There are profound maternal effects on individual differences in defensive responses and reproductive strategies in species ranging literally from plants to insects to birds. Maternal effects commonly reflect the quality of the environment and are most likely mediated by the quality of the maternal provision (egg, propagule, etc.), which in turn determines growth rates and adult phenotype. In this paper we review data from the rat that suggest comparable forms of maternal effects on defensive responses stress, which are mediated by the effects of variations in maternal behavior on gene expression. Under conditions of environmental adversity maternal effects enhance the capacity for defensive responses in the offspring. In mammals, these effects appear to 'program' emotional, cognitive and endocrine systems towards increased sensitivity to adversity. In environments with an increased level of adversity, such effects can be considered adaptive, enhancing the probability of offspring survival to sexual maturity; the cost is that of an increased risk for multiple forms of pathology in later life.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2006.01.009 | DOI Listing |
mBio
January 2025
State Key Laboratory for Crop Stress Resistance and High-Efficiency Production, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Environmental Microbiology, College of Life Sciences, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, China.
As a universal language across the bacterial kingdom, the quorum sensing signal autoinducer-2 (AI-2) can coordinate many bacterial group behaviors. However, unknown AI-2 receptors in bacteria may be more than what has been discovered so far, and there are still many unknown functions for this signal waiting to be explored. Here, we have identified a membrane-bound histidine kinase of the pathogenic bacterium , AsrK, as a receptor that specifically detects AI-2 under low boron conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEmerg Microbes Infect
January 2025
College of Veterinary Medicine, Institute of Comparative Medicine, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China.
Phages demonstrate remarkable promise as antimicrobial agents against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. However, the emergence of phage-resistant strains poses challenges to their effective application. In this paper, we presented the isolation of a phage adaptive mutant that demonstrated enhanced and sustained antibacterial efficacy through the co-evolution of () 111-2 and phage ZX1Δint .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFR Soc Open Sci
January 2025
Department of Biodiversity Studies and Bioeducation, University of Lodz, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Banacha 1/3, Lodz 90-237, Poland.
There is a growing body of evidence that urbanization can affect body condition and immune function in wild birds, although these effects may be complex and taxa-specific. Here, we assessed the effects of urbanization on body condition (size-corrected body mass and haemoglobin concentration) and innate immune defences (haemolysis-haemagglutination assay, haptoglobin concentration and bacterial killing assay) in 136 Eurasian coots () from three urban and three non-urban populations across Poland. We also quantified the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio to control for the potential effect of physiological stress on immune defences.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFR Soc Open Sci
January 2025
Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
Biological invasions can disrupt the close and longstanding coevolved relationships between host and parasites. At the same time, the shifting selective forces acting on demography during invasion can result in rapid evolution of traits in both host and parasite. Hosts at the invasion front may reduce investment into costly immune defences and redistribute those resources to other fitness-enhancing traits.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCancer Manag Res
January 2025
School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
Background: Cancer immunotherapy is an advanced therapeutic approach that harnesses the body's immune system to target and eliminate tumor cells. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), with a history rooted in centuries of clinical practice, plays a crucial role in enhancing immune responses, alleviating cancer-related symptoms, and reducing the risks of infections and complications in cancer patients.
Methodology: This review systematically examines the current literature on TCM-based formulations in cancer immunotherapy.
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