Palustriella falcata (Brid.) Hedenas (Amblystegiaceae, Bryopsida) with pluristratose lamina: morphological variability of specimens in springs of the Italian Alps

Pluristratose leaf lamina in pleurocarpous aquatic mosses is a mysterious morphological character state because of its recurrence among unrelated lineages. It has been found sporadically around the world in phylogenetically distant taxa, and is thought to be a mutation and/or adaptation to aquatic habitats. During an extensive survey of bryophytes in spring habitats in the Italian Alps (Province of Trento), we found different numbers of leaf lamina cell layers among specimens of Palustriella falcata. We carried out a thorough study, measuring a set of morphological characters that identify variability among specimens within the same spring and among multiple springs. The main goals were to assess the amount of morphological variability, to quantify the concordance among morphological traits, and to test to what extent environmental variables account for morphological variability. Our results showed that, in many cases, morphological characters differed even among shoots within a spring. We found positive and significant partial correlation between pluristratose lamina and width of costa, but negative correlation between pluristratose lamina and length of cells. Constrained multivariate analysis showed that 40.3% of this morphological variation was explained by a set of environmental variables, but most importantly, we observed extensive pluristratose laminae in constantly submerged habitats. We interpreted the different numbers of cell layers in the leaf lamina as a phenotypic continuum from P. falcata, with a single layer of cells, to Palustriella pluristratosa Stech & Frahm, with a multilayered lamina. In addition we offer a point of view concerning the evolutionary significance of this trait, its possible origin, and its evolution in aquatic mosses

The biological effects of the hypolipidaemic drug probucol microcapsules fed daily for 4 weeks, to an insulin-resistant mouse model: potential hypoglycaemic and anti-inflammatory effects

Probucol (PB) is an hypolipidaemic drug with potential antidiabetic effects. We showed recently using in vitro studies that when PB was incorporated with stabilising lipophilic bile acids and microencapsulated using the polymer sodium alginate, the microcapsules showed good stability but poor and irregular PB release. This suggests that PB microcapsules may exhibit better release profile and hence better absorption, if more hydrophilic bile acids were used, such as ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA). Accordingly, this study aimed to produce PB-UDCA microcapsules and examine PB absorption and antidiabetic effects in our mouse-model of insulin-resistance and diabetes (fed high-fat diet; HFD). The study also aimed to examine the effects of the microcapsules on the bile acid profile. Healthy mice (fed low-fat diet; LFD) were used as control. Seventy mice were randomly allocated into seven equal groups: LFD, HFD given empty microcapsules, HFD given metformin (M), HFD given standard-dose probucol (PB-SD), HFD given high-dose probucol (PB-H), HFD given UDCA microcapsules and HFD given PB-UDCA microcapsules. Blood glucose (BG), inflammatory biomarkers (TNF-a, IFN-?, IL-1ß, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and IL-17), plasma cholesterol, non-esterified fatty acids and triglycerides were analysed together with plasma bile acid and probucol concentrations. PB-UDCA microcapsules reduced BG in HFD mice, but did not reduce inflammation or improve lipid profile, compared with positive control (HFD) group. Although PB-UDCA microcapsules did not exert hypolipidaemic or antiinflammatory effects, they resulted in significant hypoglycaemic effects in a mouse model of insulin resistance, which suggests potential applications in insulin-resistance and glucose haemostasis