hemocyanin as a novel natural immunostimulant in mammals.

Introduction: Gastropod hemocyanins are potent immunostimulants in mammals, a trait associated with their large molecular size and unusual glycosylation patterns. While the hemocyanin from the marine snail keyhole limpet (KLH), has been widely studied and successfully employed as a carrier/adjuvant in several immunological applications, as well as a non-specific immunostimulant for bladder cancer treatment, few other gastropod hemocyanins have been biochemically and immunologically characterized. In this work, we investigated the immunogenic properties of the hemocyanin from (PcH), an invasive south American freshwater snail.

Phylogenetic variations in a novel family of hyperstable apple snail egg proteins: insights into structural stability and functional trends.

The relationship between protein stability and functional evolution is little explored in proteins purified from natural sources. Here, we investigated a novel family of egg proteins (Perivitellin-1, PV1) from Pomacea snails. Their remarkable stability and clade-related functions in most derived clades (Canaliculata and Bridgesii) make them excellent candidates for exploring this issue.

White Dot Syndromes: Report of Three Cases.

Introduction: The term white dot syndromes has been used to refer conditions that differ in their morphology and prognosis. We report three cases of different pathologies encompassed within the white dot syndromes.

Case Presentations: Case 1: A 26-year-old female presented with scotoma in her right eye.

Episcleritis and periorbital edema secondary to VEXAS syndrome.

VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X-linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome is a newly described autoinflammatory entity caused by a UBA-1 gene mutation. Among the most frequent symptoms it produces fever, cytopenias, polychondritis, pulmonary infiltrates and up to 40% ocular involvement such as periorbital edema, uveitis, episcleritis, scleritis and retinal vasculitis. Patients respond to high doses of corticosteroids, however, many end up being refractory to them and to the classic immunosuppressants.

Phylogenetic variations in a novel family of hyperstable apple snail egg proteins: insights into structural stability and functional trends.

The relationship between protein stability and function evolution has not been explored in proteins from natural sources. Here, we investigate the phylogenetic differences of Perivitellin-1 (PV1) a novel family of hyperstable egg carotenoproteins crucial to the reproductive success of snails, as they have evolved clade-specific protective functions. We studied PV1 (PpaPV1) from Flagellata clade eggs, the most basal of and compared it with PV1s orthologs from derived clades.

Results of the screening program for Fabry disease in patients with cornea verticillata at the University Hospital of Navarre.

Introduction: Cornea verticillata (CV) or vortex keratopathy is characterized by the presence of spiral-shaped deposits in the corneal epithelium. The most frequent causes are antimalarial drugs and amiodarone and, among systemic causes, Fabry disease (FD).

Material And Methods: A multidisciplinary, prospective, descriptive study was conducted in a tertiary reference center in Spain's Autonomous Community of Navarre after the implementation of a FD screening program for patients attended to in the Ophthalmology Department.

Egg toxic compounds in the animal kingdom. A comprehensive review.

Covering: 1951 to 2022Packed with nutrients and unable to escape, eggs are the most vulnerable stage of an animal's life cycle. Consequently, many species have evolved chemical defenses and teamed up their eggs with a vast array of toxic molecules for defense against predators, parasites, or pathogens. However, studies on egg toxins are rather scarce and the available information is scattered.

[Impact of novel coronavirus infection in patients with uveitis associated with an autoimmune disease: result of the COVID-19-GEAS patient survey].

Introduction: The objetive of these study is to know the characteristics of COVID-19 in patients with uveitis associated with Systemic Autoimmune Disease (SAD) through telematic survey.

Material And Methods: Internal Medicine Society and Group of Systemic Autoimmune disease conducted a telematic survey of patients with SAD to learn about the characteristics of COVID-19 in this population.

Results: A total of 2,789 patients answered the survey, of which 28 had a diagnosis of uveitis associated with SAE.

Impact of novel coronavirus infection in patients with uveitis associated with an autoimmune disease: Result of the COVID-19-GEAS patient survey.

Introduction: The objective of these study is to know the characteristics of COVID-19 in patients with uveitis associated with Systemic Autoimmune Disease (SAD) through telematic survey.

Material And Methods: Internal Medicine Society and Group of Systemic Autoimmune disease conducted a telematic survey of patients with SAD to learn about the characteristics of COVID-19 in this population.

Results: A total of 2,789 patients answered the survey, of which 28 had a diagnosis of uveitis associated with SAE.

Biochemical and morphological features of the uropygial gland of the Chilean Flamingo and their functional implications.

Flamingos inhabit specialized habitats and breed in large colonies, building their nests on islands that limit the access of terrestrial predators. Many aspects of their uropygial gland are still unknown. The uropygial gland, a sebaceous organ exclusive to birds, shares some histological features among species such as the presence of a capsule, adenomers with stratified epithelium and secondary and primary chambers.

A highly stable, non-digestible lectin from unveils clade-related protection systems in apple snail eggs.

The acquisition of egg protection is vital for species survival. Poisonous eggs from apple snails have defensive macromolecules for protection. Here we isolated and characterized a novel lectin called PdPV1 that is massively accumulated in the eggs of and seems part of its protective cocktail.

Exaptation of two ancient immune proteins into a new dimeric pore-forming toxin in snails.

The Membrane Attack Complex-Perforin (MACPF) family is ubiquitously found in all kingdoms. They have diverse cellular roles, however MACPFs with pore-forming toxic function in venoms and poisons are very rare in animals. Here we present the structure of PmPV2, a MACPF toxin from the poisonous apple snail eggs, that can affect the digestive and nervous systems of potential predators.

Novel Role for Animal Innate Immune Molecules: Enterotoxic Activity of a Snail Egg MACPF-Toxin.

