Vertebrate SLRP family evolution and the subfunctionalization of osteoglycin gene duplicates in teleost fish.

BACKGROUND: Osteoglycin (OGN, a.k.a. mimecan) belongs to cluster III of the small leucine-rich proteoglycans (SLRP) of the extracellular matrix (ECM). In vertebrates OGN is a characteristic ECM protein of bone. In the present study we explore the evolution of SLRP III and OGN in teleosts that have a skeleton adapted to an aquatic environment. RESULTS: The SLRP gene family has been conserved since the separation of chondrichthyes and osteichthyes. Few gene duplicates of the SLRP III family exist even in the teleosts that experienced a specific whole genome duplication. One exception is ogn for which duplicate copies were identified in fish genomes. The ogn promoter sequence and in vitro mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) cultures suggest the duplicate ogn genes acquired divergent functions. In gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) ogn1 was up-regulated during osteoblast and myocyte differentiation in vitro, while ogn2 was severely down-regulated during bone-derived MSCs differentiation into adipocytes in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the phylogenetic analysis indicates that the SLRP III family in vertebrates has been under conservative evolutionary pressure. The retention of the ogn gene duplicates in teleosts was linked with the acquisition of different functions. The acquisition by OGN of functions other than that of a bone ECM protein occurred early in the vertebrate lineage.

A review of 10 years of scapula injuries sustained by UK military personnel on operations.

BACKGROUND: Scapula fractures are relatively uncommon injuries, mostly occurring due to the effects of high-energy trauma. Rates of scapula fractures are unknown in the military setting. The aim of this study is to analyse the incidence, aetiology, associated injuries, treatment and complications of these fractures occurring in deployed military personnel. METHODS: All UK military personnel returning with upper limb injuries from Afghanistan and Iraq were retrospectively reviewed using the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine database and case notes (2004-2014). RESULTS: Forty-four scapula fractures out of 572 upper limb fractures (7.7%) were sustained over 10 years. Blast and gunshot wounds (GSW) were leading causative factors in 85%. Over half were open fractures (54%), with open blast fractures often having significant bone and soft tissue loss requiring extensive reconstruction. Multiple injuries were noted including lung, head, vascular and nerve injuries. Injury Severity Scores (ISS) were significantly higher than the average upper limb injury without a scapula fracture (p<0.0001). Brachial plexus injuries occurred in 17%. While military personnel with GSW have a favourable chance of nerve recovery, 75% of brachial plexus injuries that are associated with blast have poorer outcomes. Fixation occurred with either glenoid fractures or floating shoulders (10%); these were as a result of high velocity GSW or mounted blast ejections. There were no cases of deep soft tissue infection or osteomyelitis and all scapula fractures united. CONCLUSION: Scapula fractures have a 20 times higher incidence in military personnel compared with the civilian population, occurring predominantly as a result of blast and GSW, and a higher than average ISS. These fractures are often associated with multiple injuries, including brachial plexus injuries, where those sustained from blast have less favourable outcome. High rates of union following fixation and low rates of infection are expected despite significant contamination and soft tissue loss.

Duplication of Dio3 genes in teleost fish and their divergent expression in skin during flatfish metamorphosis.

Deiodinase 3 (Dio3) plays an essential role during early development in vertebrates by controlling tissue thyroid hormone (TH) availability. The Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) possesses duplicate dio3 genes (dio3a and dio3b). Expression analysis indicates that dio3b levels change in abocular skin during metamorphosis and this suggests that this enzyme is associated with the divergent development of larval skin to the juvenile phenotype. In larvae exposed to MMI, a chemical that inhibits TH production, expression of dio3b in ocular skin is significantly up-regulated suggesting that THs normally modulate this genes expression during this developmental event. The molecular basis for divergent dio3a and dio3b expression and responsiveness to MMI treatment is explained by the multiple conserved TREs in the proximal promoter region of teleost dio3b and their absence from the promoter of dio3a. We propose that the divergent expression of dio3 in ocular and abocular skin during halibut metamorphosis contributes to the asymmetric pigment development in response to THs.

