A Multiplex Molecular Cell-Based Sensor to Detect Ligands of PPARs: An Optimized Tool for Drug Discovery in Cyanobacteria.

Cyanobacteria produce a wealth of secondary metabolites. Since these organisms attach fatty acids into molecules in unprecedented ways, cyanobacteria can serve as a novel source for bioactive compounds acting as ligands for Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPAR). PPARs (PPARα, PPARβ/δ and PPARγ) are ligand-activated nuclear receptors, involved in the regulation of various metabolic and cellular processes, thus serving as potential drug targets for a variety of pathologies.

Antifouling Marine Coatings with a Potentially Safer and Sustainable Synthetic Polyphenolic Derivative.

The development of harmless substances to replace biocide-based coatings used to prevent or manage marine biofouling and its unwanted consequences is urgent. The formation of biofilms on submerged marine surfaces is one of the first steps in the marine biofouling process, which facilitates the further settlement of macrofoulers. Anti-biofilm properties of a synthetic polyphenolic compound, with previously described anti-settlement activity against macrofoulers, were explored in this work.

The Preservation of Genome Duplicates in Some Teleost Lineages: Insights into Lipid Metabolism and Xenobiotic Exploitation.

Three peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor paralogues (, and ) are currently recognized in vertebrate genomes. PPARγ is known to modulate nutrition, adipogenesis and immunity in vertebrates. Natural ligands of PPARγ have been proposed; however, the receptor also binds synthetic ligands such as endocrine disruptors.

An ancestral nuclear receptor couple, PPAR-RXR, is exploited by organotins.

Environmental chemicals have been reported to greatly disturb the endocrine and metabolic systems of multiple animal species. A recent example involves the exploitation of the nuclear receptor (NR) heterodimeric pair composed by PPAR/RXR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor/retinoid X receptor), which shows lipid perturbation in mammalian species. While gene orthologues of both of these receptors have been described outside vertebrates, no functional characterization of PPAR has been carried in protostome lineages.

The Echinodermata PPAR: Functional characterization and exploitation by the model lipid homeostasis regulator tributyltin.

The wide ecological relevance of lipid homeostasis modulators in the environment has been increasingly acknowledged. Tributyltin (TBT), for instance, was shown to cause lipid modulation, not only in mammals, but also in fish, molluscs, arthropods and rotifers. In vertebrates, TBT is known to interact with a nuclear receptor heterodimer module, formed by the retinoid X receptor (RXR) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR).

Evolutionary Exploitation of Vertebrate Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ by Organotins.

Globally persistent man-made chemicals display ever-growing ecosystemic consequences, a hallmark of the Anthropocene epoch. In this context, the assessment of how lineage-specific gene repertoires influence organism sensitivity toward endocrine disruptors is a central question in toxicology. A striking example highlights the role of a group of compounds known as obesogens.

Cloning and functional characterization of a retinoid X receptor orthologue in Platynereis dumerilii: An evolutionary and toxicological perspective.

In the present work we provide the first isolation and functional characterization of a RXR orthologue in an annelid species, the Platynereis dumerilii. Using an in vitro luciferase reporter assay we evaluated the annelid receptor ability to respond to ligand 9-cis-retinoic acid, TBT and TPT. Our results show that the annelid RXR responds to 9-cis-retinoic acid and to the organotins by activating reporter gene transcription.

Genes belonging to the insulin and ecdysone signaling pathways can contribute to developmental time, lifespan and abdominal size variation in Drosophila americana.

Even within a single genus, such as Drosophila, cases of lineage-specific adaptive evolution have been found. Therefore, the molecular basis of phenotypic variation must be addressed in more than one species group, in order to infer general patterns. In this work, we used D.