Stress-induced reduction of dorsal striatal D2 dopamine receptors prevents retention of a newly acquired adaptive coping strategy

The inability to learn an adaptive coping strategy in a novel stressful condition leads to dysfunctional stress coping, a marker of mental disturbances. This study tested the involvement of dorsal striatal dopamine receptors in the dysfunctional coping with the Forced Swim test fostered by a previous experience of reduced food availability. Adult male mice were submitted to a temporary (12 days) reduction of food availability [food-restricted (FR)] or continuously free-fed (FF). Different groups of FF and FR mice were used to evaluate: (1) dorsal striatal mRNA levels of the two isoforms of the dopamine D2 receptor (D2S, D2L). (2) Forced Swim-induced c-fos expression in the dorsal striatum; (3) acquisition and 24 h retention of passive coping with Forced Swim. Additional groups of FF mice were tested for 24 h retention of passive coping acquired during a first experience with Forced Swim immediately followed by intra-striatal infusion of vehicle or two doses of the dopamine D2/D3 receptors antagonist sulpiride or the D1/D5 receptors antagonist SCH23390. Previous restricted feeding selectively reduced mRNA levels of both D2 isoforms and abolished Forced Swim-induced c-fos expression in the left Dorsolateral Striatum and selectively prevented 24 h retention of the coping strategy acquired in a first experience of Forced Swim. Finally, temporary blockade of left Dorsolateral Striatum D2/D3 receptors immediately following the first Forced Swim experience selectively reproduced the behavioral effect of restricted feeding in FF mice. In conclusion, the present results demonstrate that mice previously exposed to a temporary reduction of food availability show low striatal D2 receptors, a known marker of addiction-associated aberrant neuroplasticity, as well as liability to relapse into maladaptive stress coping strategies. Moreover, they offer strong support to a causal relationship between reduction of D2 receptors in the left Dorsolateral Striatum and impaired consolidation of newly acquired adaptive coping

Effect of Different Egg Products on Lipid Oxidation of Biscuits

Egg products are one of the main ingredients used in bakery industries, and they contain cholesterol. Cholesterol su ers several chemical changes during the food processes, allowing some potentially toxic compounds called cholesterol oxidized products (COPs). Thus, the aim of this work was to study the evolution of lipid oxidation from eggs to egg products, and to evaluate the influence of egg products on COPs formation in biscuits formulated with them. The results confirmed that spray-drying technology improves the cholesterol oxidation 2.6 times compared to pasteurized eggs. Biscuit samples showed a COPs content that is strictly related to the egg products used. Samples formulated with spray-dried eggs noticed lower amounts of COPs compared to those formulated with pasteurized eggs. It is important to stress that COPs composition was di erent between the two samples, underlining that the kinetic of COPs formation is dependent on the type of egg products.Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) RYC-2015-1879

Public Engagement Provides First Insights on Po Plain Ant Communities and Reveals the Ubiquity of the Cryptic Species Tetramorium immigrans (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Ants are considered a useful model for biodiversity monitoring and several of their characteristics make them promising for citizen science (CS) projects. Involving a wide range of public figures into collecting valuable data on the effect of human impact on ant biodiversity, the School of Ants (SoA) project represents one of the very few attempts to explore the potential of these insects in CS. Through the collaboration with the "BioBlitz Lombardia" project, we tested the SoA protocol on 12 Northern Italy parks, ranging from urban green to subalpine protected sites. As a result, we obtained some of the very first quantitative data characterizing the ants of this region, recording 30 species and highlighting some interesting ecological patterns. These data revealed the ubiquitous presence of the recently taxonomically defined cryptic species Tetramorium immigrans, which appears to be probably introduced in the region. We also discuss advantages and criticisms encountered applying the SoA protocol, originally intended for schools, to new categories of volunteers, from BioBlitz participants to park operators, suggesting best practices based on our experience

Synthesis and Conformational Analysis of Hydantoin-Based Universal Peptidomimetics

The synthesis of a collection of enantiomerically pure, systematically substituted hydantoins as structural privileged universal mimetic scaffolds is presented. It relies on a chemoselective condensation/cyclization domino process between isocyanates of quaternary or unsubstituted α-amino esters and N-alkyl aspartic acid diesters followed by standard hydrolysis/coupling reactions with amines, using liquid-liquid acid/base extraction protocols for the purification of the intermediates. Besides the nature of the α carbon on the isocyanate moiety, either a quaternary carbon or a more flexible methylene group, conformational studies in silico (molecular modeling), in solution (NMR, circular dichroism (CD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR)), and in solid state (X-ray) showed that the presented hydantoin-based peptidomimetics are able to project their substituents in positions superimposable to the side chains of common protein secondary structures such as α-helix and β-turn, being the open α-helix conformation slightly favorable according to molecular modeling, while the closed β-turn conformation preferred in solution and in solid state