Thyroid function of steatitis-affected Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus from a sub-tropical African reservoir.

Thyroid function and nutritional indicators were measured in obese, steatitis-affected Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus from Loskop Reservoir (LR), South Africa. Plasma thyroid hormones (especially T3) and thyroid follicle histomorphology revealed high levels of activity in every aspect of the thyroid cascade measured in fish from LR compared to a reference population of steatitis-free fish. Concurrent measurements of nutritional state including plasma lipids, liver lipid content and hepatocyte size showed that fish from LR had significant energy stores indicative of abundant nutritional intake. There were distinct sex and seasonal differences, with the highest plasma lipids and T3 levels observed in steatitis-affected females during spring and summer. Positive correlations were observed between plasma lipids (especially cholesterol) and T3 concentrations in fish from both populations, indicating a link between lipid metabolism and thyroid function. There was no direct evidence of thyroid disruption, but this cannot be ruled out until further research determines the factors that underlie the homeostatic shift leading to elevated plasma and liver lipids and T3 levels in steatitis-affected tilapia.

Characterization of the peripheral thyroid system of gilthead seabream acclimated to different ambient salinities.

Thyroid hormones are involved in many developmental and physiological processes, including osmoregulation. The regulation of the thyroid system by environmental salinity in the euryhaline gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) is still poorly characterized. To this end seabreams were exposed to four different environmental salinities (5, 15, 40 and 55ppt) for 14days, and plasma free thyroid hormones (fT3, fT4), outer ring deiodination and Na+/K+-ATPase activities in gills and kidney, as well as other osmoregulatory and metabolic parameters were measured. Low salinity conditions (5ppt) elicited a significant increase in fT3 (29%) and fT4 (184%) plasma concentrations compared to control animals (acclimated to 40ppt, natural salinity conditions in the Bay of Cádiz, Spain), while the amount of pituitary thyroid stimulating hormone subunit ß (tshb) transcript abundance remained unchanged. In addition, plasma fT4 levels were positively correlated to renal and branchial deiodinase type 2 (dio2) mRNA expression. Gill and kidney T4-outer ring deiodination activities correlated positively with dio2 mRNA expression and the highest values were observed in fish acclimated to low salinities (5 and 15ppt). The high salinity (55ppt) exposure caused a significant increase in tshb expression (65%), but deiodinase gene expression (dio1 and dio2) and activity did not change and were similar to controls (40ppt). In conclusion, acclimation to different salinities led to changes in the peripheral regulation of thyroid hormone metabolism in seabream. Therefore, thyroid hormones are involved in the regulation of ion transport and osmoregulatory physiology in this species. The conclusions derived from this study may also allow aquaculturists to modulate thyroid metabolism in seabream by adjusting culture salinity.

Orchestrating change: The thyroid hormones and GI-tract development in flatfish metamorphosis.

Metamorphosis in flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) is a late post-embryonic developmental event that prepares the organism for the larval-to-juvenile transition. Thyroid hormones (THs) play a central role in flatfish metamorphosis and the basic elements that constitute the thyroid axis in vertebrates are all present at this stage. The advantage of using flatfish to study the larval-to-juvenile transition is the profound change in external morphology that accompanies metamorphosis making it easy to track progression to climax. This important lifecycle transition is underpinned by molecular, cellular, structural and functional modifications of organs and tissues that prepare larvae for a successful transition to the adult habitat and lifestyle. Understanding the role of THs in the maturation of organs and tissues with diverse functions during metamorphosis is a major challenge. The change in diet that accompanies the transition from a pelagic larvae to a benthic juvenile in flatfish is associated with structural and functional modifications in the gastrointestinal tract (GI-tract). The present review will focus on the maturation of the GI-tract during metamorphosis giving particular attention to organogenesis of the stomach a TH triggered event. Gene transcripts and biological processes that are associated with GI-tract maturation during Atlantic halibut metamorphosis are identified. Gene ontology analysis reveals core biological functions and putative TH-responsive genes that underpin TH-driven metamorphosis of the GI-tract in Atlantic halibut. Deciphering the specific role remains a challenge. Recent advances in characterizing the molecular, structural and functional modifications that accompany the appearance of a functional stomach in Atlantic halibut are considered and future research challenges identified.

