Brain neurotransmitters and hippocampal proteome in pigs under stress and environmental enrichment

Stress and wellbeing are psychological conditions that are mediated by the central nervous system. In the brain, stress is mediated mainly by the hypothalamus, which will activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to the secretion of cortisol, the paradigmatic stress hormone. Other brain areas as the amygdala, the hippocampus or the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are involved in emotions such as happiness, anxiety and fear. Communication between brain areas is achieved by chemical neurotransmitters (NTs), which are secreted by presynaptic neurons to reach postsynaptic neurons, where they will cause a variation in membrane polarization and other cell signaling actions, leading to physiological responses. Amongst these NTs, catecholamines (noradrenaline and dopamine) and serotonin play an important role. On the other hand, the adverse effects of stress may be counteracted by housing the individuals under environmental enrichment conditions. This long-term situation should have an effect, not only on NTs, but also on the brain proteome.Under the hypothesis that different stress situations will lead to changes in NT composition that will be specific for crucial brain areas, we have tested the effects of transport stress, handling stress at the slaughterhouse, and the stress-susceptible genotype (Ryr1) on the amine NT concentration in amygdala, hippocampus, PFC and hypothalamus of pigs.The effects of living under environmentally enriched or control conditions on the NT concentration in several brain regions and on the hippocampus proteome has been also analyzed.In conclusion, genetic factors as well as management conditions related to housing, transport and slaughterhouse alter in different degree the catecholaminergic and the serotoninergic neurotransmission in the brain, and give clues about how different individual types are able to react to external challenges. Likewise, environmental enrichment leads to changes in the proteome especially related to protein translation in the hippocampus

Acute phase proteins in cattle and swine : A review

Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UABThe major acute phase proteins (APPs) in cattle are haptoglobin (Hp) and serum amyloid A (SAA), and in swine, are Hp, SAA, C-reactive protein (CRP), and Pig major acute phase protein (Pig-MAP). Many methodologic assays are presently available to measure these parameters, which are still being improved to increase their specificity, sensitivity, user-friendliness, and economic availability. In cattle, the main applications are the diagnosis and monitoring of frequent diseases such as mastitis and metritis in dairy cows and respiratory problems in young calves. In pigs, APPs are useful in the control of bacterial and viral infections, and they may be used at the slaughterhouse to monitor subclinical pathologies and improve food safety. The utility of APP in animal production must not be forgotten; optimization of protocols to improve performance, welfare, and nutrition may benefit from the use of APPs. Other sample types besides serum or plasma have potential uses; APP determination in milk is a powerful tool in the control of mastitis, saliva is a non-invasive sample type, and meat juice is easily obtained at the slaughterhouse. Increasing our knowledge of reference intervals and the influence of variables such as age, breed, sex, and the season is important. Finally, worldwide harmonization and standardization of analytical procedures will help to expand the use of APPs

Programa d'intervenció d'educació emocional i social per a l'etapa infantil: l'educació de la consciència emocional i l'autoestima

Curs 2012-2013L’objectiu d’aquest treball és comprovar si l’aplicació d’un programa d’educació emocional i social millora el benestar emocional i social dels infants d’Educació Infantil. Per tal d’assolir aquest objectiu, primerament es va triar una mostra de 4 infants per realitzar el test PAI (Precepció de l’Autoconcepte Infantil) i així, mesurar el seu nivell d’autoestima. Després es va aplicar el programa d’educació emocional i social a l’aula, treballant la consciència emocional i l’autoestima. Seguidament es va tornar a realitzar el test PAI per poder observar i mesurar els canvis en el percentil dels mateixos 4 infants. S’han observat unes millores en el nivell d’autoestima dels nens i nenes de l’aula; s’ha adquirit una bona consciència emocional i s’han anat desenvolupant habilitats socioemocionals i, per tant, ha millorat el clima de l’aula. El treball de l’educació emocional i social a les aules és necessari per millorar el benestar emocional i social dels infants i així, ajudar en seu desenvolupament integral.The aim of this study is evaluate if a program of social and emotional education application improves social and emotional wellbeing in children in Early Childhood Education. To reach this aim, first of all, a 4 subject sample was taken in order to realize the “PAI” test, so that their self-esteem level could be measured. Later, an emotional and social educational program was applied in class, by working out children’s emotional awareness and self-esteem. Then, the test was realized again to observe and measure the changes in the same 4 subject percentile. It has been observed that self-esteem levels of class’ children have improved; a good emotional awareness has been acquired; socioemotional skills have been developing throughout the program; so class’ ambient has grown better. The emotional and social education working in schools is needed to improve children’s emotional and social wellness, and so help in their global development

