Evidence of anticipatory immune and hormonal responses to predation risk in an echinoderm

Recent efforts have been devoted to the link between responses to non-physical stressors and immune states in animals, mostly using human and other vertebrate models. Despite evolutionary relevance, comparatively limited work on the appraisal of predation risk and aspects of cognitive ecology and ecoimmunology has been carried out in non-chordate animals. The present study explored the capacity of holothuroid echinoderms to display an immune response to both reactive and anticipatory predatory stressors. Experimental trials and a mix of behavioural, cellular and hormonal markers were used, with a focus on coelomocytes (analogues of mammalian leukocytes), which are the main components of the echinoderm innate immunity. Findings suggest that holothuroids can not only appraise threatening cues (i.e. scent of a predator or alarm signals from injured conspecifics) but prepare themselves immunologically, presumably to cope more efficiently with potential future injuries. The responses share features with recently defined central emotional states and wane after prolonged stress in a manner akin to habituation, which are traits that have rarely been shown in non-vertebrates, and never in echinoderms. Because echinoderms sit alongside chordates in the deuterostome clade, such findings offer unique insights into the adaptive value and evolution of stress responses in animals

Morpho-functional Characterisation of Cœlomocytes in the Aquacultivated Sea Cucumber Holothuria Scabra: From Cell Diversity to Transcriptomic Immune Response

Holothuria scabra is one of the most valuable species of sea cucumber owing to its exploitation as a seafood product. This study aims to describe the main molecular and cellular actors in the immunology of the holothuroid H. scabra. First of all, a detailed description of the immune cells – the cœlomocytes – is provided, highlighting five main cell types including phagocytes, small round cells (SRCs), spherulocytes, fusiform cells, and crystal cells, with a further five subtypes identified using transmission electron microscopy. Cœlomocyte aggregates were also described morphologically, yielding two main types, one comprising three successive maturation stages. A comparison of the concentration and proportion of cell populations was carried out between the two main body fluids, namely the hydrovascular fluid of the Polian vesicle (HF) and the perivisceral fluid of the general cavity (PF), and no clear relation could be revealed. Next, the cœlomocyte immune response was studied 24 hours after a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. Firstly, the fluctuation in cell populations was assessed, and despite a high inter-individual variability, it shows a decrease in the phagocyte proportion and an increase in the SRC proportion. Secondly, the differential gene expression of PF cœlomocytes was studied by de novo RNA-sequencing between LPS-injected and control-injected individuals: 945 genes were differentially expressed, including 673 up-regulated and 272 down-regulated in the LPS-injected individuals. Among these genes, 80 had a presumed function in immunity based on their annotation, covering a wide range of immune mechanisms. Overall, this study reveals a complex immune system at both molecular and cellular levels and constitutes a baseline reference on H. scabra immunity, which may be useful for the development of sustainable aquaculture and provides valuable data for comparative immunology

Triterpenoids in Echinoderms: Fundamental Differences in Diversity and Biosynthetic Pathways

Echinoderms form a remarkable phylum of marine invertebrates that present specific chemical signatures unique in the animal kingdom. It is particularly the case for essential triterpenoids that evolved separately in each of the five echinoderm classes. Indeed, while most animals have ∆5-sterols, sea cucumbers (Holothuroidea) and sea stars (Asteroidea) also possess ∆7 and ∆9(11)-sterols, a characteristic not shared with brittle stars (Ophiuroidea), sea urchins (Echinoidea), and crinoids (Crinoidea). These particular ∆7 and ∆9(11) sterols emerged as a self-protection against membranolytic saponins that only sea cucumbers and sea stars produce as a defense mechanism. The diversity of saponins is large; several hundred molecules have been described in the two classes of these saponins (i.e., triterpenoid or steroid saponins). This review aims to highlight the diversity of triterpenoids in echinoderms by focusing on sterols and triterpenoid glycosides, but more importantly to provide an updated view of the biosynthesis of these molecules in echinoderms

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome associated with COVID-19: An Emulated Target Trial Analysis.

