Ovothiol ensures the correct developmental programme of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryo

Ovothiols are π-methyl-5-thiohistidines produced in great amounts in sea urchin eggs, where they can act as protective agents against the oxidative burst at fertilization and environmental stressors during development. Here we examined the biological relevance of ovothiol during the embryogenesis of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus by assessing the localization of the key biosynthetic enzyme OvoA, both at transcript and protein level, and perturbing its protein translation by morpholino antisense oligonucleotide-mediated knockdown experiments. In addition, we explored the possible involvement of ovothiol in the inflammatory response by assessing ovoA gene expression and protein localization following exposure to bacterial lipopolysaccharide. The results of the present study suggest that ovothiol may be a key regulator of cell proliferation in early developing embryos. Moreover, the localization of OvoA in key larval cells and tissues, in control and inflammatory conditions, suggests that ovothiol may ensure larval skeleton formation and mediate inflammatory processes triggered by bacterial infection. This work significantly contributes to the understanding of the biological function of ovothiols in marine organisms, and may provide new inspiration for the identification of the biological activities of ovothiols in humans, considering the pharmacological potential of these molecules

New Neuronal Subtypes With a "Pre-Pancreatic" Signature in the Sea Urchin Stongylocentrotus purpuratus

Neurons and pancreatic endocrine cells have a common physiology and express a similar toolkit of transcription factors during development. To explain these common features, it has been hypothesized that pancreatic cells most likely co-opted a pre-existing gene regulatory program from ancestral neurons. To test this idea, we looked for neurons with a “pre-pancreatic” program in an early-branched deuterostome, the sea urchin. Only vertebrates have a proper pancreas, however, our lab previously found that cells with a pancreatic-like signature are localized within the sea urchin embryonic gut. We also found that the pancreatic transcription factors Xlox/Pdx1 and Brn1/2/4 co-localize in a sub-population of ectodermal cells. Here, we find that the ectodermal SpLox+ SpBrn1/2/4 cells are specified as SpSoxC and SpPtf1a neuronal precursors that become the lateral ganglion and the apical organ neurons. Two of the SpLox+ SpBrn1/2/4 cells also express another pancreatic transcription factor, the LIM-homeodomain gene islet-1. Moreover, we find that SpLox neurons produce the neuropeptide SpANP2, and that SpLox regulates SpANP2 expression. Taken together, our data reveal that there is a subset of sea urchin larval neurons with a gene program that predated pancreatic cells. These findings suggest that pancreatic endocrine cells co-opted a regulatory signature from an ancestral neuron that was already present in an early-branched deuterostome

Circadian variation in the onset of acute myocardial infarction: lack of an effect due to age and sex.

The circadian patterns in the onset of symptoms of acute myocardial infarction were assessed in a prospective study involving 450 patients. Analysis of the data in the 424 patients in whom the time of onset was known did not show any statistically significant circadian rhythms, either for the group as a whole or for subgroups divided according to sex, age group (< 60, 60 - 69, 70 - 79 and greater-than-or-equal-to 80 years old), or the presence or absence of diabetes mellitus. The frequency of onset of symptoms was highest in the morning (06.01 - 12.00 h) for the group as a whole (29.2%). Patients aged < 70 and greater-than-or-equal-to 80 years old showed a peak in the morning, whereas patients aged 70 - 79 years old showed a peak in the afternoon (12.01 - 18.00 h)

Chronobiological aspects of acute cerebrovascular diseases.

none7The study was aimed at further investigating the circadian and circannual patterns of stroke onset. Study design and type of participants: 977 strokes (475 in men and 502 in women) concerning 926 subjects (457 men and 469 women) admitted to Ferrara Hospital in two calendar years (1990-1991), were prospectively investigated. The strokes were classified as based on cerebral infarction (CI), transient ischemic attack (TIA) and cerebral hemorrhage (CH: subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage). Two statistical models of analysis were used. The assessment of circadian and circannual periodicity was performed utilizing the single cosinor method. A separate analysis was performed after distribution of events into 6-hour intervals, and chi-square test for fit was applied to the number of observed versus expected cases. The majority of strokes occurred in the morning between 7 a.m. and noon (35% of cases) and the hypothesis of a uniform distribution of the time onset was rejected on the basis of the chi-square for all subtypes of stroke. A circadian rhythm was found for CI and TIA with acrophase at the 11.56 and 12.41 respectively. Also a circannual periodicity was found for CI with a prevalent peak in October. The spectral analysis detected a circadian cycle for CH having a period of 4 h, and a circannual cycle for TIA with a period of 4 months. This study confirms that stroke is a high-chrono-risk disease, with specific circadian and circannual rhythms. This is very important for a better understanding and control of the underlying factors and in terms of prevention.noneGALLERANI M.; R. MANFREDINI; RICCI L.; COCURULLO A.; GOLDONI C.; BIGONI M.; FERSINI C.Gallerani, M.; Manfredini, Roberto; Ricci, L.; Cocurullo, A.; Goldoni, C.; Bigoni, M.; Fersini, Carmel

Circadian variation in the occurrence of fatal pulmonary embolism. Differences depending on sex and age

Published studies have indicated a circadian variation in the occurrence of several acute cardiovascular events, e.g., myocardial ischemia, myocardial infarction, sudden cardiac death and cardiac arrest. The aim of this study was to determine if there is a circadian variation in the occurrence of fatal pulmonary embolism, and to evaluate possible differences in the temporal pattern in relation to sex and age. 230 cases of fatal pulmonary embolism (74 out-of-hospital and 156 hospitalized) observed in a general hospital over a 9-year period were considered. The total sample was stratified both by sex and into four groups by age including, respectively, subjects aged less than 60 years (group A), between 60 and 69 (group B), between 70 and 79 (group C) and 80 years and over (group D). The data were analyzed by the single cosinor method. A significant morning pattern was found for the total population (p = 0.011), females (p = 0.033), and age subgroups C and D (p = 0.015 and 0.008), with respective acrophases at 11.57, 11.23, 10.54 and 13.24. A morning pattern in the onset of fatal pulmonary embolism is confirmed for the total population, although sex and age seem also to play an important role