The Biology Underlying Abnormalities of Tooth Number in Humans

Peer reviewe

Suppression of allergic airway inflammation by helminth-induced regulatory T cells

Allergic diseases mediated by T helper type (Th) 2 cell immune responses are rising dramatically in most developed countries. Exaggerated Th2 cell reactivity could result, for example, from diminished exposure to Th1 cell–inducing microbial infections. Epidemiological studies, however, indicate that Th2 cell–stimulating helminth parasites may also counteract allergies, possibly by generating regulatory T cells which suppress both Th1 and Th2 arms of immunity. We therefore tested the ability of the Th2 cell–inducing gastrointestinal nematode Heligmosomoides polygyrus to influence experimentally induced airway allergy to ovalbumin and the house dust mite allergen Der p 1. Inflammatory cell infiltrates in the lung were suppressed in infected mice compared with uninfected controls. Suppression was reversed in mice treated with antibodies to CD25. Most notably, suppression was transferable with mesenteric lymph node cells (MLNC) from infected animals to uninfected sensitized mice, demonstrating that the effector phase was targeted. MLNC from infected animals contained elevated numbers of CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) T cells, higher TGF-β expression, and produced strong interleukin (IL)-10 responses to parasite antigen. However, MLNC from IL-10–deficient animals transferred suppression to sensitized hosts, indicating that IL-10 is not the primary modulator of the allergic response. Suppression was associated with CD4(+) T cells from MLNC, with the CD4(+)CD25(+) marker defining the most active population. These data support the contention that helminth infections elicit a regulatory T cell population able to down-regulate allergen induced lung pathology in vivo

Isolation of dental stem cell-enriched populations from continuously growing mouse incisors

Continuous growth of the rodent incisor is enabled by epithelial and mesenchymal stem cells (ESCs and MSCs) which unceasingly replenish enamel and dentin, respectively, that wear by persistent animal gnawing. Lineage tracing studies have provided evidence that ESCs contribute to all epithelial lineages of the tooth in vivo. Meanwhile, in the mouse incisor, MSCs continuously contribute to odontoblast lineage and tooth growth. However, in vitro manipulation of ESCs has shown little progress, mainly due to lack of appropriate protocol to successfully isolate, culture, expand, and differentiate ESCs in vitro without using the co-culture system. In this chapter we describe the isolation of the Sox2-GFP+ cell population that is highly enriched in ESCs. Isolated cells can be used for various types of analyses, including in vitro culture, single cell-related analyses, etc. Furthermore, we describe ways to obtain populations enriched in the incisor MSCs using FACS sorting of antibody-labeled cells. Easily accessible FACS sorting enables easy and relatively fast isolation of the cells labeled by the fluorescent protein. © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2019.Peer reviewe

The effect of carob (Ceratonia siliqua) bean extract on male New Zealand White rabbit semen