Gastropod Molluscs rely exclusively on the innate immune system to protect from pathogens, defending their embryos through maternally transferred effectors. In this regard, snail eggs, in addition to immune defenses, have evolved the perivitellin-2 or PV2 combining two immune proteins into a neurotoxin: a lectin and a pore-forming protein from the Membrane Attack Complex/Perforin (MACPF) family. This binary structure resembles AB-toxins, a group of toxins otherwise restricted to bacteria and plants.

Hemocyanin of the caenogastropod Pomacea canaliculata exhibits evolutionary differences among gastropod clades.

Structural knowledge of gastropod hemocyanins is scarce. To better understand their evolution and diversity we studied the hemocyanin of a caenogastropod, Pomacea canaliculata (PcH). Through a proteomic and genomic approach, we identified 4 PcH subunit isoforms, in contrast with other gastropods that usually have 2 or 3.

Egg perivitelline fluid proteome of a freshwater snail: Insight into the transition from aquatic to terrestrial egg deposition.

Rationale: Proteins from the egg perivitelline fluid (PVF) are assumed to play critical roles in embryonic development, but for many groups of animals their identities remain unknown. Identifying egg PVF proteins is a critical step towards understanding their functions including their roles in evolutionary transition in habitats.

Methods: We applied proteomic and transcriptomic analysis to investigate the PVF proteome of the eggs of Pomacea diffusa, an aerial ovipositing freshwater snail in the family Ampullariidae.

Complications and visual acuity of patients with uveitis: Epidemiological study in a reference unit in northern Spain.

Objective: To describe uveitis complications and visual acuity in a cohort of 500 patients in a multidisciplinary unit in northern Spain.

Material And Methods: Retrospective-prospective study of complications and visual acuity of 500 adult patients evaluated in the Multidisciplinary Unit of the Navarra Hospital Complex from the period January 2010 until March 2015. An analysis was made of the complications, visual acuity and visual loss, with a follow-up of one-year.

Signatures of Divergence, Invasiveness, and Terrestrialization Revealed by Four Apple Snail Genomes.

The family Ampullariidae includes both aquatic and amphibious apple snails. They are an emerging model for evolutionary studies due to the high diversity, ancient history, and wide geographical distribution. Insight into drivers of ampullariid evolution is hampered, however, by the lack of genomic resources.

Understanding the transition from water to land: Insights from multi-omic analyses of the perivitelline fluid of apple snail eggs.

Unlike most of the freshwater gastropod families, the family Ampullariidae includes members that exhibit both underwater and aerial oviposition, making it an ideal model for understanding mechanisms underlying the evolutionary transition from water to land. We applied SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS to analyse the proteome of the egg perivitelline fluid (PVF) of Marisa cornuarietis - an aquatic ovipositing ampullariid. Comparison with the reported PVF proteomes of two aerial ovipositing ampullariids (Pomacea canaliculata and P.

Egg perivitelline fluid of the invasive snail affects mice gastrointestinal function and morphology.

Background: Species beloging to the genus (Ampullariidae), often referred as apple snails, are freshwater, amphibious snails native to South, Central and North America. Some species such as have become a driver of ecosystem changes in wetlands and an important rice and taro pest after its introduction to Asia and other parts of the world. Females deposit colored egg clutches above the waterline, a reproductive strategy that exposes the eggs to harsh conditions and terrestrial predation.

Biosynthesis in the Albumen Gland-Capsule Gland Complex Limits Reproductive Effort in the Invasive Apple Snail Pomacea canaliculata.

High fecundity often contributes to successful invasives. In molluscs, this may be facilitated by the albumen gland-capsule gland complex, which in gastropods secretes the egg perivitelline fluid that nourishes and protects embryos. The biochemistry of the albumen gland-capsule gland complex and its relationship with fecundity remain largely unknown.

A lectin of a non-invasive apple snail as an egg defense against predation alters the rat gut morphophysiology.

The eggs of the freshwater Pomacea apple snails develop above the water level, exposed to varied physical and biological stressors. Their high hatching success seems to be linked to their proteins or perivitellins, which surround the developing embryo providing nutrients, sunscreens and varied defenses. The defensive mechanism has been unveiled in P.

Quality Controls in Digital Mammography protocol of the EFOMP Mammo Working group.

This article aims to present the protocol on Quality Controls in Digital Mammography published online in 2015 by the European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (EFOMP) which was developed by a Task Force under the Mammo Working Group. The main objective of this protocol was to define a minimum set of easily implemented quality control tests on digital mammography systems that can be used to assure the performance of a system within a set and acceptable range. Detailed step-by-step instructions have been provided, limiting as much as possible any misinterpretations or variations by the person performing.

AmpuBase: a transcriptome database for eight species of apple snails (Gastropoda: Ampullariidae).

Background: Gastropoda, with approximately 80,000 living species, is the largest class of Mollusca. Among gastropods, apple snails (family Ampullariidae) are globally distributed in tropical and subtropical freshwater ecosystems and many species are ecologically and economically important. Ampullariids exhibit various morphological and physiological adaptations to their respective habitats, which make them ideal candidates for studying adaptation, population divergence, speciation, and larger-scale patterns of diversity, including the biogeography of native and invasive populations.

Convergent evolution of plant and animal embryo defences by hyperstable non-digestible storage proteins.

Plants have evolved sophisticated embryo defences by kinetically-stable non-digestible storage proteins that lower the nutritional value of seeds, a strategy that have not been reported in animals. To further understand antinutritive defences in animals, we analysed PmPV1, massively accumulated in the eggs of the gastropod Pomacea maculata, focusing on how its structure and structural stability features affected its capacity to withstand passage through predator guts. The native protein withstands >50 min boiling and resists the denaturing detergent sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), indicating an unusually high structural stability (i.