1,721,005 research outputs found
Proteomics in farm animals models of human diseases
No full textThe need to provide in vivo complex environments to understand human diseases strongly relies on the use of animal models, which traditionally include small rodents and rabbits. It is becoming increasingly evident that the few species utilised to date cannot be regarded as universal. There is a great need for new animal species that are naturally endowed with specific features relevant to human diseases. Farm animals, including pigs, cows, sheep and horses, represent a valid alternative to commonly utilised rodent models. There is an ample scope for the application of proteomic techniques in farm animals, and the establishment of several proteomic maps of plasma and tissue has clearly demonstrated that farm animals provide a disease environment that closely resembles that of human diseases. The present review offers a snapshot of how proteomic techniques have been applied to farm animals to improve their use as biomedical models. Focus will be on specific topics of biomedical research in which farm animal models have been characterised through the application of proteomic techniques
Closed versus open vitrification systems for human oocytes and embryos : a mini-review
No full textVitrification is an established and successful technique for preserving human oocytes and embryos. It can be achieved either by direct (open systems) or indirect (closed systems) contact with liquid nitrogen and there is not a consensus on the optimum vitrification protocol. Scientific societies agree that there are no particular concerns regarding vitrification other than direct contact with a non sterile product. Moreover, European directives pose the need for aseptic procedures as a critical point. Therefore, several strategies have been developed in order to avoid the risk of contamination, including closed devices and liquid nitrogen sterilization. There have been concerns with closed vitrification devices that a reduction in cooling rate compared to open vitrification systems due to thermal insulation of samples would cause ice crystal formation resulting in impaired results. It has been proposed that a correct exposure to cryoprotective agents before closed vitrification and a high warming rate can adequately compensate the reduction in cooling rates. This reduction in cooling rate can also be prevented with direct plunging of samples in sterile liquid nitrogen followed by hermetical cryostorage (semi-closed system). Studies comparing different protocols suggest that aseptic vitrification is an effective strategy both for embryos and oocytes
MOLECULAR BASIS OF THE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN RUMINANTS: FOCUS ON ADIPOSE TISSUE
Full text linkThe main aim of this thesis is to explore new aspects of the innate immune response in ruminants, especially focusing on the role of adipose tissue. Particularly, adipose tissue was investigated in order to provide new information in a species where this tissue is very poorly characterised.
In ruminants, fat tissues play important biological roles for animal health for quality and gain in meat and milk production as well. A specific knowledge of how these pathways are controlled is of key importance for the management of animal health and from an economical perspective. Nevertheless, existing studies are mostly carried out in humans, where obesity is a major issue and little is known about ruminants.
In this thesis, the distribution of white and brown adipose tissue in several adipose deposits was investigated through UCP1 expression and general histology, showing a clear distinction between these two macroareas, with brown adipose tissue mostly present in visceral deposits. With our study, we also demonstrated the presence of brown adipose tissue in 30 days old goat kids and therefore the presence of this tissue in growing animals and not only in newborns. In addition, visceral and subcutaneous deposits were investigated with proteomic techniques, demonstrating that these two macroareas can be clearly distinguished by their proteomic profiles, but single deposits within the same macroarea do not display particular proteomic differences. Moreover, we demonstrated the involvement of adipose tissue of goat kids in inflammatory and immune response pathways, through expression of at least 27 immune related proteins, of which nine, namely ceruloplasmin, gamma fibrinogen, hemopexin, kininogen 1, lactoferrin, protein dj, thiosulfate sulfurtransferase, tumour translationally controlled 1 and valacyclovir hydrolase, were never investigated before in adipose tissue.
At a later stage, we focused our attention only on visceral adipose tissue, particularly on omentum, demonstrating that maternal diets enriched with either saturated or unsaturated fatty acid influence goat kid omentum proteome, but these influence is not confirmed at mRNA expression level. In addition, no influence of the maternal diet is showed on BAT distribution in goat kids
The acute phase protein α1-acid glycoprotein : a model for altered glycosylation during diseases. : Updates and new perspectives
No full textThe adipose tissue in farm animals : a proteomic approach
No full textAdipose tissue is not only a tissue where energy is stored but is also involved in regulating several body functions such as appetite and energy expenditure via its endocrine activity. Moreover, it thereby modulates complex processes like reproduction, inflammation and immune response. The products secreted from adipose tissue comprise hormones and cytokines that are collectively termed as adipocytokines or "adipokines"; the discovery and characterization of new proteins secreted by adipose tissue is still ongoing and their number is thus increasing. Adipokines act in both endocrine manner as well as locally, as autocrine or paracrine effectors. Proteomics has emerged as a valuable technique to characterize both cellular and secreted proteomes from adipose tissues, including those of main cellular fractions, i.e. the adipocytes or the stromal vascular fraction containing mainly adipocyte precursors and immune cells. The scientific interest in adipose tissue is largely based on the worldwide increasing prevalence of obesity in humans; in contrast, obesity is hardly an issue for farmed animals that are fed according to their well-defined needs. Adipose tissue is nevertheless of major importance in these animals, as the adipose percentage of the bodyweight is a major determinant for the efficiency of transferring nutrients from feed into food products and thus for the economic value from meat producing animals. In dairy animals, the importance of adipose tissue is based on its function as stromal structure for the mammary gland and on its role in participating in and regulating of energy metabolism and other functions. Moreover, as pig has recently become an important model organism to study human diseases, the knowledge of adipose tissue metabolism in pig is relevant for the study of obesity and metabolic disorders. We herein provide a general overview of adipose tissue functions and its importance in farm animals. This review will summarize recent achievements in farm animal adipose tissue proteomics, mainly in cattle and pigs, but also in poultry, i.e. chicken and in farmed fish. Proteomics advancement in adipocyte cell lines, have also been included
Myasthenia gravis with a monoclonal gammopathy--report of a case
No full textAn elderly man with relapsing myasthenia gravis was found to have hypergammaglobulinaemia, a monoclonal peak of gamma mobility and paraproteinaemia IgG, type K. Bence-Jones proteinuria, type K was present. This is the fourth report of myasthenia gravis associated with a monoclonal gammopathy. Myasthenia gravis is considered to be an autoimmune disease. Recent findings implicate a dysfunction of cellular immunity in the pathogenesis of both immunoproliferative and autoimmune disease. We suggest that the association of myasthenia gravis and monoclonal gammopathy in our patient might have stemmed from a disorder of T lymphocyte function
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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