Catalog of the Opilioacarida (Acari: Parasitiformes).

A catalog of the described Opilioacaridae species and their type depository institutions is presented. Opilioacaridae comprises 53 valid taxa (with 2 subspecies and 3 fossil species) distributed in 13 genera. The zoogeographical distribution, described life stages and years of description are also provided and discussed. Recent work on the American continent has resulted in a great diversity from these zoogeographical zones, but the family has a worldwide distribution. In addition, we move Neocarus ojastii Lehtinen, 1980 into Caribeacarus, i.e., Caribeacarus ojastii (Lehtinen, 1980) n. comb.

A new species of Opilioacarus With, 1902 (Acari: Opilioacaridae) from Italy, and a new diagnosis of the genus.

No living Opilioacarus species have been described from Europe for more than a century since the first finding and species description in the early twentieth century. Using the material deposited in Museo Civico di Storia Naturale of Verona, Italy, it was possible to identify and describe a new Opilioacarus species and review the genus diagnosis, using the shape of setae d and setation of the preanal segment. The new species is also briefly compared with the other Opilioacarus species; Opilioacarus italicus (With, 1904) is considered a nomen dubium.

Ultrastructure of the male chelicerae of Hattena cometis Domrow (Acari: Gamasida: Ameroseiidae) functioning as gonopods.

The ultrastructure and functional adaptations of male chelicerae in Hattena cometis Domrow are discussed. In particular, as in many other gamasid mites, males of Hattena use the chelicerae, modified as gonopods, to transfer the sperm into the female. For such purpose, a slender process extending from the movable digit, the spermatodactyl, is mainly involved. The spermatodactyl is provided with a sperm transfer duct; in H.cometis, the dorsal surface bent and fused with the ventral surface forms this duct so that the spermatodactyl appears as a cuticular process, connected somehow with the movable digit, and folded on itself to delimit the sperm transfer tube. The organization and ultrastructure of the spermatodactyl are discussed and compared with other gamasid mites studied so far.

Aspirin protects Caco-2 cells from apoptosis after serum deprivation through the activation of a phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/AKT/p21Cip/WAF1pathway.

Our previous studies indicated that millimolar doses of aspirin induced growth arrest and resistance to anticancer drug treatment in Caco-2 cells. The present study was designed to better elucidate at the molecular level the effect of aspirin treatment on pathways that regulate cell death during serum withdrawal. Caco-2 cells were cultured under serum deprivation in the presence or absence of aspirin. Effects on cell cycle, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase) and mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways were investigated. We found that aspirin, but not the selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor N-[2-(cyclohexyloxyl)-4-nitrophenyl]-methane sulfonamide (NS-398); prevented apoptosis and G2/M transition after prolonged Caco-2 cells serum deprivation. Aspirin-dependent inhibition of apoptosis and G2/M transition was prevented by treatment with the PI3-kinase inhibitor 2-(4-morpholinyl)-8-phenyl-4H-1-benzopyran-4-one (LY294002), but not with the MAP kinase kinase inhibitor 2'-amino-3'-methoxyflavone (PD98059). The effects of aspirin were mediated at molecular levels, through activation of PI3-kinase/AKT pathway and increase in the p21Cip/WAF1 level. The ability of aspirin to activate AKT protein was observed also in presence of etoposide cotreatment. Our data indicate a new intracellular target of aspirin with potential clinical impact for treatment schedules involving both anticancer agents and aspirin in malignancies.