Gross anatomy of the intestine and its mesentery in the nutria (Myocastor coypus)

The intestines and mesentery of the nutria (Myocastor coypus) have not been fully described. In the present study 30 adult nutrias were studied using gross dissection. The small intestine was divided into the duodenum, jejunum and ileum as usual. The duodenum started at the pylorus with a cranial portion, which dilated forming a duodenal ampulla. The ileum was located within the concavity of the caecum and attached to the coiled caecum by means of the iliocaecal fold. The ascending colon had two ansae, one proximal and one distal. The proximal ansa was fixed to the caecum by the caecocolic fold. The base of the caecum and a short proximal part of the ascending colon belonging to the proximal ansa were attached to the mesoduodenum descendens. The distal ansa of the ascending colon had a proximal part which was sacculated and a distal part which was smooth. The two parts of the distal ansa of the ascending colon were parallel and joined by a flexure of variable localisation. The smooth part of the distal ansa of the ascending colon was attached to the initial portion of the descending colon by a peritoneal fold. The short transverse colon was directly attached to the mesoduodenum and greater omentum. In conclusion, we have described the anatomy of the intestines of the nutria and its mesentery in detail, and provided a nomenclature list adapted to the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria

Regulation of BCL-X splicing reveals a role for the polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTBP1/hnRNP I) in alternative 5' splice site selection

Alternative splicing (AS) modulates many physiological and pathological processes. For instance, AS of the BCL-X gene balances cell survival and apoptosis in development and cancer. Herein, we identified the polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTBP1) as a direct regulator of BCL-X AS. Overexpression of PTBP1 promotes selection of the distal 5' splice site in BCL-X exon 2, generating the pro-apoptotic BCL-Xs splice variant. Conversely, depletion of PTBP1 enhanced splicing of the anti-apoptotic BCL-XL variant. In vivo cross-linking experiments and site-directed mutagenesis restricted the PTBP1 binding site to a polypyrimidine tract located between the two alternative 5' splice sites. Binding of PTBP1 to this site was required for its effect on splicing. Notably, a similar function of PTBP1 in the selection of alternative 5' splice sites was confirmed using the USP5 gene as additional model. Mechanistically, PTBP1 displaces SRSF1 binding from the proximal 5' splice site, thus repressing its selection. Our study provides a novel mechanism of alternative 5' splice site selection by PTBP1 and indicates that the presence of a PTBP1 binding site between two alternative 5' splice sites promotes selection of the distal one, while repressing the proximal site by competing for binding of a positive regulator

Antler velvet is thicker in adult than in yearling pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus): a histological study

Background: Antlers are lined by soft velvet tissue during antler growth. Later, the velvet is shed before rut onset. There are no detailed histological descriptions of the growing velvet, nor whether the velvet changes according to stag age. Our aims were to: 1) describe the basic histology of pampas deer antler velvet from adult and yearling males; and 2) determine the influence of age and time of antler growth on velvet’s tissues morphometry. Materials and methods: Samples were collected from 10 stags allocated in two groups, either adult (3–5 years old, n = 5) or yearling males (2 years old, n = 5). The day of antler cast was recorded for each animal. In spring, the stags were anaesthetised and velvet samples were collected from the third tine’s distal end. Samples were described qualitatively and a restricted morphometrical analysis of the antler velvet was performed. Results: The number of keratinocyte layers and the thicknesses of: total epidermis, corneum, intermediate and basale epidermal strata, total dermis, superficial and deep dermis were determined. Age and days after antler casting positively influenced in conjunction epidermal thickness (p = 0.037), and tended to influence both stratum intermedium (p = 0.076) and stratum corneum (p = 0.1) thicknesses. Age influenced stratum corneum thickness (p = 0.04). The pampas deer antler velvet lacked both sweat glands and arrector pili muscles. Conclusions: The deep dermis was densely irrigated but displayed abundant and well developed collagen bundles. Both total epidermal and stratum corneum thicknesses related positively to the age of the animals but were not to the time since antler cast.

In vivo acquisition and risk of inter-species spread of blaKPC-3-plasmid from Klebsiella pneumoniae to Serratia marcescens in the lower respiratory tract

In recent years, Serratia marcescens has emerged as an important agent of hospital-acquired infections, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, septicaemia and meningitis, particularly in vulnerable patients. Compared to Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli, S. marcescens is less commonly associated with blaKPC genes, yet few cases of plasmid transmission at the gastrointestinal level from K. pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacterales to S. marcescens have been described. Here we report a case of in vivo acquisition, during a 3-month period of hospitalization in the intensive care unit, of a blaKPC-3 gene carried by a pKpQIL-IT plasmid, and its probable transmission at the bronchial level among different species of Enterobacterales, including K. pneumoniae and S. marcescens. By using whole genome sequence analyses we were able provide insight into the dynamics of carbapenem-resistance determinants acquisition in the lower respiratory tract, a novel anatomical region for such plasmid transmission events, that usually involve the gastrointestinal tract. The co-presence at the same time of both wild-type and resistant Enterobacterales could have been the critical factor leading to the spread of plasmids harbouring carbapenem-resistance genes, of particular importance during surveillance screenings. The possibility of such an event may have significant consequences in terms of antimicrobial treatment, with a potential limitation of therapeutic options, thereby further complicating the clinical management of high-risk critically ill patients