Sample richness and genetic diversity as drivers of chimera formation in nSSU metagenetic analyses.

Eukaryotic diversity in environmental samples is often assessed via PCR-based amplification of nSSU genes. However, estimates of diversity derived from pyrosequencing environmental data sets are often inflated, mainly because of the formation of chimeric sequences during PCR amplification. Chimeras are hybrid products composed of distinct parental sequences that can lead to the misinterpretation of diversity estimates. We have analyzed the effect of sample richness, evenness and phylogenetic diversity on the formation of chimeras using a nSSU data set derived from 454 Roche pyrosequencing of replicated, large control pools of closely and distantly related nematode mock communities, of known intragenomic identity and richness. To further investigate how chimeric molecules are formed, the nSSU gene secondary structure was analyzed in several individuals. For the first time in eukaryotes, chimera formation proved to be higher in both richer and more genetically diverse samples, thus providing a novel perspective of chimera formation in pyrosequenced environmental data sets. Findings contribute to a better understanding of the nature and mechanisms involved in chimera formation during PCR amplification of environmentally derived DNA. Moreover, given the similarities between biodiversity analyses using amplicon sequencing and those used to assess genomic variation, our findings have potential broad application for identifying genetic variation in homologous loci or multigene families in general.

Comparative analysis of a teleost skeleton transcriptome provides insight into its regulation.

An articulated endoskeleton that is calcified is a unifying innovation of the vertebrates, however the molecular basis of the structural divergence between terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates, such as teleost fish, has not been determined. In the present study long-read next generation sequencing (NGS, Roche 454 platform) was used to characterize acellular perichondral bone (vertebrae) and chondroid bone (gill arch) in the gilthead sea bream (Sparus auratus). A total of 15.97 and 14.53Mb were produced, respectively from vertebrae and gill arch cDNA libraries and yielded 32,374 and 28,371 contigs (consensus sequences) respectively. 10,455 contigs from vertebrae and 10,625 contigs from gill arches were annotated with gene ontology terms. Comparative analysis of the global transcriptome revealed 4249 unique transcripts in vertebrae, 4201 unique transcripts in the gill arches and 3700 common transcripts. Several core gene networks were conserved between the gilthead sea bream and mammalian skeleton. Transcripts for putative endocrine factors were identified in acellular gilthead sea bream bone suggesting that in common with mammalian bone it can act as an endocrine tissue. The acellular bone of the vertebra, in contrast to current opinion based on histological analysis, was responsive to a short fast and significant (p<0.05) down-regulation of several transcripts identified by NGS, osteonectin, osteocalcin, cathepsin K and IGFI occurred. In gill arches fasting caused a significant (p<0.05) down-regulation of osteocalcin and up-regulation of MMP9.

Identification of androgen receptor variants in testis from humans and other vertebrates.

The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor member of the nuclear receptor superfamily. The existence of alternatively spliced variants is well recognised for several members of this superfamily, most of them having functional importance. For example, several testicular oestrogen receptor variants have been suggested to play a role in the regulation of spermatogenesis. However, information on AR variants is mostly related to cancer and androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS) cases. The objective of this study was to investigate the expression of AR variants in the testis from humans and other vertebrates. Four AR variants [ARΔ2(Stop) , ARΔ2(23Stop) , ARΔ3 and ARΔ4(120)] were identified in human testis. ARΔ2(Stop) and ARΔ3, with exon 2 or 3 deleted, respectively, were also expressed in human liver, lung, kidney and heart. In addition, ARΔ2(Stop) was expressed in rat and gilthead seabream testis, while an ARΔ3 was detected in African clawed frog testis. This is the first report revealing the existence of AR variants in the testis of evolutionarily distant vertebrate species and in nonpathological tissues. These data suggest the functional importance of these novel AR forms and demonstrate a complexity in AR signalling that is not exclusive of pathological conditions.