RATIONALE: Whether COVID patients may benefit from extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) compared with conventional invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) remains unknown. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the effect of ECMO on 90-Day mortality vs IMV only Methods: Among 4,244 critically ill adult patients with COVID-19 included in a multicenter cohort study, we emulated a target trial comparing the treatment strategies of initiating ECMO vs. no ECMO within 7 days of IMV in patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (PaO2/FiO2 <80 or PaCO2 ≥60 mmHg). We controlled for confounding using a multivariable Cox model based on predefined variables. MAIN RESULTS: 1,235 patients met the full eligibility criteria for the emulated trial, among whom 164 patients initiated ECMO. The ECMO strategy had a higher survival probability at Day-7 from the onset of eligibility criteria (87% vs 83%, risk difference: 4%, 95% CI 0;9%) which decreased during follow-up (survival at Day-90: 63% vs 65%, risk difference: -2%, 95% CI -10;5%). However, ECMO was associated with higher survival when performed in high-volume ECMO centers or in regions where a specific ECMO network organization was set up to handle high demand, and when initiated within the first 4 days of MV and in profoundly hypoxemic patients. CONCLUSIONS: In an emulated trial based on a nationwide COVID-19 cohort, we found differential survival over time of an ECMO compared with a no-ECMO strategy. However, ECMO was consistently associated with better outcomes when performed in high-volume centers and in regions with ECMO capacities specifically organized to handle high demand. This article is open access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Automatic Metal Parts Inspection: Use of Thermographic Images and Anomaly Detection Algorithms

International audienceA fully-automatic approach based on the use of induction thermography and detection algorithms is proposed to inspect industrial metallic parts containing different surface and sub-surface anomalies such as open cracks, open andclosed notches with different sizes and depths. A practical experimental setup is developed, where lock-in and pulsedthermography (LT and PT, respectively) techniques are used to establish a dataset of thermal images for three differentmockups. Data cubes are constructed by stacking up the temporal sequence of thermogram images. After thereduction of the data space dimension by means of denoising and dimensionality reduction methods; anomaly detectionalgorithms are applied on the reduced data cubes. The dimensions of the reduced data spaces are automaticallycalculated with arbitrary criterion. The results show that, when reduced data cubes are used, the anomaly detectionalgorithms originally developed for hyperspectral data, that of Reed and Xiaoli Yu (RX) and the regularized adaptiveRX (RARX), give good detection performances for both surface and sub-surface defects in a non-supervised way

Characteristics of the infestation of Seriatopora corals by the coral gall crab Hapalocarcinus marsupialis Stimpson, 1859 on the great reef of toliara, Madagascar

peer reviewedThis study describes the association between the obligatory symbiont coral gall crab Hapalocarcinus marsupialis and its stony coral hosts Seriatopora sp .within the Great Reef of Toliara in Madagascar and attempts to dis- cuss their symbiotic status through comparison with previous studies. These corals are inhabited by crabs living in galls that can be categorised in four distinct morphological stages, where the first one corresponds to a small bud and the last one represents a completely closed gall surrounding the crab inside. Within the reef, 563 colonies of Seriatopora species were observed by scuba-diving at ten different stations: 37.8 % of them were infested by H. marsupialis , with a total of 763 galls, and with a majority of stage 4 galls. Galls are monopolised by females that can have different morphologies. Females store the sperm in two spermathecae and are fertilised when their morphology and size are similar to males and the gall is not closed. Histological observations coupled with scanning electronic microscopy analyses show that closed galls are made of an external living tissue, a mid skeletal layer and an internal living tissue. The internal living tissue includes polyps similar to the external tissue, some of them being sex- ually mature. Nitrogen and carbon isotopic signatures confirmed that these crabs are filter-feeders and do not feed on their host. This association perfectly highlights the difficul- ties to define the symbiotic status of a symbiont if one con- siders inflexible the three categories of symbiosis commonly defined.DÉVELOPPEMENT DE POLYAQUACULTURES DANS LES VILLAGES CÔTIERS DU SUD-OUEST ET DU NORD DE MADAGASCA

The Roles of Spinochromes in Four Shallow Water Tropical Sea Urchins and Their Potential as Bioactive Pharmacological Agents.

