The effect of psychosis associated CACNA1C, and its epistasis with ZNF804A, on brain function

CACNA1C‐rs1006737 and ZNF804A‐rs1344706 polymorphisms are amongst the most robustly associated with schizophrenia (SCZ) and bipolar disorder (BD), and recently with brain phenotypes. As these patients show abnormal verbal fluency (VF) and related brain activation, we asked whether the latter was affected by these polymorphisms (alone and in interaction) – to better understand how they might induce risk. We recently reported effects on functional VF‐related (for ZNF804A‐rs1344706) and structural (for both) connectivity. We genotyped and fMRI‐scanned 54 SCZ, 40 BD and 80 controls during VF. With SPM, we assessed the main effect of CACNA1C‐rs1006737, and its interaction with ZNF804A‐rs1344706, and their interaction with diagnosis, on regional brain activation and functional connectivity (psychophysiological interactions ‐ PPI). Using public data, we reported effects of CACNA1C‐rs1006737 and diagnosis on brain expression. The CACNA1C‐rs1006737 risk allele was associated with increased activation, particularly in the bilateral prefronto‐temporal cortex and thalamus; decreased PPI, especially in the left temporal cortex; and gene expression in white matter and the cerebellum. We also found unprecedented evidence for epistasis (interaction between genetic polymorphisms) in the caudate nucleus, thalamus, and cingulate and temporal cortical activation; and CACNA1C up‐regulation in SCZ and BD parietal cortices. Some effects were dependent on BD/SCZ diagnosis. All imaging results were whole‐brain, voxel‐wise, and familywise‐error corrected. Our results support evidence implicating CACNA1C and ZNF804A in BD and SCZ, adding novel imaging evidence in clinical populations, and of epistasis – which needs further replication. Further scrutiny of the inherent neurobiological mechanisms may disclose their potential as putative drug targets

Quantitative comparison of 2D and 3D circumferential strain using MRI tagging in normal and LBBB hearts

The response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), which is applied to patients with heart failure (HF) and left bundle-branch block (LBBB), can be predicted from the mechanical dyssynchrony measured on circumferential strain. Circumferential strain can be assessed by either 2D or 3D strain analysis. In this study was evaluated the difference between 2D and 3D circumferential strain using MR tagging with high temporal resolution (14 ms). Six healthy volunteers and five patients with LBBB were evaluated. We compared the 2D and 3D circumferential strains by computing the mechanical dyssynchrony and the cross correlation (r) between 2D and 3D strain curves, and by quantifying the differences in peak circumferential shortening, time to onset, and time to peak of shortening. The obtained maximum r2 values were 0.97 ± 0.03 and 0.87 ± 0.16 for the healthy and LBBB populations, respectively, and thus showed a good similarity between 2D and 3D strain curves. No significant difference was observed between 2D and 3D in time to onset, time to peak, or peak circumferential shortening. Thus, to measure dyssynchrony, 2D strain analysis will suffice. Since 2D analysis is easier to implement than 3D analysis, this finding brings the application of MRI tagging and strain analysis closer to the clinical routine

An in situ assessment of key biomarkers in limpets exposed to sewage pollution

When exposed to a contamination source, organisms may develop intrinsic mechanisms of resistance against the stress agent. Patella depressa is a marine gastropod inhabiting rocky shores, that by having reduced mobility and a relative large size, present great potential as bioindicator species in ecotoxicological testing, especially for in situ studies. This work aimed to assess the differences on biomarker levels as potential physiological adaptation of limpet populations with different life-story concerning exposure to a sewage effluent. Limpets were collected from three rocky beaches in Peniche, Portugal: one where a sewage treatment plant outfall runs to, another site nearer, and another beach farther from the outfall. A beach with no expected influence from this source was used for acclimatization. Limpets were collected from the three sites and transferred to the acclimatization site. After 14 days, one-third of each population was transplanted onto the three study sites, implying that each site had limpets from the three sites. The organisms were left at the locations for 7 days and then collected. Limpets were frozen and stored upon: initial collection (T0d), after acclimatization (T14d), and after transplants (T21d), and cellular energy allocation, fatty acid profile, catalase, glutathione S-transferase, lipid peroxidation, and cholinesterase were measured. Results indicate that distinct populations possess different biomarker basal levels which are affected differentially by the surrounding contaminated/non-contaminated environment. This work provides insight on limpets’ adaptation strategy dealing with a common pollution source, as well as information about the use of biomarkers as tools in natural populations risk assessment

Somatic growth and gonadal development of Paracentrotus lividus (Lamarck, 1816) fed with diets of different ingredient sources

Sea urchins’ gonads are a delicacy highly appreciated worldwide. In Europe, Paracentrotus lividus is one of the most valuable edible sea urchin species and a desired target for aquaculture. One of the challenges of echinoculture is to increase the sea urchins’ growth rate during the on-growing phase and reducing the production cycle required to obtain sea urchins of commercial size (test diameter ≈ 50 mm). The present study aimed to evaluate the growth and gonad development of P. lividus urchins fed with three dry diets for 15 weeks. The diets were formulated with ingredients of three different sources: an algae-based, a fishmeal-based and a cereals-based diet. The somatic growth was assessed by biometric indicators like the linear and specific growth rates. The gonadal development was assessed by the gonadal somatic index (GSI), gametogenesis level, proximate composition and fatty acids profile. The results obtained showed high growth rates in all the three diets tested (0.44% per day). The sea urchins fed with the cereals diet presented the highest GSI (8.22%) with higher proportion of gonads in growing and premature stages. The proximate composition of the sea urchins’ gonads was significantly affected by diet and sea urchins’ sex, particularly the lipid content. Concomitantly, fatty acids (FA) profile of the gonads was influenced by both diet and sea urchins’ sex with saturated and polyunsaturated FA playing an important role in this differentiation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio