Nanocarriersbased immobilization associated with digestive support enzymes for industrial application

Ample evidence suggests a dose-response relationship between increasing weight and level of asthma risk or reduced asthma control. To establish reversibility, several randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have recently been published to investigate the impact of weight management on asthma. This systematic review synthesizes evidence from these RCTs on the effects of weight management (weight loss, weight maintenance, maintenance of lost weight, or weight gain prevention) interventions on asthma outcomes in both adult and pediatric populations.
We searched Medline, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and Cochrane for studies published between 1950 and November 2014. Two researchers independently rated the included studies using the quality assessment tool for RCTs as outlined in the 2013 Obesity Treatment Guideline. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus after discussion between the raters and, if needed, with the senior author.
Four RCTs in adults and 3 in children and adolescents were included. The adult studies seem ws the promise of weight loss interventions for asthma control in adults and youth. More adequately-powered, long-term RCTs are needed to elucidate the role of weight loss and other weight management interventions in asthma control and prevention. Definitive data are needed to guide clinical and public health practice to effectively address the dual epidemic of obesity and asthma.Formins are a growing class of actin nucleation proteins that promote the polymerization of actin microfilaments, forming long stretches of actin microfilaments to confer actin filament bundling in mammalian cells. L-Adrenaline in vivo As such, microfilament bundles can be formed in specific cellular domains, in particular in motile mammalian cells, such as filopodia. Since ectoplasmic specialization (ES), a testis-specific adherens junction (AJ), at the Sertoli cell-cell and Sertoli-spermatid interface is constituted by arrays of actin microfilament bundles, it is likely that formins are playing a significant physiological role on the homeostasis of ES during the epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis. In this Commentary, we provide a timely discussion on formin 1 which was recently shown to be a crucial regulator of actin microfilaments at the ES in the rat testis (Li N et al. Endocrinology, 2015, in press; DOI 10.1210/en.2015-1161, PMID25901598). We also highlight research that is needed to unravel the functional significance of formins in spermatogenesis.Synchrotron radiation (SR) X-ray has wide biomedical applications including high resolution imaging and brain tumor therapy due to its special properties of high coherence, monochromaticity and high intensity. However, its interaction with biological tissues remains poorly understood. In this study, we used the rat testis as a model to investigate how SR X-ray would induce tissue responses, especially the blood-testis barrier (BTB) because BTB dynamics are critical for spermatogenesis. We irradiated the male gonad with increasing doses of SR X-ray and obtained the testicles 1, 10 and 20 d after the exposures. The testicle weight and seminiferous tubule diameter reduced in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cryosections of testes were stained with tight junction (TJ) component proteins such as occludin, claudin-11, JAM-A and ZO-1. Morphologically, increasing doses of SR X-ray consistently induced developing germ cell sloughing from the seminiferous tubules, accompanied by shrinkage of the tubules. Interestingly, TJ constituent proteins appeared to be induced by the increasing doses of SR X-ray. Up to 20 d after SR X-ray irradiation, there also appeared to be time-dependent changes on the steady-state level of these protein exhibiting differential patterns at 20-day after exposure, with JAM-A/claudin-11 still being up-regulated whereas occludin/ZO-1 being down-regulated. More importantly, the BTB damage induced by 40 Gy of SR X-ray could be significantly attenuated by antioxidant N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine (NAC) at a dose of 125 mg/kg. Taken together, our studies characterized the changes of TJ component proteins after SR X-ray irradiation, illustrating the possible protective effects of antioxidant NAC to BTB integrity.Fatty acids are precursors of potent lipid signaling molecules. They are stored in membrane phospholipids and released by phospholipase A2 (PLA2). Lysophospholipid acyltransferases (ATs) oppose PLA2 by re-esterifying fatty acids into phospholipids, in a biochemical pathway known as the Lands Cycle. Drosophila Lands Cycle ATs oys and nes, as well as 7 predicted PLA2 genes, are expressed in the male reproductive tract. Oys and Nes are required for spermatid individualization. Individualization, which occurs after terminal differentiation, invests each spermatid in its own plasma membrane and removes the bulk of the cytoplasmic contents. We developed a quantitative assay to measure individualization defects. We demonstrate that individualization is sensitive to temperature and age but not to diet. Mutation of the cyclooxygenase Pxt, which metabolizes fatty acids to prostaglandins, also leads to individualization defects. In contrast, modulating phospholipid levels by mutation of the phosphatidylcholine lipase Swiss cheese (Sws) or the ethanolamine kinase Easily shocked (Eas) does not perturb individualization, nor does Sws overexpression. Our results suggest that fatty acid derived signals such as prostaglandins, whose abundance is regulated by the Lands Cycle, are important regulators of spermatogenesis.In the mammalian testis such as in rats, a unique actin-rich cell-cell adherens junction (AJ) known as ectoplasmic