Regulatory volume decrease in Leishmania mexicana: effect of anti-microtubule drugs

The trypanosomatid cytoskeleton is responsible for the parasite's shape and it is modulated throughout the different stages of the parasite's life cycle. When parasites are exposed to media with reduced osmolarity, they initially swell, but subsequently undergo compensatory shrinking referred to as regulatory volume decrease (RVD). We studied the effects of anti-microtubule (Mt) drugs on the proliferation of Leishmania mexicana promastigotes and their capacity to undergo RVD. All of the drugs tested exerted antiproliferative effects of varying magnitudes [ansamitocin P3 (AP3)> trifluoperazine > taxol > rhizoxin > chlorpromazine]. No direct relationship was found between antiproliferative drug treatment and RVD. Similarly, Mt stability was not affected by drug treatment. Ansamitocin P3, which is effective at nanomolar concentrations, blocked amastigote-promastigote differentiation and was the only drug that impeded RVD, as measured by light dispersion. AP3 induced 2 kinetoplasts (Kt) 1 nucleus cells that had numerous flagella-associated Kts throughout the cell. These results suggest that the dramatic morphological changes induced by AP3 alter the spatial organisation and directionality of the Mts that are necessary for the parasite's hypotonic stress-induced shape change, as well as its recovery

Solar flares and variation of local geomagnetic field: Measurements by the Huancayo Observatory over 2001-2010

We study the local variation of the geomagnetic field measured by the Huancayo Geomagnetic Observatory, Peru, during 2001-2010. Initially, we sought to relate the SFI values, stored daily in the NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center, with the corresponding geomagnetic index; however, no relation was observed. Nonetheless, subsequently, a comparison between the monthly geomagnetic-activity index and the monthly SFI average allowed observing a temporal correlation between these average indices. This correlation shows that the effect of the solar flares does not simultaneously appear on the corresponding magnetic indices. To investigate this, we selected the most intense X-class flares; then, we checked the magnetic field disturbances observed in the Huancayo Geomagnetic Observatory magnetograms. We found some disturbances of the local geomagnetic field in the second and third day after the corresponding solar flare; however, the disturbance strength of the local geomagnetic field is not correlated with the X-class of the solar flare. Finally, there are some disturbances of the local geomagnetic field that are simultaneous with the X-class solar flares and they show a correlation with the total flux of the solar flare