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Circulation Research Apr 2020Maturation is the last phase of heart development that prepares the organ for strong, efficient, and persistent pumping throughout the mammal's lifespan. This process is... (Review)
Review
Maturation is the last phase of heart development that prepares the organ for strong, efficient, and persistent pumping throughout the mammal's lifespan. This process is characterized by structural, gene expression, metabolic, and functional specializations in cardiomyocytes as the heart transits from fetal to adult states. Cardiomyocyte maturation gained increased attention recently due to the maturation defects in pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte, its antagonistic effect on myocardial regeneration, and its potential contribution to cardiac disease. Here, we review the major hallmarks of ventricular cardiomyocyte maturation and summarize key regulatory mechanisms that promote and coordinate these cellular events. With advances in the technical platforms used for cardiomyocyte maturation research, we expect significant progress in the future that will deepen our understanding of this process and lead to better maturation of pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte and novel therapeutic strategies for heart disease.
Topics: Animals; Cell Differentiation; Heart Diseases; Humans; Myocytes, Cardiac; Pluripotent Stem Cells
PubMed: 32271675
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.119.315862 -
Current Biology : CB Mar 2022Elephants and sea cows and tenrecs; hyraxes and aardvarks and sengis and golden moles. What do these very divergent and different looking mammals have in common? They...
Elephants and sea cows and tenrecs; hyraxes and aardvarks and sengis and golden moles. What do these very divergent and different looking mammals have in common? They are each other's closest living relatives, and all belong to the placental mammal clade Afrotheria ('African beasts'), which is one of the four major clades of placental mammals along with Xenarthra (anteaters, sloths, armadillos), Euarchontoglires (e.g. rodents, rabbits, primates), and Laurasiatheria (e.g. bats, carnivorans, odd-toed and even-toed ungulates) (Figure 1). Unlike many animal groups that were recognized and named long ago based on anatomical features, the Afrotheria emerged as a natural clade only in the 1990s when molecular techniques were applied to the problem of placental mammal classification. The recognition of Afrotheria represents a triumph of molecular phylogenetics and brings together a fantastically diverse assemblage of placental mammals with widely disparate ecological and morphological adaptations. Although Afrotheria was not previously proposed based on studies of anatomical characters, additional support for the monophyly of this clade comes from geography and the fossil record. Specifically, the six extant orders in Afrotheria share with each other early fossil representatives that are known from Africa or along the margins of the ancient Tethys Sea, hence Afrotheria.
Topics: Afrotheria; Animals; Cattle; Eutheria; Evolution, Molecular; Female; Mammals; Phylogeny; Placenta; Pregnancy; Rabbits; Xenarthra
PubMed: 35290765
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.02.001 -
Current Biology : CB Aug 2021Most new infectious diseases emerge when pathogens transfer from animals to humans. The suspected origin of the COVID pandemic in a wildlife wet market has resurfaced...
Most new infectious diseases emerge when pathogens transfer from animals to humans. The suspected origin of the COVID pandemic in a wildlife wet market has resurfaced debates on the role of wildlife trade as a potential source of emerging zoonotic diseases. Yet there are no studies quantitatively assessing zoonotic disease risk associated with wildlife trade. Combining data on mammal species hosting zoonotic viruses and mammals known to be in current and future wildlife trade, we found that one-quarter (26.5%) of the mammals in wildlife trade harbor 75% of known zoonotic viruses, a level much higher than domesticated and non-traded mammals. The traded mammals also harbor distinct compositions of zoonotic viruses and different host reservoirs from non-traded and domesticated mammals. Furthermore, we highlight that primates, ungulates, carnivores, and bats represent significant zoonotic disease risks as they host 132 (58%) of 226 known zoonotic viruses in present wildlife trade, whereas species of bats, rodents, and marsupials represent significant zoonotic disease risks in future wildlife trade. Thus, the risk of carrying zoonotic diseases is not equal for all mammal species in wildlife trade. Overall, our findings strengthen the evidence that wildlife trade and zoonotic disease risks are strongly associated, and that mitigation measures should prioritize species with the highest risk of carrying zoonotic viruses. Curbing the sales of wildlife products and developing principles that support the sustainable and healthy trade of wildlife could be cost-effective investments given the potential risk and consequences of zoonotic outbreaks.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Commerce; Disease Reservoirs; Humans; Mammals; Pandemics; Sustainable Development; Zoonoses
PubMed: 34237267
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.006 -
Scientific Reports Jun 2019With rapid urbanization worldwide, anthropogenic impacts such as human settlements and invasive carnivores (dogs Canis familiaris, cats Felis catus) are altering spatial...
