The role of anandamide during pregnancy : A short tale about the endocannabinoid system

The success of any species depends on its reproductive efficiency. Sexual procreation is initiated by interactions between a sperm and an egg leading to fertilization. The fertilized egg (embryo) undergoes several mitotic cell divisions, ultimately producing the blastocyst. The nurturing of an offspring within the body and production of a live birth is an enduring task, requiring safeguard regulatory systems at various critical steps. At the moment, there is still a significant knowledge gap in understanding the mechanisms by which a successful pregnancy is achieved. It is difficult to define the hierarchical landscape of the molecular pathways during human pregnancy, because of experimental difficulties and ethical restrictions on research with human embryos. It is hoped that experiments on mice and other animal models that bear certain reproductive similarities with humans combined with those feasible experiments in humans would generate meaningful information to address this critical issue. A deeper insight into these processes will help to generate new ideas and concepts for improving fertility and pregnancy-associated health issues in humans. During the last years, several studies have provided evidence that lipid mediators are important signaling molecules in coordinating a series of events during pregnancy. Increasing evidence points toward the pathophysiological significance of endocannabinoids, a group of bioactive lipid-signaling molecules, in both female and male fertility.Sociedad Argentina de Fisiologí

Genomic Organization and Expression Demonstrate Spatial and Temporal Hox Gene Colinearity in the Lophotrochozoan Capitella sp. I

Hox genes define regional identities along the anterior–posterior axis in many animals. In a number of species, Hox genes are clustered in the genome, and the relative order of genes corresponds with position of expression in the body. Previous Hox gene studies in lophotrochozoans have reported expression for only a subset of the Hox gene complement and/or lack detailed genomic organization information, limiting interpretations of spatial and temporal colinearity in this diverse animal clade. We studied expression and genomic organization of the single Hox gene complement in the segmented polychaete annelid Capitella sp. I. Total genome searches identified 11 Hox genes in Capitella, representing 11 distinct paralog groups thought to represent the ancestral lophotrochozoan complement. At least 8 of the 11 Capitella Hox genes are genomically linked in a single cluster, have the same transcriptional orientation, and lack interspersed non-Hox genes. Studying their expression by situ hybridization, we find that the 11 Capitella Hox genes generally exhibit spatial and temporal colinearity. With the exception of CapI-Post1, Capitella Hox genes are all expressed in broad ectodermal domains during larval development, consistent with providing positional information along the anterior–posterior axis. The anterior genes CapI-lab, CapI-pb, and CapI-Hox3 initiate expression prior to the appearance of segments, while more posterior genes appear at or soon after segments appear. Many of the Capitella Hox genes have either an anterior or posterior expression boundary coinciding with the thoracic–abdomen transition, a major body tagma boundary. Following metamorphosis, several expression patterns change, including appearance of distinct posterior boundaries and restriction to the central nervous system. Capitella Hox genes have maintained a clustered organization, are expressed in the canonical anterior–posterior order found in other metazoans, and exhibit spatial and temporal colinearity, reflecting Hox gene characteristics that likely existed in the protostome–deuterostome ancestor

Multiple Changes in Peptide and Lipid Expression Associated with Regeneration in the Nervous System of the Medicinal Leech

peer reviewe

Role of Bcl-2 as a prognostic factor for survival in lung cancer: a systematic review of the literature with meta-analysis

