to alkaline phosphatase, glucose, cortisol, aspartate aminotransferase, superoxide dismutase, total protein and hematocrit (p > 0.05). However, white blood cell count, Lymphocytes (LYN), Neutrophils (NEU), Eosinophil and Neutrophils to Lymphocytes ratio were significant different between sample times (p < 0.05). Also, a significant difference in alanine transaminase was observed, with a peak of production at nighttime. In contrast, glutathione peroxidase peaked at 8:00. Uric acid, magnesium and Calcium (Ca⁺⁺) showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). A significant difference was observed (p < 0.05), with a peak of albumin at 08:00 and triglycerides at 12:00, while cholesterol was low (p < 0.05) at 08:00 and higher from 12:00 to 04:00. Cosinor analysis revealed also rhythmicity to SOD, UA, Mg and Ca⁺⁺, ALB and CHO (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the time of day must be considered a key factor when using blood parameters as biomarkers for disease, health and welfare in the L. alexandri aquaculture.     

Multimodal pressure-flow method to assess dynamics of cerebral autoregulation in stroke and hypertension

Background

This study evaluated the effects of stroke on regulation of cerebral blood flow in response to fluctuations in systemic blood pressure (BP). The autoregulatory dynamics are difficult to assess because of the nonstationarity and nonlinearity of the component signals.

Methods

We studied 15 normotensive, 20 hypertensive and 15 minor stroke subjects (48.0 ± 1.3 years). BP and blood flow velocities (BFV) from middle cerebral arteries (MCA) were measured during the Valsalva maneuver (VM) using transcranial Doppler ultrasound.

Results

A new technique, multimodal pressure-flow analysis (MMPF), was implemented to analyze these short, nonstationary signals. MMPF analysis decomposes complex BP and BFV signals into multiple empirical modes, representing their instantaneous frequency-amplitude modulation. The empirical mode corresponding to the VM BP profile was used to construct the continuous phase diagram and to identify the minimum and maximum values from the residual BP (BP_R) and BFV (BFV_R) signals. The BP-BFV phase shift was calculated as the difference between the phase corresponding to the BP_R and BFV_R minimum (maximum) values. BP-BFV phase shifts were significantly different between groups. In the normotensive group, the BFV_R minimum and maximum preceded the BP_R minimum and maximum, respectively, leading to large positive values of BP-BFV shifts.

Conclusion

In the stroke and hypertensive groups, the resulting BP-BFV phase shift was significantly smaller compared to the normotensive group. A standard autoregulation index did not differentiate the groups. The MMPF method enables evaluation of autoregulatory dynamics based on instantaneous BP-BFV phase analysis. Regulation of BP-BFV dynamics is altered with hypertension and after stroke, rendering blood flow dependent on blood pressure.

     

Growth factors and glucose homeostasis in diabetic rats: effects of exercise training

To investigate the alterations of glucose homeostasis and variables of the insulin‐like growth factor‐1 (IGF‐1) growth system in sedentary and trained diabetic (TD) rats, Wistar rats were divided into sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary diabetic (SD), and TD groups. Diabetes was induced by Alloxan (35 mg kg^?1 b.w.). Training program consisted of swimming 5 days week^?1, 1 h day^?1, during 8 weeks. Rats were sacrificed and blood was collected for determinations of serum glucose, insulin, growth hormone (GH), IGF‐1, and IGF binding protein‐3 (IGFBP‐3). Muscle and liver were removed to evaluate glycogen content. Cerebellum was extracted to determinate IGF‐1 content. Diabetes decreased serum GH, IGF‐1, IGFBP‐3, liver glycogen, and cerebellum IGF‐1 peptide content in baseline condition. Physical training recovered liver glycogen and increased serum and cerebellum IGF‐1 peptide in diabetic rats. Physical training induces important metabolic and hormonal alterations that are associated with an improvement in glucose homeostasis and serum and cerebellum IGF‐1 concentrations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.