From feather pecking to immunity: Immune differences between lines selected for high and low feather pecking.

Feather pecking (FP) is a serious behavioral disorder in laying hens, leading to feather damage, skin lesions, and often resulting in cannibalism. The mechanisms underlying FP are not clear yet, but recently the role of the immune system as a cause has been discussed. In humans, the interrelation between personality traits and the immune system is well-documented, with impulsivity and hyperactivity linked to distinct alterations in blood immune cell numbers and to elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Sinusoidal LED light recipes can improve rocket edible biomass and reduce electricity costs in indoor growth environments.

Accumulation of edible biomass by crop plants relies on maintenance of a high photosynthetic rates across the photoperiod, with assimilation rate () generally responding to increasing light intensity in a hyperbolic fashion. In natural environments light fluctuates greatly over the course of the day, however in Controlled Environmental Agricultural (CEA) systems, light intensity can be supplemented or precisely controlled using LEDs to create near optimum conditions. In such indoor growth environments light is often delivered as a square wave and recommendations to horticulturalists are given in the form of Daily Light Integrals (DLI).

Disturbed circadian rhythm of locomotor activity of pullets is related to feather pecking in laying hens.

Various aspects of activity, such as spontaneous activity, explorative activity, activity in open-field tests, and hyperactivity syndrome have been explored as causal factors of feather pecking in laying hens, with no clear results. In all previous studies, mean values of activity over different time intervals were used as criteria. Incidental observation of alternated oviposition time in lines selected for high (HFP) and low feather pecking (LFP), supported by a recent study which showed differentially expressed genes related to the circadian clock in the same lines, led to the hypothesis that feather pecking may be related to a disturbed diurnal activity rhythm.

Stomatal Responses to Light, CO, and Mesophyll Tissue in and .

The responses of stomatal aperture to light intensity and CO concentration were studied in both (C) and (Crassulacean acid metabolism; CAM), in material sampled from both light and dark periods. Direct comparison was made between intact leaf segments, epidermises grafted onto exposed mesophyll, and isolated epidermal peels, including transplantations between species and between diel periods. We reported the stomatal opening in response to darkness in isolated CAM peels from the light period, but not from the dark.

Immune parameters in two different laying hen strains during five production periods.

During life, the number and function of immune cells change with potential consequences for immunocompetence of an organism. In laying hens, studies have primarily focused on early development of immune competence and only few have investigated systemic and lymphatic distribution of leukocyte subsets during adolescence and the egg-laying period. The present study determined the number of various leukocyte types in blood, spleen, and cecal tonsils of 10 Lohmann Brown-Classic and 10 Lohmann LSL-Classic hens per wk of life 9/10, 15/16, 23/24, 29/30, and 59/60, encompassing important production as well as developmental stages, by flow cytometry.

Short- and long-term consequences of stocking density during rearing on the immune system and welfare of laying hens.

Already during early life, chickens need to cope with chronic stressors that can impair their health and welfare, with stocking density being one of the most influential factors. Nevertheless, there is a gap in research on the influence of stocking density on laying hens during rearing and in the subsequent laying period. This study therefore investigated how stocking density during rearing affects the immune system and welfare of pullets, and whether effects are persistent later in life.

Immunomodulatory Effects of Dietary Phosphorus and Calcium in Two Strains of Laying Hens.

Insufficient nutrient supply can impair the immune system, which is important for animal health and welfare. Since chicken can partly hydrolyze phytate, which is the primary phosphorus storage in plant seeds, a reduction of mineral phosphorus in the diets could be an option for more sustainable egg production. Laying hens require high concentrations of calcium that might inhibit the function of endogenous enzymes for phytate hydrolyzation.

Characterization of Chicken Leukocyte Subsets from Lymphatic Tissue by Flow Cytometry.

Determining the abundance of leukocyte subtypes, including lymphocyte subpopulations, not only in blood but also in lymphatic tissues, is inevitable to assess the immune status of an organism for research purposes. However, nucleated thrombocytes and erythrocytes exacerbate many hematological techniques in avian species. In order to enable a rapid discrimination of leukocyte subsets from lymphatic tissues of chicken, we adapted existing flow cytometric methods for counting leukocytes in chicken blood.

Impact of Housing Environment on the Immune System in Chickens: A Review.

During their lifespan, chickens are confronted with a wide range of acute and chronic stressors in their housing environment that may threaten their welfare and health by modulating the immune system. Especially chronic stressful conditions can exceed the individual's allostatic load, with negative consequences for immunity. A fully functional immune system is mandatory for health and welfare and, consequently, also for high productivity and safe animal products.

Activity-based profiling reveals reactivity of the murine thymoproteasome-specific subunit beta5t.

Epithelial cells of the thymus cortex express a unique proteasome particle involved in positive T cell selection. This thymoproteasome contains the recently discovered beta5t subunit that has an uncharted activity, if any. We synthesized fluorescent epoxomicin probes that were used in a chemical proteomics approach, entailing activity-based profiling, affinity purification, and LC-MS identification, to demonstrate that the beta5t subunit is catalytically active in the murine thymus.