With rapid urbanization worldwide, anthropogenic impacts such as human settlements and invasive carnivores (dogs Canis familiaris, cats Felis catus) are altering spatial distributions and temporal activity patterns of native species. In this study, we focused on spatiotemporal responses of native mammals to anthropogenic impacts in a protected area surrounded by a large metropolis (i.e. Yangmingshan National Park inside Taipei-Keelung metropolis in northern Taiwan). We collected site use data of 11 mammal species (i.e. dogs, cats, nine native species) between 2012 and 2017 with a camera system comprising 121 camera sites. We quantified anthropogenic disturbances as distance to human settlements and activity levels of free-roaming dogs and cats. Species richness and occurrences of the native mammals increased with increasing distances to human settlements and decreasing activity level of dogs, with the latter having a stronger effect than the former. Diel activity overlap between native mammals and dogs was lower during April-July season, coinciding with the breeding season for several native mammals. In contrast, activity level of cats showed no relationships with species richness, occurrences or diel activities of the native mammals. This study demonstrated negative impacts of human settlements and free-roaming dogs on native mammal communities for protected areas in urban environments, and highlights dog activity as a major anthropogenic threat to wildlife.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Behavior, Animal; Cats; Dogs; Humans; Parks, Recreational; Taiwan; Urbanization; Video Recording
PubMed: 31160614
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44474-y -
Current Opinion in Genetics &... Aug 2021Mammal forelimbs are highly diverse, ranging from the elongated wing of a bat to the stout limb of the mole. The mammal forelimb has been a long-standing system for the... (Review)
Review
Mammal forelimbs are highly diverse, ranging from the elongated wing of a bat to the stout limb of the mole. The mammal forelimb has been a long-standing system for the study of early developmental patterning, proportional variation, shape change, and the reduction of elements. However, most of this work has been performed in mice, which neglects the wide variation present across mammal forelimbs. This review emphasizes the critical role of non-model systems in limb evo-devo and highlights new emerging models and their potential. We discuss the role of gene networks in limb evolution, and touch on functional analyses that lay the groundwork for further developmental studies. Mammal limb evo-devo is a rich field, and here we aim to synthesize the findings of key recent works and the questions to which they lead.
Topics: Animals; Biological Evolution; Developmental Biology; Forelimb; Mammals; Mice; Phenotype
PubMed: 33684847
DOI: 10.1016/j.gde.2021.01.012 -
Virulence 2018The insect immune response demonstrates many similarities to the innate immune response of mammals and a wide range of insects is now employed to assess the virulence of... (Review)
Review
The insect immune response demonstrates many similarities to the innate immune response of mammals and a wide range of insects is now employed to assess the virulence of pathogens and produce results comparable to those obtained using mammals. Many of the humoral responses in insects and mammals are similar (e.g. insect transglutaminases and human clotting factor XIIIa) however a number show distinct differences. For example in mammals, melanization plays a role in protection from solar radiation and in skin and hair pigmentation. In contrast, insect melanization acts as a defence mechanism in which the proPO system is activated upon pathogen invasion. Human and insect antimicrobial peptides share distinct structural and functional similarities, insects produce the majority of their AMPs from the fat body while mammals rely on production locally at the site of infection by epithelial/mucosal cells. Understanding the structure and function of the insect immune system and the similarities with the innate immune response of mammals will increase the attractiveness of using insects as in vivo models for studying host - pathogen interactions.
Topics: Animals; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Communicable Diseases; Disease Models, Animal; Epithelial Cells; Fat Body; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Immunity, Humoral; Immunity, Innate; Insecta; Mammals; Mucous Membrane; Virulence
PubMed: 30257608
DOI: 10.1080/21505594.2018.1526531 -
International Journal of Molecular... Feb 2018Aquaporins (AQPs) constitute an ancient and diverse protein family present in all living organisms, indicating a common ancient ancestor. However, during evolution,... (Review)
Review
Aquaporins (AQPs) constitute an ancient and diverse protein family present in all living organisms, indicating a common ancient ancestor. However, during evolution, these organisms appear and evolve differently, leading to different cell organizations and physiological processes. Amongst the eukaryotes, an important distinction between plants and animals is evident, the most conspicuous difference being that plants are sessile organisms facing ever-changing environmental conditions. In addition, plants are mostly autotrophic, being able to synthesize carbohydrates molecules from the carbon dioxide in the air during the process of photosynthesis, using sunlight as an energy source. It is therefore interesting to analyze how, in these different contexts specific to both kingdoms of life, AQP function and regulation evolved. This review aims at highlighting similarities and differences between plant and mammal AQPs. Emphasis is given to the comparison of isoform numbers, their substrate selectivity, the regulation of the subcellular localization, and the channel activity.
