Maternal Melatonin Programs the Daily Pattern of Energy Metabolism in Adult Offspring

Background: Shift work was recently described as a factor that increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes mellitus. In addition, rats born to mothers subjected to a phase shift throughout pregnancy are glucose intolerant. However, the mechanism by which a phase shift transmits metabolic information to the offspring has not been determined. Among several endocrine secretions, phase shifts in the light/dark cycle were described as altering the circadian profile of melatonin production by the pineal gland. The present study addresses the importance of maternal melatonin for the metabolic programming of the offspring. Methodology/Principal Findings: Female Wistar rats were submitted to SHAM surgery or pinealectomy (PINX). The PINX rats were divided into two groups and received either melatonin (PM) or vehicle. The SHAM, the PINX vehicle and the PM females were housed with male Wistar rats. Rats were allowed to mate and after weaning, the male and female offspring were subjected to a glucose tolerance test (GTT), a pyruvate tolerance test (PTT) and an insulin tolerance test (ITT). Pancreatic islets were isolated for insulin secretion, and insulin signaling was assessed in the liver and in the skeletal muscle by western blots. We found that male and female rats born to PINX mothers display glucose intolerance at the end of the light phase of the light/dark cycle, but not at the beginning. We further demonstrate that impaired glucose-stimulated insulin secretion and hepatic insulin resistance are mechanisms that may contribute to glucose intolerance in the offspring of PINX mothers. The metabolic programming described here occurs due to an absence of maternal melatonin because the offspring born to PINX mothers treated with melatonin were not glucose intolerant. Conclusions/Significance: The present results support the novel concept that maternal melatonin is responsible for the programming of the daily pattern of energy metabolism in their offspring.Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP)CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Aperfeicoameno Cientifico)CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Aperfeicoameno Cientifico

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

Anemia hemolítica auto-imune e outras manifestações imunes da leucemia linfocítica crônica Autoimmune hemolytic anemia and other autoimmune diseases related to chronic lymphocytic leukemia

A leucemia linfocítica crônica (LLC) é freqüentemente associada a manifestações auto-imunes principalmente relacionadas às células do sistema hematopoético causando anemia hemolítica auto-imune (AHAI), púrpura trombocitopênica imune (PTI), aplasia pura de série vermelha (APSV), e neutropenia imune. A LLC é diagnosticada em até 15% dos pacientes com AHAI, e em cerca de 50% dos pacientes com AHAI secundária a doença maligna. A PTI ocorre em 2%, e a APSV em 1% dos pacientes com LLC. Prednisona é o tratamento inicial de escolha para a citopenia imune associada à LLC. Para cerca de 60% dos pacientes que apresentam recidiva da manifestação auto-imune tem sido utilizada esplenectomia, imunoglobulina endovenosa, ou ciclosporina. Embora as evidências sobre fisiopatologia sejam limitadas, os mecanismos fisiopatológicos da auto-imunidade na LLC estão relacionados à atividade dos linfócitos B leucêmicos que atuam como células apresentadoras de antígeno aberrantes, e são eficientes em processar e apresentar proteínas da membrana de hemácias e de plaquetas às células TH auto-reativas. Linfócitos TH específicos para certos auto-antígenos podem escapar de mecanismos de controle de auto-tolerância, e, se ativados, podem causar doença auto-imune. O diagnóstico de AHAI contra-indica o uso de fludarabina em pacientes com LLC, pois esse análogo da purina tem sido associado ao desenvolvimento de AHAI grave e fatal, com risco consideravelmente mais alto para pacientes mais imunossuprimidos devido a vários tratamentos anteriores.<br>Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is frequently associated with autoimmune diseases directed against hematopoietic cells, including autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA), immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), pure red cell aplasia (PRCA), and immune neutropenia. CLL represents the diagnosis in up to 15% of the patients with AIHA, and in 50% of the patients with AIHA secondary to malignancy. ITP occurs in 2% and PRCA in about 1% of all CLL patients. Prednisone is the first-line treatment for immune cytopenia related to CLL. About 60% of patients relapse when treatment is stopped therefore splenectomy, intravenous immunoglobulin, or cyclosporine are reasonable second-line treatments. Although the data on pathophysiology are very limited, it appears that the autoimmune mechanisms are related to the activity of the leukemic B lymphocytes that act as aberrant antigen-presenting cells, and are effective in processing and presenting proteins derived from red cells or platelets to auto-reactive TH cells. TH cells specific for certain auto-antigens escape from control mechanisms and when activated may initiate auto-immune disease. Patients with AIHA secondary to CLL should not receive fludarabine because there is an increased frequency of severe and fatal AIHA in patients treated with purine nucleoside analogues. Patients who are more immunosuppressed due to several previous treatments are at higher risk for developing this auto-immune complication

The application of latent class analysis for diagnostic test validation of chronic Trypanosoma cruzi infection in blood donors

The main strategy to prevent transfusion-associated Chagas' disease is the identification of T. Cruzi-infected blood donors by serological screening tests, however there is no perfect serological gold standard. We evaluated an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), an indirect hemaglutination (IHA), and an indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) test for detecting T. Cruzi antibodies in Brazilian blood donors. The results were submitted to latent class analysis, and a radioimmunopreciptation (RIPA) test was performed on repeatedly positive samples. Among 1951 donors, 11 (0.56%) were positive by EIA, 6 (0.31%) by IHA and 16 (0.82%) by IIF. Six samples were positive with all tests, while 4 reacted with EIA and IIF. The RIPA was positive in 6 (75.0%), 7 (66.6%), and 4 (54.0%) samples reacting by the EIA, IHA and IIF tests, respectively. The latent class model detected a high sensitivity rate (100%) for the EIA and IIF, and a specificity rate of 99.95% and 99.69% for the EIA and IIF tests, respectively. The probability of being case according to the model was 99.92% when both EIA and IIF were positive, and 100% for the association of EIA, IIF, and IHA