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PloS One 2021The crustacean molting process is regulated by an interplay of hormones produced by the eyestalk ganglia and Y-organs (YO). Molt-inhibiting hormone and crustacean...
Understanding molt control switches: Transcriptomic and expression analysis of the genes involved in ecdysteroidogenesis and cholesterol uptake pathways in the Y-organ of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus.
The crustacean molting process is regulated by an interplay of hormones produced by the eyestalk ganglia and Y-organs (YO). Molt-inhibiting hormone and crustacean hyperglycemic hormone released by the sinus gland of the eyestalk ganglia (EG) inhibit the synthesis and secretion of ecdysteroid by the YO, hence regulating hemolymph levels during the molt cycle. The purpose of this study is to investigate the ecdysteroidogenesis pathway, specifically genes linked to changes in ecdysteroid levels occurring at early premolt (ePM). To this end, a reference transcriptome based on YO, EG, and hepatopancreas was de novo assembled. Two genes (cholesterol 7-desaturase Neverland and cytochrome p450 307a1-like Spook) involved in ecdysteroidogenesis were identified from the YO transcriptome using sequence comparisons and transcript abundance. Two other candidates, Hormone receptor 4 and probable cytochrome p450 49a1 potentially involved in ecdysteroidogenesis were also identified. Since cholesterol is the ecdysteroid precursor, a putative cholesterol carrier (Apolipoprotein D-like) was also examined to understand if cholesterol uptake coincided with the increase in the ecdysteroid levels at the ePM stage. The expression level changes of the five candidate genes in the YO were compared between intermolt (IM) and induced ePM (iePM) stages using transcriptomic analysis. Expression analysis using qPCR were carried out at IM, iePM, and normal ePM. The increase in Spook and Neverland expression in the YO at the ePM was accompanied by a concomitant rise in ecdysteroid levels. The data obtained from iePM stage were congruent with those obtained from the normal ePM stage of intact control animals. The present findings support the role of Halloween genes in the ecdysteroidogenesis and molt cycle in the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus.
Topics: Animals; Arthropod Proteins; Brachyura; Cholesterol; Ecdysteroids; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Hemolymph; Invertebrate Hormones; Molting; Transcriptome
PubMed: 34478479
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0256735 -
Hormone-related genes heterochronically and modularly regulate neotenic differentiation in termites.Developmental Biology May 2022Caste development in social insects requires the coordination of molting and metamorphosis during postembryonic development. In termites, i.e., hemimetabolous eusocial...
Caste development in social insects requires the coordination of molting and metamorphosis during postembryonic development. In termites, i.e., hemimetabolous eusocial insects, caste fate is determined during postembryonic development. However, it is not fully understood how the mechanisms of molting/metamorphosis are regulated in the course of differentiation between reproductive and sterile castes. In termites, only reproductives derived from alates are imagos and other sterile castes (including developmentally-terminal soldier caste) are basically juveniles or nymphs. Furthermore, supplementary reproductives that appear when the original queens and kings die or become senescent, exhibit larval features such as winglessness, and are called neotenics. Therefore, the question of whether neotenics are larvae or imagos is still under debate. In this study, by inducing female neotenic differentiation in a damp-wood termite Hodotermopsis sjostedti, morphological investigations together with juvenile hormone (JH) quantification and expression/functional analyses of genes responsible for molting and/or metamorphosis were carried out. JH titer and expression of one of the downstream genes (Kr-h1) were shown to be temporarily lowered, but increased just prior to the molt into neotenics, while consistently lowered in imaginal molt (i.e., alate differentiation). In contrast, ecdysone-related genes (EcR and E93) were upregulated at both neotenic and alate differentiation, suggesting that the heterochronic actions of ecdysone and JH lead the neotenic differentiation. Moreover, expression analyses, supported by reverse genetic experiments, showed that EcR and E93 were specifically upregulated in genital sternites (EcR and E93) and ovaries (E93) and required for the development of imaginal characters. These results suggest that the resultant mosaic phenotype of female neotenics is due to modular responses of different body parts to hormonal actions.
Topics: Animals; Ecdysone; Female; Isoptera; Juvenile Hormones; Molting; Sex Differentiation
PubMed: 35248548
DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.02.012 -
Scientific Reports Jul 2022Termite castes express specialized phenotypes for their own tasks and are a good example of insect polyphenism. To understand the comprehensive gene expression profiles...
