Nickel essentiality and homeostasis in aquatic organisms

2004 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
B T.A Muyssen ◽  
K V Brix ◽  
D K DeForest ◽  
C R Janssen

It has been well established that a number of trace metals are essential for various biological functions and are critical in many of the enzymatic and metabolic reactions occurring within an organism. The essentiality of nickel is now generally accepted, based on the numerous symptoms caused by nickel deficiency (mainly in terrestrial vertebrates) and its essential role in various enzymes in bacteria and plants. The information on optimal and deficient concentrations of nickel, however, is limited and the essentiality of nickel to aquatic animals is not established. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the available information on nickel essentiality and homeostasis in aquatic organisms. There is less information on these topics compared to that for other essential metals. Nickel essentiality to aquatic organisms can only be confirmed for plants and (cyano)bacteria due to the documented role of nickel in the urease and hydrogenase metabolism. Deficiency levels ranged from 10-12 M to 2 × 10-6 M Ni in different species. No studies were identified that had the explicit objective of evaluating homeostatic mechanisms for nickel in aquatic life. However, inferences could be made through the evaluation of nickel bioconcentration and tissue distribution data and a comparison to other metals that have been more thoroughly studied. Data suggest active regulation and therefore nickel essentiality, since there are no known examples of active regulation of non-essential metals in invertebrates. Key words: nickel, essentiality, homeostasis, bioconcentration, regulation.

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 3220
Author(s):  
Álvaro Fernández-Ochoa ◽  
Francisco Javier Leyva-Jiménez ◽  
María De la Luz Cádiz-Gurrea ◽  
Sandra Pimentel-Moral ◽  
Antonio Segura-Carretero

The approaches based on high-resolution analytical techniques, such as nuclear magnetic resonance or mass spectrometry coupled to chromatographic techniques, have a determining role in several of the stages necessary for the development of functional foods. The analyses of botanical extracts rich in bioactive compounds is one of the fundamental steps in order to identify and quantify their phytochemical composition. However, the compounds characterized in the extracts are not always responsible for the bioactive properties because they generally undergo metabolic reactions before reaching the therapeutic targets. For this reason, analytical techniques are also applied to analyze biological samples to know the bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and/or metabolism of the compounds ingested by animal or human models in nutritional intervention studies. In addition, these studies have also been applied to determine changes of endogenous metabolites caused by prolonged intake of compounds with bioactive potential. This review aims to describe the main types and modes of application of high-resolution analytical techniques in all these steps for functional food development.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 210
Author(s):  
Johana Hrnková ◽  
Irena Schneiderová ◽  
Marina Golovchenko ◽  
Libor Grubhoffer ◽  
Natalie Rudenko ◽  
...  

Ticks are ubiquitous ectoparasites, feeding on representatives of all classes of terrestrial vertebrates and transmitting numerous pathogens of high human and veterinary medical importance. Exotic animals kept in zoological gardens, ranches, wildlife parks or farms may play an important role in the ecology of ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs), as they may serve as hosts for local tick species. Moreover, they can develop diseases of varying severity after being infected by TBPs, and theoretically, can thus serve as reservoirs, thereby further propagating TBPs in local ecosystems. The definite role of these animals in the tick–host-pathogen network remains poorly investigated. This review provides a summary of the information currently available regarding ticks and TBPs in connection to captive local and exotic wildlife, with an emphasis on zoo-housed species.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Lisowska-Myjak ◽  
Agnieszka Strawa ◽  
Hanna Zborowska ◽  
Artur Jakimiuk ◽  
Ewa Skarżyńska

AbstractEstablishing any characteristic associations between the serum parameters of thyroid function and serum proteins in pregnancy may aid in elucidating the role of the thyroid gland in the regulation of pregnancy-specific metabolic processes and in selecting candidate biomarkers for use in their clinical assessment. Concentrations of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free tri-iodothyronine (fT3) and free thyroxine (fT4), six electrophoretically separated protein fractions (albumin, alpha-1-, alpha2-, beta-1-, beta-2- and gamma-globulins), representative proteins—albumin (ALB), transferrin (TRF), alpha-2-macroglobulin (AMG) and ceruloplasmin (CER) were measured in 136 serum samples from 65 women in their consecutive trimesters of pregnancy. The concentrations of TSH, fT4 and fT3 were significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with the concentrations of the albumin, alpha-2- and beta-1 globulin fractions. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) which were positive between fT4 and ALB and negative between fT4 and TRF were established throughout pregnancy. Significant negative correlations (p < 0.05) were demonstrated for fT3 with alpha-2-globulin, AMG and CER. Changes in the serum concentrations of thyroid hormones seen between the trimesters were found to correlate with the concentrations of high-abundance serum proteins. Opposite directions of correlations between fT4 and ALB and fT4 and TRF observed throughout pregnancy may indicate the shared biological role of these parameters in maintaining maternal homeostasis and they suggest their potential use in the clinic as a simple biomarker panel. A negative correlation of fT3 with CER in the second trimester possibly reflects their involvement in the active regulation of metabolic processes.


