Preoperative breast MR imaging influences surgical management in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma.

Introduction: The purpose of the study is to assess the role of preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging on the surgical management of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) and to evaluate whether breast density and background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) influence surgical treatment.

Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 56 patients who were diagnosed with ILC between 2014 and 2020. All patients had mammogram and ultrasound.

From Molecular Mechanisms to Clinical Therapy: Understanding Sepsis-Induced Multiple Organ Dysfunction.

Sepsis-induced multiple organ dysfunction arises from the highly complex pathophysiology encompassing the interplay of inflammation, oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, mitochondrial damage, cellular energy failure, and dysbiosis. Over the past decades, numerous studies have been dedicated to elucidating the underlying molecular mechanisms of sepsis in order to develop effective treatments. Current research underscores liver and cardiac dysfunction, along with acute lung and kidney injuries, as predominant causes of mortality in sepsis patients.

Walnut supplementation increases levels of UCP1 and CD36 in brown adipose tissue independently of diet type.

Dietary interventions that modulate the brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenic activity could represent a promising therapy for metabolic disorders. In order to examine if dietary walnuts intake regulates the expression of BAT thermogenic markers levels in healthy and metabolically challenged (fructose fed) animals, rats were initially divided into the control and fructose-fed groups. After nine weeks, these groups were subdivided into the one kept on the original regimens and the other supplemented with walnuts.

Rat brown adipose tissue thermogenic markers are modulated by estrous cycle phases and short-term fasting.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) converts chemical energy into heat to maintain body temperature. Although fatty acids (FAs) represent a primary substrate for uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1)-dependent thermogenesis, BAT also utilizes glucose for the same purpose. Considering that estrous cycle effects on BAT are not greatly explored, we examined those of 6-h fasting on interscapular BAT (iBAT) thermogenic markers in proestrus and diestrus.

The Expression of Insulin in the Central Nervous System: What Have We Learned So Far?

After being discovered over a century ago, insulin was long considered to be a hormone exclusively produced by the pancreas. Insulin presence was later discovered in the brain, which was originally accounted for by its transport across the blood-brain barrier. Considering that both insulin mRNA and insulin were detected in the central nervous system (CNS), it is now known that this hormone is also synthesized in several brain regions, including the hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebral and cerebellar cortex, and olfactory bulb.

Hypothalamic insulin expression remains unaltered after short-term fasting in female rats.

Purpose: Our previous study showed that 6-h fasting increased insulin expression in the hypothalamus of male rats. We, therefore, wanted to examine if this phenomenon occurs in female rats and whether it depended on the estrus cycle phase.

Methods: Female rats in proestrus or diestrus were either exposed to 6-h fasting or had ad libitum access to food.

The Less We Eat, the Longer We Live: Can Caloric Restriction Help Us Become Centenarians?

Striving for longevity is neither a recent human desire nor a novel scientific field. The first article on this topic was published in 1838, when the average human life expectancy was approximately 40 years. Although nowadays people on average live almost as twice as long, we still (and perhaps more than ever) look for new ways to extend our lifespan.

Antioxidant defense system in the prefrontal cortex of chronically stressed rats treated with lithium.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the effects of lithium treatment on gene expression and activity of the prefrontal antioxidant enzymes: copper, zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1), manganes superoxide dismutase (SOD2), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in animals exposed to chronic restraint stress (CRS).

Methods: The investigated parameters were quantified using real-time RT-PCR, Western blot analyses, and assays of enzyme activities.

Results: We found that lithium treatment decreased gene expression of SOD2, as well as the activities of SOD1 and SOD2 in chronically stressed rats to the levels found in unstressed animals.

Calorie restriction changes the anxiety-like behaviour of ageing male Wistar rats in an onset- and duration-dependent manner.