Forage allowances offered to pregnant ewes until middle and late gestation: Organ priorities on foetus development

Effect of forage allowance before conception and until mid or late gestation was evaluated for effects on foetal and neonatal weights, carcass, nervous systems, metabolic and reproductive organ weights, body dimensions, and variation in intensity of the effects among organs. Effects of two forage allowances, HFA: high forage allowance (2.9 - 3.8 kg of dry matter (DM)/kg bodyweight (BW)) and LFA: low forage allowance (1.4 - 2.6 kg DM/kg BW) were evaluated from 23 days before conception until 70 or 122 days postpartum. On gestation day 70, nine ewes per treatment, each carrying one male foetus, were euthanized and their foetuses were removed. The foetuses were weighed, their carcass and organ weights were recorded, and their external genitalia dimensions were measured. Nine additional lambs per treatment were euthanized 12 hours after birth and the same data were recorded. Hearts from day 70 LFA foetuses were lighter, their external genitalia were smaller, and their foetal weight tended to be less than in HFA. Newborn lambs from LFA ewes had lighter carcasses, livers, kidneys, adrenal glands and testes, shorter penises, but higher brain to liver weight ratios than in HFA. The cerebellum, brain, and heart weights of LFA and HFA newborn lambs did not differ. Low forage allowance until late gestation influenced both foetal and lamb weights and affected organ weights differentially. Thus, the treatments induced differences in prioritization of nutrients, with the central nervous system receiving the highest priority, and carcass and external genitalia the lowest. Keywords: foetal programming, intrauterine growth restriction, lambs, undernutritio

Sempervirine inhibits RNA polymerase I transcription independently from p53 in tumor cells

In the search of small molecules that can target MDM2/p53 pathway in testicular germ cell tumors (TGCTs), we identified sempervirine (2,3,4,13-tetrahydro-1H-benz[g]indolo[2,3-a]quinolizin-6-ium), an alkaloid of Gelsemium sempervirens, that has been previously proposed as an inhibitor of MDM2 that targets p53-wildtype (wt) tumor cells. We found that sempervirine not only affects cell growth of p53-wt cancer cells, but it is also active in p53-mutated and p53-null cells by triggering p53-dependent and independent pathways without affecting non-transformed cells. To understand which mechanism/s could be activated both in p53-wt and -null cells, we found that sempervirine induced nucleolar remodeling and nucleolar stress by reducing protein stability of RPA194, the catalytic subunit of RNA polymerase I, that led to rRNA synthesis inhibition and to MDM2 block. As shown for other cancer cell models, MDM2 inhibition by nucleolar stress downregulated E2F1 protein levels both in p53-wt and p53-null TGCT cells with the concomitant upregulation of unphosphorylated pRb. Finally, we show that sempervirine is able to enter the nucleus and accumulates within the nucleolus where it binds rRNA without causing DNA damage. Our results identify semperivirine as a novel rRNA synthesis inhibitor and indicate this drug as a non-genotoxic anticancer small molecule

Monitoring symptoms at home: What methods would cancer patients be comfortable using?

PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine which methods of remote symptom assessment cancer outpatients would be comfortable using, including those involving information technology, and whether this varied with age and gender. METHODS: A questionnaire survey of 477 outpatients attending the Edinburgh Cancer Centre in Edinburgh, UK. RESULTS: Most patients reported that they would not feel comfortable using methods involving technology such as a secure website, email, mobile phone text message, or a computer voice on the telephone but that they would be more comfortable using more traditional methods such as a paper questionnaire, speaking to a nurse on the telephone, or giving information in person. CONCLUSIONS: The uptake of new, potentially cost-effective technology-based methods of monitoring patients' symptoms at home might be limited by patients' initial discomfort with the idea of using them. It will be important to develop methods of addressing this potential barrier (such as detailed explanation and supervised practice) if these methods are to be successfully implemented

Multibudded tubules formed by COPII on artificial liposomes

COPII-coated vesicles form at the endoplasmic reticulum for cargo transport to the Golgi apparatus. We used in vitro reconstitution to examine the roles of the COPII scaffold in remodeling the shape of a lipid bilayer. Giant Unilamellar Vesicles were examined using fast confocal fluorescence and cryo-electron microscopy in order to avoid separation steps and minimize mechanical manipulation. COPII showed a preference for high curvature structures, but also sufficient flexibility for binding to low curvatures. The COPII proteins induced beads-on-a-string-like constricted tubules, similar to those previously observed in cells. We speculate about a mechanical pathway for vesicle fission from these multibudded COPII-coated tubules, considering the possibility that withdrawal of the Sar1 amphipathic helix upon GTP hydrolysis leads to lipid bilayer destabilization resulting in fission