Diversity of cingulate xenarthrans in the middle-late Eocene of Northwestern Argentina

The study of Paleogene mammals of intermediate and low latitudes has increased in the last decades and has been clearly demonstrated their importance in the comprehension of the evolution and faunistic changes outside Patagonia. The study of these faunas permits establishing new comparisons among contemporaneous faunistic associations, completing the distributional patterns, and evaluating evolutionary changes in the lineages in relation to climatic conditions prevailing in each of the different regions. In this work we study the diversity of Dasypodidae recovered from the Geste Formation (Northwestern Argentina). Bearing levels of Geste Formation were referred alternatively to a Barrancan subage of Casamayoran SALMA (middle Eocene, Lutetian-Bartonian) or a Mustersan SALMA (middle-late Eocene, Bartonian-Priabonian) on faunistic comparations with their equivalent in Patagonia, although absolute isotopic data indicates ca. 37-35 Ma (late Eocene, Priabonian). We described the following taxa of Dasypodidae: (i) Dasypodinae Astegotheriini: cf. Astegotherium sp., ?Prostegotherium sp., Parastegosimpsonia cf. P. peruana; (ii) Dasypodinae indet.; (iii) Euphractinae Euphractini: Parutaetus punaensis sp. nov.; (iv) Dasypodidae incertae sedis: Pucatherium parvum, Punatherium catamarcensis gen. et sp. nov. In comparison with other beds bearing Eocene cingulate faunas from Northwestern Argentina, Geste Formation presents the greatest diversity of dasypodids. This association is consistent with a late Eocene age and shows a taxonomic and biogeographic relevant features given by a unique specific composition: (i) it differs from that known for contemporaneous faunas from Southern latitudes and younger associations from more tropical areas; (ii) it includes genera with close affinities to those distant areas; (iii) it presents unique taxa typical from Eocene units exposed at Northwestern Argentina. This highlights the evolutionary and biogeographic meaning of the cingulate of the Geste Formation and supports the idea that the faunistic regionalization probably obeyed to latitudinal than to temporal factors.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Diversity of cingulate xenarthrans in the middle-late Eocene of Northwestern Argentina

The study of Paleogene mammals of intermediate and low latitudes has increased in the last decades and has been clearly demonstrated their importance in the comprehension of the evolution and faunistic changes outside Patagonia. The study of these faunas permits establishing new comparisons among contemporaneous faunistic associations, completing the distributional patterns, and evaluating evolutionary changes in the lineages in relation to climatic conditions prevailing in each of the different regions. In this work we study the diversity of Dasypodidae recovered from the Geste Formation (Northwestern Argentina). Bearing levels of Geste Formation were referred alternatively to a Barrancan subage of Casamayoran SALMA (middle Eocene, Lutetian-Bartonian) or a Mustersan SALMA (middle-late Eocene, Bartonian-Priabonian) on faunistic comparations with their equivalent in Patagonia, although absolute isotopic data indicates ca. 37-35 Ma (late Eocene, Priabonian). We described the following taxa of Dasypodidae: (i) Dasypodinae Astegotheriini: cf. Astegotherium sp., ?Prostegotherium sp., Parastegosimpsonia cf. P. peruana; (ii) Dasypodinae indet.; (iii) Euphractinae Euphractini: Parutaetus punaensis sp. nov.; (iv) Dasypodidae incertae sedis: Pucatherium parvum, Punatherium catamarcensis gen. et sp. nov. In comparison with other beds bearing Eocene cingulate faunas from Northwestern Argentina, Geste Formation presents the greatest diversity of dasypodids. This association is consistent with a late Eocene age and shows a taxonomic and biogeographic relevant features given by a unique specific composition: (i) it differs from that known for contemporaneous faunas from Southern latitudes and younger associations from more tropical areas; (ii) it includes genera with close affinities to those distant areas; (iii) it presents unique taxa typical from Eocene units exposed at Northwestern Argentina. This highlights the evolutionary and biogeographic meaning of the cingulate of the Geste Formation and supports the idea that the faunistic regionalization probably obeyed to latitudinal than to temporal factors.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

CD105 positive neovessels are prevalent in early stage carotid lesions, and correlate with the grade in more advanced carotid and coronary plaques

10 páginas, 4 figuras, 4 tabla, 1 fichero adicional.Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that expression of CD105 is a sensitive marker and indicator of endothelial cell/microvessel activation and proliferation in aggressive solid tumour growth and atherosclerotic plaque lesions. Since intimal neovascularization contributes significantly to subsequent plaque instability, haemorrhage and rupture.Methods: We have used immunohistochemical analysis to investigate the expression of CD105- positive vessels in both large (carotid) and medium calibre (coronary and middle cerebral artery, MCAs) diseased vessels in an attempt to identify any correlation with plaque growth, stage and complication/type.Results: Here we show, that carotid arteries expressed intimal neovascularization associated with CD105-positive endothelial cells, concomitant with increased inflammation in early stage lesions, preatheroma (I-III) whilst they were not present in coronary plaques of the same grade. Some of these CD105-positive neovessels were immature, thin walled and without smooth muscle cell coverage making them more prone to haemorrhage and rupture. In high-grade lesions, neovessel proliferation was similar in both arterial types and significantly higher numbers of CD105-positive vasa vasorum were associated with plaque regions in coronary arteries. In contrast, although the MCAs exhibited expanded intimas and established plaques, there were very few CD105 positive neovessels.Conclusion: Our results show that CD105 is a useful marker of angiogenesis within adventitial and intimal vessels and suggest the existence of significant differences in the pathological development of atherosclerosis in separate vascular beds which may have important consequences when considering management and treatment of this disease.This work was supported by grant: SAF 2006-07681 from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (MEC) to JK.Peer reviewe

