Unique bone microanatomy reveals ancestry of subterranean specializations in mammals.

Acquiring a subterranean lifestyle entails a substantial shift for many aspects of terrestrial vertebrates' biology. Although this lifestyle is associated with multiple instances of convergent evolution, the relative success of some subterranean lineages largely remains unexplained. Here, we focus on the mammalian transitions to life underground, quantifying bone microanatomy through high-resolution X-ray tomography.

Hyena paleogenomes reveal a complex evolutionary history of cross-continental gene flow between spotted and cave hyena.

The genus (African spotted and Eurasian cave hyenas) includes several closely related extinct and extant lineages. The relationships among these lineages, however, are contentious. Through the generation of population-level paleogenomes from late Pleistocene Eurasian cave hyena and genomes from modern African spotted hyena, we reveal the cross-continental evolutionary relationships between these enigmatic hyena lineages.

Oligocene and early Miocene mammal biostratigraphy of the Valley of Lakes in Mongolia.

The Taatsiin Gol Basin in Mongolia is a key area for understanding the evolution and dispersal of Central Asian mammal faunas during the Oligocene and early Miocene. After two decades of intense fieldwork, the area is extraordinarily well sampled and taxonomically well studied, yielding a large dataset of 19,042 specimens from 60 samples. The specimens represent 176 species-level and 99 genus-level taxa comprising 135 small mammal species and 47 large mammals.

Oligocene stratigraphy across the Eocene and Miocene boundaries in the Valley of Lakes (Mongolia).

Cenozoic sediments of the Taatsiin Gol and TaatsiinTsagaan Nuur area are rich in fossils that provide unique evidence of mammal evolution in Mongolia. The strata are intercalated with basalt flows. Ar/Ar data of the basalts frame the time of sediment deposition and mammal evolution and enable a composite age chronology for the studied area.

[Osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease--two sides of the same coin?].

Background: Osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease have numerous epidemiologic changes, health economic consequences, and molecular mechanisms in common, which are highlighted in this short review.

Epidemiology And Clinical Studies: The incidence of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease is increasing in western societies, and genetic background, nutrition and psychologic factors play important roles in the pathogenesis of both diseases. The presence of a decreased bone mass or osteoporotic vertebral fractures are associated with an increased cardiovascular mortality.

Chronic hyperinsulinism induced down-regulation of insulin post-receptor signaling transduction in Hep G2 cells.

To study the regulatory effect of acute and chronic insulin treatment on insulin post-receptor signaling transduction pathway in a human hepatoma cell line (Hep G2), Hep G2 cells were incubated in the presence or absence of insulin with different concentrations in serum free media for 16 h and then stimulated with 100 nmol/L insulin for 1 min. Protein levels of insulin receptor beta-subunit (IR beta), insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) and p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) were determined in total cell lysates by Western-immunoblot. Phosphorylated proteins IR beta, IRS-1 and interaction of PI 3-kinase with IRS-1 were determined by immunoprecipitation.

Inhibition of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase gene expression by metformin in cultured hepatocytes.

Objective: To investigate the effect and mechanism of the antihyperglycemic agent metformin on the expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) gene in hepatocytes and to determine whether the effects of metformin in hepatocytes are transmitted throughout the known insulin signaling pathways.

Methods: Confluent H4IIE rat heptoma cells were cultured for 16 h with 0.1 mmol/L metformin either in absence or presence of 0.

Metformin modulates insulin post-receptor signaling transduction in chronically insulin-treated Hep G2 cells.

Aim: To study the effect of chronic insulin treatment on insulin post-receptor signaling transduction and whether the effects of metformin are transmitted throughout the cascade of insulin signaling intermediates in a human hepatoma cell line (Hep G2).

Methods: Hep G2 cells were incubated in serum free media containing either insulin 100 nmol/L or insulin 100 nmol/L plus different concentrations (0.01-10 mmol/L) of metformin for 16 h and then were stimulated with insulin 100 nmol/L for 1 min.

[Effect of metformin on gene expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase].

Objective: To investigate the effect and mechanism of antihyperglycemic agent metformin on the gene expression of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK)-a key enzyme within the regulation of gluconeogenesis in hepatocytes and to determine whether the effects of metformin on hepatocytes are transmitted throughout the known insulin signaling pathways.

Methods: Confluent H4IIE rat heptoma cells were cultured with metformin 0.1 mmol/L for 16 h and then stimulated with various agents: insulin, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), dexamethasone, signaling transduction inhibitor wortmannin and UO126.

Activation of tubular epithelial cells in diabetic nephropathy.

Previous studies have shown that renal function in type 2 diabetes correlates better with tubular changes than with glomerular pathology. Since advanced glycation end products (AGEs; AGE-albumin) and in particular carboxymethyllysine (CML) are known to play a central role in diabetic nephropathy, we studied the activation of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) in tubular epithelial cells in vivo and in vitro by AGE-albumin and CML. Urine samples from healthy control subjects (n = 50) and type 2 diabetic patients (n = 100) were collected and tested for excretion of CML and the presence of proximal tubular epithelial cells (pTECs).

[Do markers of bone metabolism reflect the presence of a high- or low-turnover state of bone metabolism?].

Background: A pathophysiological concept of osteoporosis therapy - antiresorptive treatment of high-turnover osteoporosis (e. g. bisphosphonates, raloxifen) and osteoanabolic treatment of low-turnover osteoporosis (e.