Conserving the Puerto Rican herpetofauna

With a total area of 8900 km2, Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles. It is divided in three physiographic regions or areas of relief: the mountainous interior, the karst region, and the coastal plains and valleys. The island comprises six ecological life zones: subtropical dry forest, subtropical moist forest, subtropical wet forest, subtropical rain forest, lower montane wet forest and lower montane rain forest. The herpetofauna of Puerto Rico consists of 25 species of amphibians (19 native, six introduced) and 56 species of reptiles (52 native, four introduced). The goal of this paper is to describe some of the present studies directed towards the conservation of Puerto Rican herpetofauna. Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti, E. jasperi and E. eneidae have not been seen or heard since 1976, 1981 and 1990, respectively, and are probably extinct. Since 2000, the potential causes of amphibian declines in Puerto Rico have been studied, and a synergistic interaction between climate change (increased dry periods) and disease (chytridiomycosis) have been proposed as an explanation for the patterns observed. Recovery efforts for Peltophryne lemur include a captivebreeding program, reintroductions island-wide educational outreach, protection and restoration of existing habitat, and the creation of new breeding ponds. Among reptiles, the first conservation efforts to protect Epicrates inornatus were limited to trying to halt collection and hunting. However, current strategies to preserve the boa include gathering basic biological information, habitat conservation, and educational outreach. Recent efforts for the conservation of Trachemys s. stejnegeri combine three research approaches to clarify the status of local populations: a mark-recapture-release study, field monitoring of reproductive activity (i.e., nocturnal patrolling to identify nesting activity), and field assessment of the potential impact of introduced species, particularly identification of predatory species and exotic turtles. Recovery initiatives for Cyclura stejnegeri include management of invasive mammals, a headstart program for hatchling iguanas, and the assessment of the etiology of a condition causing blindness in adult iguanas. A reforestation project aimed at recovering a local herpetofaunal assemblage after disturbances in a limestone valley in northern Puerto Rico is discussed. As population sizes of common colonizers such as Eleutherodactylus and Anolis increased, larger forest-interior and predatory species like Epicrates inornatus, Alsophis portoricensis and Anolis cuvieri followed. Finally, the Mona Island marine turtle monitoring program is discussed and compared to other similar programs in Puerto Rico. As these and other similar conservation efforts provide scientifically based management recommendations, we hope to succeed in conserving the diverse herpetofauna that characterizes Puerto Rico

Biodiversity - Confronting amphibian declines and extinctions

Stopping further global losses of amphibian populations and species requires an unprecedented conservation response

Treatment with a novel oleic-acid-dihydroxyamphetamine conjugation ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese Zucker rats.

Fatty liver disease is one of the main hepatic complications associated with obesity. To date, there are no effective treatments for this pathology apart from the use of classical fibrates. In this study, we have characterized the in vivo effects of a novel conjugation of oleic acid with an amphetamine derivative (OLHHA) in an animal model of genetic obesity. Lean and obese Zucker rats received a daily intraperitoneal administration of OLHHA (5 mg kg(-1)) for 15 days. Plasma and liver samples were collected for the biochemical and molecular biological analyses, including both immunohistochemical and histological studies. The expression of key enzymes and proteins that are involved in lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis was evaluated in the liver samples. The potential of OLHHA to produce adverse drug reactions or toxicity was also evaluated through the monitoring of interactions with hERG channel and liver cytochrome. We found that OLHHA is a drug with a safe pharmacological profile. Treatment for 15 days with OLHHA reduced the liver fat content and plasma triglyceride levels, and this was accompanied by a general improvement in the profile of plasma parameters related to liver damage in the obese rats. A decrease in fat accumulation in the liver was confirmed using histological staining. Additionally, OLHHA was observed to exert anti-apoptotic effects. This hepatoprotective activity in obese rats was associated with an increase in the mRNA and protein expression of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor and a decrease in the expression of the lipogenic enzymes FAS and HMGCR primarily. However, changes in the mRNA expression of certain proteins were not associated with changes in the protein expression (i.e. L-FABP and INSIG2). The present results demonstrate that OLHHA is a potential anti-steatotic drug that ameliorates the obesity-associated fatty liver and suggest the potential use of this new drug for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.The present study has been supported by the following grants: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/02261); Instituto de Salud Carlos III and EU-ERDF (Subprograma RETICS Red de Trastornos Adictivos RD12/0028/0001 and Consortium CIBER-Obn CB06/03/1008); Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia (PI45403 and CTS-8221); Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Igualdad, Salud y Políticas Sociales (PI-0823-2012 and PI-0337-2012). F.J.P., J.S. and A.S. hold a ‘Miguel Servet’ research contract from Instituto de Salud Carlos III and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER/EU-ERDF) (CP14/00212, CP12/03109 and CP14/00173, respectively)

