scholarly journals Protandric Transcriptomes to Uncover Parts of the Crustacean Sex-Differentiation Puzzle

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Levy ◽  
Valerio Zupo ◽  
Mirko Mutalipassi ◽  
Emanuele Somma ◽  
Nadia Ruocco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Differentiation ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Young Female ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Early Developmental Stage ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Specific Expression Pattern

Hermaphrodite systems offer unique opportunities to study sexual differentiation, due to their high degree of sexual plasticity and to the fact that, unlike gonochoristic systems, the process is not confined to an early developmental stage. In protandric shrimp species, such as Hippolyte inermis and Pandalus platyceros, male differentiation is followed by transformation to femaleness during adulthood. The mechanisms controlling sexual differentiation have not been fully elucidated in crustaceans, but a key role has been attributed to the insulin-like hormone (IAG) produced by the androgenic gland (AG), a crustacean masculine endocrine organ. To uncover further transcriptomic toolkit elements affecting the sexual differentiation of H. inermis, we constructed eye and whole body RNA libraries of four representative stages during its protandric life cycle (immature, male, young female and mature female). The body libraries contained transcripts related to the reproductive system, among others, while the eye libraries contained transcripts related to the X-organ-sinus gland, a central endocrine complex that regulates crustacean reproduction. Binary pattern analysis, performed to mine for genes expressed differentially between the different life stages, yielded 19,605 and 6,175 transcripts with a specific expression pattern in the eye and body, respectively. Prominent sexually biased transcriptomic patterns were recorded for the IAG and vitellogenin genes, representing, respectively, a key factor within the masculine IAG-switch, and a precursor of the yolk protein, typical of feminine reproductive states. These patterns enabled the discovery of novel putative protein-coding transcripts exhibiting sexually biased expression in the H. inermis body and eye transcriptomes of males and females. Homologs to the above novel genes have been found in other decapod crustaceans, and a comparative study, using previously constructed transcriptomic libraries of another protandric shrimp, P. platyceros, showed similar sexually biased results, supporting the notion that such genes, mined from the H. inermis transcriptome, may be universal factors related to reproduction and sexual differentiation and their control in other crustaceans. This study thus demonstrates the potential of transcriptomic studies in protandric species to uncover unexplored layers of the complex crustacean sex-differentiation puzzle.

scholarly journals AMPK and the Need to Breathe and Feed: What’s the Matter with Oxygen?

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (10) ◽  
pp. 3518 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mark Evans ◽  
D. Grahame Hardie
Keyword(s):  
Food Choice ◽  
Oxygen Supply ◽  
The Body ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Subunit Isoforms ◽  
Specific Expression Pattern ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Amp Activated Protein Kinase ◽  
Do So

We live and to do so we must breathe and eat, so are we a combination of what we eat and breathe? Here, we will consider this question, and the role in this respect of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Emerging evidence suggests that AMPK facilitates central and peripheral reflexes that coordinate breathing and oxygen supply, and contributes to the central regulation of feeding and food choice. We propose, therefore, that oxygen supply to the body is aligned with not only the quantity we eat, but also nutrient-based diet selection, and that the cell-specific expression pattern of AMPK subunit isoforms is critical to appropriate system alignment in this respect. Currently available information on how oxygen supply may be aligned with feeding and food choice, or vice versa, through our motivation to breathe and select particular nutrients is sparse, fragmented and lacks any integrated understanding. By addressing this, we aim to provide the foundations for a clinical perspective that reveals untapped potential, by highlighting how aberrant cell-specific changes in the expression of AMPK subunit isoforms could give rise, in part, to known associations between metabolic disease, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes, sleep-disordered breathing, pulmonary hypertension and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

scholarly journals Abscopal Effect Following Radiation Therapy in Cancer Patients: A New Look from the Immunological Point of View

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Welsh ◽  
J J Bevelacqua ◽  
L Dobrzyński ◽  
S A R Mortazavi ◽  
Sh Farjadian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Distant Metastasis ◽  
Suppressive Effect ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Abscopal Effect ◽  
Cancer Treatments ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Total Body

