Photoperiodic variation in CD45-positive cells and cell proliferation in the mediobasal hypothalamus of the soay sheep

The Earth's solar orbit induces annual climatic changes challenging to survival. Many animals have evolved to cope with seasonal variability through compensatory annual changes in their physiology and behavior, which involve innate long-term timing and photoperiodic synchronization to anticipate the environmental seasonal cycles. Here we considered the potential involvement of cyclical histogenesis in seasonal timing mechanisms in the sheep. Adult Soay rams were established in three distinctive seasonal states by controlled photoperiod exposure. A first group, representing the condition in late spring (long-photoperiod [LP] group), was taken indoors in May and exposed to 4 wks of 16 h light/day (LP). A second group was exposed to 20 wks of LP to establish a late-summer/long-day refractory condition (LPR group). A third group of animals was brought indoors in August and exposed to 4 wks of LP followed by 4 wks of 8 h light/day (short photoperiod [SP]) to establish an autumn-like condition (SP group). At the end of these regimes, we injected 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU), and animals were killed 24 h or 4 wks later. When BrdU was administered 24 h before death, more BrdU-immunopositive cells were detected in the hilus of the hippocampus in LP compared with SP animals, indicative of a higher proliferation rate. When BrdU was administered 4 wks before death, more BrdU-positive cells were detected in the hippocampus under LP, compared with SP, indicating increased cell survival. These mitotic cells were occasionally seen to adopt a neuronal phenotype in the hippocampus, but not in the hypothalamus. Approximately 10% of BrdU-positive cells in the basal hypothalamus coexpressed the pan-leukocytic marker CD45, and showed morphological features and regional distribution consistent with ameboid microglia. Increased numbers of these cells were detected in the region of the median eminence and tuberoinfundibular sulcus of animals kept in SP compared with LP or LPR. These data suggest that neuroimmune mechanisms may be involved in photoperiod-dependent seasonal remodeling of the adult brain

The coordination of heart and gill rhythms in \u3cem\u3eLimulus\u3c/em\u3e

WhenLimulus is exposed to hypoxia both heart rate and ventilation rate decrease together (Fig. 1, Fig. 2A). Hypoxia ultimately leads to cessation of ventilation and concomitant bradycardia. When oxygen is reintroduced into an oxygen free aquarium ventilation resumes rapidly, with a parallel increase in heart rate (Fig. 1, Fig. 2B). Covariation of heart and gill activity similar to that in hypoxia experiments also occurs during the normal respiratory behavior patterns ofLimulus, such as intermittent ventilation, swimming, hyperventilation and gill cleaning. The covariation of heart and ventilation rates is especially evident during transitions of intermittent ventilation (alternating periods of apnea and ventilation, Fig. 3). Covariation is also evident during the large increases in ventilation frequency which occur during hyperventilation and swimming (Fig. 4). Gill cleaning is a centrally determined motor sequence which consists of rhythmic flicking of the inner lobes of a gill plate between the book gill lamellae of the plate on the opposite side. During this behavior there is a marked slowing of the heart rate which is at least as great as the decrease in rate seen during periods of apnea (Figs. 5 and 6). Changes in heart rate associated with ventilatory activity do not appear to be caused by the metabolic demand resulting from such activity (Fig. 7). In addition to frequency covariation of the heart and ventilation rates, there can also be phase coordination of the two rhythms. When the two are close to the same frequency or to harmonic frequencies, the heart often maintains a phase preference with respect to the concurrent gill interval over a considerable period of time (Fig. 8). These results suggest that there are common tonic inputs to both the cardiac ganglion and the central pattern generators for the various ventilatory behaviors, which modulate the frequencies of both simultaneously. Both the frequency covariation and phase communication between the two systems may serve to increase the efficiency of the respiratory-circulatory interactions