Bacterial associates of Orthezia urticae, Matsucoccus pini, and Steingelia gorodetskia - scale insects of archaeoccoid families Ortheziidae, Matsucoccidae, and Steingeliidae (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha)

The biological nature, ultrastructure, distribution, and mode of transmission between generations of the microorganisms associated with three species (Orthezia urticae, Matsucoccus pini, Steingelia gorodetskia) of primitive families (archaeococcoids = Orthezioidea) of scale insects were investigated by means of microscopic and molecular methods. In all the specimens of Orthezia urticae and Matsucoccus pini examined, bacteria Wolbachia were identified. In some examined specimens of O. urticae, apart from Wolbachia, bacteria Sodalis were detected. In Steingelia gorodetskia, the bacteria of the genus Sphingomonas were found. In contrast to most plant sap-sucking hemipterans, the bacterial associates of O. urticae, M. pini, and S. gorodetskia are not harbored in specialized bacteriocytes, but are dispersed in the cells of different organs. Ultrastructural observations have shown that bacteria Wolbachia in O. urticae and M. pini, Sodalis in O. urticae, and Sphingomonas in S. gorodetskia are transovarially transmitted from mother to progeny

Jeszcze o reneizmie w twórczości Juliusza Słowackiego

The article makes an attempt to redefi ne the scope and kind of inspirations exerted by F.R. Chateaubriand’s René on the works of Juliusz Słowacki. The author analyzes Słowacki’s literary dialogue with the French poet’s work in his output from 1832–1835: An Hour of Thought, Kordian, Horsztyński. She also enters a polemic with Władysław Folkierski’s thesis on the Renéic origin of the Ara

Molecular characterization, ultrastructure, and transovarial transmission of Tremblaya phenacola in six mealybugs of the Phenacoccinae subfamily (Insecta, Hemiptera, Coccomorpha)

Mealybugs (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) are plant sap-sucking insects which require close association with nutritional microorganisms for their proper development and reproduction. Here, we present the results of histological, ultrastructural, and molecular analyses of symbiotic systems of six mealybugs belonging to the Phenacoccinae subfamily: Phenacoccus aceris, Rhodania porifera, Coccura comari, Mirococcus clarus, Peliococcus calluneti, and Ceroputo pilosellae.Molecular analyses based on bacterial 16S rRNA genes have revealed that all the investigated species of Phenacoccinae are host to only one type of symbiotic bacteria—a large pleomorphic betaproteobacteria—Tremblaya phenacola. In all the species examined, bacteria are localized in the specialized cells of the host-insect termed bacteriocytes and are transovarially transmitted between generations. The mode of transovarial transmission is similar in all of the species investigated. Infection takes place in the neck region of the ovariole, between the tropharium and vitellarium. The co-phylogeny between mealybugs and bacteria Tremblaya has been also analyzed

OCT angiography as a novel diagnostic possibility in age-related macular degeneration

INTRODUCTION. The aim of the study is to compare classical vein imaging methods used to diagnose Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD), like fluorescein angiography (FA), with non-invasive modern methods of ultrafast optical blood flow detection (Optical Coherence Tomography-angiography, Angio-OCT). METHODS. Images obtained during examination using AF and Angio-OCT methods of four randomly selected patients treated for AMD in the Department of Ophthalmology Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland were used for evaluation. RESULTS. Images obtained during routine check-up of patients treated for AMD were compared. CONCLUSIONS. Angio-OCT is a non-invasive, non-contact, fast, and safe examination of patients treated for AMD. Angio-OCT is a modern method that provides important information about the progression of the disease, and it is used to evaluate retinal and choroidal vessels in patients with AMD

Calorimetric and spectroscopic studies characterization of newborn rat’ blood serum after maternal administration of cyclophosphamide

Differential scanning microcalorimetry (DSC) and UV–VIS absorption spectroscopy were used to obtain the characteristics of blood serum from newborn rat’ after maternal treatment with cyclophosphamide in comparison with control. The obtained DSC curves reveal a complex endothermic peak due to the unfolding process of various serum proteins. Thermal profiles and absorption spectra of blood serum are sensitive to the age of newborns as well as to effect of maternal administration of cyclophosphamide. The most significant disturbances in serum proteome were observed for 14-day old newborns. The thermodynamic parameters: enthalpy change (DH), the normalized first moment (M1) of the thermal transition with respect to the temperature axis and the ratio of Cp ex at 70 and 60 C describing denaturation contributions of globulin forms in respect to unliganded albumin with haptoglobin was estimated. Moreover, the second derivative spectroscopy in the UV region was used to resolve the complex protein spectrum. The differences in blood serum detected by DSC and UV–VIS confirm a potential usefulness of these methods for diagnostic and monitoring changes with age as well as the pathological state of blood serum

Lithium attenuates TGF- β_1-induced fibroblasts to myofibroblasts transition in bronchial fibroblasts derived from asthmatic patients