Stem cells from human cardiac adipose tissue depots show different gene expression and functional capacities

Altres ajuts: This work was supported by grants from FEDER "Una Manera de Hacer Europa"; the Secretary of University and Research. We thank FIC-Fundacion Jesús Serra, Barcelona, Spain, for their continuous support.Background: The composition and function of the adipose tissue covering the heart are poorly known. In this study, we have investigated the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) covering the cardiac ventricular muscle and the EAT covering the left anterior descending artery (LAD) on the human heart, to identify their resident stem cell functional activity. Methods: EAT covering the cardiac ventricular muscle was isolated from the apex (avoiding areas irrigated by major vessels) of the heart (ventricular myocardium adipose tissue (VMAT)) and from the area covering the epicardial arterial sulcus of the LAD (PVAT) in human hearts excised during heart transplant surgery. Adipose stem cells (ASCs) from both adipose tissue depots were immediately isolated and phenotypically characterized by flow cytometry. The different behavior of these ASCs and their released secretome microvesicles (MVs) were investigated by molecular and cellular analysis. Results: ASCs from both VMAT (mASCs) and the PVAT (pASCs) were characterized by the expression of CD105, CD44, CD29, CD90, and CD73. The angiogenic-related genes VEGFA, COL18A1, and TF, as well as the miRNA126-3p and miRNA145-5p, were analyzed in both ASC types. Both ASCs were functionally able to form tube-like structures in three-dimensional basement membrane substrates. Interestingly, pASCs showed a higher level of expression of VEGFA and reduced level of COL18A1 than mASCs. Furthermore, MVs released by mASCs significantly induced human microvascular endothelial cell migration. Conclusion: Our study indicates for the first time that the resident ASCs in human epicardial adipose tissue display a depot-specific angiogenic function. Additionally, we have demonstrated that resident stem cells are able to regulate microvascular endothelial cell function by the release of MVs

Alternative c3 complement system : Lipids and atherosclerosis

Altres ajuts: Fundación Jesus SerraAltres ajuts: Fundación de Investigación CardiovascularAltres ajuts: Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER)Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is increasingly associated with inflammation, a phenotype that persists despite treatment with lipid lowering therapies. The alternative C3 complement system (C3), as a key inflammatory mediator, seems to be involved in the atherosclerotic process; however, the relationship between C3 and lipids during plaque progression remains unknown. The aim of the study was to investigate by a systems biology approach the role of C3 in relation to lipoprotein levels during atherosclerosis (AT) progression and to gain a better understanding on the effects of C3 products on the phenotype and function of human lipid-loaded vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). By mass spectrometry and differential proteomics, we found the extracellular matrix (ECM) of human aortas to be enriched in active components of the C3 complement system, with a significantly different proteomic signature in AT segments. Thus, C3 products were more abundant in AT-ECM than in macroscopically normal segments. Furthermore, circulating C3 levels were significantly elevated in FH patients with subclinical coronary AT, evidenced by computed tomographic angiography. However, no correlation was identified between circulating C3 levels and the increase in plaque burden, indicating a local regulation of the C3 in AT arteries. In cell culture studies of human VSMCs, we evidenced the expression of C3, C3aR (anaphylatoxin receptor) and the integrin α β receptor for C3b/iC3b (RT-PCR and Western blot). C3mRNA was up-regulated in lipid-loaded human VSMCs, and C3 protein significantly increased in cell culture supernatants, indicating that the C3 products in the AT-ECM have a local vessel-wall niche. Interestingly, C3a and iC3b (C3 active fragments) have functional effects on VSMCs, significantly reversing the inhibition of VSMC migration induced by aggregated LDL and stimulating cell spreading, organization of F-actin stress fibers and attachment during the adhesion of lipid-loaded human VSMCs. This study, by using a systems biology approach, identified molecular processes involving the C3 complement system in vascular remodeling and in the progression of advanced human atherosclerotic lesions

Diversity of cingulate xenarthrans in the middle-late Eocene of Northwestern Argentina

