s-ccdc80 is involved in axon guidance of zebrafish primary motoneurons

The similar to ccdc80 (s-ccdc80) gene was in silico identified on the basis of its high nuclear sequence identity (56,6%) with zebrafish ccdc80 (coiled-coil domain containing 80). The analysis of s-ccdc80 temporal/spatial expression by means of RT-PCR and whole mount in situ hybridization revealed its diffuse expression at early developmental stages and in epiboly. During somitogenesis up to 48 hours post fertilization, s-ccdc80 is expressed in specific territories such as cranial ganglia, ventral portion of somites, migrating adaxial cells and muscle pioneers, dorsal dermis and caudal vein plexus region. s-ccdc80 knock-down through the injection of a specific morpholino did not lead to morphological body plan defects nor alteration of the expression of several myogenic markers, though motility resulted affected. Thus, we decided to investigate the motoneuronal development in knocked-down embryos, also bearing in mind s-ccdc80 expression in territories involved in motoneurons patterning and axonal pathfinding: muscle pioneers and adaxial cells. s-ccdc80 knock-down led to axonal outgrowth defects of two primary motoneurons (CaP and Mip), that branched excessively and followed aberrant pathways. Our results strongly suggest that s-ccdc80 is involved in the guidance of the axonal extension of primary motoneurons but not in their proper formation. Furthermore, s-ccdc80 expression seemed to be positively regulated by the Hedgehog pathway

Metodologie integrate per la georeferenziazione e rilievi 3D terrestri nell'antica citt\ue0 di Palmyra (Siria).

L\u2019integrazione delle metodologie di rilievo quali la topografia classica, il GPS, la fotogrammetria digitale ed il laser scanning terrestre permette la descrizione completa, dettagliata e ad alta risoluzione di oggetti a diverse scale di rappresentazione. Questo approccio \ue8 stato utilizzato per il rilievo 3D di alcuni siti della citt\ue0 di Palmyra (Siria); relativamente al quartiere sud-ovest dell\u2019antica citt\ue0, oggetto dell\u2019intervento della Missione Archeologica Italo-Siriana PAL.M.A.I.S., \ue8 stata definita una rete topografica di inquadramento misurata nel sistema assoluto nazionale siriano e sono state acquisite immagini fotogrammetriche terrestri per il rilievo ad alta risoluzione del paramento murario occidentale dell\u2019Agora, di un arco al confine settentrionale del quartiere e dello scavo dell\u2019Edificio con Peristilio. Per ciascuno degli elementi rilevati sono stati misurati anche punti fotografici d\u2019appoggio necessari per l\u2019orientamento delle immagini. L\u2019elaborazione dei dati con software fotogrammetrici ha permesso la generazione di modelli digitali 3D texturizzati e ad alta risoluzione con finalit\ue0 conoscitive e di catalogazione oltre che per analisi dettagliat

The Coiled-Coil Domain Containing 80 (ccdc80) Gene Regulates gadd45β2 Expression in the Developing Somites of Zebrafish as a New Player of the Hedgehog Pathway

The Coiled-Coil Domain Containing 80 (CCDC80) gene has been identified as strongly induced in rat thyroid PC CL3 cells immortalized by the adenoviral E1A gene. In human, CCDC80 is a potential oncosoppressor due to its down-regulation in several tumor cell lines and tissues and it is expressed in almost all tissues. CCDC80 has homologous in mouse, chicken and zebrafish. We cloned the zebrafish ccdc80 and analyzed its expression and function during embryonic development. The in silico translated zebrafish protein shares high similarity with its mammalian homologous, with nuclear localization signals and a signal peptide. Gene expression analysis demonstrates that zebrafish ccdc80 is maternally and zygotically expressed throughout the development. In particular, ccdc80 is strongly expressed in the notochord and it is under the regulation of the Hedgehog pathway. In this work we investigated the functional effects of ccdc80-loss-of-function during embryonic development and verified its interaction with gadd45\u3b22 in somitogenesis

Relationship between adverse effects of antiepileptic drugs, number of coprescribed drugs, and drug load in a large cohort of consecutive patients with drug-refractory epilepsy

Purpose: To evaluate the adverse effects (AEs) of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in adults with refractory epilepsy and their relationship with number of coprescribed AEDs and AED load. Methods: Patients with refractory epilepsy were enrolled consecutively at 11 tertiary referral centers. AEs were assessed through unstructured interview and the Adverse Event Profile (AEP) questionnaire. AED loads were calculated as the sum of prescribed daily dose (PDD)/defined daily dose (DDD) ratios for each coprescribed AED. Results: Of 809 patients enrolled, 709 had localization-related epilepsy and 627 were on polytherapy. AED loads increased with increasing number of AEDs in the treatment regimen, from 1.2 ± 0.5 for patients on monotherapy to 2.5 ± 1, 3.7 ± 1.1, and 4.7 ± 1.1 for those on two, three, and ≥4 AEDs, respectively. The number of spontaneously reported AEs correlated with the number of AEs identified by the AEP (r = 0.27, p < 0.0001). AEP scores did not differ between patients with monotherapy and patients with polytherapy (42.8 ± 11.7 vs. 42.6 ± 11.2), and there was no correlation between AEP scores and AED load (r = )0.05, p = 0.16). Conclusions: AEs did not differ between monotherapy and polytherapy patients, and did not correlate with AED load, possibly as a result of physicians' intervention in individualizing treatment regimens. Taking into account the limitations of a cross-sectional survey, these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that AEs are determined more by individual susceptibility, type of AEDs used, and physicians' skills, than number of coprescribed AEDs and AED load. © 2010 International League Against Epilepsy