Mercury (De)Methylation Metabolism in Cephalopods under Different CO Scenarios.

This work quantified the accumulation efficiencies of Hg in cuttlefish, depending on both organic (MeHg) and inorganic (Hg(II)) forms, under increased CO (1600 μatm). Cuttlefish were fed with live shrimps injected with two Hg stable isotopic tracers (MeHg and Hg(II)), which allowed for the simultaneous quantification of internal Hg accumulation, Hg(II) methylation, and MeHg demethylation rates in different organs. Results showed that CO had no impact on Hg bioaccumulation and organotropism, and both Hg and CO did not influence the microbiota diversity of gut and digestive gland.

Cuttlefish color change as an emerging proxy for ecotoxicology.

Lately, behavioral ecotoxicology has flourished because of increasing standardization of analyses of endpoints like movement. However, research tends to focus on a few model species, which limits possibilities of extrapolating and predicting toxicological effects and adverse outcomes at the population and ecosystem level. In this regard, it is recommended to assess critical species-specific behavioral responses in taxa playing key roles in trophic food webs, such as cephalopods.

Bioaccumulation of inorganic and organic mercury in the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis: Influence of ocean acidification and food type.

The bioaccumulation of mercury (Hg) in marine organisms through various pathways has not yet been fully explored, particularly in cephalopods. This study utilises radiotracer techniques using the isotope Hg to investigate the toxicokinetics and the organotropism of waterborne inorganic Hg (iHg) and dietary inorganic and organic Hg (methylHg, MeHg) in juvenile common cuttlefish Sepia officinalis. The effect of two contrasting CO partial pressures in seawater (400 and 1600 μatm, equivalent to pH 8.

Ecotoxicity of Heteroaggregates of Polystyrene Nanospheres in Chironomidae and Amphibian.

Due to their various properties as polymeric materials, plastics have been produced, used and ultimately discharged into the environment. Although some studies have shown their negative impacts on the marine environment, the effects of plastics on freshwater organisms are still poorly studied, while they could be widely in contact with this pollution. The current work aimed to better elucidate the impact and the toxicity mechanisms of two kinds of commercial functionalized nanoplastics, i.

Heteroaggregates of Polystyrene Nanospheres and Organic Matter: Preparation, Characterization and Evaluation of Their Toxicity to Algae in Environmentally Relevant Conditions.

The environmental fate and behavior of nanoplastics (NPs) and their toxicity against aquatic organisms are under current investigation. In this work, relevant physicochemical characterizations were provided to analyze the ecotoxicological risk of NPs in the aquatic compartment. For this purpose, heteroaggregates of 50 nm polystyrene nanospheres and natural organic matter were prepared and characterized.

Mercury in the tissues of five cephalopods species: First data on the nervous system.

Mercury (Hg), one of the elements most toxic to biota, accumulates within organisms throughout their lifespan and biomagnifies along trophic chain. Due to their key role in marine systems, cephalopods constitute a major vector of Hg in predators. Further, they grow rapidly and display complex behaviours, which can be altered by neurotoxic Hg.

Leaf mineral content govern microbial community structure in the phyllosphere of spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia).

The plant microbiome is an important factor for plant health and productivity. While the impact of nitrogen (N) availability for plant growth and development is well established, its influence on the microbial phyllosphere community structure is unknown. We hypothesize that nitrogen impacts the growth and abundance of several microorganisms on the leaf surface.

Unusual amino acids and monofluoroacetate from Dichapetalum michelsonii (Umutambasha), a toxic plant from Rwanda.

In the course of our investigations on Umutambasha in order to identify its convulsant principles, small quantities of monofluoroacetate were observed in stem bark, leaves, and fruits of this plant newly identified as Dichapetalum michelsonii Hauman. Conclusive evidence for a monofluoroacetate presence came from its isolation from the freeze-dried extract of stem bark. Three free unusual amino acids, named N-methyl-α-alanine, N-methyl-β-alanine, and 2,7-diaminooctan-1,8-dioic acid, described for the first time in a plant, and known trigonelline were also isolated from the stem bark of D.