Spinochromes are principally known to be involved in sea urchin pigmentation as well as for their potentially interesting pharmacological properties. To assess their biological role in sea urchin physiology, experiments are undertaken on crude extracts from four species and on four isolated spinochromes in order to test their antibacterial, antioxidant, inflammatory and cytotoxic activities. First, the antibacterial assays show that the use of crude extracts as representatives of antibacterial effects of spinochromes are inaccurate. The assays on purified spinochromes showed a decrease in the growth of four strains with an intensity depending on the spinochromes/bacteria system, revealing the participation of spinochromes in the defense system against microorganisms. Secondly, in the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl antioxidant assays, spinochromes show an enhanced activity compared to the positive control. This latter observation suggests their involvement in ultraviolet radiation protection. Third, spinochromes present a pro-inflammatory effect on lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages, highlighting their possible implication in the sea urchin immune system. Finally, cytotoxicity assays based on Trypan blue exclusion, performed in view of their possible future applications as drugs, show a weak cytotoxicity of these compounds against human cells. In conclusion, all results confirm the implication of spinochromes in sea urchin defense mechanisms against their external environment and reveal their potential for pharmacological and agronomical industries

Echinometra mathaei and its ectocommensal shrimps: the role of sea urchin spinochrome pigments in the symbiotic association

Tuleariocaris holthuisi and Arete indicus are two ectocommensal shrimps closely associated with the tropical sea urchin Echinometra mathaei. This study provides a comparison of these two E. mathaei symbiotic crustaceans and particularly focuses on the relationship between T. holthuisi and its host’s pigments (i.e. spinochromes), and its dependency on its host. While all the analyses underline a close association between A. indicus and E. mathaei, they reveal a particularly close interaction between T. holthuisi and its host. Chemical analyses reveal that these shrimps present the same spinochrome composition as E. mathaei, and have similar colouration, allowing camouflage. Isotopic composition and pigment loss after host separation suggest that these pigments are certainly assimilated upon feeding on the urchin. Moreover, symbiont isolation experiments demonstrate the high dependency of T. holthuisi on its host and the importance of the host’s pigments on their survival capacity. Finally, some host recognition mechanisms are investigated for T. holthuisi and show the probable implication of spinochromes in host selection, through chemical recognition. Hence, all the results suggest the essential roles of spinochromes for T. holthuisi, which, in turn, suggests the potential implication of these pigments in the shrimps’ metabolism

Characterization of a population of the Harlequin crab, Lissocarcinus orbicularis Dana, 1852, an obligate symbiont of holothuroids, in Toliara bay (Madagascar)

Harlequin crabs, Lissocarcinus orbicularis, are commensals found on the integument and in the buccal/cloacal cavity of several species of holothuroids. The population of these crabs was investigated on holothuroids of the barrier reef of Toliara (South-West of Madagascar) from 2002 to 2008. Seventeen holothuroid species were observed and eight were crab hosts. There is generally one adult crab or a heterosexual pair per infested holothuroid but up to ten juveniles were recorded on a Thelenota ananas. Carapace length of the observed L. orbicularis was from 0.3 to 1.4 cm from the tip of the rostrum to the end of the cephalothorax, with a mean length of 0.85 cm. L. orbicularis is characterized by a weak sexual dimorphism (females are bigger than males) and the presence of pereiopods morphologically adapted to fixation on the host integument. Gravid females were observed at each month of the survey indicating that the crab reproduces all the year. Considering our results and personal observations, we also discuss the monogamy mating system of the Harlequin crab