Rat postnatal prostate development is impaired by in vitro high-glucose environment.

The prostate development has an important postnatal period where cell proliferation begins at the first days after birth and is related to gland growth and ramification. Any metabolic and/or hormonal changes occurring during the postnatal period can interfere with prostate branching. Hyperglycemia is a common condition in low-weight preterm babies at neonatal period and also a disorder found in the offspring of obese mothers. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the in vitro effects of a glucose-rich environment during prostate postnatal development. Wistar rats prostate were removed at birth and cultured for 1, 2 and 3 days in DMEM under normal (5.5 mM) or elevated (7 and 25 mM) glucose concentrations. Samples were processed for morphological analysis, PCNA and smooth muscle α-actin immunohistochemistry, evaluation of active caspase-3, ERK1/2 and Wnt5a gene expression. High glucose concentrations reduced the number of prostatic buds and proliferating cells. The natural increase in smooth muscle cells and collagen deposition observed in control prostates during the first 3 days of development was reduced by elevated glucose concentrations. The amount of active caspase-3 was higher in prostates incubated at 7 mM and TGF-ß levels also increased sharply after both glucose concentrations. Additionally, high glucose environment decreased ERK 1/2 activation and increased Wnt5a expression. These data show that high levels of glucose during the first postnatal days affected prostate development by inhibiting cell proliferation which impairs bud branching and this was associated with anti-proliferative signals such as decreased ERK1/2 activation and increased Wnt5a expression.

Epigenetic modifications and their relation to caste and sex determination and adult division of labor in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris.

Stingless bees of the genus Melipona, have long been considered an enigmatic case among social insects for their mode of caste determination, where in addition to larval food type and quantity, the genotype also has a saying, as proposed over 50 years ago by Warwick E. Kerr. Several attempts have since tried to test his Mendelian two-loci/two-alleles segregation hypothesis, but only recently a single gene crucial for sex determination in bees was evidenced to be sex-specifically spliced and also caste-specifically expressed in a Melipona species. Since alternative splicing is frequently associated with epigenetic marks, and the epigenetic status plays a major role in setting the caste phenotype in the honey bee, we investigated here epigenetic chromatin modification in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris. We used an ELISA-based methodology to quantify global methylation status and western blot assays to reveal histone modifications. The results evidenced DNA methylation/demethylation events in larvae and pupae, and significant differences in histone methylation and phosphorylation between newly emerged adult queens and workers. The epigenetic dynamics seen in this stingless bee species represent a new facet in the caste determination process in Melipona bees and suggest a possible mechanism that is likely to link a genotype component to the larval diet and adult social behavior of these bees.

Differential gene expression by RNA-seq during Alzheimer's disease-like progression in the Drosophila melanogaster model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive, irreversible loss of memory and cognitive function. Drosophila melanogaster and other animal models are used to study several diseases, in order to elucidate unknown mechanisms and develop potential therapies. Molecular studies require biological samples and, for neuropathologies such as AD biopsy of the human brain, are invasive and potentially damaging. The solution is to use animal models, such as D. melanogaster, which is a model organism that can replace mammalian organisms in such studies. In this study, we evaluated the climbing ability and differential gene expression during AD progression due to the amylodoigenic pathway using RNA-seq, and we performed an in silico analysis of a fruit fly AD-like GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) model with GFP expression in the pan-neural elav driver. A total of 1388 genes were differentially expressed in all analyzed groups. The main pathways related to those Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) during aging and AD progression were evaluated using the fly genes and human orthologs, in order to link genomic information to higher-order functional information with gene pathway mapping. We identified pathways present in all analyzed groups, such as metabolic pathways, ribosomal pathways, proteasome pathways and immune system pathways. Some of the genes were validated by qPCR. Knockdown of CG17754 gene by RNAi promoted degeneration in the fly eye, validating these findings in vivo. The identification of similarities in molecular pathways between the transgenic fly AD-like GFP model and mammals related to AD provides new insights into the use of this fly in screening novel anti-AD drugs.

Cell-free DNA promotes malignant transformation in non-tumor cells.