specialization (ES) is found in the seminiferous epithelium. ES is conspicuously found between Sertoli cells near the basement membrane known as the basal ES, which together with tight junction (TJ), gap junction, and desmosome constitute the blood-testis barrier (BTB). The BTB, in turn, anatomically divides the seminiferous epithelium into the basal and the adluminal (apical) compartment. On the other hand, ES is also found at the Sertoli-spermatid interface known as apical ES which is the only anchoring device for developing step 8-19 spermatids during spermiogenesis. One of the most typical features of the ES is the array of actin microfilament bundles that lie perpendicular to the Sertoli cell plasma membrane and are sandwiched in-between the cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum and the Sertoli cell plasma membrane. While these actin filament bundles confer the adhesive strength of Sertoli cells at the BTB and also spermatids in the adluminal compartment, they must be rapidly re-organized from their bundled to unbundled/branched configuration and vice versa to provide plasticity to the ES so that preleptotene spermatocytes and spermatids can be transported across the immunological barrier and the adluminal compartment, respectively, during the epithelial cycle of spermatogenesis. Fascin is a family of actin microfilament cross-linking and bundling proteins that is known to confer bundling of parallel actin microfilaments in mammalian cells. A recent report has illustrated the significance of a fascin protein called fascin 1 in actin microfilaments at the ES, pertinent to its role in spermatogenesis (Gungor-Ordueri et al. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 307, E738-753, 2004 (DOI10.1152/ajpendo.00113.2014). In this Commentary, we critically evaluate these findings in light of the role of fascin in other mammalian cells, providing some insightful information for future investigations.Male germ cell genome integrity is critical for spermatogenesis, fertility and normal development of the offspring. Several DNA repair pathways exist in male germ cells. One such important pathway is the Fanconi anemia (FANC) pathway. Unlike in somatic cells, expression profiles and the role of the FANC pathway in germ cells remain largely unknown. In this study, we undertook an extensive expression analyses at both mRNA and protein levels of key components of the FANC pathway during spermatogenesis in the mouse. Herein we show that Fanc mRNAs and proteins displayed developmental enrichment within particular male germ cell types. Spermatogonia and pre-leptotene spermatocytes contained the majority of the FANC components examined i.e. complex I members FANCB, FANCG and FANCM, complex II members FANCD2 and FANCI, and complex III member FANCJ. Leptotene, zygotene and early pachytene spermatocytes contained FANCB, FANCG, FANCM and FANCD2. With the exception of FANCL, all FANC proteins examined were not detected in round spermatids. Elongating and elongated spermatids contained FANCB, FANCG, FANCL and FANCJ. qPCR analysis on isolated spermatocytes and round spermatids showed that Fancg, Fancl, Fancm, Fancd2, Fanci and Fancj mRNAs were expressed in both of these germ cell types, indicating that some degree of translational repression of these FANC proteins occurs during the transition from meiosis to spermiogenesis. Taken together, our findings raise the possibility that the assembly of FANC protein complexes in each of the male germ cell type is unique and may be distinct from the proposed model in mitotic cells.The testicular histology and cytology of spermatogenesis in Graptemys pseudogeographica kohnii were examined using specimens collected between July 1996 and May 2004 from counties in northeastern Arkansas. A histological examination of the testes and germ cell cytology indicates a postnuptial testicular cycle of spermatogenesis and a major fall spermiation event. The majority of the germ cell populations in May and June specimens are represented by resting spermatogonia, type A spermatogonia, type B spermatogonia, pre-leptotene spermatocytes, and numerous Sertoli cell nuclei near the basement membrane. The start of proliferation is evident as spermatogonia in metaphase are present near the basal lamina and many of these germ cells have entered meiosis in June seminiferous tubules. Major spermatogenic events occur in the June and July specimens and result in an increased height of the seminiferous epithelium and increased diameter of the seminiferous tubules. The germ cell population during this time is repres stored within the epididymis until the next spring mating season.Oviparous species of Sceloporus exhibit either seasonal or continuous spermatogenesis and populations from high-elevation show a seasonal pattern known as spring reproductive activity. We studied the spermatogenic cycle of a high-elevation (2700 m) population of endemic oviparous lizard, Sceloporus aeneus, that resided south of México, D.F. Histological analyses were performed on the testes and reproductive ducts from individual lizards collected monthly. This population of S. aeneus showed a seasonal pattern of spermatogenesis, with 4 successive phases common in other lizards. These include 1) Quiescence in August, which contained solely spermatogonia and Sertoli cells; 2) Testicular recrudescence (September-January) when testes became active with mitotic spermatogonia, spermatocytes beginning meiosis, and the early stages of spermiogenesis with spermatids; 3) Maximum testicular activity occurred from March to May and is when the largest spermiation events ensued within the germinal epithelia, which were also dominated by spermatids and spermiogenic cells; 4) Testicular regression in June was marked with the number of all germs cells decreasing rapidly and spermatogonia dominated the seminiferous epithelium.