Noves eines per a la detecció de disruptors lipídics i obesògens ambientals

[cat] La lipidòmica és una de les ciències òmiques més recents, que s’ha aplicat amb èxit en estudis mèdics per el descobriment de biomarcadors i d’alteracions en vies metabòliques associades a malalties. La seva aplicació en ciències ambientals està adquirint rellevància a causa de l’important paper dels lípids en el desenvolupament, creixement i reproducció dels metazous. A nivell cel·lular, els lípids estan implicats en l’emmagatzematge d’energia, la senyalització i presenten funcions estructurals. Els organismes contenen milers d'espècies de lípids diferents amb estructures bastant semblants. Els darrers avenços en l’espectrometria de masses han impulsat el camp de la lipidòmica, permetent una millor anotació de les espècies lipídiques de diferents matrius biològiques (cèl·lules, biofluids, teixits), però també la detecció d’alteracions com a resposta a l’exposició a contaminació química. En el marc d'aquesta tesi, s'han utilitzat tres tècniques analítiques diferents basades en espectrometria de masses d'alta resolució per a la caracterització del perfil lipídic de diferents models biològics. El primer mètode, anàlisi per injecció en flux acoblat a l’espectrometria de masses d'alta resolució, representa una eina molt potent ja que, en només dos minuts, proporciona el cribratge del perfil lipídic dels lípids cel·lulars. Els altres dos mètodes, que incorporen una cromatografia de líquids d’ultra alta eficàcia per a la separació prèvia dels lípids, han permès la detecció d’espècies minoritàries, i l’aplicació de l’espectrometria de masses en tàndem juntament amb un enfocament no dirigit per al processament de dades va proporcionar un perfil de lípids més exhaustiu, juntament amb la confirmació de la identitat dels lípids. Aquestes tècniques analítiques s’han utilitzat per a l’estudi de l’impacte de diversos contaminants ambientals, sobre el metabolisme de lípids tant en cèl·lules humanes com de peix. Entre els compostos químics estudiats s’inclouen additius de plàstics i els seus derivats (BPA, BPF, BADGE, BADGE·H2O, BADGE·2HCl), el compost obesogènic tributil d’estany, all- trans àcid retinoic, el progestagen sintètic drospirenona i una mescla complexa de contaminants ambientals (estudi de camp). Els models cel·lulars utilitzats en aquesta Tesi són cèl·lules de placenta humana (JEG-3), cèl·lules hepàtiques de peix zebra (ZFL) i/o en carcinoma hepatocel·lular de Poeciliopsis lucida (PLHC-1), mentre que per a la mescla complexa, es van mostrejar dues espècies de peixos sentinella en un riu seguint un gradent de contaminació. La lipidòmica, juntament amb la realització d'alguns assaigs toxicològics i l'ús de reacció en cadena de la polimerasa en temps real han permès traçar un escenari més complet dels efectes toxicològics dels productes químics estudiats. En general, aquesta Tesi pretén contribuir a la implementació de la lipidòmica en investigació mediambiental proposant models biològics útils i fluxos de treball per a la caracterització del mecanisme d’acció de contaminants ambientals amb la capacitat d’actuar com a disruptors lipídics.[eng] Lipidomics is one of the newest omics sciences, which has proven their utility in medical research for the discovery of biomarkers and altered metabolic pathways related to disease. Its application in environmental sciences is becoming relevant due to the important role of lipids in development, maintenance, and reproduction of metazoans. At the cellular level, lipids are involved in energy storage, signaling, and exhibit structural functions. Organisms contain thousands of different lipid species with rather similar structures. The latest advances in mass spectrometry have prompted the field of lipidomics, allowing a better annotation of the lipid species of different biological matrices (cells, biofluids, tissues), but also the detection of alterations as a response to chemical pollution exposure. Three analytical techniques based on high-resolution mass spectrometry have been used for the characterization of the lipid profile of different biological models. The first method, flow injection analysis coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry represents a powerful tool since, just in two minutes, it provides a quick screening of the lipid profile of cellular lipids. The other two methods, which incorporate ultra-high performance liquid chromatography for the previous separation of the lipids, have allowed the detection of minority species, and the application of tandem mass spectrometry together with an untargeted approach for data processing provided a more comprehensive lipid profile, together with the confirmation of lipid identities. These analytical techniques have been used for the study of the impact of several widespread environmental pollutants on the lipid metabolism of both human and fish cell models, comprising plastic additives (BPA, BPF, BADGE, BADGE·H2O, BADGE·2HCl), the obesogenic compound tributyltin, all-trans retinoic acid, the synthetic progestin drospirenone and a complex mixture of environmental pollutants (field study). Lipidomics, together with some toxicological assays and the use of real-time polymerase chain reaction have allowed drawing a more complete scenario of the toxicological effects of the chemicals under study. Overall, this dissertation aims to contribute to the use of lipidomics in environmental research by proposing useful biological models and workflows for the characterization of the mode of action of environmental pollutants with the capability to act as lipid disruptor

