Search results for "BODIES"
showing 10 items of 2217 documents
Biological investigation of neural circuits in the insect brain
2018
Watching insects thoughtfully one cannot but adore their behavioural capabilities. They have developed amazing reproductive, foraging and orientation strategies and at the same time they followed the evolutionary path of miniaturization and sparseness. Both features together turn them into a role model for autonomous robots. Despite their tiny brains, fruit flies (Drosophila) can orient, walk on uneven terrain, in any orientation to gravity, can fly in adverse winds, find partners, places for egg laying, food and shelter. Drosophila melanogaster is the model animal for geneticists and cutting-edge tools are being continuously developed to study the underpinnings of their behavioural capabil…
Motor-skill learning in an insect inspired neuro-computational control system
2017
In nature, insects show impressive adaptation and learning capabilities. The proposed computational model takes inspiration from specific structures of the insect brain: after proposing key hypotheses on the direct involvement of the mushroom bodies (MBs) and on their neural organization, we developed a new architecture for motor learning to be applied in insect-like walking robots. The proposed model is a nonlinear control system based on spiking neurons. MBs are modeled as a nonlinear recurrent spiking neural network (SNN) with novel characteristics, able to memorize time evolutions of key parameters of the neural motor controller, so that existing motor primitives can be improved. The ad…
Advances in the treatment of cutaneous lupus erythematosus.
2016
Lupus erythematosus (LE) is a multifactorial autoimmune disease with clinical manifestations of differing severity which may present with skin manifestations as primary sign of the disease (cutaneous lupus erythematosus, CLE) or as part of a disease spectrum (systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE). To date, no drugs are approved specifically for the treatment of CLE and only single agents have been applied in randomized controlled trials. Therefore, topical and systemic agents are used “off-label”, primarily based on open-label studies, case series, retrospective analyses, and expert opinions. In contrast, several agents, such as hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, cyclophosphamide, azathioprine,…
GW-Bodies and P-Bodies Constitute Two Separate Pools of Sequestered Non-Translating RNAs
2015
Non-translating RNAs that have undergone active translational repression are culled from the cytoplasm into P-bodies for decapping-dependent decay or for sequestration. Organisms that use microRNA-mediated RNA silencing have an additional pathway to remove RNAs from active translation. Consequently, proteins that govern microRNA-mediated silencing, such as GW182/Gw and AGO1, are often associated with the P-bodies of higher eukaryotic organisms. Due to the presence of Gw, these structures have been referred to as GW-bodies. However, several reports have indicated that GW-bodies have different dynamics to P-bodies. Here, we use live imaging to examine GW-body and P-body dynamics in the early …
Partial resistance to homologous challenge infections of the digenean Echinostoma caproni in ICR mice
2015
AbstractIn the present paper, we analyse the effect of a primary infection of ICR mice with Echinostoma caproni (Trematoda: Echinostomatidae) on the generation of resistance against homologous challenge infections. In ICR mice, E. caproni induces chronic infections concomitantly with strong responses characterized by the development of T-helper 1 (Th1)-type local immune responses with elevated levels of local interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) and inflammatory and antibody responses. Here, the effect of the response generated against a primary infection with E. caproni in the generation of resistance against subsequent homologous infections was analysed. For this purpose, ICR mice were challenged wit…
Retinal homeobox promotes cell growth, proliferation and survival of mushroom body neuroblasts in the Drosophila brain.
2016
Abstract The Drosophila mushroom bodies, centers of olfactory learning and memory in the fly ‘forebrain’, develop from a set of neural stem cells (neuroblasts) that generate a large number of Kenyon cells (KCs) during sustained cell divisions from embryonic to late pupal stage. We show that retinal homeobox ( rx ), encoding for an evolutionarily conserved transcription factor, is required for proper development of the mushroom bodies. Throughout development rx is expressed in mushroom body neuroblasts (MBNBs), their ganglion mother cells (MB-GMCs) and young KCs. In the absence of rx function, MBNBs form correctly but exhibit a reduction in cell size and mitotic activity, whereas overexpress…
An Assay to Determine Mechanisms of Rapid Autoantibody-Induced Neurotransmitter Receptor Endocytosis and Vesicular Trafficking in Autoimmune Encephal…
2019
N-Methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors (NMDARs) are among the most important excitatory neurotransmitter receptors in the human brain. Autoantibodies to the human NMDAR cause the most frequent form of autoimmune encephalitis involving autoantibody-mediated receptor cross-linking and subsequent internalization of the antibody-receptor complex. This has been deemed to represent the predominant antibody effector mechanism depleting the NMDAR from the synaptic and extra-synaptic neuronal cell membrane. To assess in detail the molecular mechanisms of autoantibody-induced NMDAR endocytosis, vesicular trafficking, and exocytosis we transiently co-expressed rat GluN1-1a-EGFP and GluN2B-ECFP alone or…
T cells mediate autoantibody-induced cutaneous inflammation and blistering in epidermolysis bullosa acquisita
2016
AbstractT cells are key players in autoimmune diseases by supporting the production of autoantibodies. However, their contribution to the effector phase of antibody-mediated autoimmune dermatoses, i.e., tissue injury and inflammation of the skin, has not been investigated. In this paper, we demonstrate that T cells amplify the development of autoantibody-induced tissue injury in a prototypical, organ-specific autoimmune disease, namely epidermolysis bullosa acquisita (EBA) – characterized and caused by autoantibodies targeting type VII collagen. Specifically, we show that immune complex (IC)-induced inflammation depends on the presence of T cells – a process facilitated by T cell receptor (…
Higher physiopathogenicity byFasciola giganticathan by the genetically closeF. hepatica: experimental long-term follow-up of biochemical markers
2016
Background: Fascioliasis is caused by Fasciola hepatica and F. gigantica. The latter, always considered secondary in human infection, nowadays appears increasingly involved in Africa and Asia. Unfortunately, little is known about its pathogenicity, mainly due to difficulties in assessing the moment a patient first becomes infected and the differential diagnosis with F. hepatica. Methods: A long-term, 24-week, experimental study comparing F. hepatica and F. giganticawas made for the first time in the same animal model host, Guirra sheep. Serum biochemical parameters of liver damage, serum electrolytes, protein metabolism, plasma proteins, carbohydrate metabolism, hepatic lipid metabolism and…
Forager age and foraging state, but not cumulative foraging activity, affect biogenic amine receptor gene expression in the honeybee mushroom bodies
2020
Foraging behavior is crucial for the development of a honeybee colony. Biogenic amines are key mediators of learning and the transition from in-hive tasks to foraging. Foragers vary considerably in their behavior, but whether and how this behavioral diversity depends on biogenic amines is not yet well understood. For example, forager age, cumulative foraging activity or foraging state may all be linked to biogenic amine signaling. Furthermore, expression levels may fluctuate depending on daytime. We tested if these intrinsic and extrinsic factors are linked to biogenic amine signaling by quantifying the expression of octopamine, dopamine and tyramine receptor genes in the mushroom bodies, i…