Bronchial asthma is a chronic disorder accompanied by phenotypic transitions of bronchial epithelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and fibroblasts. Human bronchial fibroblasts (HBFs) derived from patients with diagnosed asthma display predestination towards TGF-β-induced phenotypic switches. Since the interference between TGF-β and GSK-3β signaling contributes to pathophysiology of chronic lung diseases, we investigated the effect of lithium, a nonspecific GSK-3β inhibitor, on TGF-β1-induced fibroblast to myofibroblast transition (FMT) in HBF and found that the inhibition of GSK-3β attenuates TGF-β1-induced FMT in HBF populations derived from asthmatic but not healthy donors. Cytoplasmically sequestrated β-catenin, abundant in TGF-β1/LiCl-stimulated asthmatic HBFs, most likely interacts with and inhibits the nuclear accumulation and signal transduction of Smad proteins. These data indicate that the specific cellular context determines FMT-related responses of HBFs to factors interfering with the TGF-β signaling pathway. They may also provide a mechanistic explanation for epidemiological data revealing coincidental remission of asthmatic syndromes and their recurrence upon the discontinuation of lithium therapy in certain psychiatric diseases

Symbiotic microorganisms in Puto superbus (Leonardi, 1907) (Insecta, Hemiptera, Coccomorpha : Putoidae)

The scale insect Puto superbus (Putoidae) lives in mutualistic symbiotic association with bacteria. Molecular phylogenetic analyses have revealed that symbionts of P. superbus belong to the gammaproteobacterial genus Sodalis. In the adult females, symbionts occur both in the bacteriocytes constituting compact bacteriomes and in individual bacteriocytes, which are dispersed among ovarioles. The bacteriocytes also house a few small, rod-shaped Wolbachia bacteria in addition to the numerous large, elongated Sodalis-allied bacteria. The symbiotic microorganisms are transovarially transmitted from generation to generation. In adult females which have choriogenic oocytes in the ovarioles, the bacteriocytes gather around the basal part of the tropharium. Next, the entire bacteriocytes pass through the follicular epithelium surrounding the neck region of the ovariole and enter the space between oocyte and follicular epithelium (perivitelline space). In the perivitelline space, the bacteriocytes assemble extracellularly in the deep depression of the oolemma at the anterior pole of the oocyte, forming a Bsymbiont ball

Fungal Associates of Soft Scale Insects (Coccomorpha: Coccidae)

Ophiocordyceps fungi are commonly known as virulent, specialized entomopathogens; however, recent studies indicate that fungi belonging to the Ophiocordycypitaceae family may also reside in symbiotic interaction with their host insect. In this paper, we demonstrate that Ophiocordyceps fungi may be obligatory symbionts of sap-sucking hemipterans. We investigated the symbiotic systems of eight Polish species of scale insects of Coccidae family: Parthenolecanium corni, Parthenolecanium fletcheri, Parthenolecanium pomeranicum, Psilococcus ruber, Sphaerolecanium prunasti, Eriopeltis festucae, Lecanopsis formicarum and Eulecanium tiliae. Our histological, ultrastructural and molecular analyses showed that all these species host fungal symbionts in the fat body cells. Analyses of ITS2 and Beta-tubulin gene sequences, as well as fluorescence in situ hybridization, confirmed that they should all be classified to the genus Ophiocordyceps. The essential role of the fungal symbionts observed in the biology of the soft scale insects examined was confirmed by their transovarial transmission between generations. In this paper, the consecutive stages of fungal symbiont transmission were analyzed under TEM for the first time

Proton beam irradiation inhibits the migration of melanoma cells

In recent years experimental data have indicated that low-energy proton beam radiation might induce a difference in cellular migration in comparison to photons. We therefore set out to compare the effect of proton beam irradiation and X-rays on the survival and long-term migratory properties of two cell lines: uveal melanoma Mel270 and skin melanoma BLM.Cells treated with either proton beam or X-rays were analyzed for their survival using clonogenic assay and MTT test. Long-term migratory properties were assessed with time-lapse monitoring of individual cell movements, wound test and transpore migration, while the expression of the related proteins was measured with western blot.Exposure to proton beam and X-rays led to similar survival but the quality of the cell colonies was markedly different. More paraclones with a low proliferative activity and fewer highly-proliferative holoclones were found after proton beam irradiation in comparison to X-rays. At 20 or 40 days post-irradiation, migratory capacity was decreased more by proton beam than by X-rays. The beta-1-integrin level was decreased in Mel270 cells after both types of radiation, while vimentin, a marker of EMT, was increased in BLM cells only.We conclude that proton beam irradiation induced long-term inhibition of cellular motility, as well as changes in the level of beta-1 integrin and vimentin. If confirmed, the change in the quality, but not in the number of colonies after proton beam irradiation might favor tumor growth inhibition after fractionated proton therapy