Modeling seasonal changes in intracellular freeze-tolerance of fat body cells of the gall fly Eurosta solidaginis (Diptera, Tephritidae)

1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
V Bennett ◽  
R Lee

Although seasonal changes in the freeze-tolerance of third-instar larvae of Eurosta solidaginis have been well documented for the whole organism, the nature of this cold-hardiness at the cellular level has not been examined. Seasonal changes in the survival of fat body cells from E. solidaginis larvae were assessed using fluorescent vital dyes after freezing at -10, -25 or -80 °C for 24 h both in vivo and in vitro. Cells frozen in vitro were frozen with glycerol, with sorbitol (both of which enhanced cell survival) or without cryoprotectants. Both cellular and organismal survival were low in August when larvae were not freeze-tolerant, then increased dramatically during September and October before leveling off from November to January. This observation for cells frozen without cryoprotectants indicates that the cells themselves have adapted. The single most important factor influencing cell survival, as determined by logistic regression modeling, was the time of larval collection, which reflects the level of cold-hardiness achieved by field acclimation. Cells frozen in vivo exhibited greater survival than did those frozen in vitro, even with the addition of cryoprotectants. Since no differences were observed between cells frozen with glycerol or sorbitol, the role of the multi-component cryoprotectant system present in E. solidaginis should be investigated.

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1899) ◽  
pp. 20190050 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jantina Toxopeus ◽  
Vladimír Koštál ◽  
Brent J. Sinclair

Freeze tolerance, the ability to survive internal ice formation, facilitates survival of some insects in cold habitats. Low-molecular-weight cryoprotectants such as sugars, polyols and amino acids are hypothesized to facilitate freeze tolerance, but their in vivo function is poorly understood. Here, we use a combination of metabolomics and manipulative experiments in vivo and ex vivo to examine the function of multiple cryoprotectants in the spring field cricket Gryllus veletis . Cold-acclimated G. veletis are freeze-tolerant and accumulate myo -inositol, proline and trehalose in their haemolymph and fat body. Injecting freeze-tolerant crickets with proline and trehalose increases survival of freezing to lower temperatures or for longer times. Similarly, exogenous myo -inositol and trehalose increase ex vivo freezing survival of fat body cells from freeze-tolerant crickets. No cryoprotectant (alone or in combination) is sufficient to confer freeze tolerance on non-acclimated, freeze-intolerant G. veletis . Given that each cryoprotectant differentially impacts survival in the frozen state, we conclude that small cryoprotectants are not interchangeable and likely function non-colligatively in insect freeze tolerance. Our study is the first to experimentally demonstrate the importance of non-colligative cryoprotectant function for insect freeze tolerance both in vivo and ex vivo , with implications for choosing new molecules for cryopreservation.


1996 ◽  
Vol 199 (2) ◽  
pp. 465-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Mugnano ◽  
R Lee ◽  
R Taylor

During the autumn, the third-instar larvae of the gall fly Eurosta solidaginis acquire freeze tolerance and their crystallization temperatures increase into the -8 to -10 °C range. Despite conflicting reports, efficient endogenous ice nucleators have not been identified in this freeze-tolerant insect. We found large crystalloid spheres within the Malpighian tubules of overwintering larvae. Energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis and infrared spectroscopy indicated that the spherules were a hydrate of tribasic calcium phosphate. To test for ice-nucleating activity, we placed the calcium phosphate spherules in 10 µl of Schneider's insect medium and cooled them in a refrigerated bath. The addition of spherules increased the crystallization temperature of Schneider's medium by approximately 8 C, from -18.4±0.8 °C to -10.1±0.9 °C (mean ± s.e.m., N=20). Ice-nucleating activity (-10.9±0.9 °C) was also demonstrated in fat body cells suspended in 10 µl of Schneider's medium. Both calcium phosphate spherules and fat body cells have ice-nucleating activity sufficiently high to explain whole-body crystallization temperatures. Furthermore, other crystalloid deposits, commonly found in diapausing or overwintering insects, also exhibited significant ice-nucleating activity. These endogenous crystalloid deposits represent a new class of heterogeneous ice nucleators that potentially regulate supercooling and promote freeze tolerance in E. solidaginis and possibly in other overwintering insects.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (22) ◽  
pp. 2610-2619 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarique Hussain ◽  
Ghulam Murtaza ◽  
Huansheng Yang ◽  
Muhammad S. Kalhoro ◽  
Dildar H. Kalhoro