The study of Paleogene mammals of intermediate and low latitudes has increased in the last decades and has been clearly demonstrated their importance in the comprehension of the evolution and faunistic changes outside Patagonia. The study of these faunas permits establishing new comparisons among contemporaneous faunistic associations, completing the distributional patterns, and evaluating evolutionary changes in the lineages in relation to climatic conditions prevailing in each of the different regions. In this work we study the diversity of Dasypodidae recovered from the Geste Formation (Northwestern Argentina). Bearing levels of Geste Formation were referred alternatively to a Barrancan subage of Casamayoran SALMA (middle Eocene, Lutetian-Bartonian) or a Mustersan SALMA (middle-late Eocene, Bartonian-Priabonian) on faunistic comparations with their equivalent in Patagonia, although absolute isotopic data indicates ca. 37-35 Ma (late Eocene, Priabonian). We described the following taxa of Dasypodidae: (i) Dasypodinae Astegotheriini: cf. Astegotherium sp., ?Prostegotherium sp., Parastegosimpsonia cf. P. peruana; (ii) Dasypodinae indet.; (iii) Euphractinae Euphractini: Parutaetus punaensis sp. nov.; (iv) Dasypodidae incertae sedis: Pucatherium parvum, Punatherium catamarcensis gen. et sp. nov. In comparison with other beds bearing Eocene cingulate faunas from Northwestern Argentina, Geste Formation presents the greatest diversity of dasypodids. This association is consistent with a late Eocene age and shows a taxonomic and biogeographic relevant features given by a unique specific composition: (i) it differs from that known for contemporaneous faunas from Southern latitudes and younger associations from more tropical areas; (ii) it includes genera with close affinities to those distant areas; (iii) it presents unique taxa typical from Eocene units exposed at Northwestern Argentina. This highlights the evolutionary and biogeographic meaning of the cingulate of the Geste Formation and supports the idea that the faunistic regionalization probably obeyed to latitudinal than to temporal factors.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Primer análisis de restos óseos humanos del Sitio PP9.I : Estructura I - Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca

La recuperación de restos óseos humanos provenientes de un entierro secundario del sitio Punta de la Peña 9, sector I, motivó la necesidad de efectuar un primer análisis bioantropológico de los mismos. Estos corresponden a ocupaciones agropastoriles anteriores a los 830 años AP que fechan carbones suprayacentes. El material recuperado, fragmentado y en regular estado de conservación, fue objeto de una inspección macroscópica, seguida de un análisis morfológico y métrico destinado a estimar MNI, edad, sexo, estado sanitario y presencia, o no, de deformación cefálica artificial. Los resultados alcanzados son: 2 individuos, uno de probable sexo femenino (el otro no determinado), de edad entre 20 y 40 años, sin señales de violencia evidentes, y con una asimetría de la sutura sagital y espina frontal, desplazadas hacia la izquierda del individuo. Se encuentra en proceso una segunda etapa de aná- lisis que permita completar o complementar los aspectos arriba mencionados incluyendo el estudio del contexto de depositación.Sesión de pósters.Asociación de Antropología Biológica de la República Argentina (AABRA

Primer análisis de restos óseos humanos del Sitio PP9.I : Estructura I - Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca

La recuperación de restos óseos humanos provenientes de un entierro secundario del sitio Punta de la Peña 9, sector I, motivó la necesidad de efectuar un primer análisis bioantropológico de los mismos. Estos corresponden a ocupaciones agropastoriles anteriores a los 830 años AP que fechan carbones suprayacentes. El material recuperado, fragmentado y en regular estado de conservación, fue objeto de una inspección macroscópica, seguida de un análisis morfológico y métrico destinado a estimar MNI, edad, sexo, estado sanitario y presencia, o no, de deformación cefálica artificial. Los resultados alcanzados son: 2 individuos, uno de probable sexo femenino (el otro no determinado), de edad entre 20 y 40 años, sin señales de violencia evidentes, y con una asimetría de la sutura sagital y espina frontal, desplazadas hacia la izquierda del individuo. Se encuentra en proceso una segunda etapa de aná- lisis que permita completar o complementar los aspectos arriba mencionados incluyendo el estudio del contexto de depositación.Sesión de pósters.Asociación de Antropología Biológica de la República Argentina (AABRA

Primer análisis de restos óseos humanos del Sitio PP9.I : Estructura I - Antofagasta de la Sierra, Catamarca

La recuperación de restos óseos humanos provenientes de un entierro secundario del sitio Punta de la Peña 9, sector I, motivó la necesidad de efectuar un primer análisis bioantropológico de los mismos. Estos corresponden a ocupaciones agropastoriles anteriores a los 830 años AP que fechan carbones suprayacentes. El material recuperado, fragmentado y en regular estado de conservación, fue objeto de una inspección macroscópica, seguida de un análisis morfológico y métrico destinado a estimar MNI, edad, sexo, estado sanitario y presencia, o no, de deformación cefálica artificial. Los resultados alcanzados son: 2 individuos, uno de probable sexo femenino (el otro no determinado), de edad entre 20 y 40 años, sin señales de violencia evidentes, y con una asimetría de la sutura sagital y espina frontal, desplazadas hacia la izquierda del individuo. Se encuentra en proceso una segunda etapa de aná- lisis que permita completar o complementar los aspectos arriba mencionados incluyendo el estudio del contexto de depositación.Sesión de pósters.Asociación de Antropología Biológica de la República Argentina (AABRA