Intraocular lymphatics in ciliary body melanomas with extraocular extension: functional for lymphatic spread?

Objective: To assess the functional significance of intraocular tumor-associated lymphatic vessels in ciliary body melanomas with extraocular extension.

Methods: Twelve consecutive patients enucleated for a malignant melanoma of the ciliary body with extraocular extension and immunohistochemical presence of intraocular LYVE-1-positive and podoplanin-positive lymphatic vessels were examined for proliferation status and tumor invasion into tumor-associated lymphatics. Proliferating lymphatic vessels were identified using LYVE-1 and podoplanin as specific lymphatic endothelial markers and Ki-67 as the proliferation marker.

Aquagenic pruritus: associated diseases and clinical pruritus characteristics.

Background: Aquagenic pruritus (AP) can be induced by systemic diseases. The distribution of underlying diseases in a representative patient collective has not been investigated. This retrospective study aimed to determine the frequency and pruritus-specific parameter of systemic diseases in a series of patients.

Intraocular tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis a novel prognostic factor for ciliary body melanomas with extraocular extension?

Purpose: To evaluate whether intraocular tumor-associated lymphangiogenesis contributes to prognosis of ciliary body melanomas with extraocular extension and to study its association with other tumor characteristics.

Design: Nonrandomized, retrospective case series.

Participants: Twenty consecutive patients enucleated for a malignant melanoma of the ciliary body with extraocular extension.

Intraocular lymphangiogenesis in malignant melanomas of the ciliary body with extraocular extension.

Purpose: To analyze whether lymphatic vessels can invade the normally alymphatic eye (lymphangiogenesis) in patients with malignant melanoma of the ciliary body with extraocular extension and to correlate these findings with metastasis-free survival.

Methods: Ten enucleated globes with the histopathologically and immunohistochemically (S-100, HMB-45, PNL-2, and Melan-A) confirmed diagnosis of malignant melanoma of the ciliary body with extraocular extension were matched with 10 globes with a ciliary body melanoma without extraocular extension regarding tumor size, cell type, melanin content, mitotic count, vascular networks, and patients' age. In all 20 cases, immunohistochemistry was performed to identify lymphatic vessels by using LYVE-1 and podoplanin as specific markers for lymphatic vascular endothelium.

Glycosylation is crucial for stability of tumour and cancer stem cell antigen EpCAM.

Epithelial cell adhesion molecule EpCAM is strongly over-expressed in a variety of carcinomas where it is involved in signalling events resulting in increased expression of target genes such as c-Myc, cyclins and others, eventually conferring cells an oncogenic phenotype. However, EpCAM is also expressed in a series of healthy epithelia, albeit generally to a far lesser extend. We have uncovered differential glycosylation of EpCAM as a means to discriminate normal from malignant tissues.

Diatom-derived carbohydrates as factors affecting bacterial community composition in estuarine sediments.

Microphytobenthic biofilms in estuaries, dominated by epipelic diatoms, are sites of high primary productivity. These diatoms exude large quantities of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) comprising polysaccharides and glycoproteins, providing a substantial pool of organic carbon available to heterotrophs within the sediment. In this study, sediment slurry microcosms were enriched with either colloidal carbohydrates or colloidal EPS (cEPS) or left unamended.

A fluorescent broad-spectrum proteasome inhibitor for labeling proteasomes in vitro and in vivo.

The proteasome is an essential evolutionary conserved protease involved in many regulatory systems. Here, we describe the synthesis and characterization of the activity-based, fluorescent, and cell-permeable inhibitor Bodipy TMR-Ahx(3)L(3)VS (MV151), which specifically targets all active subunits of the proteasome and immunoproteasome in living cells, allowing for rapid and sensitive in-gel detection. The inhibition profile of a panel of commonly used proteasome inhibitors could be readily determined by MV151 labeling.

The Carcinoma-associated Antigen EpCAM Induces Glyoxalase 1 Resulting in Enhanced Methylglyoxal Turnover.

Background: The epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) is a homophilic adhesion molecule expressed de novo on a variety of epithelial tumors. Overexpression of EpCAM results in enhanced proliferation and rapid induction of the proto-oncogene c-myc.

Materials And Methods: The novel proteomics-based fluorescence difference gel electrophoresis (DIGE technology) was used to study EpCAM effects on the proteome of human epithelial cells.

New Target Genes for Tumor-derived Soluble Factors in Primary Monocytes.

Background: Tumor cells have developed several strategies to escape the immune system. One of these strategies consists of the secretion of immunosuppressive factors like interleukin-10 or prostaglandin E2 (PGE), which impair the immune system. We have demonstrated recently that tumor-derived PGE down-regulates the expression of the integrin Mac-1 and the chemokine receptor CCR5 on primary monocytes, resulting in reduced adhesion and migration.