Background: Inflammation is a complex response of the host defense system to different internal and external stimuli. It is believed that persistent inflammation may lead to chronic inflammatory diseases such as, inflammatory bowel disease, neurological and cardiovascular diseases. Oxidative stress is the main factor responsible for the augmentation of inflammation via various molecular pathways. Therefore, alleviating oxidative stress is effective a therapeutic option against chronic inflammatory diseases. Methods: This review article extends the knowledge of the regulatory mechanisms of flavonoids targeting inflammatory pathways in chronic diseases, which would be the best approach for the development of suitable therapeutic agents against chronic diseases. Results: Since the inflammatory response is initiated by numerous signaling molecules like NF-κB, MAPK, and Arachidonic acid pathways, their encountering function can be evaluated with the activation of Nrf2 pathway, a promising approach to inhibit/prevent chronic inflammatory diseases by flavonoids. Over the last few decades, flavonoids drew much attention as a potent alternative therapeutic agent. Recent clinical evidence has shown significant impacts of flavonoids on chronic diseases in different in-vivo and in-vitro models. Conclusion: Flavonoid compounds can interact with chronic inflammatory diseases at the cellular level and modulate the response of protein pathways. A promising approach is needed to overlook suitable alternative compounds providing more therapeutic efficacy and exerting fewer side effects than commercially available antiinflammatory drugs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia Seguin ◽  
Soline Odouard ◽  
Francesca Corlazzoli ◽  
Sarah Al Haddad ◽  
Laurine Moindrot ◽  
...  

AbstractRecently, we involved the carbohydrate-binding protein Galectin-3 (Gal-3) as a druggable target for KRAS-mutant-addicted lung and pancreatic cancers. Here, using glioblastoma patient-derived stem cells (GSCs), we identify and characterize a subset of Gal-3high glioblastoma (GBM) tumors mainly within the mesenchymal subtype that are addicted to Gal-3-mediated macropinocytosis. Using both genetic and pharmacologic inhibition of Gal-3, we showed a significant decrease of GSC macropinocytosis activity, cell survival and invasion, in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that Gal-3 binds to RAB10, a member of the RAS superfamily of small GTPases, and β1 integrin, which are both required for macropinocytosis activity and cell survival. Finally, by defining a Gal-3/macropinocytosis molecular signature, we could predict sensitivity to this dependency pathway and provide proof-of-principle for innovative therapeutic strategies to exploit this Achilles’ heel for a significant and unique subset of GBM patients.


Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1366
Author(s):  
Russell Hughes ◽  
Xinyue Chen ◽  
Natasha Cowley ◽  
Penelope D. Ottewell ◽  
Rhoda J. Hawkins ◽  
...  

Metastatic breast cancer in bone is incurable and there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutic approaches to improve survival. Key to this is understanding the mechanisms governing cancer cell survival and growth in bone, which involves interplay between malignant and accessory cell types. Here, we performed a cellular and molecular comparison of the bone microenvironment in mouse models representing either metastatic indolence or growth, to identify mechanisms regulating cancer cell survival and fate. In vivo, we show that regardless of their fate, breast cancer cells in bone occupy niches rich in osteoblastic cells. As the number of osteoblasts in bone declines, so does the ability to sustain large numbers of breast cancer cells and support metastatic outgrowth. In vitro, osteoblasts protected breast cancer cells from death induced by cell stress and signaling via gap junctions was found to provide important juxtacrine protective mechanisms between osteoblasts and both MDA-MB-231 (TNBC) and MCF7 (ER+) breast cancer cells. Combined with mathematical modelling, these findings indicate that the fate of DTCs is not controlled through the association with specific vessel subtypes. Instead, numbers of osteoblasts dictate availability of protective niches which breast cancer cells can colonize prior to stimulation of metastatic outgrowth.


