Fluorogenic Trp(redBODIPY) cyclopeptide targeting keratin 1 for imaging of aggressive carcinomas.

Keratin 1 (KRT1) is overexpressed in squamous carcinomas and associated with aggressive pathologies in breast cancer. Herein we report the design and preparation of the first Trp-based red fluorogenic amino acid, which is synthetically accessible in a few steps and displays excellent photophysical properties, and its application in a minimally-disruptive labelling strategy to prepare a new fluorogenic cyclopeptide for imaging of KRT1+ cells in whole intact tumour tissues.

The landscape of tiered regulation of breast cancer cell metabolism.

Altered metabolism is a hallmark of cancer, but little is still known about its regulation. In this study, we measure transcriptomic, proteomic, phospho-proteomic and fluxomics data in a breast cancer cell-line (MCF7) across three different growth conditions. Integrating these multiomics data within a genome scale human metabolic model in combination with machine learning, we systematically chart the different layers of metabolic regulation in breast cancer cells, predicting which enzymes and pathways are regulated at which level.

Planarian organizers.

An organizer is defined as a group of cells that secrete specific factors and can change the fate of adjacent cells and instruct a specific pattern. Spemann and Mangold were the first to use the term, when in 1938 they discovered that the dorsal blastopore lip of a salamander embryo induced a secondary axis after transplantation. Since then, several such regions have been identified in the embryos of many animal species.

Tissue transplantation in planarians: A useful tool for molecular analysis of pattern formation.

Freshwater planarians are well known for their remarkable plasticity and regenerative capabilities. Most studies of planarian regeneration have specifically examined regeneration after transverse or longitudinal sectioning or during homeostasis in intact adults. However, tissue transplantation, first performed over a century ago, constitutes another important tool in the study of regeneration in planarians, and can be easily performed given this species' extraordinary healing capacity and its lack of a circulatory system.

A C-terminally truncated form of β-catenin acts as a novel regulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in planarians.

β-Catenin, the core element of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, is a multifunctional and evolutionarily conserved protein which performs essential roles in a variety of developmental and homeostatic processes. Despite its crucial roles, the mechanisms that control its context-specific functions in time and space remain largely unknown. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway has been extensively studied in planarians, flatworms with the ability to regenerate and remodel the whole body, providing a 'whole animal' developmental framework to approach this question.

The pioneer factor Smed-gata456-1 is required for gut cell differentiation and maintenance in planarians.

How adult stem cells differentiate into different cell types remains one of the most intriguing questions in regenerative medicine. Pioneer factors are transcription factors that can bind to and open chromatin, and are among the first elements involved in cell differentiation. We used the freshwater planarian Schmidtea mediterranea as a model system to study the role of the gata456 family of pioneer factors in gut cell differentiation during both regeneration and maintenance of the digestive system.

Construction of an Ostrea edulis database from genomic and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) obtained from Bonamia ostreae infected haemocytes: Development of an immune-enriched oligo-microarray.

The flat oyster, Ostrea edulis, is one of the main farmed oysters, not only in Europe but also in the United States and Canada. Bonamiosis due to the parasite Bonamia ostreae has been associated with high mortality episodes in this species. This parasite is an intracellular protozoan that infects haemocytes, the main cells involved in oyster defence.

The 2015 ESPEN Sir David Cuthbertson lecture: Inflammation as the driving force of muscle wasting in cancer.

Alterations in amino acid protein metabolism are a key feature of the cancer cachexia syndrome. These changes -induced by both hormonal changes (that affect insulin sensitivity) and inflammatory mediators- are present in skeletal muscle influencing both, amino acid uptake and protein synthesis. In addition, skeletal muscle protein turnover is characterized by an exacerbated rate of protein degradation, promoted by an activation of different proteolytic systems that include the ubiquitin-proteasome and the autophagic-lysosomal pathways.

The Olfactory Transcriptome and Progression of Sexual Maturation in Homing Chum Salmon Oncorhynchus keta.

Reproductive homing migration of salmonids requires accurate interaction between the reception of external olfactory cues for navigation to the spawning grounds and the regulation of sexual maturation processes. This study aimed at providing insights into the hypothesized functional link between olfactory sensing of the spawning ground and final sexual maturation. We have therefore assessed the presence and expression levels of olfactory genes by RNA sequencing (RNAseq) of the olfactory rosettes in homing chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta Walbaum from the coastal sea to 75 km upstream the rivers at the pre-spawning ground.

Luteinizing hormone induces ovulation via tumor necrosis factor α-dependent increases in prostaglandin F2α in a nonmammalian vertebrate.

Ovulation is induced by the preovulatory surge of luteinizing hormone (LH) that acts on the ovary and triggers the rupture of the preovulatory ovarian follicle by stimulating proteolysis and apoptosis in the follicle wall, causing the release of the mature oocyte. The pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) and prostaglandin (PG) F2α (PGF2α) are involved in the control of ovulation but their role mediating the pro-ovulatory actions of LH is not well established. Here we show that Lh induces PGF2α synthesis through its stimulation of Tnfα production in trout, a primitive teleost fish.