Television programs for teenagers and the use of multimodality in knowledge popularization

The aim of this work is to study the interaction of spoken words and images that are used within programs targeted to popularize knowledge among teenagers. We will look into the program Bit@bit developed by Televisió de Catalunya, which is intended to disseminate computer concepts, tools and procedures. In this kind of program, one can find spoken language (on/off screen voices, interviews, etc.), other oral material (sounds, music, songs), written language (descriptions, title sequences, inserts and Uniform Resource Locator, or electronic addresses), and other visual material (film cut images, advertising, other TV programs, cartoons, films, both location or studio images, depicting reality, or computer screens, or logotypes). The profusion of multimodal elements used in this program helps to keep the young audience's attention. The use of references to their world or knowledge, as a target group, is based on interplay among different semiotic strategies. At the same time, the entire program's multi-segmentation into short video clips, combined with a fast paced sound track helps its audience to understand the specialized explanations presented. Of all the multimodal wealth that the program presents, we will concentrate only on the relationship between the words and the images (leaving other secondary semiotics to one side), the main strategy for achieving the objective of transmitting knowledge and winning adolescent audience

Differential expression of versican isoforms is a component of the human melanoma cell differentiation process

AbstractVersican is a large chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan produced by human melanoma cell lines and malignant melanocytic lesions. In the present work, we have analyzed the expression of versican spliced variants V0, V1, V2 and V3 in human melanoma cell lines at several differentiation degrees. The isoform expression pattern depends on the degree of cell differentiation. Differentiated cell lines do not produce any of the versican isoforms as analyzed by Western blot, Northern blot and RT-PCR. All cell lines with an early or intermediate degree of differentiation (AX3, SK-mel-37, Rider, SK-mel-1.36-1–5 and SK-mel-3.44) expressed V0 and V1 transcripts, whereas V2 and V3 expression was shown only by the undifferentiated cell lines SK-mel-1.36-1–5 and Rider. Furthermore, we have analyzed the expression of versican isoforms in SK-mel-3.44 and SK-mel-1.36-1–5 cells induced to differentiate by TPA treatment. The expression of the large V0, V1 and V2 isoforms practically disappears in differentiated cells, whereas V3 remains detectable by RT-PCR analysis

Caracterización de la haptoglobina porcina mediante una aproximación Proteómica

Comunicaciones a congreso

Biochemical and proteomic analyses of the physiological response induced by individual housing in gilts provide new potential stress markers

BACKGROUND: The objective assessment of animal stress and welfare requires proper laboratory biomarkers. In this work, we have analyzed the changes in serum composition in gilts after switching their housing, from pen to individual stalls, which is generally accepted to cause animal discomfort. RESULTS: Blood and saliva samples were collected a day before and up to four days after changing the housing system. Biochemical analyses showed adaptive changes in lipid and protein metabolism after the housing switch, whereas cortisol and muscular markers showed a large variability between animals. 2D-DIGE and iTRAQ proteomic approaches revealed variations in serum protein composition after changing housing and diet of gilts. Both techniques showed alterations in two main homeostatic mechanisms: the innate immune and redox systems. The acute phase proteins haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A-I and α1-antichymotrypsin 3, and the antioxidant enzyme peroxiredoxin 2 were found differentially expressed by 2D-DIGE. Other proteins related to the innate immune system, including lactotransferrin, protegrin 3 and galectin 1 were also identified by iTRAQ, as well as oxidative stress enzymes such as peroxiredoxin 2 and glutathione peroxidase 3. Proteomics also revealed the decrease of apolipoproteins, and the presence of intracellular proteins in serum, which may indicate physical injury to tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Housing of gilts in individual stalls and diet change increase lipid and protein catabolism, oxidative stress, activate the innate immune system and cause a certain degree of tissue damage. We propose that valuable assays for stress assessment in gilts may be based on a score composed by a combination of salivary cortisol, lipid metabolites, innate immunity and oxidative stress markers and intracellular proteins