1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 2977-2986 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Antoniewski ◽  
B Mugat ◽  
F Delbac ◽  
J A Lepesant

The steroid hormone 20-hydroxyecdysone plays a key role in the induction and modulation of morphogenetic events throughout Drosophila development. Previous studies have shown that a heterodimeric nuclear receptor composed of the EcR and USP proteins mediates the action of the hormone at the transcriptional through binding to palindromic ecdysteroid mediates the action of the hormone at the transcriptional level through binding to palindromic ecdysteroid response elements (EcREs) such as those present in the promoter of the hsp27 gene or the fat body-specific enhancer of the Fbp1 gene. We show that in addition to palindromic EcREs, the EcR/USP heterodimer can bind in vitro with various affinities to direct repetitions of the motif AGGTCA separated by 1 to 5 nucleotides (DR1 to DR5), which are known to be target sites for vertebrate nuclear receptors. At variance with the receptors, EcR/USP was also found to bind to a DR0 direct repeat with no intervening nucleotide. In cell transformation assays, direct repeats DR0 to DR5 alone can render the minimum viral tk or Drosophila Fbp1 promoter responsive to 20-hydroxyecdysone, as does the palindromic hsp27 EcRE. In a transgenic assay, however, neither the palindromic hsp27 element nor direct repeat DR3 alone can make the Fbp1 minimal promoter responsive to premetamorphic ecdysteroid peaks. In contrast, DR0 and DR3 elements, when substituted for the natural palindromic EcRE in the context of the Fbp1 enhancer, can drive a strong fat body-specific ecdysteroid response in transgenic animals. These results demonstrate that directly repeated EcR/USP binding sites are as effective as palindromic EcREs in vivo. They also provide evidence that additional flanking regulatory sequences are crucially required to potentiate the hormonal response mediated by both types of elements and specify its spatial and temporal pattern.


Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 207
Author(s):  
Hana Daneck ◽  
Matthias Benjamin Barth ◽  
Martin Geck ◽  
Anna K. Hundsdoerfer

The spurge hawkmoth Hyles euphorbiae L. (Sphingidae) comprises a remarkable species complex with still not fully resolved taxonomy. Its extensive natural distribution range covers diverse climatic zones. This predestinates particular populations to cope with different local seasonally unfavorable environmental conditions. The ability of the pupae to overcome outer frosty conditions is well known. However, the differences between two main ecotypes (‘euphorbiae’ and ‘tithymali’) in terms of the inherent degree of frost tolerance, its corresponding survival strategy, and underlying mechanism have not been studied in detail so far. The main aim of our study was to test the phenotypic exhibition of pupae (as the relevant life cycle stadia to outlast unfavorable conditions) in response to combined effects of exogenous stimuli, such as daylight length and cooling regime. Namely, we tested the turnout of subitan (with fast development, unadapted to unfavorable conditions) or diapause (paused development, adapted to unfavorable external influences and increased resistance) pupae under different conditions, as well as their mortality, and we measured the super cooling point (SCP) of whole pupae (in vivo) and pupal hemolymph (in vitro) as phenotypic indicators of cold acclimation. Our results show higher cold sensitivity in ‘tithymali’ populations, exhibiting rather opportunistic and short-termed cold hardiness, while ‘euphorbiae’ produces a phenotype of seasonal cold-hardy diapause pupae under a combined effect of short daylight length and continuous cold treatment. Further differences include the variability in duration and mortality of diapause pupae. This suggests different pre-adaptations to seasonal environmental conditions in each ecotype and may indicate a state of incipient speciation within the H. euphorbiae complex.


1999 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Bariatto ◽  
Rogerio Furlan ◽  
Koiti Arakai ◽  
Jorge J. Santiago-Aviles

Abstract Nitric oxide (NO) is known to mediate many beneficial physiology processes, motivating its detection in vivo as well as in vitro. Electrochemical detection provides the required cellular level determination of NO among several other techniques. In this work, electrochemical micro-sensors for both types of detection, in vivo and in vitro, were developed, exploring the silicon planar technology, which presents high yield and reliability and also permits batch fabrication. The developed in vitro sensor features eight detection sites (10 μm × 10 μm microelectrodes), for determination of nitric oxide spatial distribution or multi-species analysis. Different electrochemical methods were applied to provide sensor calibration and chemical reproducibility. For in vivo analysis, the designed structures have a needle shape (40 μm thick) and they were silicon micro-machined by using plasma etching or etch stop techniques. Different configurations were designed and implemented, containing a number of detection microelectrodes that vary from 2 to 10. The amperometric detection of both nitric oxide and nitride (NO2−) — a molecule that causes an interference — were investigated by using the in vitro micro-sensor configuration. The need of a cationic exchanger (Nafion) was demonstrated in order to provide selectivity to NO for low concentrations. Also, the developed sensor has a sensitivity of 500 A/M.cm2 and a detection limit of 10 μM.


