Search results for "Vertebra"

“ANALISI DI NUOVI MECCANISMI MOLECOLARI DELLA RISPOSTA IMMUNITARIA INNATA NEL RICCIO DI MARE PARACENTROTUS LIVIDUS”

La risposta immune contro l’invasione dei patogeni è un meccanismo fisiologico presente in tutti gli organismi viventi. Gli animali possiedono recettori che si legano a elementi estranei riconosciuti come non-self che successivamente attivano una risposta cellulare. Il meccanismo di trasduzione del segnale inizia una complessa cascata di reazioni cellulari che conduce alla produzione di molecole effettrici quali le citochine. Alla fine si ha l’eliminazione o l’inattivazione del patogeno. A questo complesso meccanismo prendono parte recettori, molecole antimicrobiche, fattori di trascrizione, ecc… Gli echinodermi rappresentano i più evoluti invertebrati che formano un ponte con i cordati pri…

Diversity of vertebrate remains from the Lower Gogolin Beds (Anisian) of southern Poland

2020

Middle Triassic (Muschelkalk) limestones and dolostones of southern Poland contain vertebrate remains, which can be used for palaeoecological and palaeogeographical analyses. The results presented concern vertebrate remains uncovered at four localities in Upper Silesia and one on Opole Silesia, a region representing the south-eastern margin of the Germanic Basin in Middle Triassic times. The most abundant remains in this assemblage are fish remains, comprising mostly actinopterygian teeth and scales. Chondrichthyan and sauropsid remains are less common. Reptilian finds include vertebrae, teeth and fragments of long bones, belonging to aquatic or semi-aquatic reptiles, such as nothosaurids, …

Low intensity vs. self-guided Internet-delivered psychotherapy for major depression: A multicenter, controlled, randomized study

2013

Abstract Background Major depression will become the second most important cause of disability in 2020. Computerized cognitive-behaviour therapy could be an efficacious and cost-effective option for its treatment. No studies on cost-effectiveness of low intensity vs self-guided psychotherapy has been carried out. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of low intensity vs self-guided psychotherapy for major depression in the Spanish health system. Methods The study is made up of 3 phases: 1.- Development of a computerized cognitive-behaviour therapy for depression tailored to Spanish health system. 2.- Multicenter controlled, randomized study: A sample (N=450 patients) with mild/mod…

Identification of a β-Dystroglycan Immunoreactive Subcompartment in Photoreceptor Terminals

2005

PURPOSE Mutations in the dystrophin-associated glycoprotein complex (DGC) cause various forms of muscular dystrophy. These diseases are characterized by progressive loss of skeletal muscle tissue and by dysfunctions in the central nervous system (CNS). The CNS deficits include an altered electroretinogram, caused by an impaired synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and their postsynaptic target cells in the outer plexiform layer (OPL). The DGC is concentrated in the OPL but its exact distribution is controversial. Therefore, the precise distribution of beta-dystroglycan, the central component of the DGC, within the OPL of the mature chick retina, was determined. METHODS Double immuno…

p27Kip1participates in the regulation of endoreplication in differentiating chick retinal ganglion cells

2015

Nuclear DNA duplication in the absence of cell division (i.e. endoreplication) leads to somatic polyploidy in eukaryotic cells. In contrast to some invertebrate neurons, whose nuclei may contain up to 200,000-fold the normal haploid DNA amount (C), polyploid neurons in higher vertebrates show only 4C DNA content. To explore the mechanism that prevents extra rounds of DNA synthesis in these latter cells we focused on the chick retina, where a population of tetraploid retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) has been described. We show that differentiating chick RGCs that express the neurotrophic receptors p75 and TrkB while lacking retinoblastoma protein, a feature of tetraploid RGCs, also express p27K…

Retinal neurodegenerative changes in the adult insulin receptor substrate-2 deficient mouse.

2014

Abstract Insulin receptor substrate-2 (Irs2) mediates peripheral insulin action and is essential for retinal health. Previous investigations have reported severe photoreceptor degeneration and abnormal visual function in Irs2-deficient mice. However, molecular changes in the Irs2 − / −  mouse retina have not been described. In this study, we examined retinal degenerative changes in neuronal and glial cells of adult (9- and 12-week old) Irs2 − / −  mice by immunohistochemistry. 9-week old Irs2 − / −  mice showed significant thinning of outer retinal layers, concomitant to Muller and microglial cell activation. Photoreceptor cells displayed different signs of degeneration, such as outer/inner…

SANS (USH1G) expression in developing and mature mammalian retina

2008

AbstractThe human Usher syndrome (USH) is the most common form of combined deaf-blindness. Usher type I (USH1), the most severe form, is characterized by profound congenital deafness, constant vestibular dysfunction and prepubertal-onset of retinitis pigmentosa. Five corresponding genes of the six USH1 genes have been cloned so far. The USH1G gene encodes the SANS (scaffold protein containing ankyrin repeats and SAM domain) protein which consists of protein motifs known to mediate protein–protein interactions. Recent studies indicated SANS function as a scaffold protein in the protein interactome related to USH.Here, we generated specific antibodies for SANS protein expression analyses. Our…

Relationships of gag-pol diversity between Ty3/Gypsy and Retroviridae LTR retroelements and the three kings hypothesis

2008

Abstract Background The origin of vertebrate retroviruses (Retroviridae) is yet to be thoroughly investigated, but due to their similarity and identical gag-pol (and env) genome structure, it is accepted that they evolve from Ty3/Gypsy LTR retroelements the retrotransposons and retroviruses of plants, fungi and animals. These 2 groups of LTR retroelements code for 3 proteins rarely studied due to the high variability – gag polyprotein, protease and GPY/F module. In relation to 3 previously proposed Retroviridae classes I, II and II, investigation of the above proteins conclusively uncovers important insights regarding the ancient history of Ty3/Gypsy and Retroviridae LTR retroelements. Resu…

Biotic recovery after the end-Triassic extinction event: Evidence from marine bivalves of the Neuquén Basin, Argentina

2017

We analyze the Late Triassic extinction and Early Jurassic recovery of bivalve faunas within marine environments in the Atuel River area of the Neuquén Basin, Argentina. Data were collected from a hundred samples with invertebrates in a well-exposed uppermost Triassic to lower Jurassic section in the Neuquén Basin (southern Mendoza Province, Argentina) and allow a high-resolution reconstruction of the local diversity dynamics. The nearly continuous presence of marine stenohaline major taxa such as cnidarians, rhynchonelliform brachiopods, echinoderms and cephalopods indicates normal salinity throughout. All bivalve species were identified, and each occurrence was recorded in meters above th…

The GTP- and Phospholipid-Binding Protein TTD14 Regulates Trafficking of the TRPL Ion Channel in Drosophila Photoreceptor Cells

2015

Recycling of signaling proteins is a common phenomenon in diverse signaling pathways. In photoreceptors of Drosophila, light absorption by rhodopsin triggers a phospholipase Cβ-mediated opening of the ion channels transient receptor potential (TRP) and TRP-like (TRPL) and generates the visual response. The signaling proteins are located in a plasma membrane compartment called rhabdomere. The major rhodopsin (Rh1) and TRP are predominantly localized in the rhabdomere in light and darkness. In contrast, TRPL translocates between the rhabdomeral plasma membrane in the dark and a storage compartment in the cell body in the light, from where it can be recycled to the plasma membrane upon subsequ…