The 3R principle: 60 years taken well. Preface

Abstrac

Prenatal chlorpyrifos exposure alters motor behavior and ultrasonic vocalization in cd-1 mouse pups

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Chlorpyrifos (CPF) is a non-persistent organophosphate (OP) largely used as pesticide. Studies from animal models indicate that CPF is a developmental neurotoxicant able to target immature central nervous system at dose levels well below the threshold of systemic toxicity. So far, few data are available on the potential short- and long-term adverse effects in children deriving from low-level exposures during prenatal life and infancy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Late gestational exposure [gestational day (GD) 14–17] to CPF at the dose of 6 mg/kg was evaluated in CD-1 mice during early development, by assessment of somatic and sensorimotor maturation [reflex-battery on postnatal days (PNDs) 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15] and ultrasound emission after isolation from the mother and siblings (PNDs 4, 7 and 10). Pups' motor skills were assessed in a spontaneous activity test on PND 12. Maternal behavior of lactating dams in the home cage and in response to presentation of a pup previously removed from the nest was scored on PND 4, to verify potential alterations in maternal care directly induced by CPF administration.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As for the effects on the offspring, results indicated that on PND 10, CPF significantly decreased number and duration of ultrasonic calls while increasing latency to emit the first call after isolation. Prenatal CPF also reduced motor behavior on PND 12, while a tendency to hyporeflexia was observed in CPF pups by means of reflex-battery scoring. Dams administered during gestation with CPF showed baseline levels of maternal care comparable to those of controls, but higher levels of both pup-directed (licking) and explorative (wall rearing) responses.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Overall our results are consistent with previous epidemiological data on OP neurobehavioral toxicity, and also indicate ultrasonic vocalization as an early marker of CPF exposure during development in rodent studies, with potential translational value to human infants.</p

Unusual Repertoire of Vocalizations in the BTBR T+tf/J Mouse Model of Autism

BTBR T+ tf/J (BTBR) is an inbred mouse strain that displays social abnormalities and repetitive behaviors analogous to the first and third diagnostic symptoms of autism. Here we investigate ultrasonic vocalizations in BTBR, to address the second diagnostic symptom of autism, communication deficits. As compared to the commonly used C57BL/6J (B6) strain, BTBR pups called more loudly and more frequently when separated from their mothers and siblings. Detailed analysis of ten categories of calls revealed an unusual pattern in BTBR as compared to B6. BTBR emitted high levels of harmonics, two-syllable, and composite calls, but minimal numbers of chevron-shaped syllables, upward, downward, and short calls. Because body weights were higher in BTBR than B6 pups, one possible explanation was that larger thoracic size was responsible for the louder calls and different distribution of syllable categories. To test this possibility, we recorded separation calls from FVB/NJ, a strain with body weights similar to BTBR, and 129X1/SvJ, a strain with body weights similar to B6. BTBR remained the outlier on number of calls, displaying low numbers of complex, upward, chevron, short, and frequency steps calls, along with high harmonics and composites. Further, developmental milestones and growth rates were accelerated in BTBR, indicating an unusual neurodevelopmental trajectory. Overall, our findings demonstrate strain-specific patterns of ultrasonic calls that may represent different lexicons, or innate variations in complex vocal repertoires, in genetically distinct strains of mice. Particularly intriguing is the unusual pattern of vocalizations and the more frequent, loud harmonics evident in the BTBR mouse model of autism that may resemble the atypical vocalizations seen in some autistic infants

Investigating the Role of Circulating miRNAs as Biomarkers in Colorectal Cancer: An Epidemiological Systematic Review

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common cancers worldwide. Primary and secondary preventions are key to reducing the global burden. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a group of small non-coding RNA molecules, which seem to have a role either as tumor suppressor genes or oncogenes and to be related to cancer risk factors, such as obesity and inflammation. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify circulating miRNAs related to CRC diagnosis that could be selected as biomarkers in a meet-in-the-middle analysis. Forty-four studies were included in the systematic review and nine studies in the meta-analysis. The pooled sensitivity and specificity of miR-21 for CRC diagnosis were 77% (95% CI: 69–84) and 82% (95% CI: 70–90), respectively, with an AUC of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.82–0.88). Several miRNAs were found to be dysregulated, distinguishing patients with CRC from healthy controls. However, little consistency was present across the included studies, making it challenging to identify specific miRNAs, which were consistently validated. Understanding the mechanisms by which miRNAs become biologically embedded in cancer initiation and promotion may help better understand cancer pathways to develop more effective prevention strategies and therapy approaches

Feather picking in pet parrots: sensitive species, risk factor and ethological evidence

The goals of this study were to estimate the prevalence of feather picking (FP) in Italian pet parrots and evaluate the risk factors and possible ethological correlation. A web survey was created and addressed to owners of all species of companion parrots, distributed through on line parrots association websites, social networks and by mail. The survey was available for compilation from June to October 2014. In 292 compiled surveys, 20 different parrots genera were indicated; Psittacus spp. (24.3%), Agapornis spp. (19.5%), Nymphicus hollandicus (18.0%) and Amazona spp. (9.0%) were the most represented species. Our study showed a FP prevalence of 17.5%, with the highest prevalence in Agapornis spp. (26.3%) and Psittacus spp. (22.5%). Living with other parrots was positively associated to FP (p < 0.05), such as being fed in neonatal age and weaned by the breeder and not by the final owner (p < 0.001). Moreover, 2.9% of non-FP parrots and 10.0% of FP parrots lived always caged (p = 0.06). A significant difference in the feather picking site was detected (p < 0.001). The most affected body region was the chest (58.8%), followed by the rump (41.2%) and under wing regions (25.4%). At the same time, we conducted another study to better understand some information from the hand-raised parrots through a comparison with the parent-raised parrots. We recorded 1488 parent-raised parrots, and only 1.3% were affected by feather loss. This finding confirm that FP is be considered a multi-factorial behavioral pathology in which factors of different origin may cause behavioral disorders associated to self-injuries