Traditional knowledge of invertebrates used for medicine and magical-religious purposes by traditional healers and indigenous populations in the Plateau Department, Republic of Benin.

BACKGROUND: Since ancient times, invertebrates have played an important role in the traditional medicine in many parts of the world. In south-eastern Benin, more specifically in the Plateau Department, invertebrates are widely used in folk medicine. However, studies on their therapeutic use has been neglected and their magical-religious purposes are poorly understood. The present study aims to document traditional knowledge related to the use of invertebrates for medicinal and magical-religious purposes by traditional healers and indigenous people of Plateau Department. METHODS: An ethno-sociological survey was conducted with 145 informants (80 traditional healers, 12 merchants of medicinal animals and 53 households) belonging to six ethnic groups, in 20 villages located in Plateau of Benin. Data were collected through the participatory rural appraisal method involving individual interviews and direct observations with semi-structured questionnaires. The collected data regarding various medicinal and magical-religious uses of invertebrates were analysed through informant consensus factor (ICF), use value (UV) and, fidelity level (FL). RESULTS: A total of 20 families and 38 species of invertebrates, distributed among 6 taxonomic categories, were found to be used to treat 50 different ailments. Insects occupied 64.7% of the total invertebrates listed. The African earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae K. and African giant snail Achatina achatina L. had the highest use values. The highest ICF value (1.0) was cited for diseases of the blood or blood-forming organs. A principal component analysis (PCA) revealed the influence of ethnic groups in the diseases treated with invertebrates. The highest FL (100%) was recorded for 12 invertebrate species treating various ailments. Most of invertebrate-based remedies were associated with plant species. The mode of administration was mainly oral and topical. Most of the invertebrate drugs were traditionally collected in nature or imported, mainly from Nigeria. In addition, 7 magical-religious practices are documented. CONCLUSIONS: Our results reveal that several invertebrate species play an important role in healing practices and magical-religious rituals in the Plateau Department. We suggest further studies to confirm the presence of any bioactive compounds on invertebrate species use in traditional medicine. In addition, this study highlights the need for ecological investigations of these species, in order to develop strategies for their conservation and sustainable use.

Effects of vasectomy on gene expression profiling along the human epididymis.

Worldwide, almost 100 million men rely on vasectomy for male contraceptive purposes. Due to changes in their personal lives, an increasing number of these men request surgical vasectomy reversal. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of these men remain infertile, despite the reestablishment of patent ducts, possibly due to epididymal damage caused by vasectomy. In animal models, vasectomy affects different epididymal physiological and biochemical parameters. However, the consequences of vasectomy on epididymal function are poorly understood. Furthermore, results obtained with animal models cannot be extrapolated to humans to understand the consequences of vasectomy on epididymal function. Gene expression along the epididymis is highly regulated. We previously showed that the human epididymal expression pattern of two genes is altered after vasectomy. To complete the list of epididymal genes affected by vasectomy, we analyzed the epididymal gene expression pattern of three vasectomized donors using the Affymetrix human GeneChip U133 Plus 2. These results were compared with the gene expression pattern of three "normal" donors. The data generated allowed the identification of many human epididymal genes for which expression is modified after vasectomy. Quantitative (Qt)-PCR and Western blot analysis of six selected genes known to be expressed in specific epididymal segments were performed. The Qt-PCR results confirmed the selected transcripts expression pattern deduced from microarray data. However, Western blot analysis revealed some differences in protein distribution along the epididymis when compared with the encoding transcripts expression pattern. These results contribute to an understanding of the reasons why fertility is not recovered in vasovasostomized men, even though spermogram values suggest surgical success of vasectomy reversal.

Region-specific gene expression profiling along the human epididymis.

During their transit through the epididymis, spermatozoa undergo many biochemical modifications necessary to acquire flagellar motility and fertilizing ability. These modifications, collectively called sperm maturation, are well orchestrated along the epididymis and depend on highly regionalized gene expression patterns. Based on clinical observations, the role of the epididymis in human sperm maturation has been questioned. To further understand the function of the excurrent duct in humans, we analysed gene expression of three donors on 'Affymetrix human GeneChip U133 plus 2' representing 47,000 transcriptional variants. More than 50% of transcripts were detected in each epididymal region. The analysis of hierarchical clustering performed from 2274 modulated qualifers between the three regions revealed that 1184, 713 and 269 were highly expressed in the caput, corpus and cauda region, respectively, in a very specific manner. The expressed qualifers were grouped according their similarity by Gene Ontology to give an overview of the functional features of the encoded proteins and to elucidate their potential roles in the epididymis. Northern blot analysis of eight gene transcripts predicted by microarray data to be highly expressed in the human epididymis was performed. All the transcript expression patterns confirmed the microarrays results. The data generated in this study demonstrate a region-specific gene expression pattern along the human epididymis that seems to coincide with the morphologically distinctive features of the excurrent duct.

Cholestatic bile acids inhibit gap junction permeability in rat hepatocyte couplets and normal rat cholangiocytes.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this work was to study the effects of different bile acids on the permeability of gap junction channels (PGJC). We also looked at the effects of some bile acids on the coordination of intercellular calcium oscillations. METHODS: The permeability of gap junctions was assessed by fluorescent dye transfer and calcium signalling on fluorescent microscopy. RESULTS: Cholestatic bile acids such as taurolithocholate, taurolithocholate-sulfate and taurochenodeoxycholate inhibit the permeability of gap junctions in a dose-dependent and reversible manner in hepatocytes. Experiments performed in other cell types suggest that this effect is specific for cells having bile salt transporters, independently of the type of connexin expressed in these cells. Thus, cholestatic bile acids inhibit PGJC in normal rat cholangiocytes which express Cx43, but not in HeLa cells transfected with Cx26 or 32, which are expressed in hepatocytes. Calcium oscillations induced by bile acids in rat hepatocyte couplets are not coordinated and, by inhibiting the PGJC, cholestatic bile acids prevent the coordination of calcium oscillations induced by noradrenaline in these cells. CONCLUSIONS: Cholestatic, but not choleretic bile acids inhibit the PGJC in cells able to accumulate bile acids. This inhibition might contribute to the cholestatic effect of these bile acids.