Serotonin modulates behavior-related neural activity of RID interneuron in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Animals change their behaviors in response to external stimuli, and numerous neurotransmitters are involved in these behavioral changes. In Caenorhabditis elegans, serotonin (5-HT) affects various behaviors such as inhibition of locomotion, stimulation of egg laying, and pharyngeal pumping. Previous research has shown that the neural activity of the RID interneuron increases when the worm moves forward, and the RID is necessary for sustaining forward locomotion. However, the relationship between 5-HT and neural activity of RID, and how it modulates the behavior of the worm has not been investigated. In this article, we reveal the relationship among 5-HT, RID activity, and the behavior of worms using a custom-made tracking and imaging system. We simultaneously measured the neural activity of the RID and behavior in worms with three conditions: mock animals, animals pre-exposed to 5-HT, and 5-HT receptor mod-1 mutants. As shown in previous research, the neural activity of the RID increased during the transition from backward to forward, whereas it decreased during the transition from forward to backward in mock animals. These changes in neural activity were not observed in animals pre-exposed to 5-HT and mod-1 mutants. Moreover, RID activity was correlated with the velocity of the worm in mock animals. However, this correlation was not observed in animals pre-exposed to 5-HT and mod-1 mutants. Our results demonstrate that 5-HT modulates the activity of the RID interneuron, and we infer that the RID plays a role in modulating forward locomotion by changing its activity through 5-HT

Whole lung lavage decreases physiological dead space in patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: two case reports

Abstract Background Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare disease characterized by progressive accumulation of the alveolar surfactant. Whole lung lavage (WLL) using a high volume of warmed saline remains the standard therapy. However, no established bedside monitoring tool can evaluate the physiological effect of WLL in the perioperative period. Indirect calorimetry, which is generally used to measure resting energy expenditure, can detect carbon dioxide (CO2) production and mixed-expired partial pressure of CO2 breath by breath. In this physiological study, we calculated CO2 elimination per breath (VTCO2,br) and Enghoff’s dead space using indirect calorimetry and measured the extravascular lung water index to reveal the effect of WLL. Case presentation We measured VTCO2,br, Enghoff’s dead space, and the extravascular lung water and cardiac indices before and after WLL to assess the reduction in shunt by washing out the surfactant. A total of four WLLs were performed in two PAP patients. The first case involved an Asian 62-year-old man who presented with a 3-month history of dyspnea on exertion. The second case involved an Asian 48-year-old woman with no symptoms. VTCO2,br increased, and the Enghoff’s dead space decreased at 12 h following WLL. An increase in the extravascular lung water was detected immediately following WLL, leading to a transient increase in Enghoff’s dead space. Conclusion WLL can increase efficient alveolar ventilation by washing out the accumulated surfactant. However, the lavage fluid may be absorbed into the lung tissues immediately after WLL and result in an increase in the extravascular lung water

Additional file 1 of Whole lung lavage decreases physiological dead space in patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: two case reports

Additional file 1: Table S1. CO2 data for the calculation of Enghoff's dead space and VTCO2,br at each timepoint