Abscopal effect, a radiobiology term meaning “away from target”, was practically unheard of just ten years ago. This effect describes the elimination and cure of a non-treated tumor when another part of the body is irradiated. Successful treatment of cancer in patients with multiple metastatic foci has sporadically been reported. Abscopal effect after radiotherapy has been introduced as the key factor which induced an anticancer response in these metastatic lesions. Moreover, not receiving chemotherapy is reported to have a role in cancer regression after radiotherapy. Given this consideration, it can be hypothesized that standard radiotherapy doses, which usually classified as high-dose, may cause cancer cells to expose or release their sequestered antigens that had been previously masked. Furthermore, radiotherapy can decrease the suppressive effect of regulatory T cells which usually down modulate immune responses against cancers. Moreover, some data show that low dose total-body irradiation (TBI) alone (without standard localized high dose radiotherapy) may cause suppression of distant metastasis of tumor cells. Induction of a “whole body abscopal effect” can be involved in suppression of distant metastasis. Here we discuss whether cancer treatments could be more successful if immune system is boosted, not destroyed by the treatments such as chemotherapy.

scholarly journals The macrophage-expressed gene (mpeg) 1 identifies a subpopulation of B cells in the adult zebrafish

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliano Ferrero ◽  
Etienne Gomez ◽  
Sowmya Iyer ◽  
Mireia Rovira ◽  
Magali Miserocchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
B Cells ◽  
B Lymphocytes ◽  
The Body ◽  
Mononuclear Phagocytes ◽  
Lymphoid Cells ◽  
Adult Zebrafish ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Specific Expression Pattern ◽  
Conserved Gene

ABSTRACTThe mononuclear phagocytic system (MPS) consists of many cells, in particular macrophages, scattered throughout the body. However, there is increasing evidence for the heterogeneity of tissue-resident macrophages, leading to a pressing need for new tools to discriminate MPS subsets from other hematopoietic lineages. Mpeg1.1 is an evolutionary conserved gene encoding perforin-2, a pore-forming protein associated with host defense against pathogens. Zebrafish mpeg1.1:GFP and mpeg1.1:mCherry reporters were originally established to specifically label macrophages. Since, more than 100 peer-reviewed publications have made use of mpeg1.1-driven transgenics for in vivo studies, providing new insights into key aspects of macrophage ontogeny, activation and function. However, while the macrophage-specific expression pattern of the mpeg1.1 promoter has been firmly established in the zebrafish embryo, it is currently not known whether this specificity is maintained through adulthood. Here we report direct evidence that beside macrophages, a subpopulation of B-lymphocytes is marked by mpeg1.1 reporters in most adult zebrafish organs. These mpeg1.1+ lymphoid cells endogenously express mpeg1.1 and can be separated from mpeg1.1+ macrophages by virtue of their light-scatter characteristics using FACS. Remarkably, our analyses also revealed that B-lymphocytes, rather than mononuclear phagocytes, constitute the main mpeg1.1-positive population in irf8null myeloid-defective mutants, which were previously reported to recover tissue-resident macrophages in adulthood. One notable exception are skin macrophages, whose development and maintenance appear to be independent from irf8, similar to mammals. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that irf8 functions in myelopoiesis are evolutionary conserved and highlight the need for alternative macrophage-specific markers to study the MPS in adult zebrafish.SUMMARY SENTENCEMpeg1 is not a restricted macrophage marker, but also labels B cells in the adult zebrafish. Therefore, previously identified irf8-independent macrophages likely consist of B lymphocytes.Graphical Abstract

Hormonal factors in the sex differentiation of the mammalian foetus

1970 ◽  
Vol 259 (828) ◽  
pp. 119-131 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Differentiation ◽  
Normal Development ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
Animal Experiments ◽  
Hormonal Control ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sex Characteristics ◽  
The Feminine ◽  
Developmental Analysis

1 Sex differentiates under genetic control during successive periods. Classical morphological and experimental data have shown the sexual bipotentiality of the developing structures. But, as a matter of fact, several observations indicate that both sexes are not equal or equipotential as to their developmental trends and mechanisms. 2 The developmental analysis of the body sex characteristics reveals a hormonal control. In animal experiments made by the author and by others it has been observed that many structures or systems develop along the feminine type in the absence of testes during several critical developmental stages. These structures include the genital tract, the hypothalamic centres controlling the pituitary function, the nervous structures mediating sex behaviour and possibly other tissues. The ovary is unnecessary for the feminine differentiation of these structures; in males, femaleness has to be repressed and maleness imposed by the testes. 3 The problem of gonadal sex differentiation is re-evaluated; developmental aspects occurring during normal development or in the gonads of freemartins in cattle are examined. During early sexual differentiation of the gonads, testes rapidly differentiate whereas ovaries are first characterized mainly by the fact that they do not become testes. These observations can be interpreted by assuming that in males a signal imposes masculinity on the gonadal primordia which otherwise would slowly become ovaries. 4 It is hypothesized that throughout sexual differentiation in mammals, maleness has to be actively imposed on a system which will become feminine if it escapes this control.