Termite castes express specialized phenotypes for their own tasks and are a good example of insect polyphenism. To understand the comprehensive gene expression profiles during caste differentiation, RNA-seq analysis based on the genome data was performed during the worker, presoldier, and nymphoid molts in Reticulitermes speratus. In this species, artificial induction methods for each molt have already been established, and the time scale has been clarified. Three different periods (before the gut purge (GP), during the GP, and after the molt) were discriminated in each molt, and two body parts (head and other body regions) were separately sampled. The results revealed that many differentially expressed genes (head: 2884, body: 2579) were identified in each molt. Based on the independent real-time quantitative PCR analysis, we confirmed the different expression patterns of seven out of eight genes in the presoldier molt. Based on the GO and KEGG enrichment analyses, the expressions of genes related to juvenile hormone titer changes (e.g., JH acid methyltransferase), nutrition status (e.g., Acyl-CoA Delta desaturase), and cell proliferation (e.g., insulin receptor), were shown to specifically fluctuate in each molt. These differences may have a crucial impact on caste differentiation. These data are important resources for future termite sociogenomics.
Topics: Animals; Isoptera; Juvenile Hormones; Molting; Transcriptome
PubMed: 35831400
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15984-z -
Scientific Reports Aug 2022Trilobite exuviae record the development of individual trilobites and their molting process and can also contain information on their behavior. The silt- to fine-grained...
Trilobite exuviae record the development of individual trilobites and their molting process and can also contain information on their behavior. The silt- to fine-grained tuffites of the middle part of the Middle Member of the Upper Devonian Hongguleleng Formation in western Junggar contains abundant phacopidae trilobite, specifically Omegops sp. A, almost all of which are exuviae. Based on the preservation pattern, burial environment, and set of organisms co-occurring with Omegops sp. A, we speculate that the environment represented by the middle part of the Middle Member of the Hongguleleng Formation served only as the molting site of Omegops sp. A, and that their primary habitat was elsewhere. Omegops sp. A would have thus travelled to deep-water to molt. The reasons for allopatric molting may have included avoiding predators and interference from competing organisms during molting. This implies that the migratory behavior of some modern arthropods may have existed since at least the Devonian. This behavior suggests that Late Devonian phacopidae trilobites may have migrated to deeper water expanded their ecological domain as a survival strategy in response to unfavorable ecological environment.
Topics: Animals; Arthropods; Fossils; Molting; Preservation, Biological; Water
PubMed: 35974064
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-18146-3 -
Scientific Reports Aug 2020Molt is a critical developmental process in crustaceans. Recent studies have shown that the hepatopancreas is an important source of innate immune molecules, yet...
Molt is a critical developmental process in crustaceans. Recent studies have shown that the hepatopancreas is an important source of innate immune molecules, yet hepatopancreatic patterns of gene expression during the molt cycle which may underlie changes in immune mechanism are unknown. In this study, we performed Illumina sequencing for the hepatopancreas of the mud crab, Scylla paramamosain during molt cycle (pre-molt stage, post-molt stage, and inter-molt stage). A total of 44.55 Gb high-quality reads were obtained from the normalized cDNA of hepatopancreas. A total of 70,591 transcripts were assembled; 55,167 unigenes were identified. Transcriptomic comparison revealed 948 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the hepatopancreas from the three molt stages. We found that genes associated with immune response patterns changed in expression during the molt cycle. Antimicrobial peptide genes, inflammatory response genes, Toll signaling pathway factors, the phenoloxidase system, antioxidant enzymes, metal-binding proteins and other immune related genes are significantly up-regulated at the post-molt stage and inter-molt stage compared with the pre-molt stage, respectively. These genes are either not expressed or are expressed at low levels at the pre-molt stage. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic transcriptome analysis of genes capable of mobilizing a hepatopancreas immune response during the molt cycle in crustaceans, and this study will contribute to a better understanding of the hepatopancreas immune system and mud crab prophylactic immune mechanisms at the post-molt stage.
Topics: Animals; Brachyura; Gene Expression Profiling; Hepatopancreas; Molting
PubMed: 32753724
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-70139-2 -
The EMBO Journal Feb 2023C. elegans develops through four larval stages that are rhythmically terminated by molts, that is, the synthesis and shedding of a cuticular exoskeleton. Each larval...