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sangho Lee ◽  
Min Kyung Lee ◽  
Hyunjoon Kong ◽  
Young-sup Yoon

Various hydrogels are used to create vascular structure in vitro or to improve cell engraftment to overcome low cell survival in vivo, a main hurdle for bare cell therapy Recently we developed a modified alginate hydrogel within which microchannels are aligned to guide the direction and spatial organization of loaded cells. We investigated whether these cell constructs in which HUVECs and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) are co-loaded in this novel microchanneled hydrogel facilitate formation of vessels in vitro and in vivo, and enhance recovery of hindlimb ischemia. We crafted a modified alginate hydrogel which has microchannels, incorporates a cell adhesion peptide RGD, and was encapsulated with VEGF. We then compared vascular structure formation between the HUVEC only (2 x 105 cells) group and the HUVEC plus hMSC group. In the HUVEC+hMSC group, we mixed HUVECs and hMSCs at the ratio of 3:1. For cell tracking, we labeled HUVECs with DiO, a green fluorescence dye. After loading cells into the microchannels of the hydrogel, these constructs were cultured for seven days and were examined by confocal microscopy. In the HUVEC only group, HUVECs stands as round shaped cells without forming tubular structures within the hydrogel. However, in the HUVEC+hMSC group, HUVECs were stretched out and connected with each other, and formed vessel-like structure following pre-designed microchannels. These results suggested that hMSCs play a critical role for vessel formation by HUVECs. We next determined their in vivo effects using a mouse hindlimb ischemia model. We found that engineered HUVEC+hMSC group showed significantly higher perfusion over 4 weeks compared to the engineered HUVEC only group or bare cell (HUVEC) group. Confocal microscopic analysis of harvested tissues showed more robust vessel formation within and outside of the cell constructs and longer term cell survival in HUVEC+hMSC group compared to the other groups. In conclusion, this novel microchanneled alginate hydrogel facilitates aligned vessel formation of endothelial cells when combined with MSCs. This vessel-embedded hydrogel constructs consisting of HUVECs and MSCs contribute to perfusable vessel formation, prolong cell survival in vivo, and are effective for recovering limb ischemia.


Circulation ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohong Wang ◽  
Elizabeth Braunlin ◽  
Qingsong Hu ◽  
Joseph Lee ◽  
Qinglu Li ◽  
...  

Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) are two potent cell survival factors in response to hypoxia and oxidative stress. We have previously shown that transplantation of Sca-1 + /CD31 − cells can improve LV function in hearts with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) although the engraftment rate was low. We hypothesized that supplementation of IGF-1 and HGF at delivery of cellular therapy can enhance the beneficial effects of Sca-1 + /CD31 − cells in the injured heart by increasing engraftment rate and endogenous cardiac cell survival. Adenovirus nuclear LacZ-labeled Sca-1 + /CD31 − cells (1x10 6 ) were injected into the ischemic area after LAD ligation in BalbC mice. Recombinant mouse IGF-1+HGF (100ng) was added to the cell suspension prior to the injection. The LV function (ECHO) and in vivo myocardial bioenergetics ( 31 P-NMR spectroscopy) were assessed 4 weeks after AMI and cell transplantation. Normal mice (Normal, n=6), and 2 control groups of LAD ligation (MI, n=6), and MI plus Sca-1 + /CD31 − cell transplantation (Cell, n=6), were compared to AMI mice with Sca-1 + /CD31 − cells transplantation plus IGF-1+HGF (Cell+IGF-1+HGF, n=6). Sca-1 + /CD31 − cells formed viable grafts and improved LV contractile function (EF: Control, 53.3+/−3.2; MI, 18.9+/−3.9; Cell, 29.1+/−5.1, p<0.05) and myocardial bioenergetics (PCr/ATP: Control, 2.13+/−0.09; MI, 1.21+/−0.09; Cell, 1.72+/−0.12; p<0.01). IGF+HGF significantly further enhanced the benefits of the cell transplantation as evidenced by significantly increased EF to 38.3+/−3.1% (p<0.05), which was accompanied by a higher cell engraftment rate (p<0.05). Using the in vitro co culture of Sca-1 + /CD31 − cells with HL-1 cells labeled by Vybrant CFDA SE cell tracer kit, we observed both IGF+HGF and Sca-1 + /CD31 − cells can inhibit TNFα and hypoxia induced HL-1 cell apoptosis (Control, 7+/−1%; TNFα, 24+/−1%; IGF+HGF+TNFα, 10+/−1%; n=6, P<0.001) and caspase 3 expression. These data demonstrate that IGF-1+HGF could serve as an adjuvant to cell transplantation for myocardial restoration.


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