[EN] The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua) grows naturally in the Mediterranean region. The empiric use of carob cures for their aphrodisiac properties is very common in Turkey. Thus, the experiment was conducted to determine the effects of carob bean extracts on some reproductive parameters in male New Zealand White rabbits. During the adaptation period (stage 1), 6-8 mo old rabbits were trained in semen collection for 30 d. At the beginning of the treatment period (stage 2), rabbits were assigned randomly to 2 groups of 8 animals each. For a period of 49 d (1 spermatogenesis duration), one group was treated with a daily oral dose (10 mL) of carob extract and the other group received the corresponding volume of tap water. Semen was collected weekly. Semen samples taken at week 1 and 7 were analysed separately. At the beginning of stage 2, no differences were observed in the volume and pH of the ejaculate, sperm concentration, percentage of motility, percentage of live spermatozoa, percentage of sperm plasma membrane integrity, plasma concentration of testosterone, and seminal plasma protein levels between the control and carob extract treated animals. Similarly, at the end of stage 2, there were no differences in the volume and pH of the ejaculate, motility percentage, the percentage of live spermatozoa, percentage of sperm plasma membrane integrity, and the seminal plasma protein levels between the control and the carob extract treated animals. However, sperm concentration (P<0.05), plasma concentration of testosterone (P<0.05), and percentage of change in spermatozoa concentration (P<0.02) between groups were affected at the end of stage 2. The data suggested that the use of carob cures prepared by boiling carob fruit could have beneficial influences on sperm concentration in rabbits.Ata, A.; Yildiz-Gulay, O.; Güngör, S.; Balic, A.; Gulay, M. (2018). The effect of carob (Ceratonia siliqua) bean extract on male New Zealand White rabbit semen. World Rabbit Science. 26(3):209-215. doi:10.4995/wrs.2018.10154SWORD209215263Abd El-Ghany M.A. 2007. The relation of antioxidants and sodium nitrite on the oxidation reduction system and reproductive ability of male rats. Egypt J. Nutr., 2: 33-64.Agnes V.F., Akbarsha M.A. 2003. Spermatotoxic effect of aflatoxin B1 in the albino Mouse. Food. Chem. Tox., 41: 119-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0278-6915(02)00171-0Amico F.P., Source E.G. 1997. Medical plants and phytotheraphy in Mussomeli area (Caltenisseta, Scily, Italy). Fitoterapia, 68: 143-159.Ata A., Hatipoglu F.S., Yildiz-Gulay O., Gulay M.S. 2007. Protective role of ascorbic acid on subacute sperm toxicity in male New Zealand White Rabbits treated with endosulfan. Drug Chem. Toxicol., 30: 181-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/01480540701374896Ayaz F.A., Torun H., Ayaz S., Correia P.J., Alaiz M., Sanz C., Gruz J., Strand M. 2007. Determination of chemical composition of Anatolian carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua L.), Sugars, amino and organic acids, minerals and phenolic compounds. J. Food Quality, 30: 1040-1055. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-4557.2007.00176.xFeng P., Li TL., Guan Z.X., Franklin R.B., Costello L.C. 2002. Direct effect of zinc on mitochondrial apoptogenesis in prostate cells. Prostate, 52: 311-318. https://doi.org/10.1002/pros.10128Hala M.A.W. 2011. Protective effect of Nigella sativa, linseed and celery oil against testicular toxicity induced by sodium valproate in male rats. J. Am. Sci., 7: 687-693.Inouce M., Suzuki R., Koide T., Sakaguchi N., Ogihera Y., Yabu Y. 1994. Antioxidant, gallic acid, induces apaptosis in HL- 60RG cells. Biochem. Res. Commun., 204: 898-904. https://doi.org/10.1006/bbrc.1994.2544Karkacier M., Artik N. 1995. Determination of physical properties, chemical composition and extraction conditions of carob bean (Ceratonia siliqua L.). Gida, 20: 131-136.Katsiya G.V., Todua T.N., Gorlushkin V.M., Chirkov A.M., Goncharov N.P. 1989. Effect of immobilization stress on the gonadotropic function of the hypophysis in male hamadryas baboons (Papio hamadryas). Biol. Medit., 107: 231-234.Marakis S. 1996. Carob bean in food and feed: current status and future potentials: a critical appraisal. J. Food Sci. Technol., 33: 365-383.Merzouki A., Ed-Derfoufi F., El Allau A., Molero-Mesas J. 1997. Wild medicinal plants used by local Bouhmed population (Morocco). Fitoterapia, 68: 444-460.Rickard I.J., Holopainen J., Helama S., Helle S., Russell A.F., Lummaa V. 2010. Food availability at birth limited reproductive success in historical humans. Ecology, 91: 3515-3525. https://doi.org/10.1890/10-0019.1Robbins W.A., Xun L., FitzGerald L.Z., Esguerra S., Henning S.M., Carpenter C.L. 2012. Walnuts Improve Semen Quality in Men Consuming a Western-Style Diet: Randomized Control Dietary Intervention Trial. Biol. Reprod., 87: 101-108. https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.112.101634Osaretin A.T., Gabriel A.A. 2008. Effect of zinc deficiency on memory, oxidative stress and blood chemistry in rats. Adv. Med. Dent. Sci., 2: 74-82.Saracoglu A.I. 2011. Şifa Kitabı, 1st ed. Haygrup Publishers, Istanbul, Turkey.Takeda A., Tamano H., Tochigi M. 2005. Zinc homeostasis in the hypocampus of zinc deficient young adult rats. J. Neurochem. Int., 46: 221-225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2004.10.003Tokeshi I., Yoshimoto T., Muto N., Nakamura S., Ashizawa K., Nakada T., Tatemoto H. 2007. Antihyaluronidase action of ellagic acid effectively prevents polyspermy as a result of suppression of the acrosome reaction induced by sperm-zona interaction during in vitro fertilization of porcine oocytes. J. Reprod. Develop., 53: 755-764. https://doi.org/10.1262/jrd.18173Turk G., Sonmez M., Aydin M., Yuce A., Gur S., Yuksel M., Aksu E.H., Aksoy H. 2008. Effects of pomegranate juice consumption on sperm quality, spermatogenic cell density, antioxidant activity and testosterone level in male rats. Clin. Nutr., 27: 289-296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2007.12.006Würsch P. 1979. Influence of tannin-rich carob pod fiber on the cholesterol metabolism in the rat. J. Nutr., 109: 685-692. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/109.4.685Zago M.P., Oteiza P.I. 2001. The antioxidant properties of zinc: interactions with iron and antioxidants. Free Rad. Biol. Med., 31: 266-274. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0891-5849(01)00583-