C. elegans develops through four larval stages that are rhythmically terminated by molts, that is, the synthesis and shedding of a cuticular exoskeleton. Each larval cycle involves rhythmic accumulation of thousands of transcripts, which we show here relies on rhythmic transcription. To uncover the responsible gene regulatory networks (GRNs), we screened for transcription factors that promote progression through the larval stages and identified GRH-1, BLMP-1, NHR-23, NHR-25, MYRF-1, and BED-3. We further characterize GRH-1, a Grainyhead/LSF transcription factor, whose orthologues in other animals are key epithelial cell-fate regulators. We find that GRH-1 depletion extends molt durations, impairs cuticle integrity and shedding, and causes larval death. GRH-1 is required for, and accumulates prior to, each molt, and preferentially binds to the promoters of genes expressed during this time window. Binding to the promoters of additional genes identified in our screen furthermore suggests that we have identified components of a core molting-clock GRN. Since the mammalian orthologues of GRH-1, BLMP-1 and NHR-23, have been implicated in rhythmic homeostatic skin regeneration in mouse, the mechanisms underlying rhythmic C. elegans molting may apply beyond nematodes.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Caenorhabditis elegans; Molting; Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; Transcription Factors; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Mammals
PubMed: 36688410
DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022111895 -
Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer... Jun 2021The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mimic hypoxia on proliferation, the expression of significant miRNAs, and genes involved in drug resistance in...
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mimic hypoxia on proliferation, the expression of significant miRNAs, and genes involved in drug resistance in MOLT-4 and KG1 cell lines.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The KG1 and MOLT-4 cell lines were cultured in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 20% FBS and 10% FBS respectively. The MTT test was used for determining the optimum dose of CoCl2 for KG1 and MOLT-4 cell lines. Western blotting was used for the detection of HIF-1a protein and the confirmation of mimic hypoxia induced by CoCl2. For evaluating the effect of mimic hypoxia on proliferation of MOLT-4 and KG1 cell lines, cell counting was done using trypan blue at 24, 48, and 72 hours. Furthermore, the results obtained from cell counting were confirmed with the MTT test. Total RNA was extracted using the RNX Plus solution kit according to the manufacturer's protocol. The expression of genes and miRNAs was evaluated with real time PCR.
RESULTS
According to this study, mimic hypoxia induced by CoCl2 contributes to the overexpression of drug resistance related genes including MDR1, MRP1, FOXM1, BCL-xl genes, and the suppression of PUMA gene compared to the control group. The results also showed that mimic hypoxia condition leads to the up-regulation of miR-9 and down-regulation of miR-27a and miR-370. Additionally, our outcomes demonstrated that mimic hypoxia has an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of MOLT-4 and KG1 cell lines.
CONCLUSION
Treatment with CoCl2 has an inhibitory effect on the proliferation of MOLT-4 and KG1 cell lines independent from real hypoxia. Additionally, mimic hypoxia has a substantial effect on the expression of genes and miRNAs involved in drug resistance. Finally, we are still far away to discover the exact functional mechanisms of hypoxia on drug resistance but these evaluations can provide new perspectives into this field for the upcoming studies.
Topics: Cell Hypoxia; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Proliferation; Cobalt; Drug Resistance; Humans; MicroRNAs; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma
PubMed: 34181359
DOI: 10.31557/APJCP.2021.22.6.1975 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases May 2023Sarcoptes scabiei is a permanent obligate ectoparasite that lives and reproduces in the epidermis of humans and other mammals worldwide. There is a lack of information...
BACKGROUND
Sarcoptes scabiei is a permanent obligate ectoparasite that lives and reproduces in the epidermis of humans and other mammals worldwide. There is a lack of information on the molting process of Sarcoptes scabiei. Ivermectin is widely used to treat Sarcoptes infection in humans and animals, while the survival of molting Sarcoptes mites in the presence of ivermectin is unknown. The aim of the present study is to investigate the molting process of Sarcoptes mites and assess the activity of ivermectin during the molting process of Sarcoptes mites.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
molting Sarcoptes mites were incubated at 35°C and 80% relative humidity and observed hourly until complete molt. Of the 192 molting mites recorded, the longest molt periods for larvae and nymphs were 23 and 30 h, respectively. The activity of ivermectin on molting Sarcoptes mites was also assessed using two concentrations of the drug (0.1 and 0.05 mg/ml). The exposure time for molting mites was determined by 100% mortality of female mites exposed to the solution of ivermectin. While all female mites were killed after exposure to 0.1 mg/ml ivermectin for 2 h and and 0.05 mg/ml for 7 h, 32% and 36% of molting mites survived and successfully molted, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE
The present study demonstrated that molting Sarcoptes mites are less susceptible to ivermectin than active mites. As a consequence, mites may survive after two doses of ivermectin given 7 days apart due not only to hatching eggs but also to the resistance of mites during their molting process. Our results provide insight into the optimal therapeutic regimens for scabies and highlight the need for further research on the molting process of Sarcoptes mites.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Female; Ivermectin; Sarcoptes scabiei; Molting; Scabies; Mammals
PubMed: 37196006
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0011337 -
PeerJ 2018Molt summary tables reveal the sequence and mode of flight-feather replacement and how these feathers are divided into independent replacement series. Tables for...