Treatment with a novel oleic-acid-dihydroxyamphetamine conjugation ameliorates non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in obese Zucker rats.

Fatty liver disease is one of the main hepatic complications associated with obesity. To date, there are no effective treatments for this pathology apart from the use of classical fibrates. In this study, we have characterized the in vivo effects of a novel conjugation of oleic acid with an amphetamine derivative (OLHHA) in an animal model of genetic obesity. Lean and obese Zucker rats received a daily intraperitoneal administration of OLHHA (5 mg kg(-1)) for 15 days. Plasma and liver samples were collected for the biochemical and molecular biological analyses, including both immunohistochemical and histological studies. The expression of key enzymes and proteins that are involved in lipid metabolism and energy homeostasis was evaluated in the liver samples. The potential of OLHHA to produce adverse drug reactions or toxicity was also evaluated through the monitoring of interactions with hERG channel and liver cytochrome. We found that OLHHA is a drug with a safe pharmacological profile. Treatment for 15 days with OLHHA reduced the liver fat content and plasma triglyceride levels, and this was accompanied by a general improvement in the profile of plasma parameters related to liver damage in the obese rats. A decrease in fat accumulation in the liver was confirmed using histological staining. Additionally, OLHHA was observed to exert anti-apoptotic effects. This hepatoprotective activity in obese rats was associated with an increase in the mRNA and protein expression of the cannabinoid type 1 receptor and a decrease in the expression of the lipogenic enzymes FAS and HMGCR primarily. However, changes in the mRNA expression of certain proteins were not associated with changes in the protein expression (i.e. L-FABP and INSIG2). The present results demonstrate that OLHHA is a potential anti-steatotic drug that ameliorates the obesity-associated fatty liver and suggest the potential use of this new drug for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.The present study has been supported by the following grants: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad and Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/02261); Instituto de Salud Carlos III and EU-ERDF (Subprograma RETICS Red de Trastornos Adictivos RD12/0028/0001 and Consortium CIBER-Obn CB06/03/1008); Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Economía, Innovación y Ciencia (PI45403 and CTS-8221); Junta de Andalucía-Consejería de Igualdad, Salud y Políticas Sociales (PI-0823-2012 and PI-0337-2012). F.J.P., J.S. and A.S. hold a ‘Miguel Servet’ research contract from Instituto de Salud Carlos III and Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER/EU-ERDF) (CP14/00212, CP12/03109 and CP14/00173, respectively)

Unsaturated Fatty Alcohol Derivatives of Olive Oil Phenolic Compounds with Potential Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) Antioxidant and Antiobesity Properties

A new route for the synthesis of fatty alcohol derivatives of hydroxytyrosol and other olive oil phenolic compounds was developed to allow the preparation of unsaturated derivatives. The biological activity of synthesized compounds was evaluated. Most of the compounds presented a significant antioxidant activity on low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles. The activity of the tested products was significantly influenced by the number and position of unsaturations as well as modifications on the polar head of the synthesized compounds. Some of them presented modulation of food intake in rats and, due to their molecular similarity with CB₁ endogenous ligands, the endocannabinoid system and PPAR-α were also evaluated as potential targets. The pharmacodynamics could not be totally explained by CB₁ and PPAR-α receptor interactions because only two of the four compounds with biological activity showed a CB₁ activity and all of them presented low PPAR-α affinity, not justifying its whole in vivo activity. The hydroxytyrosol linoleylether (<b>7</b>) increased LDL resistance to oxidation with a capacity similar to that of hydroxytyrosol and was the most active in vivo compound with a hypophagic effect comparable to that of oleoylethanolamine. We consider that this compound could be a good lead compound for future drug development in obesity treatments