Molecular and cellular changes in skin and muscle during metamorphosis of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) are accompanied by changes in deiodinases expression.

Flatfish metamorphosis is the most dramatic post-natal developmental event in teleosts. Thyroid hormones (TH), thyroxine (T4) and 3,3'-5'-triiodothyronine (T3) are the necessary and sufficient factors that induce and regulate flatfish metamorphosis. Most of the cellular and molecular action of TH is directed through the binding of T3 to thyroid nuclear receptors bound to promoters with consequent changes in the expression of target genes. The conversion of T4 to T3 and nuclear availability of T3 depends on the expression and activity of a family of 3 selenocysteine deiodinases that activate T4 into T3 or degrade T4 and T3. We have investigated the role of deiodinases in skin and muscle metamorphic changes in halibut. We show that, both at the whole body level and at the cellular level in muscle and skin of the Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) during metamorphosis, the coordination between activating (D2) and deactivating (D3) deiodinases expression is strongly correlated with the developmental TH-driven changes. The expression pattern of D2 and D3 in cells of both skin and muscle indicate that TH are necessary for the maintenance of larval metamorphic development and juvenile cell types in these tissues. No break in symmetry occurs in the expression of deiodinases and in metamorphic developmental changes occurring both in trunk skin and muscle. The findings that two of the major tissues in both larvae and juveniles maintain their symmetry throughout metamorphosis suggest that the asymmetric changes occurring during flatfish metamorphosis are restricted to the eye and head region.

Prolactin regulates luminal bicarbonate secretion in the intestine of the sea bream (Sparus aurata L.).

The pituitary hormone prolactin is a pleiotropic endocrine factor that plays a major role in the regulation of ion balance in fish, with demonstrated actions mainly in the gills and kidney. The role of prolactin in intestinal ion transport remains little studied. In marine fish, which have high drinking rates, epithelial bicarbonate secretion in the intestine produces luminal carbonate aggregates believed to play a key role in water and ion homeostasis. The present study was designed to establish the putative role of prolactin in the regulation of intestinal bicarbonate secretion in a marine fish. Basolateral addition of prolactin to the anterior intestine of sea bream mounted in Ussing chambers caused a rapid (<20 min) decrease of bicarbonate secretion measured by pH-stat. A clear inhibitory dose-response curve was obtained, with a maximal inhibition of 60-65% of basal bicarbonate secretion. The threshold concentration of prolactin for a significant effect on bicarbonate secretion was 10 ng ml(-1), which is comparable with putative plasma levels in seawater fish. The effect of prolactin on apical bicarbonate secretion was independent of the generation route for bicarbonate, as shown in a preparation devoid of basolateral HCO(3)(-)/CO(2) buffer. Specific inhibitors of JAK2 (AG-490, 50 µmol l(-1)), PI3K (LY-294002, 75 µmol l(-1)) or MEK (U-012610, 10 µmol l(-1)) caused a 50-70% reduction in the effect of prolactin on bicarbonate secretion, and demonstrated the involvement of prolactin receptors. In addition to rapid effects, prolactin has actions at the genomic level. Incubation of intestinal explants of anterior intestine of the sea bream in vitro for 3 h demonstrated a specific effect of prolactin on the expression of the Slc4a4A Na(+)-HCO(3)(-) co-transporter, but not on the Slc26a6A or Slc26a3B Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger. We propose a new role for prolactin in the regulation of bicarbonate secretion, an essential function for ion/water homeostasis in the intestine of marine fish.