Topics: Animals; Aquaporins; Biological Transport; Gene Expression Regulation; Genetic Variation; Ion Channel Gating; Mammals; Multigene Family; Phylogeny; Plants; Protein Multimerization; Signal Transduction
PubMed: 29419811
DOI: 10.3390/ijms19020521 -
Marine Pollution Bulletin Feb 2016Underwater noise, whether of natural or anthropogenic origin, has the ability to interfere with the way in which marine mammals receive acoustic signals (i.e., for... (Review)
Review
Underwater noise, whether of natural or anthropogenic origin, has the ability to interfere with the way in which marine mammals receive acoustic signals (i.e., for communication, social interaction, foraging, navigation, etc.). This phenomenon, termed auditory masking, has been well studied in humans and terrestrial vertebrates (in particular birds), but less so in marine mammals. Anthropogenic underwater noise seems to be increasing in parts of the world's oceans and concerns about associated bioacoustic effects, including masking, are growing. In this article, we review our understanding of masking in marine mammals, summarise data on marine mammal hearing as they relate to masking (including audiograms, critical ratios, critical bandwidths, and auditory integration times), discuss masking release processes of receivers (including comodulation masking release and spatial release from masking) and anti-masking strategies of signalers (e.g. Lombard effect), and set a research framework for improved assessment of potential masking in marine mammals.
Topics: Animal Communication; Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Behavior, Animal; Hearing; Mammals; Noise; Oceans and Seas
PubMed: 26707982
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.12.007 -
PeerJ 2022Recent studies have revealed the dynamic and complex evolution of gene homologues in and between mammals and birds with a particularly high diversity in mammals. In...
Recent studies have revealed the dynamic and complex evolution of gene homologues in and between mammals and birds with a particularly high diversity in mammals. In contrast, has only been found as a single copy gene in mammals, to date. Furthermore, has only been investigated in few mammalian species but not in birds. Here, we established core genomic, protein biochemical and expressional properties of in several bird species and compared them with mammalian . Chicken, turkey, quail and ostrich were compared to their mammalian orthologues using , biochemical and expressional analyses. was found highly conserved not only at the level of genomic and exon architecture but also in terms of the canonical CLCA2 protein domain organization. The putatively prototypical galline was cloned and immunoblotting as well as immunofluorescence analyses of heterologously expressed revealed protein cleavage, glycosylation patterns and anchoring in the plasma membrane similar to those of most mammalian CLCA2 orthologues. Immunohistochemistry found highly conserved CLCA2 expression in epidermal keratinocytes in all birds and mammals investigated. Our results suggest a highly conserved and likely evolutionarily indispensable role of CLCA2 in keratinocyte function. Its high degree of conservation on the genomic, biochemical and expressional levels stands in contrast to the dynamic structural complexities and proposed functional diversifications between mammalian and avian homologues, insinuating a significant degree of negative selection of orthologues among birds and mammals. Finally, and again in contrast to , the high conservation of makes it a strong candidate for studying basic properties of the functionally still widely unresolved gene family.
Topics: Animals; Mammals; Chickens; Quail; Genomics; Turkeys
PubMed: 36389428
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14202 -
Trends in Parasitology Jul 2016As the frequency and prevalence of zoonotic diseases increase worldwide, investigating how mammal host distributions determine patterns of human disease and predicting... (Review)
Review
As the frequency and prevalence of zoonotic diseases increase worldwide, investigating how mammal host distributions determine patterns of human disease and predicting which regions are at greatest risk for future zoonotic disease emergence are two goals which both require better understanding of the current distributions of zoonotic hosts and pathogens. We review here the existing data about mammalian host species, comparing and contrasting these patterns against global maps of zoonotic hosts from all 27 orders of terrestrial mammals. We discuss the zoonotic potential of host species from the top six most species-rich mammal groups, and review the literature to identify analytical and conceptual gaps that must be addressed to improve our ability to generate testable predictions about zoonotic diseases originating from wild mammals.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Global Health; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Humans; Mammals; Risk Factors; Zoonoses
PubMed: 27316904
DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2016.04.007