Although initially recognized as a universally beneficial approach for the prevention of age-related impairments, the outcome of calorie restriction (CR) is now known to depend on several factors, most notably the age of the subject at the CR commencement, and CR duration. We aimed to examine if and how CR affects anxiety-like behaviour when it is introduced at middle age and late middle age. In addition, as the dopaminergic system is one of the main neurotransmitter systems involved in controlling anxiety, we examined the expression of dopamine receptors (DR, DR) in the cortex, striatum, and mesencephalon of male Wistar rats of varying ages.

Late-Onset Calorie Restriction Worsens Cognitive Performances and Increases Frailty Level in Female Wistar Rats.

The current study aims to determine the potential benefits of calorie restriction (CR), one of the most promising paradigms for life span and healthspan extension, on cognitive performances in female Wistar rats during aging. As a measure of a healthspan, we evaluated the effects of different onset and duration of CR on frailty level. Female Wistar rats were exposed to either ad libitum (AL) or CR (60% of AL daily intake) food intake during aging.

Core concepts in physiology: teaching homeostasis through pattern recognition.

Homeostasis is a core concept in systems physiology that future clinicians and biomedical professionals will apply in their careers. Despite this, many students struggle to transfer the principles governing homeostasis to concrete examples. Precourse assessments conducted on 72 undergraduate biology students enrolled in an introductory systems physiology course at the University of Belgrade during the February-May semester of 2021 revealed that students had a vague, fragmentary understanding of homeostasis and its related concepts that was often conflated with topics touched on during their previous coursework.

Short-term fasting differentially regulates PI3K/AkT/mTOR and ERK signalling in the rat hypothalamus.

It is known that insulin secreted by pancreatic β-cells enters the brain by crossing the blood-brain barrier. However, it was demonstrated that insulin expression occurs in various brain regions as well. Albeit the list of insulin actions in the brain is long and it includes control of energy homeostasis, neuronal survival, maintenance of synaptic plasticity and cognition, not much is known about the adaptive significance of insulin synthesis in brain.

Sex-Related Effects of Prenatal Stress on Region-Specific Expression of Monoamine Oxidase A and β Adrenergic Receptors in Rat Hearts.

Background: Prenatal stress may increase risk of developing cardiovascular disorders in adulthood. The cardiotoxic effects of catecholamines are mediated via prolonged adrenergic receptor stimulation and increased oxidative stress upon their degradation by monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A).

Objectives: We investigated long-term effects of prenatal stress on β (1, 2, 3) adrenergic receptors and MAO-A gene expression in the hearts of adult rat offspring.

Food For Thought: Short-Term Fasting Upregulates Glucose Transporters in Neurons and Endothelial Cells, But Not in Astrocytes.

Our group previously reported that 6-h fasting increased both insulin II mRNA expression and insulin level in rat hypothalamus. Given that insulin effects on central glucose metabolism are insufficiently understood, we wanted to examine if the centrally produced insulin affects expression and/or regional distribution of glucose transporters, and glycogen stores in the hypothalamus during short-term fasting. In addition to determining the amount of total and activated insulin receptor, glucose transporters, and glycogen, we also studied distribution of insulin receptors and glucose transporters within the hypothalamus.

Morphofunctional parameters of rat somatotrophes after acute and repeated immobilization or restraint stress.

It is well known that stress changes levels of pituitary hormones in the bloodstream and in the pituitary itself. However, almost nothing is known about the impact of stress on histological and stereological parameters of the growth hormone producing cells (somatotrophs-GH cells). The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of: acute and repeated immobilization; acute and repeated restraint on histological and morphofunctional parameters of somatotrophs in adult Wistar rats.

Learning (by) osmosis: an approach to teaching osmolarity and tonicity.

Understanding osmolarity and tonicity is one of the more challenging endeavors undertaken by students of the natural sciences. We asked students who completed a course in animal physiology to submit an essay explaining what they found most perplexing about this subject, and what in-class activities proved most useful to them. Students had difficulty distinguishing osmolarity from tonicity and determining tonicity based on the solution's composition.