Impaired TCA cycle flux in mitochondria in skeletal muscle from type 2 diabetic subjects: marker or maker of the diabetic phenotype?

The diabetic phenotype is complex, requiring elucidation of key initiating defects. Recent research has shown that diabetic myotubes express a primary reduced tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux. A reduced TCA cycle flux has also been shown both in insulin resistant offspring of T2D patients and exercising T2D patients in vivo.

Cultured senescent myoblasts derived from human vastus lateralis exhibit normal mitochondrial ATP synthesis capacities with correlating concomitant ROS production while whole cell ATP production is decreased.

The free radical theory of aging says that increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction are associated with old age. In the present study we have investigated the effects of cellular senescence on muscle energetic by comparing mitochondrial content and function in cultured muscle satellite cells at early and late passage numbers. We show that cultured muscle satellite cells undergoing senescence express a reduced mitochondrial mass, decreased whole cell ATP level, normal to increased mitochondrial ATP production under ATP utilization, increased mitochondrial membrane potential and increased superoxide/mitochondrial mass and hydrogen peroxide/mitochondrial mass ratios.

Hydrogen peroxide production is not primarily increased in human myotubes established from type 2 diabetic subjects.

Context: Increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been implicated in the development of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. To date, it is unknown whether increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in skeletal muscle from patients with type 2 diabetes is primarily increased or a secondary adaptation to environmental, lifestyle, and hormonal factors.

Objective: This study investigates whether ROS production is primarily increased in isolated diabetic myotubes.

Intact primary mitochondrial function in myotubes established from women with PCOS.

Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) affects 5-8% of fertile women and is often accompanied by insulin resistance, leading to increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Skeletal muscle from insulin-resistant PCOS subjects display reduced expression of nuclear encoded genes involved in mitochondrial oxidative metabolism.

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether there was a primary mitochondrial dysfunction or difference in mitochondria content that might contribute to the in vivo detected insulin resistance.

The dynamic equilibrium between ATP synthesis and ATP consumption is lower in isolated mitochondria from myotubes established from type 2 diabetic subjects compared to lean control.

Although, most studies of human skeletal muscle in vivo have reported the co-existence of impaired insulin sensitivity and reduced expression of oxidative phosphorylation genes, there is so far no clear evidence for whether the intrinsic ATP synthesis is primarily decreased or not in the mitochondria of diabetic skeletal muscle from subjects with type 2 diabetes. ATP synthesis was measured on mitochondria isolated from cultured myotubes established from lean (11/9), obese (9/11) and subjects with type 2 diabetes (9/11) (female/male, n=20 in each group), precultured under normophysiological conditions in order to verify intrinsic impairments. To resemble dynamic equilibrium present in whole cells between ATP synthesis and utilization, ATP was measured in the presence of an ATP consuming enzyme, hexokinase, under steady state.

ATP synthesis is impaired in isolated mitochondria from myotubes established from type 2 diabetic subjects.

To date, it is unknown whether mitochondrial dysfunction in skeletal muscle from subjects with type 2 diabetes is based on primarily reduced mitochondrial mass and/or a primarily decreased mitochondrial ATP synthesis. Mitochondrial mass were determined in myotubes established from eight lean, eight obese and eight subjects with type 2 diabetes precultured under normophysiological conditions. Furthermore, mitochondria were isolated and ATP production was measured by luminescence at baseline and during acute insulin stimulation with or without concomitant ATP utilization by hexokinase.

Pyruvate carboxylase is expressed in human skeletal muscle.

Pyruvate carboxylase (PC) is a mitochondrial enzyme that catalyses the carboxylation of pyruvate to oxaloacetate thereby allowing supplementation of citric acid cycle intermediates. The presence of PC in skeletal muscle is controversial. We report here, that PC protein is easily detectable by streptavidin blot and describe the presence of considerable amounts of PC in cultured human myotubes and in human muscle tissue.

Identification of plant extracts with potential antidiabetic properties: effect on human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), adipocyte differentiation and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake.