An energy budget for the subtidal bivalve Modiolus barbatus (Mollusca) at different temperatures

Clearance rates, respiration rates and food absorption efficiencies of the commercially interesting subtidal bivalve Modiolus barbatus were measured at different temperatures under laboratory conditions and scope for growth calculated. Clearance rates were highest at temperatures from 20°C to 28°C, whereas respiration rate was maximal at 9°C and minimal at 26°C. Highest mean values of absorbed energy occurred at 20°C and 26°C. Scope for growth trend had negative values at 9°C, 15°C and 28°C and positive values at temperatures 20°C and 26°C. The profitable thermal window for M. barbatus to have energy sufficient for growth and reproduction corresponded to <5 months per year. Seawater temperature increases will potentially impact the ecophysiological responses of subtidal M. barbatus causing life history traits to change with important repercussions for subtidal biodiversity in the Mediterranea

Dataset of measured and commented pantograph electric arcs in DC railways

DC railways are characterized by particularly intense arcing caused by pantograph detachment, due to the large current intensity and the general implementation of onboard resonant filters, whose transient response is triggered by electric transients including electric arcs. Electric arc depends on the train speed (the relative speed between the sliding contact over the pantograph and the hot spot on the catenary system), the intensity of the collected pantograph current and the line voltage level. Electric arcs are broadband in nature and can trigger the system transient response dominated by the resonant filter, besides interfering with the operation of onboard equipment (such as for energy conversion and metering)

Extracellular matrix remodelling in dental pulp tissue of carious human teeth through the prism of single-cell RNA sequencing

Carious lesions are bacteria-caused destructions of the mineralised dental tissues, marked by the simultaneous activation of immune responses and regenerative events within the soft dental pulp tissue. While major molecular players in tooth decay have been uncovered during the past years, a detailed map of the molecular and cellular landscape of the diseased pulp is still missing. In this study we used single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, supplemented with immunostaining, to generate a comprehensive single-cell atlas of the pulp of carious human teeth. Our data demonstrated modifications in the various cell clusters within the pulp of carious teeth, such as immune cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and fibroblasts, when compared to the pulp of healthy human teeth. Active immune response in the carious pulp tissue is accompanied by specific changes in the fibroblast and MSC clusters. These changes include the upregulation of genes encoding extracellular matrix (ECM) components, including COL1A1 and Fibronectin (FN1), and the enrichment of the fibroblast cluster with myofibroblasts. The incremental changes in the ECM composition of carious pulp tissues were further confirmed by immunostaining analyses. Assessment of the Fibronectin fibres under mechanical strain conditions showed a significant tension reduction in carious pulp tissues, compared to the healthy ones. The present data demonstrate molecular, cellular and biomechanical alterations in the pulp of human carious teeth, indicative of extensive ECM remodelling, reminiscent of fibrosis observed in other organs. This comprehensive atlas of carious human teeth can facilitate future studies of dental pathologies and enable comparative analyses across diseased organs

Predicting Neutron Production from Cosmic-ray Muons

Fast neutrons from cosmic-ray muons are an important background to underground low energy experiments. The estimate of such background is often hampered by the difficulty of measuring and calculating neutron production with sufficient accuracy. Indeed substantial disagreement exists between the different analytical calculations performed so far, while data reported by different experiments is not always consistent. We discuss a new unified approach to estimate the neutron yield, the energy spectrum, the multiplicity and the angular distribution from cosmic muons using the Monte Carlo simulation package FLUKA and show that it gives a good description of most of the existing measurements once the appropriate corrections have been applied.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Switching of light with light using cold atoms inside a hollow optical fiber

We demonstrate a fiber-optical switch that operates with a few hundred photons per switching pulse. The light-light interaction is mediated by laser-cooled atoms. The required strong interaction between atoms and light is achieved by simultaneously confining photons and atoms inside the microscopic hollow core of a single-mode photonic-crystal fiber