Molt summary tables reveal the sequence and mode of flight-feather replacement and how these feathers are divided into independent replacement series. Tables for summarizing molt are relatively new, and the rules for generating them were first formally illustrated using data from a temperate passerine. However, this first illustration failed to address (i) species with primaries divided into more than one replacement series, (ii) species with stepwise primary replacement, which almost always involves incomplete annual replacement of the primaries, and (iii) species with incomplete annual replacement within molt series characterized by single-wave replacement. Here, we review complications that arise in developing molt summary tables for such cases and we offer solutions that remove ambiguity about the direction that molt proceeds within a replacement series and about the recognition of nodal and terminal feathers that mark the beginning and end of molt series. We use these modified molt summary tables to describe the sequence of primary replacement in four groups of Gruiform birds, a group for which primary replacement has been reported to proceed from the outermost primary toward the body, unlike most other birds. Eighty molting Grey-winged Trumpeters, and 124 molting Limpkins, , show the sequence of primary replacement is proximal in both groups; furthermore, the primaries of trumpeters are divided into two replacement series, one beginning at the outermost primary P10, and the other beginning at P3. To further evaluate the extent of this highly unusual direction of replacement in Gruiforms, we cast the data (Stresemann & Stresemann, 1966) on primary replacement in upland rails (Rallidae) and flufftails (Sarothruridae) into molt summary tables; both also replace their primaries proximally, from outermost to innermost, suggesting that this mode of primary replacement may be characteristic of Gruiformes.
PubMed: 30210940
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5499 -
Oncotarget Sep 2015Most comprehensive treatments for PBC include UDCA, combination of methotrexate (MTX), corticosteroids (COT), colchicine (COC) or bezafibrate (BEF), cyclosporin A (CYP),... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
OBJECTIVE
Most comprehensive treatments for PBC include UDCA, combination of methotrexate (MTX), corticosteroids (COT), colchicine (COC) or bezafibrate (BEF), cyclosporin A (CYP), D-penicillamine (DPM), methotrexate (MTX), or azathioprine (AZP). Since the optimum treatment regimen remains inconclusive, we aimed to compare these therapies in terms of patient mortality or liver transplantation (MOLT) and adverse event (AE).
METHODS
We searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus and the Cochrane Library for randomized controlled trials until August 2014. We estimated HRs for MOLT and ORs for AE. The sensitivity analysis based on dose of UDCA was also performed.
RESULTS
The search identified 49 studies involving 12 different treatment regimens and 4182 patients. Although no statistical significance can be found in MOLT, COT plus UDCA was ranked highest for efficacy outcome amongst all the treatment regimes. While for AEs, compared with OBS or UDCA, monotherapy with COC (OR 5.6, P < 0.001; OR 5.89, P < 0.001), CYP (OR 3.24, P < 0.001; OR 3.42, P < 0.001), DPM (OR 8.00, P < 0.001; OR 8.45, P < 0.001) and MTX (OR 5.31, P < 0.001; OR 5.61, P < 0.001) were associated with statistically significant increased risk of AEs. No significant differences were found for other combination regimes. Effect estimates from indirect comparisons matched closely to estimates derived from pairwise comparisons. Consistently, in the sensitivity analysis, results closely resembled our primary analysis.
CONCLUSIONS
COT plus UDCA was the most efficacious among treatment regimens both for MOLT and AEs.
Topics: Adrenal Cortex Hormones; Adult; Aged; Azathioprine; Bezafibrate; Bile Ducts; Colchicine; Cyclosporine; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Humans; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary; Male; Methotrexate; Middle Aged; Penicillamine; Treatment Outcome; Ursodeoxycholic Acid
PubMed: 26109432
DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.4528