scholarly journals The Role of Anti-Müllerian Hormone in Testis Differentiation Reveals the Significance of the TGF-β Pathway in Reptilian Sex Determination

Genetics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 213 (4) ◽  
pp. 1317-1327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingjie Zhou ◽  
Wei Sun ◽  
Han Cai ◽  
Haisheng Bao ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Determination ◽  
Messenger Rna ◽  
Sex Differentiation ◽  
Sex Reversal ◽  
Testicular Development ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Specific Expression ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
Specific Expression Pattern ◽  
Reptilian Species

Anti-Müllerian hormone (Amh, or Müllerian-inhibiting substance, Mis), a member of TGF-β superfamily, has been well documented in some vertebrates as initiator or key regulator in sexual development, and particularly in fish. However, its functional role has not yet been identified in reptiles. Here, we characterized the Amh gene in the Chinese soft-shelled turtle Pelodiscus sinensis, a typical reptilian species exhibiting ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes. The messenger RNA of Amh was initially expressed in male embryonic gonads by stage 15, preceding gonadal sex differentiation, and exhibited a male-specific expression pattern throughout embryogenesis. Moreover, Amh was rapidly upregulated during female-to-male sex reversal induced by aromatase inhibitor letrozole. Most importantly, Amh loss of function by RNA interference led to complete feminization of genetic male (ZZ) gonads, suppression of the testicular marker Sox9, and upregulation of the ovarian regulator Cyp19a1. Conversely, overexpression of Amh in ZW embryos resulted in female-to-male sex reversal, characterized by the formation of a testis structure, ectopic activation of Sox9, and a remarkable decline in Cyp19a1. Collectively, these findings provide the first solid evidence that Amh is both necessary and sufficient to drive testicular development in a reptilian species, P. sinensis, highlighting the significance of the TGF-β pathway in reptilian sex determination.

A Note Concerning Associates of the Scavenging Amphipod Orchomene Nanus (Lysianassoidea)

1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 259-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.G. Moore ◽  
Y.M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Carcinus Maenas ◽  
Parasitic Copepod ◽  
Mature Female ◽  
Young Female ◽  
Body Cavity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Brood Pouch ◽  
Infected Female ◽  
Shore Crabs ◽  
Gill Lamellae

The parasitic copepod Sphaeronella? callisomae, usually a single female, was occasionally found in the brood pouch of the amphipod Orchomene nanus. It is possible that this parasite consumes its host's eggs. Infected female hosts were significantly smaller than uninfected ones, so the copepod may retard host growth (or select young female hosts). Other associates (ciliates) were found in the body cavity and epizooitically on the host's gill lamellae.Extensive collections of Orchomene nanus (Krøyer) (Crustacea: Amphipoda) have been made year-round (April 1993 to April 1994) using funnel-traps baited with crushed shore crabs (Carcinus maenas (L.)) deployed overnight (soak time 17 h) in the shallow sublittoral (5–6 m depth) at Keppel Bight, Millport (54°45·75′N 4°54·48′W: for further details, see Moore & Wong, 1995, in press a,b).The presence of nicothoid copepods (tentatively identified by Mr M. O'Reilly, Clyde River Purification Board, as Sphaeronella? callisomae Scott; an inadequately described species, see Gotto, 1993) in the brood pouch of this amphipod were recorded routinely. At least two species of ciliates were also encountered. A sessile ciliate protozoan (?Lagenophrys sp.) occurred commonly as an epizoite of O. nanus branchiae (Figure 1A–D); and unidentified parasitic ciliates, possibly of three species, occurred in the body cavity (Figure 1E, F).The incidence of parasitization of female O. nanus with S. ?callisomae was very low (0·81%; 8/990). There was only ever a single mature female copepod per host, although instances occurred of multiple infestations with nauplii or copepodites. Two female O. nanus were recorded with a female nicothoid coexisting with the amphipod's own eggs inside the brood pouch.

