Effect of infestation with Psoroptes cuniculi on reproduction and behavior of obese rabbit does (Oryctolagus cuniculi).

Parasites and obesity are health problems worldwide. Rabbits are production animals yielding one of the healthiest meats, also taking advantage of skin, hair, limbs and excreta. It is among the most frequent pets in some countries and widely used as animal model in research.

Effects of Infection and Obesity on Clinical Parameters, Organometry and Fat Distribution in Male Rabbits.

infection causes important economic loss in farms. It is suggested that obesity has a major impact on infection and reproduction. We addressed the impact of infection in normal and obese rabbits to evaluate its effect on parameters important in behavior and reproduction.

Influence of the interaction between cysticercosis and obesity on rabbit behavior and productive parameters.

Parasites induce behavioral changes in the host and obesity is a health problem affecting different animal species. Cysticercosis caused by Taenia pisiformis affects some behavior of rabbits and reproductive behavior of does. Rabbits do not escape from metabolic disorders, being long-live animals useful in breeding, research and companion animals.

Involvement of Melatonin in the Regulation of the Circadian System in Crayfish.

Melatonin (MEL) is an ancient molecule, broadly distributed in nature from unicellular to multicellular species. MEL is an indoleamine that acts on a wide variety of cellular targets regulating different physiological functions. This review is focused on the role played by this molecule in the regulation of the circadian rhythms in crayfish.

Circadian rhythm in melatonin release as a mechanism to reinforce the temporal organization of the circadian system in crayfish.

Melatonin (MEL) is a conserved molecule with respect to its synthesis pathway and functions. In crayfish, MEL content in eyestalks (Ey) increases at night under the photoperiod, and this indoleamine synchronizes the circadian rhythm of electroretinogram amplitude, which is expressed by retinas and controlled by the cerebroid ganglion (CG). The aim of this study was to determine whether MEL content in eyestalks and CG or circulating MEL in hemolymph (He) follows a circadian rhythm under a free-running condition; in addition, it was tested whether MEL might directly influence the spontaneous electrical activity of the CG.

Behavioral and hormonal changes associated with the infective dose in experimental taeniasis in golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus).

Introduction: It has been reported that behavioral changes relate to infection in different parasitoses. However, the relation between the extent of the behavioral changes and the magnitude of the infection has been scarcely studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between different doses of infection and the behavioral changes induced in the experimental Taenia pisiformis taeniasis in golden hamsters.

Neuroendocrine cells are present in the domestic fowl ovary.

Neuroendocrine cells are present in virtually all organs of the vertebrate body; however, it is yet uncertain whether they exist in the ovaries. Previous reports of ovarian neurons and neuron-like cells in mammals and birds might have resulted from misidentification. The aim of the present work was to determine the identity of neuron-like cells in immature ovaries of the domestic fowl.

EphB4 is developmentally and differentially regulated in blood vessels throughout the forebrain neurogenic niche in the mouse brain: Implications for vascular remodeling.

Neurogenesis is a process influenced by environmental cues that create highly specific functional niches. Recently, the role of blood vessels in the maintenance and functioning of neurogenic niches during development and in adult life has been hallmarked. In addition to their trophic support for the highly demanding neurogenic process, blood vessels regulate neuroblast differentiation and migration and define functional domains.

Biotin deficiency and biotin excess: effects on the female reproductive system.

Biotin deficiency and biotin excess have both been found to affect reproduction and cause teratogenic effects. In the reproductive tract, however, the effects of biotin have not been well established yet. We investigated the effects of varying biotin content diets on the oestrus cycle, ovarian morphology, estradiol and progesterone serum levels, and the uterine mRNA abundance of their nuclear receptors, as well as on the activity of the estradiol-degrading group of enzymes cytochrome P450 (CYP) in the liver.

Biotin deficiency in mice is associated with decreased serum availability of insulin-like growth factor-I.

Background: Biotin deficiency leads to decreased weight and nose-rump length in mice.

Aim Of The Study: The mechanisms underlying this impairment in body growth are yet unclear. Biotin restriction, however, could affect the availability of growth hormone (GH) and/or insulin like growth factor-I (IGF-I) since both hormones control body growth.

Biotin supplementation reduces plasma triacylglycerol and VLDL in type 2 diabetic patients and in nondiabetic subjects with hypertriglyceridemia.

Biotin is a water-soluble vitamin that acts as a prosthetic group of carboxylases. Besides its role as carboxylase prosthetic group, biotin regulates gene expression and has a wide repertoire of effects on systemic processes. The vitamin regulates genes that are critical in the regulation of intermediary metabolism.

Biotin deficiency blocks thymocyte maturation, accelerates thymus involution, and decreases nose-rump length in mice.

Biotin deficiency in experimental animals causes low body weight as well as several phenomena suggestive of an altered immune system. We reported previously that chronic biotin deficiency in mice decreases body weight and alters the number and proportion of lymphocyte subpopulations in the spleen. To further characterize the effects of biotin deficiency, we studied in detail the maturation of thymocytes and the status of biotin in the thymus, as well as the body length of biotin-deficient mice.

Effects of biotin on pyruvate carboxylase, acetyl-CoA carboxylase, propionyl-CoA carboxylase, and markers for glucose and lipid homeostasis in type 2 diabetic patients and nondiabetic subjects.

Background: Several studies have shown that biotin affects glucose homeostasis. Serum biotin concentrations are lower in subjects with type 2 diabetes than in control subjects. Lymphocyte propionyl-CoA carboxylase (PCC; EC 6.

Human immunodeficiency virus envelope-dependent cell-cell fusion: a quantitative fluorescence cytometric assay.

Background: In vitro fusion of transfected cells expressing the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) envelope proteins gp120/gp41, with target cells expressing CD4, and a suitable chemokine coreceptor is used widely to investigate the mechanisms of molecular recognition and membrane fusion involved in the entry of the HIV genome into cells and in syncytia formation.

Methods: We developed an assay that uses two different fluorescent lipophilic probes to single label each reacting cell population and flow cytometry to quantify the extent of cellular fusion after coculture.

Results: Fused cells are detected as double-fluorescent particles in this assay, therefore permitting measurement of their proportion in the total cell population.