In Vivo Molecular Responses of Fast and Slow Muscle Fibers to Lipopolysaccharide in a Teleost Fish, the Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

The physiological consequences of the activation of the immune system in skeletal muscle in fish are not completely understood. To study the consequences of the activation of the immune system by bacterial pathogens on skeletal muscle function, we administered lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an active component of Gram-negative bacteria, in rainbow trout and performed transcriptomic and proteomic analyses in skeletal muscle. We examined changes in gene expression in fast and slow skeletal muscle in rainbow trout at 24 and 72 h after LPS treatment (8 mg/kg) by microarray analysis.

GLUT2-mediated glucose uptake and availability are required for embryonic brain development in zebrafish.

Glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2; gene name SLC2A2) has a key role in the regulation of glucose dynamics in organs central to metabolism. Although GLUT2 has been studied in the context of its participation in peripheral and central glucose sensing, its role in the brain is not well understood. To decipher the role of GLUT2 in brain development, we knocked down slc2a2 (glut2), the functional ortholog of human GLUT2, in zebrafish.

Long-term increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1A expression in ventromedial hypotalamus causes hyperphagia and alters the hypothalamic lipidomic profile.

Lipid metabolism in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) has emerged as a crucial pathway in the regulation of feeding and energy homeostasis. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) 1A is the rate-limiting enzyme in mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation and it has been proposed as a crucial mediator of fasting and ghrelin orexigenic signalling. However, the relationship between changes in CPT1A activity and the intracellular downstream effectors in the VMH that contribute to appetite modulation is not fully understood.

egr-4, a target of EGFR signaling, is required for the formation of the brain primordia and head regeneration in planarians.

During the regeneration of freshwater planarians, polarity and patterning programs play essential roles in determining whether a head or a tail regenerates at anterior or posterior-facing wounds. This decision is made very soon after amputation. The pivotal role of the Wnt/β-catenin and Hh signaling pathways in re-establishing anterior-posterior (AP) polarity has been well documented.

Mechanisms regulating GLUT4 transcription in skeletal muscle cells are highly conserved across vertebrates.

The glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) plays a key role in glucose uptake in insulin target tissues. This transporter has been extensively studied in many species in terms of its function, expression and cellular traffic and complex mechanisms are involved in its regulation at many different levels. However, studies investigating the transcription of the GLUT4 gene and its regulation are scarce.

Transcriptional regulation of the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) interleukin-6 gene promoter.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) has been identified and characterized from several fish species and its mRNA expression is induced by pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and cytokines in immune cells and tissues. However, the transcriptional regulation of the IL-6 gene in fish is not well understood. In the present study, we have cloned and sequenced a 1028 bp 5'-flanking DNA region from the IL-6 gene in seabream (Sparus aurata).

Luteinizing hormone stimulation of in vitro ovulation in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) involves follicle contraction and activation of proteolytic genes.

Luteinizing hormone (LH) is an essential hormone for the stimulation of the ovulatory process in vertebrates. However, little is known in fish regarding the different mechanisms induced by LH during ovulation that facilitate the rupture of the follicle wall and the subsequent expulsion of the mature oocyte. In this study, the effects of salmon LH (sLH) on in vitro ovulation were investigated in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) isolated follicles.

Deep RNA sequencing of the skeletal muscle transcriptome in swimming fish.

Deep RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed to provide an in-depth view of the transcriptome of red and white skeletal muscle of exercised and non-exercised rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with the specific objective to identify expressed genes and quantify the transcriptomic effects of swimming-induced exercise. Pubertal autumn-spawning seawater-raised female rainbow trout were rested (n = 10) or swum (n = 10) for 1176 km at 0.75 body-lengths per second in a 6,000-L swim-flume under reproductive conditions for 40 days.

Tumor necrosis factor alpha may act as an intraovarian mediator of luteinizing hormone-induced oocyte maturation in trout.

In fish, like in other vertebrates, luteinizing hormone (Lh) is an essential hormone for the completion of oocyte maturation. In salmonid fish (i.e.

Fish under exercise.

Improved knowledge on the swimming physiology of fish and its application to fisheries science and aquaculture (i.e., farming a fitter fish) is currently needed in the face of global environmental changes, high fishing pressures, increased aquaculture production as well as increased concern on fish well-being.

Molecular identification of genes involved in testicular steroid synthesis and characterization of the response to gonadotropic stimulation in the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) testis.

In male teleosts, testicular steroids are essential hormones for the regulation of spermatogenesis and their production is regulated by pituitary gonadotropins. In the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis), an economically important flatfish with semi-cystic and asynchronous spermatogenesis, the gonadotropic regulation of spermatogenesis, particularly regarding the production and regulation of testicular steroids, are not well understood. For this reason, we first cloned and characterized the response of several key genes for the production and action of testicular steroids to the in vivo administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) and, second, we investigated the transcriptomic effects of hCG in the Senegalese sole testis.