Effective activation of antioxidant system by immune-relevant factors reversely correlates with apoptosis of Eisenia andrei coelomocytes

Oxidative stress is harmful to the microbes but also to the host, and may result in bystander damage or death. Because of this, respiratory burst triggered in phagocytes by pathogens is counteracted by production of antioxidative factors. The aim of this work was to examine effectiveness of the latter system in earthworms Eisenia andrei by induction of reactive oxygen species, lipofuscin and phenoloxidase by natural (LPS, zymosan, Micrococus luteus) and synthetic (phorbol ester, PMA) stimulants. The compounds impaired numbers, viability (increased apoptosis) and composition of coelomocytes, and triggered the antioxidant activity of catalase and selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase. The natural pathogenic compounds, unlike PMA, strongly activated antioxidative responses that diminished cell apoptosis. Moreover, repeated exposure to the same or different pathogenic compounds did not induce respiratory burst exhausted phenotype showing that coelomocytes are constantly at bay to withstand numerous infections. The current study reveals importance and efficiency of the oxidative–antioxidative systems in annelids but also confirms its evolutionary conservatism and complexity even in lower taxa of the animal kingdom

"What am I doing in the theater?"

This conversation begins with a student asking Michał Borczuch about his approach to theater criticism. The director believes that criticism, like directing, requires an interdisciplinary approach, and is valuable when it places the play in a context of phenomena going beyond the theater. He also speaks of his work at the theater school, The Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative scholarship, and working outside the theater institution with people from various social groups. Part two of the conversation concerns his work on the play All about My Mother (Łaźnia Nowa Theater in Krakow, premiere: 22.04.2016), based on recollections Borczuch and actor Krzysztof Zarzecki have of their mothers, who died of cancer. The subject of casting the actors is raised, as is the difference in Borczuch’s and Zarzecki’s theatrical languages, and the play’s reception by their close family