The Inorganic Side of NGF: Copper(II) And Zinc(II) Affect the NGF Mimicking Signalling of the N-Terminus Peptides Encompassing the Recognition Domain of TrkA Receptor

The nerve growth factor (NGF) N-terminus peptide, NGF(1-14), and its acetylated form, Ac-NGF(1-14), were investigated to scrutinise the ability of this neurotrophin domain to mimic the whole protein. Theoretical calculations demonstrated that non-covalent forces assist the molecular recognition of TrkA receptor for both peptides. Combined parallel tempering/docking simulations discriminated the effect of the N-terminal acetylation on the recognition of NGF(1-14) towards the domain 5 of TrkA (TrkA-D5). Experimental findings demonstrated that both NGF(1-14) and Ac-NGF(1-14) activate TrkA signaling pathways essential for neuronal survival. The NGF-induced TrkA internalization was slightly inhibited in the presence of Cu2+ and Zn2+ ions, whereas the metal ions elicited the NGF(1-14)-induced internalization of TrkA and no significant differences were found in the weak Ac-NGF(1-14)-induced receptor internalization. The crucial role of the metals was confirmed by experiments with the metal-chelator bathocuproine disulfonic acid, which discriminated different levels of inhibitory effects in the signalling cascade, due to different metal affinity of NGF, the free amino and the acetylated peptides. The NGF signaling cascade, activated by NGF (1−14) and Ac-NGF(1-14), induced CREB phosphorylation, but the copper addition further stimulated the Akt, ERK and CREB phosphorylation only for NGF and NGF(1-14). A dynamic and quick influx of both peptides into PC12 cells was tracked by live cell imaging with confocal microscopy. A significant role of copper ions was found in the modulation of peptide sub-cellular localization, especially at the nuclear level. Furthermore, a strong copper ionophoric ability of NGF(1-14) was measured. The Ac-NGF(1-14) peptide, which binds copper ions with a lower stability constant than NGF(1-14), exhibited a lower nuclear localization with respect to the total cellular uptake. These findings were correlated to the metal-induced increase of CREB and BDNF expression upon NGF(1-14) stimulation. In summary, we here validate NGF(1-14) and Ac-NGF(1-14) as first examples of monomer and linear peptides able to activate the NGF-TrkA signaling cascade. Metal ions modulate the activity of both NGF protein and the NGF-mimicking peptides. Such findings demonstrate that NGF(1-14) sequence can reproduce the signal transduction of whole protein, therefore represent a very promising drug candidate for further preclinical studies

Ergatandromorphism in the Ant Myrmica lobulicornis Nylander, 1857 (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

Ergatandromorphism is the result of an aberrant development in which part of the body of a social insect shows the traits of the worker caste, while the other resembles a male. It is considered a specific case of gynandromorphism. Specimens with these characteristics have rarely been collected in different ant lineages across the world. Here, we provide the first description of ergatandromorphism in the ant Myrmica lobulicornis Nylander, 1857: an ergatandromorphous specimen was recovered during an arthropod sampling campaign across altitudinal and ecological gradients on the Italian Alps (Stelvio National Park), together with 480 workers and 4 queens of the same species, which expressed the normal phenotype

Generalidades sobre la Hematología de anfibios anuros

En el presente trabajo se presenta generalidades de la constitución de la sangre de anfibios, base fundamental de la tesis doctoral titulada: “Caracterización hematológica de especies de anfibios anuros con distribución en los ecosistemas del litoral fluvial argentino (Provincias de Entre Ríos y Santa Fe). Potencialidad de su utilización como biomarcadores” (FBCB-UNL), señalando algunos de los resultados de la caracterización hematológica de individuos (larvas y adultos) de quince especies pertenecientes a cinco de las seis familias de anfibios anuros con distribución en las áreas riparias del río Paraná.This current work exhibits generalities of blood constitution in amphibians, which were a fundamental part of the doctoral thesis: "Hematological characterization of amphibian anuran species with distribution in the fluvial littoral ecosystems in Argentina (Provinces of Entre Ríos and Santa Fe) and their potencial use as biomarkers" (FBCB-UNL), where some of the results of the hematological characterization of individuals, both larvae and adults, of fifteen species belonging to five of the six amphibian anuran families with distribution in the riparian areas of Paraná River are pointed out.Fil: Cabagna Zenklusen, Mariana Cristina. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Saneamiento Ambiental. Cátedra de Ecotoxicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Lajmanovich, Rafael Carlos. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Saneamiento Ambiental. Cátedra de Ecotoxicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Attademo, Andres Maximiliano. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Saneamiento Ambiental. Cátedra de Ecotoxicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Peltzer, Paola. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Saneamiento Ambiental. Cátedra de Ecotoxicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Junges, Celina Maria. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Saneamiento Ambiental. Cátedra de Ecotoxicología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe; ArgentinaFil: Fiorenza Biancucci, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas; ArgentinaFil: Basso, Agustin. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas. Laboratorio de Saneamiento Ambiental. Cátedra de Ecotoxicología; Argentin