Cell-free DNA is present in different biological fluids and when released by tumor cells may contribute to pro-tumor events such as malignant transformation of cells adjacent to the tumor and metastasis. Thus, this study analyzed the effect of tumor cell-free DNA, isolated from the blood of prostate cancer patients, on non-tumor prostate cell lines (RWPE-1 and PNT-2). To achieve this, we performed cell-free DNA quantification and characterization assays, evaluation of gene and miRNA expression profiling focused on cancer progression and EMT, and metabolomics by mass spectrometry and cellular migration. The results showed that tumor-free cell DNA was able to alter the gene expression of MMP9 and CD44, alter the expression profile of nine miRNAs, and increased the tryptophan consumption and cell migration rates in non-tumor cells. Therefore, tumor cell-free DNA was capable of altering the receptor cell phenotype, triggering events related to malignant transformation in these cells, and can thus be considered a potential target for cancer diagnosis and therapy.

New findings from the first transcriptome of the Bothrops moojeni snake venom gland.

Snakebites are a serious health problem in tropical countries. In Brazil, the genus Bothrops (Viperidae family) causes most of the ophidic accidents, characterized by proteolysis and haemorrhage. Snake venoms are rich sources of toxins with great therapeutic and biotechnological potential and omics approaches is a valuable tool for identification of new bioactive components in the venom. In this study, we described the first transcriptome of the venom gland of Bothrops moojeni snake, using the next-generation sequencing with the Illumina platform. We identified: (i) 20 venom components classes, among which metalloproteases were the most expressed ones, followed by serine proteases and phospholipases; and (ii) the 33 full-length amino acid sequences of toxins that have never been reported before in B. moojeni venom, such as one cysteine-rich secretory protein (Moojin), two hyaluronidases (BmooHyal-1 and BmooHyal-2), and one three-finger toxin (Bmoo-3FTx). Altogether, the transcripts identified herein represent a starting point for the analysis of structure-function relationships of toxins, which shall help develop novel biological tools and therapeutic drugs.

Characterization of antennal sensilla, larvae morphology and olfactory genes of Melipona scutellaris stingless bee.

There is growing evidence in the literature suggesting that caste differentiation in the stingless bee, Melipona scutellaris, and other bees in the genus Melipona, is triggered by environmental signals, particularly a primer pheromone. With the proper amount of food and a chemical stimulus, 25% of females emerge as queens, in agreement with a long-standing "two loci/two alleles model" proposed in the 1950s. We surmised that these larvae must be equipped with an olfactory system for reception of these chemical signals. Here we describe for the first time the diversity of antennal sensilla in adults and the morphology of larvae of M. scutellaris. Having found evidence for putative olfactory sensilla in larvae, we next asked whether olfactory proteins were expressed in larvae. Since the molecular basis of M. scutellaris is still unknown, we cloned olfactory genes encoding chemosensory proteins (CSP) and odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) using M. scutellaris cDNA template and primers designed on the basis CSPs and OBPs previously reported from the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. We cloned two CSP and two OBP genes and then attempted to express the proteins encoded by these genes. With a recombinant OBP, MscuOBP8, and a combinatorial single-chain variable fragment antibody library, we generated anti-MscuOBP8 monoclonal antibody. By immunohistochemistry we demonstrated that the anti-MscuOBP8 binds specifically to the MscuOBP8. Next, we found evidence that MscuOBP8 is expressed in M. scutellaris larvae and it is located in the mandibular region, thus further supporting the hypothesis of olfactory function in immature stages. Lastly, molecular modeling suggests that MscuOBP8 may function as a carrier of primer pheromones or other ligands.

Epigenetic modifications and their relation to caste and sex determination and adult division of labor in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris

Abstract Stingless bees of the genus Melipona, have long been considered an enigmatic case among social insects for their mode of caste determination, where in addition to larval food type and quantity, the genotype also has a saying, as proposed over 50 years ago by Warwick E. Kerr. Several attempts have since tried to test his Mendelian two-loci/two-alleles segregation hypothesis, but only recently a single gene crucial for sex determination in bees was evidenced to be sex-specifically spliced and also caste-specifically expressed in a Melipona species. Since alternative splicing is frequently associated with epigenetic marks, and the epigenetic status plays a major role in setting the caste phenotype in the honey bee, we investigated here epigenetic chromatin modification in the stingless bee Melipona scutellaris. We used an ELISA-based methodology to quantify global methylation status and western blot assays to reveal histone modifications. The results evidenced DNA methylation/demethylation events in larvae and pupae, and significant differences in histone methylation and phosphorylation between newly emerged adult queens and workers. The epigenetic dynamics seen in this stingless bee species represent a new facet in the caste determination process in Melipona bees and suggest a possible mechanism that is likely to link a genotype component to the larval diet and adult social behavior of these bees.