Divergent responsiveness of the dentary and vertebral bone to a selective estrogen-receptor modulator (SERM) in the teleost Sparus auratus.

In teleosts the regulation of skeletal homeostasis and turnover by estrogen is poorly understood. For this reason raloxifene, a selective estrogen-receptor modulator (SERM), was administered to sea bream (Sparus auratus) and its effect on plasma calcium balance and transcript expression in dentary (dermal bone) and vertebra (perichondral bone) was studied. The concentration of total calcium or phosphorus in plasma was unchanged by raloxifene treatment for 6days. The activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in dentary bone of raloxifene treated fish was significantly (p<0.05) higher than control fish but it was not changed in vertebral bone. Transcripts for estrogen receptor (ER) α were in very low abundance in the sea bream dentary and vertebra and were unchanged by raloxifene treatment. In contrast, raloxifene caused significant (p<0.05) up-regulation of the duplicate ERß transcripts in the dentary but did not affect specific transcripts for osteoclast (TRAP), osteoblast (ALP, Runx2, osteonectin) or cartilage (IGF1, CILP2, FN1a). In the vertebra ERßb was not changed by raloxifene but ERßa was significantly (p<0.05) down-regulated as was the skeletal specific transcripts, TRAP, ALP, CILP2, FN1a. In summary, ERßs regulate estrogen sensitivity of the skeleton in sea bream, which responds in a non uniform manner. In common with mammals raloxifene appears to have an anti-resorptive role (in sea bream vertebra), but also an osteoblast stimulatory role, inducing ALP activity in the dentary of sea bream. Overall, the results indicate bone specific responsiveness to raloxifene in the sea bream. Further work will be required to understand the basis of bone responsiveness and the role of E(2) and ERs in teleost bone homeostasis.

The goitrogenic efficiency of thioamides in a marine teleost, sea bream (Sparus auratus).

Studies on the role of thyroid hormones (THs) in teleost fish physiology have deployed the synthetic goitrogens, methimazol (MMI), propilthiouracil (PTU) and thiourea (TU) that are used to treat human hyperthyroidism. However, the action of the goitrogens, MMI, PTU and TU at different levels of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis in teleosts is largely unknown. The central importance of the hypothalamus and pituitary in a number of endocrine regulated systems and the cross-talk that occurs between different endocrine axes makes it pertinent to characterize the effects of MMI, PTU and TU, on several endpoints of the thyroid system. The marine teleost, sea bream (Sparus auratus) was exposed to MMI, PTU and TU (1mg/kg wet weight per day), via the diet for 21days. Radioimmunoassays (RIA) of plasma THs and ELISA of the TH carrier transthyretin (TTR) revealed that MMI was the only chemical that significantly reduced plasma TH levels (p<0.05), although both MMI and PTU significantly (p<0.05) reduced plasma levels of circulating TTR (p<0.05). Histological analysis of the thyroid tissue revealed modifications in thyrocyte activity that explain the reduced circulating levels of THs. MMI also significantly (p<0.05) up-regulated transcript abundance of liver deiodinase 1 and 2 while significantly (p<0.05) decreasing TRß expression in the pituitary, all hallmarks of HPT axis action of goitrogens in vertebrates. The results indicate that in the sea bream MMI is the most effective goitrogen followed by PTU and that TU (1mg/kg wet weight for 21days) failed to have a goitrogenic effect. The study highlights the non-uniform effect of goitrogens on the thyroid axis of sea bream and provides the basis for future studies of thyroid disrupting pollutants.

