A GABAergic Maf-expressing interneuron subset regulates the speed of locomotion in Drosophila

This work was funded by grants from INSERM and a 3-year Ph.D. funding from the Association Française contre les Myopathies (AFM) for H.B (Doctoral funding n°19408) and from ANR (17-CE37-0019) for T.J.Interneurons (INs) coordinate motoneuron activity to generate appropriate patterns of muscle contractions, providing animals with the ability to adjust their body posture and to move over a range of speeds. In Drosophila larvae several IN subtypes have been morphologically described and their function well documented. However, the general lack of molecular characterization of those INs prevents the identification of evolutionary counterparts in other animals, limiting our understanding of the principles underlying neuronal circuit organization and function. Here we characterize a restricted subset of neurons in the nerve cord expressing the Maf transcription factor Traffic Jam (TJ). We found that TJ+ neurons are highly diverse and selective activation of these different subtypes disrupts larval body posture and induces specific locomotor behaviors. Finally, we show that a small subset of TJ+ GABAergic INs, singled out by the expression of a unique transcription factors code, controls larval crawling speed.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

The role of genetic factors in predisposition to squamous cell cancer of the head and neck

© 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

The influence of the deposition parameters on the porosity of thin alumina films on steel

The influence of the deposition parameters on the porosity of thin alumina films electrophoretically deposited on steel from aqueous suspensions was investigated. The effects of the applied voltage, deposition time, suspension temperature and the solid content of the aqueous suspension on the porosity of the obtained alumina films have been determined using optical microscopy coupled with image analysis. It was shown that the lowest film porosity was obtained from a suspension containing 20 wt.% alumina powder at the lowest applied voltage (30 V), for a longer deposition time (10 min) using a suspension temperature of 30 ºC. This behavior can be explained by the smaller amount of hydrogen evolved on the cathode during the electrophoretic deposition process

concentration of pahs in forest ecosystems of the protected natural resource "Avala"

Belgrade is one of the greenest capitals in Europe. The protected natural area, "Avala" (i.e. a separate part of unit that is declared as a landscape of outstanding features) is located on the territory of Belgrade and attracts the attention of all profiles of researchers. It should be noted also that the area of Avala was bombed in 1999 and the Avala Tower was destroyed. Researches aiming to determine the pollutant loading of the area are of particular importance. The aim of this research is to determine the content of 16 types of PAHs in three different locations on Avala sites 1, 2 and 3, with sampling of soil at two different depths (0-10 cm and 10-20 cm). One of the most frequent streets in downtown Belgrade (locality 4) was chosen as control site. On the basis of the results, it can be concluded that the soil of Avala is well preserved, which is in line with the declaration that Avala is a protected area

THE EFFECT OF MYOINOSITOL AND METFORMIN ON CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS IN WOMEN WITH POLYCYSTIC OVARY SYNDROME: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

Context. Cardiovascular risk is increased in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Do insulin sensitizing agents such as metformin (MET) and myoinositol (MI) ameliorate biomarkers of cardiovascular risk? Objective. To compare the effects of MET and MI on blood pressure, lipid profile and high sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in women with PCOS in respect to their body mass index (BMI). Design. Open label, parallel randomized, single center study. Subjects and Methods. Sixty six women with PCOS (33 normal-weight and 33 overweight/obese) were randomized to either MI (4 g/day) or MET (1500 mg/day) for a period of 6 months. Serum concentration of hormones, lipid profile, oxidized LDL (ox-LDL), hs-CRP, blood pressure measurement and clinical assessment of BMI, waist circumference (WC) and Ferriman Gallwey score (FG score) were performed before and after treatment. Results. Thirty patients in each group completed the trial. Compared with MET, MI significantly decreased diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (p=0.036) and significantly increased serum hs-CRP (p=0.043). No differences between groups in total cholesterol (TC), HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, ox-LDL and triglycerides were reported after 6 months. Treatment with MI reduced BMI (p=0.037), WC (p=0.005), DBP (p=0.021) and TC (r=0.008). During MET treatment a significant decrease in BMI (10.005), WC (p=0.004), FG score (p=0.001), testosterone (p=0.013) and free androgen index (FM) (p=0.006) was observed. Conclusions. Our study showed an advantage of MI in reduction of DBP and TC thus predicting favorable metabolic and cardiovascular outcomes in PCOS women. MET more effectively decrease indices of hyperandrogenism

In-vitro activation of natural killer cells from regional lymph nodes of melanoma patients with interleukin-2 and interleukin-15

Regional lymph nodes (LNs) represent the first barrier in lymphogenic tumor dissemination in melanoma. Natural killer (NK) cells, the effector cell subpopulation of the innate immune system, are in the first line of antitumor immune defense. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-15, two cytokines with similar immune-enhancing effects, on antitumor cytotoxic function and immunophenotype of NK cells from regional LNs of melanoma patients. Mononuclear cells purified from regional LNs of 50 melanoma patients in clinical stage II-IV were treated in vitro for 72 h and 7 days with 200 IU/ml rhIL-2 and 25 ng/ml IL-15 at 37 degrees C in 5\% CO2. Both cytokines significantly augmented NK cell cytotoxic activity, transcription of the cytotoxic molecule perforin, and the level of functionally mature perforin in both nonmetastatic and metastatic regional LNs. IL-2 treatment increased the percentage of CD3(-)CD56(+) NK cells by increasing the CD56(bright) NK cell subset in both nonmetastatic and metastatic LNs, whereas IL-15 treatment did not affect the percentage of NK cells and their subsets. Both cytokines increased on NK cells from nonmetastatic and metastatic LNs the expression of CD69 early activation antigen, the NKG2D activating receptor, as well as CD16 and inhibitory killer-cell immunoglobulin-like receptor CD158b, both inherent to the mature and the cytotoxic NK cell phenotype. In conclusion, our data may indicate the therapeutic potential of the NK cell population from regional LNs either as immunotherapeutic targets or as adoptively transferred after activation with IL-2 or IL-15.Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Serbia {[}41031, 175056