A Simple and Inexpensive Clinical Whole Body Counter

1976 ◽  
Vol 15 (05) ◽  
pp. 248-253
Author(s):  
A. K. Basu ◽  
S. K. Guha ◽  
B. N. Tandon ◽  
M. M. Gupta ◽  
M. ML. Rehani
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Vitro Assay ◽  
Body Counter ◽  
Optimum Parameters ◽  
Whole Body Counter ◽  
Single Detector ◽  
Background Index ◽  
Iodide Crystal

SummaryThe conventional radioisotope scanner has been used as a whole body counter. The background index of the system is 10.9 counts per minute per ml of sodium iodide crystal. The sensitivity and derived sensitivity parameters have been evaluated and found to be suitable for clinical studies. The optimum parameters for a single detector at two positions above the lying subject have been obtained. It has been found that for the case of 131I measurement it is possible to assay a source located at any point in the body with coefficient of variation less than 5%. To add to the versatility, a fixed geometry for in-vitro counting of large samples has been obtained. The retention values obtained by the whole body counter have been found to correlate with those obtained by in-vitro assay of urine and stool after intravenous administration of 51Cr-albumin.

Visualization of Invasion into the Body and Internal Diffusion of Nanoparticles

2008 ◽  
Vol 396-398 ◽  
pp. 569-572
Author(s):  
Fumio Watari ◽  
Shigeaki Abe ◽  
I.D. Rosca ◽  
Atsuro Yokoyama ◽  
Motohiro Uo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomedical Applications ◽  
Fluorescent Microscopy ◽  
The Body ◽  
Internal Diffusion ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Body Level ◽  
Organ Level ◽  
Level 2 ◽  
Internal Body

Nanoparticles may invade directly into the internal body through the respiratory or digestive system and diffuse inside body. The behavior of nanoparticles in the internal body is also essential to comprehend for the realization of DDS. Thus it is necessary to reveal the internal dynamics for the proper treatments and biomedical applications of nanoparticles. In the present study the plural methods with different principles such as X-ray scanning analytical microscope (XSAM), MRI and Fluorescent microscopy were applied to enable the observation of the internal diffusion of micro/nanoparticles in the (1) whole body level, (2) inner organ level and (3) tissue and intracellular level. Chemical analysis was also done by ICP-AES for organs and compared with the results of XSAM mapping.

scholarly journals Making the choice between bioelectrical impedance measures for body hydration status assessment

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry M. Davydov ◽  
Andrey Boev ◽  
Stas Gorbunov
Keyword(s):  
Body Schema ◽  
Bioelectrical Impedance ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Hydration Status ◽  
Status Assessment ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Body Compartments ◽  
Fitting In

AbstractSituational or persistent body fluid deficit (i.e., de- or hypo-hydration) is considered a significant health risk factor. Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) has been suggested as an alternative to less reliable subjective and biochemical indicators of hydration status. The present study aimed to compare various BIA models in the prediction of direct measures of body compartments associated with hydration/osmolality. Fish (n = 20) was selected as a biological model for physicochemically measuring proximate body compartments associated with hydration such as water, dissolved proteins, and non-osseous minerals as the references or criterion points. Whole-body and segmental/local impedance measures were used to investigate a pool of BIA models, which were compared by Akaike Information Criterion in their ability to accurately predict the body components. Statistical models showed that ‘volumetric-based’ BIA measures obtained in parallel, such as distance2/Rp, could be the best approach in predicting percent of body moisture, proteins, and minerals in the whole-body schema. However, serially-obtained BIA measures, such as the ratio of the reactance to resistance and the resistance adjusted for distance between electrodes, were the best fitting in predicting the compartments in the segmental schema. Validity of these results should be confirmed on humans before implementation in practice.

scholarly journals Integumentary Colour Allocation in the Stork Family (Ciconiidae) Reveals Short-Range Visual Cues for Species Recognition

Birds ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-146
Author(s):  
Eduardo J. Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽  
Juan J. Negro
Keyword(s):  
Short Range ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Divergent Evolution ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Extant Species ◽  
Chromatic Spectrum ◽  
Mixed Species Flocks

The family Ciconiidae comprises 19 extant species which are highly social when nesting and foraging. All species share similar morphotypes, with long necks, a bill, and legs, and are mostly coloured in the achromatic spectrum (white, black, black, and white, or shades of grey). Storks may have, however, brightly coloured integumentary areas in, for instance, the bill, legs, or the eyes. These chromatic patches are small in surface compared with the whole body. We have analyzed the conservatism degree of colouration in 10 body areas along an all-species stork phylogeny derived from BirdTRee using Geiger models. We obtained low conservatism in frontal areas (head and neck), contrasting with a high conservatism in the rest of the body. The frontal areas tend to concentrate the chromatic spectrum whereas the rear areas, much larger in surface, are basically achromatic. These results lead us to suggest that the divergent evolution of the colouration of frontal areas is related to species recognition through visual cue assessment in the short-range, when storks form mixed-species flocks in foraging or resting areas.

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