Prevention is better than cure: Surgical methods for neuropathic pain prevention following amputation - A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Pain after amputation can be known as residual limb pain (RLP) or phantom limb pain (PLP); however, both can be disabling in daily life with reported incidences of 8% for finger amputations and up to 85% for major limb amputations. The current treatment is focused on reducing the pain after neuropathic pain occurs. However, surgical techniques to prevent neuropathic pain after amputation are available and effective, but they are underutilized. The purpose of the review is to investigate the effects of techniques during amputation to prevent neuropathic pain. METHODS: A systematic review was performed in multiple databases (Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar) and following the PRISMA guidelines. Studies that reported surgical techniques to prevent neuropathic pain during limb amputation were included. RESULTS: Of the 6188 selected studies, 13 eligible articles were selected. Five articles reported techniques for finger amputation: neurovascular island flap, centro-central union (CCU), and epineural ligatures, and flaps. For finger amputations, the use of prevention techniques resulted in a decrease of incidences from 8% to 0-3% with CCU being the most beneficial. For major limb amputations, the incidences for RLP were decreased to 0 to 55% with TMR and RPNI and compared to 64-91% for the control group. Eight articles reported techniques for amputations on major limbs: targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR), targeted nerve implantation, concomitant nerve coaptation, and regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI). CONCLUSIONS: Based on the current literature, we state that during finger and major limb amputation, the techniques to prevent neuropathic pain and PLP should be performed.

Proteomics of sea bass skin-scales exposed to the emerging pollutant fluoxetine compared to estradiol.

Teleost fish skin-scales are essential for protection and homeostasis and the largest tissue in direct contact with the environment, but their potential as early indicators of pollutant exposure are hampered by limited knowledge about this model. This study evaluated multi-level impacts of in vivo exposure of European sea bass to fluoxetine (FLX, a selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitor and an emerging pollutant) and 17ß-estradiol (E2, a natural hormone and representative of diverse estrogenic endocrine-disrupting pollutants). Exposed fish had significantly increased circulating levels of FLX and its active metabolite nor-FLX that, in contrast to E2, did not have estrogenic effects on most fish plasma and scale indicators. Quantitative proteomics using SWATH-MS identified 985 proteins in the scale total proteome. 213 proteins were significantly modified 5 days after exposure to E2 or FLX and 31 were common to both treatments and responded in the same way. Common biological processes significantly affected by both treatments were protein turnover and cytoskeleton reorganization. E2 specifically up-regulated proteins related to protein production and degradation and down-regulated the cytoskeleton/extracellular matrix and innate immune proteins. FLX caused both up- and down-regulation of protein synthesis and energy metabolism. Multiple estrogen and serotonin receptor and transporter transcripts were altered in sea bass scales after E2 and/or FLX exposure, revealing complex disruptive effects in estrogen/serotonin responsiveness, which may account for the partially overlapping effects of E2 and FLX on the proteome. A large number (103) of FLX-specifically regulated proteins indicated numerous actions independent of estrogen signalling. This study provides the first quantitative proteome of the fish skin-scale barrier, elucidates routes of action and biochemical and molecular signatures of E2 or FLX-exposure and identifies potential physiological consequences and candidate biomarkers of pollutant exposure, for monitoring and risk assessment.

Metabarcoding the Antarctic Peninsula biodiversity using a multi-gene approach.

Marine sediment communities are major contributors to biogeochemical cycling and benthic ecosystem functioning, but they are poorly described, particularly in remote regions such as Antarctica. We analysed patterns and drivers of diversity in metazoan and prokaryotic benthic communities of the Antarctic Peninsula with metabarcoding approaches. Our results show that the combined use of mitochondrial Cox1, and 16S and 18S rRNA gene regions recovered more phyla, from metazoan to non-metazoan groups, and allowed correlation of possible interactions between kingdoms. This higher level of detection revealed dominance by the arthropods and not nematodes in the Antarctic benthos and further eukaryotic diversity was dominated by benthic protists: the world's largest reservoir of marine diversity. The bacterial family Woeseiaceae was described for the first time in Antarctic sediments. Almost 50% of bacteria and 70% metazoan taxa were unique to each sampled site (high alpha diversity) and harboured unique features for local adaptation (niche-driven). The main abiotic drivers measured, shaping community structure were sediment organic matter, water content and mud. Biotic factors included the nematodes and the highly abundant bacterial fraction, placing protists as a possible bridge for between kingdom interactions. Meiofauna are proposed as sentinels for identifying anthropogenic-induced changes in Antarctic marine sediments.