The role of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 in lung cancer remains controversial. In order to clarify its impact on survival in small and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), we performed a systematic review of the literature. Trials were selected for further analysis if they provided an independent assessment of Bcl-2 in lung cancer and reported analysis of survival data according to Bcl-2 status. To make it possible to aggregate survival results of the published studies, their methodology was assessed using a quality scale designed by the European Lung Cancer Working Party (including study design, laboratory methods and analysis). Of 28 studies, 11 identified Bcl-2 expression as a favourable prognostic factor and three linked it with poor prognosis; 14 trials were not significant. No differences in scoring measurement were detected between the studies, except that significantly higher scores were found in the trials with the largest sample sizes. Assessments of methodology and of laboratory technique were made independently of the conclusion of the trials. A total of 25 trials, comprising 3370 patients, provided sufficient information for the meta-analysis. The studies were categorised according to histology, disease stage and laboratory technique. The combined hazard ratio (HR) suggested that a positive Bcl-2 status has a favourable impact on survival: 0.70 (95% confidence interval 0.57-0.86) in seven studies on stages I-II NSCLC; 0.50 (0.39-0.65) in eight studies on surgically resected NSCLC; 0.91 (0.76-1.10) in six studies on any stage NSCLC; 0.57 (0.41-0.78) in five studies on squamous cell cancer; 0.75 (0.61-0.93) and 0.71 (0.61-0.83) respectively for five studies detecting Bcl-2 by immunohistochemistry with Ab clone 100 and for 13 studies assessing Bcl-2 with Ab clone 124; 0.92 (0.73-1.16) for four studies on small cell lung cancer; 1.26 (0.58-2.72) for three studies on neuroendocrine tumours. In NSCLC, Bcl-2 expression was associated with a better prognosis. The data on Bcl-2 expression in small cell lung cancer were insufficient to assess its prognostic value.Journal ArticleMeta-AnalysisResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tReviewinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

The role of anandamide during pregnancy : A short tale about the endocannabinoid system

The success of any species depends on its reproductive efficiency. Sexual procreation is initiated by interactions between a sperm and an egg leading to fertilization. The fertilized egg (embryo) undergoes several mitotic cell divisions, ultimately producing the blastocyst. The nurturing of an offspring within the body and production of a live birth is an enduring task, requiring safeguard regulatory systems at various critical steps. At the moment, there is still a significant knowledge gap in understanding the mechanisms by which a successful pregnancy is achieved. It is difficult to define the hierarchical landscape of the molecular pathways during human pregnancy, because of experimental difficulties and ethical restrictions on research with human embryos. It is hoped that experiments on mice and other animal models that bear certain reproductive similarities with humans combined with those feasible experiments in humans would generate meaningful information to address this critical issue. A deeper insight into these processes will help to generate new ideas and concepts for improving fertility and pregnancy-associated health issues in humans. During the last years, several studies have provided evidence that lipid mediators are important signaling molecules in coordinating a series of events during pregnancy. Increasing evidence points toward the pathophysiological significance of endocannabinoids, a group of bioactive lipid-signaling molecules, in both female and male fertility.Sociedad Argentina de Fisiologí

Effects of cyclooxygenase inhibitor pretreatment on nitric oxide production, nNOS and iNOS expression in rat cerebellum

1. The therapeutic effect of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) is thought to be due mainly to its inhibition of cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, but there is a growing body of research that now demonstrates a variety of NSAIDs effects on cellular signal transduction pathways other than those involving prostaglandins. 2. Nitric oxide (NO) as a free radical and an agent that gives rise to highly toxic oxidants (peroxynitrile, nitric dioxide, nitron ion), becomes a cause of neuronal damage and death in some brain lesions such as Parkinson and Alzheimer disease, and Huntington's chorea. 3. In the present study, the in vivo effect of three NSAIDs (lysine clonixinate (LC), indomethacine (INDO) and meloxicam (MELO)) on NO production and nitric oxide synthase expression in rat cerebellar slices was analysed. Rats were treated with (a) saline, (b) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (5 mg kg(−1), i.p.), (c) saline in combination with different doses of NSAIDs and (d) LPS in combination with different doses of NSAIDs and then killed 6 h after treatment. 4. NO synthesis, evaluated by Bred and Snyder technique, was increased by LPS. This augmentation was inhibited by coadministration of the three NSAIDs assayed. None of the NSAIDs tested was able to modify control NO synthesis. 5. Expression of iNOS and neural NOS (nNOS) was detected by Western blotting in control and LPS-treated rats. LC and INDO, but not MELO, were able to inhibit the expression of these enzymes. 6. Therefore, reduction of iNOS and nNOS levels in cerebellum may explain, in part, the anti-inflammatory effect of these NSAIDs and may also have importance in the prevention of NO-mediated neuronal injury