Search results for "Otus"
showing 10 items of 567 documents
Stress and immune response to bacterial LPS in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816).
2018
The immune system of the sea urchin species Paracentrotus lividus is highly complex and, as yet, poorly understood. P. lividus coelomocytes mediate immune response through phagocytosis and encapsulation of non-self particles, in addition to the production of antimicrobial molecules. Despite this understanding, details of exactly how these processes occur and the mechanisms which drive them are still in need of clarification. In this study, we show how the bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) is able to induce a stress response which increases the levels of the heat shock proteins HSP70 and HSP90 only a few hours after treatment. This study also shows that LPS treatment increases the expressi…
Mitochondria during sea urchin oogenesis.
2017
SummarySea urchin represents an ideal model for studies on fertilization and early development, but the achievement of egg competence and mitochondrial behaviour during oogenesis remain to be enlightened. Oocytes of echinoid, such as sea urchin, unlike other echinoderms and other systems, complete meiotic maturation before fertilization. Mitochondria, the powerhouse of eukaryotic cells, contain a multi-copy of the maternally inherited genome, and are involved directly at several levels in the reproductive processes, as their functional status influences the quality of oocytes and contributes to fertilization and embryogenesis. In the present paper, we report our latest data on mitochondrial…
JNK pathway and heat shock response mediate the survival of C26 colon carcinoma bearing mice fed with the mushroom Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii wit…
2021
In the last few years, there has been emerging interest in developing treatments against human diseases using natural bioactive content. Here, the powder of the edible mushroom Pleurotus eryngii var. eryngii was mixed with the normal diet of mice bearing C26 colon carcinoma. Interestingly, it was evidenced by a significant increase in the survival rate of C26 tumor-bearing mice accompanied by a significant increase in Hsp90 and Hsp27 protein levels in the tumors. These data were paralleled by a decrease in Hsp60 levels. The mushroom introduced in the diet induced the inhibition of the transcription of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-1 exerting an anti-inflammatory action. The eff…
Antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities of a polyphenol‐rich extract from Zizyphus lotus L fruit pulp play a protective role against obesity
2018
Zizyphus lotus (Zl) is used widely as a source of food and for the treatment of various ailments. Therefore, we investigated the biological activities of Zl against obesity and related disorders. Hence, male Wistar rats received either control diet, high fat diet (HFAD), or HFAD supplemented with the Zl pulp (HFADP) for 14 weeks. RAW 264.7 cells were used for the determination of antiinflammatory activities in vitro. It was observed that HFDP resulted in significantly reduced weight, blood sugar, and oxidative stress than HFAD. In addition, Zl extract co‐treatment with LPS reduced the mRNA expression of MCP‐1, pro‐inflammatory cytokines (IL‐6, TNF‐α), and increased the level of IL‐10, an an…
Autophagy as a defense strategy against stress: focus on Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos exposed to cadmium
2015
Autophagy is used by organisms as a defense strategy to face environmental stress. This mechanism has been described as one of the most important intracellular pathways responsible for the degradation and recycling of proteins and organelles. It can act as a cell survival mechanism if the cellular damage is not too extensive or as a cell death mechanism if the damage/stress is irreversible; in the latter case, it can operate as an independent pathway or together with the apoptotic one. In this review, we discuss the autophagic process activated in several aquatic organisms exposed to different types of environmental stressors, focusing on the sea urchin embryo, a suitable system recently in…
Developmental effects of the protein kinase inhibitor kenpaullone on the sea urchin embryo
2017
The selection and validation of bioactive compounds require multiple approaches, including in-depth analyses of their biological activity in a whole-animal context. We exploited the sea urchin embryo in a rapid, medium-scale range screening to test the effects of the small synthetic kinase inhibitor kenpaullone. We show that sea urchin embryos specifically respond to this molecule depending on both dose and timing of administration. Phenotypic effects of kenpaullone are not immediately visible, since this molecule affects neither the fertilization nor the spatial arrangement of blastomeres at early developmental stages. Nevertheless, kenpaullone exposure from the beginning of embryogenesis …
Induction of skeletal abnormalities and autophagy in Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos exposed to gadolinium.
2017
Abstract Gadolinium (Gd) concentration is constantly increasing in the aquatic environment, becoming an emergent environmental pollutant. We investigated the effects of Gd on Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos, focusing on skeletogenesis and autophagy. We observed a delay of biomineral deposition at 24 hours post fertilization (hpf), and a strong impairment of skeleton growth at 48 hpf, frequently displayed by an asymmetrical pattern. Skeleton growth was found partially resumed in recovery experiments. The mesodermal cells designated to biomineralization were found correctly migrated at 24 hpf, but not at 48 hpf. Western blot analysis showed an increase of the LC3-II autophagic marker…
Antimicrobial and Antibiofilm Activity of a Recombinant Fragment of β-Thymosin of Sea Urchin Paracentrotus lividus
2018
With the aim to obtain new antimicrobials against important pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we focused on antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from Echinoderms. An example of such peptides is Paracentrin 1 (SP1), a chemically synthesised peptide fragment of a sea urchin thymosin. In the present paper, we report on the biological activity of a Paracentrin 1 derivative obtained by recombination. The recombinant paracentrin RP1, in comparison to the synthetic SP1, is 22 amino acids longer and it was considerably more active against the planktonic forms of S. aureus ATCC 25923 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 15442 at concentrations of 50 µ
Gadolinium perturbs expression of skeletogenic genes, calcium uptake and larval development in phylogenetically distant sea urchin species
2018
Chelates of Gadolinium (Gd), a lanthanide metal, are employed as contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging and are released into the aquatic environment where they are an emerging contaminant. We studied the effects of environmentally relevant Gd concentrations on the development of two phylogenetically and geographically distant sea urchin species: the Mediterranean Paracentrotus lividus and the Australian Heliocidaris tuberculata. We found a general delay of embryo development at 24 h post-fertilization, and a strong inhibition of skeleton growth at 48 h. Total Gd and Ca content in the larvae showed a time- and concentration-dependent increase in Gd, in parallel with a reduction in C…
Toxicity of biomining effluents to Daphnia magna: Acute toxicity and transcriptomic biomarkers
2018
Increasing metal consumption is driving the introduction of new techniques such as biomining to exploit low grade ores. The biomining impacts notably aquatic ecosystems, yet, the applicability of ecotoxicological tests to study the complex mixture effects of mining waters is insufficiently understood. The aim of the present work was to test if transcriptomic biomarkers are suitable and sensitive for the ecotoxicity assessment of biomining affected waters. The study site had been affected by a multimetal biomine, and the studied water samples formed a concentration gradient of contamination downstream from the biomining site. Cadmium and nickel were used as positive controls in the toxicity …