Surgical Treatment Outcome of de Quervain's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Surgical release of the extensor retinaculum is performed as a treatment for de Quervain's (DQ) disease when conservative treatment fails. In the literature, there is no consensus about the effectiveness of a surgical release in patients with DQ, the complication rate, or which type of incision is superior. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted. Methods: A systematic search was performed in Embase, Medline Ovid, Web of Science Core Collection, Cochrane, and Google Scholar. Articles regarding surgical treatment of DQ disease that reported outcome and complications were included. We extracted exact values of visual analog scale scores and percentages of patients who experienced pain at follow-up. Complications assessed were (sub) luxation, superficial radial nerve injuries, wound infections, and scar problems. Results: Twenty-one studies with a total of 939 patients were included. Five percent of these patients (95% CI 1%-18%) did not show complete remission of pain at follow-up. When pooled, the mean reduction in visual analog scale scores was 5.7 (95% CI 5.3-6.1) on a 0-10 scale. No difference in outcome between different types of surgery or incisions was seen. Based on the meta-analysis, the pooled complication rate was 11% (95% CI 5%-22%). Conclusions: Five percent of patients still have residual pain after surgical release of the first extensor compartment. Surgery type, as well as the type of incision, did not affect outcome or complication. Thus, surgical release of the extensor retinaculum for DQ disease is an effective treatment, regardless of the type of surgery.

Prevalence of post-traumatic neuropathic pain after digital nerve repair and finger amputation.

INTRODUCTION: Post-traumatic neuropathic pain is a major factor affecting the quality of life after finger trauma and is reported with considerable variance in the literature. This can partially be attributed to the different methods of determining neuropathic pain. The Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) has been validated to be a reliable and non-invasive tool to assess the presence of neuropathic pain. This study investigated the prevalence of neuropathic pain after finger amputation or digital nerve repair using the DN4 questionnaire. METHODS: Patients with finger amputation or digital nerve repair were identified between 2011 and 2018 at our institution. After a minimal follow-up of 12 months, the short form DN4 (S-DN4) was used to assess neuropathic pain. RESULTS: A total of 120 patients were included: 50 patients with 91 digital amputations and 70 patients with 87 fingers with digital nerve repair. In the amputation group, 32% of the patients had pain, and 18% had neuropathic pain. In the digital nerve repair group, 38% of the patients had pain, and 14% had neuropathic pain. Secondly, of patient-, trauma-, and treatment-specific factors, only the time between trauma and surgery had a significant negative influence on the prevalence of neuropathic pain in patients with digital nerve repair. CONCLUSION: This study shows that persistent pain and neuropathic pain are common after finger trauma with nerve damage. One of the significant prognostic factors in developing neuropathic pain is treatment delay between trauma and time of digital nerve repair, which is of major clinical relevance for surgical planning of these injuries.

Divergence of duplicate POMC genes in gilthead sea bream Sparus auratus.

Proopiomelanocorticotrophin (POMC) in vertebrates is produced in the pituitary gland and undergoes post-translational processing to give rise to a range of biologically active peptides. Teleosts possess 2-3 different POMC transcripts which have been proposed to have originated from a whole or partial genome duplication. In the present study 2 transcripts of gilthead sea bream POMC (sbPOMC-α1 and α2) were cloned and characterised. sbPOMC-α1 is expressed principally in the melanotroph cells of the pars intermedia (PI) and sbPOMC-α2 is expressed in the corticotroph cells of the rostral pars distalis and probably also in the PI. The 2 sbPOMC transcripts have a differential tissue distribution in extra-pituitary sites. An appraisal of POMC evolution indicates sbPOMCs belong to one of the two main clades that exist in teleosts and that overall a non conservative process of gene loss occurred in this infraclass.