Short-term fasting promotes insulin expression in rat hypothalamus.

In the hypothalamus, insulin takes on many roles involved in energy homoeostasis. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine hypothalamic insulin expression during the initial phase of the metabolic response to fasting. Hypothalamic insulin content was assessed by both radioimmunoassay and Western blot.

The Protective Effects of Probiotic Bacteria on Cadmium Toxicity in Rats.

One of the useful properties of probiotic bacteria is their capacity to bind different targets, thus eliminating them through feces. It is supposed that one of these targets could be cadmium, a widespread environmental toxicant that causes various disturbances in biological systems. This study examined the protective effects of probiotic supplementation against cadmium-induced toxicity in the rat.

Improving teaching skills: from interactive classroom to applicable knowledge.

Making the transition from more traditional to more interactive lecturing can be successfully achieved by applying numerous teaching techniques. To use lecture time in the most efficient way, a lecturer should first instruct students to acquire basic knowledge before coming to class. Various in-class activities then can be used to help students develop higher thinking skills and gain better understanding of the studied material.

Distinct vasopressin content in the hypothalamic supraoptic and paraventricular nucleus of rats exposed to low and high ambient temperature.

Both high and low ambient temperature represent thermal stressors that, among other physiological responses, induce activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and secretion of arginine-vasopressin (AVP). The exposure to heat also leads to disturbance of osmotic homeostasis. Since AVP, in addition to its well-known peripheral effects, has long been recognized as a hormone involved in the modulation of HPA axis activity, the aim of the present study was to elucidate the hypothalamic AVP amount in the acutely heat/cold exposed rats.

Fasting induced cytoplasmic Fto expression in some neurons of rat hypothalamus.

Fat mass and obesity associated protein (Fto) is a nucleic acid demethylase, with a preference for thymine or uracil, according to the recent structural data. This fact suggests that methylated single-stranded RNA, rather than DNA, may be the primary Fto substrate. Fto is abundantly expressed in all hypothalamic sites governing feeding behavior.

The effect of vasopressin 1b receptor (V1bR) blockade on HPA axis activity in rats exposed to acute heat stress.

Thermal stressors such as low and high ambient temperature elicit an abundance of neuroendocrine responses including activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and arginine vasopressin (AVP) release. The exposure to heat is a particularly interesting model for studying AVP action because this kind of stressor represents not only an unpleasant experience but also a threat to osmotic homeostasis. As AVP has long been recognized as a hormone involved in the modulation of HPA axis activity, the aim of this study was to elucidate the role of AVP in acutely heat-exposed rats using Nelivaptan, a selective vasopressin 1b receptor (V1bR) antagonist.

Time-dependent effects of starvation on serum, pituitary and hypothalamic leptin levels in rats.

Leptin is produced by white adipose tissue and other cell types and is involved in both short- and long-term appetite control. Here we studied effects of starvation on serum, pituitary and hypothalamic levels of leptin during 72 h period. Each of the starved groups was sacrificed simultaneously with the group of ad libitum fed animals.

The effect of acute heat exposure on rat pituitary corticotroph activation: the role of vasopressin.

The increased ambient temperature affects the function of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Since the correlation among vasopressin (VP), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone (CORT) responses to various stressors have been long recognized, the aim of this study was to reveal the aforementioned hormones production and morphology of the pituitary gland after exposure to acute heat. Rats were exposed to high ambient temperature (38 °C) for 20 or 60 minutes.

Distinct and combined effects of acute immobilization and chronic isolation stress on MAO activity and antioxidative protection in the heart of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The heart is an organ especially sensitive to the sympathetic overstimulation and therefore to the influence of stressors and hypertension. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of two distinct types of stressors, acute immobilization (2 h) and chronic isolation stress (21 days), as well as their combined effect on the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO), superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT) and the ascorbic acid (AA) content in the heart of normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). The results obtained show that in basal conditions heart MAO and CAT activity (p < 0.