Search results for " Rabbit"
showing 3 items of 33 documents
Perception des molécules chimiosensorielles en mélange : impact du métabolisme périphérique
2015
The chemosensory system is highly sensitive and discriminant. To ensure these properties, rapid and effective mechanisms are necessary to eliminate chemosensory molecules reaching the perception interface. The xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes (XMEs) present in the peri-receptor space may participate to the clearance of molecules thus limiting chemosensory receptors saturation and promoting the termination of the signal. In our PhD thesis, the involvement of these enzymes in the detection of stimuli in mixture was assessed in two animal models allowing to test complementary aspects. In Drosophila melanogaster, a sensory exposure to caffeine causes a reversible alteration of the taste percepti…
Biometric characterisation and taxonomic considerations of european rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus (Linnaeus 1758) in Sicily (Italy)
2014
In Sicilian Mediterranean ecosystems the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus is a keystone species, very important for popular small game species and for ecological reasons. However, its spread across the island seems to have decreased and fragmented in recent times, but until now no accurate population management has been carried out due to the lack of ethological, ecological and taxonomic knowledge. A biometric analysis of European rabbit specimens from Sicily to widen current taxonomic knowledge was performed. In this paper, 7 body variables and 23 cranial variables of 166 and 120 individuals, respectively, were examined. Thereafter, the results were compared with biometric data from o…
Induction of body weight loss through RNAi-knockdown of APOBEC1 gene expression in transgenic rabbits
2014
In the search of new strategies to fight against obesity, we targeted a gene pathway involved in energy uptake. We have thus investigated the APOB mRNA editing protein (APOBEC1) gene pathway that is involved in fat absorption in the intestine. The APOB gene encodes two proteins, APOB100 and APOB48, via the editing of a single nucleotide in the APOB mRNA by the APOBEC1 enzyme. The APOB48 protein is mandatory for the synthesis of chylomicrons by intestinal cells to transport dietary lipids and cholesterol. We produced transgenic rabbits expressing permanently and ubiquitously a small hairpin RNA targeting the rabbit APOBEC1 mRNA. These rabbits exhibited a moderately but significantly reduced …