Differences in anti-malarial activity of 4-aminoalcohol quinoline enantiomers and investigation of the presumed underlying mechanism of action

International audienc

Identification of the Sex Pheromone of a Protected Species, the Spanish Moon Moth Graellsia isabellae

Sex attractant pheromones are highly sensitive and selective tools for detecting and monitoring populations of insects, yet there has been only one reported case of pheromones being used to monitor protected species. Here, we report the identification and synthesis of the sex pheromone of a protected European moth species, Graellsia isabellae (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae), as the single component, (4E,6E,11Z)-hexadecatrienal. In preliminary field trials, lures loaded with this compound attracted male moths from populations of this species at a number of widely separated field sites in France, Switzerland, and Spain, clearly demonstrating the utility of pheromones in sampling potentially endangered insect species

Trophic macrophages in development and disease

Specialized phagocytes are found in the most primitive multicellular organisms. Their roles in homeostasis and in distinguishing self from non-self have evolved with the complexity of organisms and their immune systems. Equally important, but often overlooked, are the roles of macrophages in tissue development. As discussed in this Review, these include functions in branching morphogenesis, neuronal patterning, angiogenesis, bone morphogenesis and the generation of adipose tissue. In each case, macrophage depletion impairs the formation of the tissue and compromises its function. I argue that in several diseases, the unrestrained acquisition of these developmental macrophage functions exacerbates pathology. For example, macrophages enhance tumour progression and metastasis by affecting tumour-cell migration and invasion, as well as angiogenesis