Search results for "mamma"
showing 10 items of 890 documents
Different behavior of myeloperoxidase in two rodent amoebic liver abscess models.
2016
The protozoan Entamoeba histolytica is the etiological agent of amoebiasis, which can spread to the liver and form amoebic liver abscesses. Histological studies conducted with resistant and susceptible models of amoebic liver abscesses (ALAs) have established that neutrophils are the first cells to contact invasive amoebae at the lesion site. Myeloperoxidase is the most abundant enzyme secreted by neutrophils. It uses hydrogen peroxide secreted by the same cells to oxidize chloride ions and produce hypochlorous acid, which is the most efficient microbicidal system of neutrophils. In a previous report, our group demonstrated that myeloperoxidase presents amoebicidal activity in vitro. The ai…
Androgen-inducible gene 1 increases the ER Ca(2+) content and cell death susceptibility against oxidative stress.
2016
Androgen-induced gene 1 (AIG1) is a transmembrane protein implicated with survival (its expression level was shown to correlate with the survival of patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma) and Ca(2+) signaling (over-expression of AIG1 increased transcription mediated by the Ca(2+)-dependent nuclear factor of activated T cells). We aimed to shed light on this less-studied protein and investigated its tissue expression, genomic organization, intracellular localization and membrane topology as well as its effects on cell death susceptibility and the Ca(2+) content of the endoplasmic reticulum. Immunoblotting of mouse tissues demonstrated highest expression of AIG1 in the liver, lung …
From mammals back to birds: Host-switch of the acanthocephalan Corynosoma australe from pinnipeds to the Magellanic penguin Spheniscus magellanicus.
2017
Trophically-transmitted parasites are regularly exposed to potential new hosts through food web interactions. Successful colonization, or switching, to novel hosts, occur readily when ?donor? and ?target? hosts are phylogenetically related, whereas switching between distantly related hosts is rare and may result from stochastic factors (i.e. rare favourable mutations). This study investigates a host-switching event between a marine acanthocephalan specific to pinnipeds that is apparently able to reproduce in Magellanic penguins Spheniscus magellanicus from Brazil. Detailed analysis of morphological and morphometrical data from acanthocephalans from penguins indicates that they belong to Cor…
Limited proteolysis by acrosin affects sperm-binding and mechanical resilience of the mouse zona pellucida.
2021
Abstract The encounter of oocyte and sperm is the key event initiating embryonic development in mammals. Crucial functions of this existential interaction are determined by proteolytic enzymes, such as acrosin, carried in the sperm head acrosome, and ovastacin, stored in the oocyte cortical granules. Ovastacin is released upon fertilisation to cleave the zona pellucida, a glycoprotein matrix surrounding the oocyte. This limited proteolysis hardens the oocyte envelope, and thereby provides a definitive block against polyspermy and protects the developing embryo. On the other hand, acrosin, the renowned and most abundant acrosomal protease, has been thought to enable sperm to penetrate the oo…
Indomethacin counteracts the effects of chronic social defeat stress on emotional but not recognition memory in mice
2017
We have previously observed the impairing effects of chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) on emotional memory in mice. Given the relation between stress and inflammatory processes, we sought to study the effectiveness of the anti-inflammatory indomethacin in reversing the detrimental effects of CSDS on emotional memory in mice. The effects of CSDS and indomethacin on recognition memory were also evaluated. Male CD1 mice were randomly divided into four groups: non-stressed + saline (NS+SAL); non-stressed + indomethacin (NS+IND); stressed + saline (S+SAL); and stressed + indomethacin (S+IND). Stressed animals were exposed to a daily 10 min agonistic confrontation (CSDS) for 20 days. All subjec…
Skin and gut microbiomes of a wild mammal respond to different environmental cues
2018
Background Animal skin and gut microbiomes are important components of host fitness. However, the processes that shape the microbiomes of wildlife are poorly understood, particularly with regard to exposure to environmental contaminants. We used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to quantify how exposure to radionuclides impacts the skin and gut microbiota of a small mammal, the bank vole Myodes glareolus, inhabiting areas within and outside the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone (CEZ), Ukraine. Results Skin microbiomes of male bank voles were more diverse than females. However, the most pronounced differences in skin microbiomes occurred at a larger spatial scale, with higher alpha diversity in the skin m…
Non-neuronal acetylcholine involved in reproduction in mammals and honeybees.
2017
Bacteria and archaea synthesize acetylcholine (ACh). Thus, it can be postulated that ACh was created by nature roughly three billion years ago. Therefore, the wide expression of ACh in nature (i.e., in bacteria, archaea, unicellular organisms, plants, fungi, non-vertebrates and vertebrates and in the abundance of non-neuronal cells of mammals) is not surprising. The term non-neuronal ACh and non-neuronal cholinergic system have been introduced to describe the auto- and paracrine, that is, local regulatory actions of ACh in cells not innervated by neuronal cholinergic fibers and to communicate among themselves. In this way non-neuronal ACh binds to the nicotinic or muscarinic receptors expre…
Isoform-specific function of calpains in cell adhesion disruption: studies in postlactational mammary gland and breast cancer.
2016
Cleavage of adhesion proteins is the first step for physiological clearance of undesired cells during postlactational regression of the mammary gland, but also for cell migration in pathological states such as breast cancer. The intracellular Ca2+-dependent proteases, calpains (CAPNs), are known to cleave adhesion proteins. The isoform-specific function of CAPN1 and CAPN2 was explored and compared in two models of cell adhesion disruption: mice mammary gland during weaning-induced involution and breast cancer cell lines according to tumor subtype classification. In both models, E-cadherin, β-catenin, p-120, and talin-1 were cleaved as assessed by western blot analysis. Both CAPNs were able …
Odorant metabolizing enzymes in the peripheral olfactory process
2016
Odorant metabolizing enzymes in the peripheral olfactory process
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…