Thiazolidinediones (TZDs) are insulin sensitizing drugs used to treat type 2 diabetes. The primary target of the TZDs is the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) gamma, a key regulator of adipogenesis and glucose homeostasis. Currently prescribed TZDs are full PPARgamma agonists, and their use is associated with several side effects.

Characterization of the neurotoxicity induced by the extract of Magnistipula butayei (Chrysobalanaceae) in rat: effects of a new natural convulsive agent.

This study was designed to document convulsant and neurotoxic properties of extracts of a tropical tree, Magnistipula butayei subsp. Montana, and to investigate the involvement of the glutamatergic system in these effects. Continuous behavioral observations and electroencephalographic (EEG) records were obtained after per os administration of an aqueous extract of Magnistipula (MBMAE) in rats.

Disrupting the melanin-concentrating hormone receptor 1 in mice leads to cognitive deficits and alterations of NMDA receptor function.

In order to investigate the physiological properties of the melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) we have generated and used mice from which the MCH receptor 1 gene was deleted (MCHR1(Neo/Neo) mice). Complementary experimental approaches were used to investigate alterations in the learning and memory processes of our transgenic model. The ability of the knockout strain to carry out the inhibitory passive avoidance test was found to be considerably impaired although no significant differences were observed in anxiety levels.

The intracellular domain of teneurin-1 interacts with MBD1 and CAP/ponsin resulting in subcellular codistribution and translocation to the nuclear matrix.

Teneurin-1 is a type II transmembrane protein expressed in neurons of the developing and adult central nervous system. To investigate the intracellular signaling of teneurin-1, we searched for proteins interacting with its intracellular domain. One of the proteins identified is the c-Cbl-associated protein CAP/ponsin, an adaptor protein containing SH3 domains.

The genetic absence epilepsy rat from Strasbourg (GAERS), a rat model of absence epilepsy: computer modeling and differential gene expression.

Purpose: We present results obtained by computer modeling of the thalamic network and differential gene expression analysis in a rat strain with absence epilepsy, the genetic absence epilepsy rat from Strasbourg (GAERS).

Methods: (a) Computer modeling used equations from the Hodgking-Huxley model with a circuit of 13 reticular thalamic (nRt) and 39 thalamocortical (TC) neurons; (b) gene-expression analysis using differential mRNA display (DD), in situ hybridization, Northern blotting, and competitive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

Results: (a) Computer modeling showed an increased network synchrony in the thalamic circuit as the value of conductance of low-voltage activated calcium channel (LVACC) is increased.

Immunocytochemical localization of ionotropic glutamate receptors subunits in the adult quail forebrain.

The excitatory amino acid glutamate is implicated in the central control of many neuroendocrine and behavioral processes. The ionotropic glutamate receptors are usually divided into the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA (kainate and AMPA) subtypes. Subunits of these receptors have been cloned in a few mammalian species.

Phylogenetic analysis of teneurin genes and comparison to the rearrangement hot spot elements of E. coli.

Teneurins are a novel family of transmembrane proteins conserved between invertebrates and vertebrates. There are two members in Drosophila, one in C. elegans and four members in mouse.

Increased expression of mRNA encoding ferritin heavy chain in brain structures of a rat model of absence epilepsy.

Differential mRNA display was carried out to find genes that are differentially regulated in the brain of a rat strain with absence epilepsy, the genetic absence epilepsy rats from Strasbourg (GAERS). Among the 32 differentially displayed cDNA fragments actually cloned and sequenced, one shows 100% identity with the rat heavy chain ferritin (H-ferritin) mRNA. Northern blot analysis confirmed the up-regulation of the H-ferritin mRNA.

Teneurin-1, a vertebrate homologue of the Drosophila pair-rule gene ten-m, is a neuronal protein with a novel type of heparin-binding domain.

The Drosophila gene ten-m is the first pair-rule gene not encoding a transcription factor, but an extracellular protein. We have characterized a highly conserved chicken homologue that we call teneurin-1. The C-terminal part harbors 26 repetitive sequence motifs termed YD-repeats.