2019 ◽  
pp. 134-158
Author(s):  
Roberto Vélez Grajales ◽  
Luis A. Monroy-Gómez-Franco ◽  
Gastón Yalonetzky

Mexico is a country with high levels of inequality and low intergenerational social-mobility rates for those located at the bottom extremes of the wealth distribution. Although such low rates suggest that at least a share of the observed income inequality may be due to an unequal distribution of opportunities, this conjecture has not been thoroughly tested in the literature. The present article fills this gap estimating the lower bound of the contribution of unequal opportunities to income and wealth inequality in Mexico, with an operationalization of the “ex-ante” approach to the measurement of inequality of opportunity. Relying on a national representative survey designed for the analysis of social mobility, namely, the ESRU Survey on Social Mobility in Mexico (2011), we are able to define a broad set of circumstance groups (“types”), encompassing the wealth of the household of origin. This available information reduces the omitted variable bias of previous estimations and allows for a better account of the role of inequality of opportunity in income inequality. Our results show that the lower bound of the contribution of unequal opportunities to total income inequality and total wealth inequality is around 30 per cent, which is substantially higher than previous estimations for Mexico and ranks among the highest values in Latin America.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1954 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-279
Author(s):  
CHARLES D. MAY

WITHIN the past year a dramatic outbreak of a singular type of convulsive seizures in babies has provided convincing evidence of an essential role for Vitamin B6 in human nutrition under natural circumstances. This is a general review of the circumstances surrounding this outbreak and of the present state of our knowledge of vitamin B6. But it is also important that this episode be considered as a reminder of the complex interrelationships which permeate studies of nutritional factors and as a warning against hasty conclusions. It also serves as an illustration of the hazard in premature or uncontrolled application to human nutrition of isolated fragments of knowledge concerning nutritional factors. The existence of Vitamin B6 was discovered in 1934 by experiments with rats. Symptoms of deficiency of this vitamin were soon described in several species of animals but not in man. Within a few years the chemistry of the vitamin was determined and the synthesis achieved. Considerable information as to the metabolic reactions affected by a deficiency of Vitamin B6 was rapidly accumulated. Only recently, 16 years after the discovery of Vitamin B6, the Council on Pharmacy and Chemistry of the American Medical Association reviewing the status of our knowledge of the role of Vitamin B6 in human nutrition reached only a cautious acceptance of an essential dietary requirement for Vitamin B6 in the human. The original observations which called attention to the problem of unusual convulsions in infants and pointed the way to its solution were made by a doctor in practice, just as were similar observations which led a few years ago to an appreciation of the circumstances producing a deficiency of folic acid in infancy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 223-232
Author(s):  
Mohammed Jr. Kinta ◽  
A. V. Ayanwale ◽  
U. N. Keke ◽  
Y. I. Auta ◽  
B. S. Adama ◽  
...  

Developing countries like Nigeria are faced with increased in generation of domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes, with a large percentage moving. This study evaluates the physico-chemical and some heavy metals concentration in three common species of fish from Tungan Kawo reservoir Kontagora, Nigeria; using standard methods between (July 2018 – February 2019); at four different sampling stations of human activities on the water. Five heavy metals were evaluated (Lead, Copper, Manganese, Iron and Chromium) in the fish samples. Phosphate (0.4 – 2.5) mg/L, Nitrate (3.2 – 7.5) mg/L, Temperature (27 – 32.4) 0C, Dissolved Oxygen (2.4 – 5.2 mg/L), Conductivity (81 – 125 µS/cm), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (1.9 – 4.4 mg/L), Alkalinity (mg/L) and Total Dissolved Solids (117 – 198) ppm were within the standard for drinking water and survival of fish.  However, the pH (6.3 – 9.8) was above the standard for NIS and WHO drinking water but can support aquatic life. Iron (0.64 ± 0.072 mg/kg) was the most highly concentrated in Synodontis clarias while lead (0.01 ± 0.013 mg/kg) was the lowest in Oreochromis niloticus and Coptidon zillii (formerly Tilapia zillii. This current finding indicates that the water is safe for both aquatic life and domestic purpose but not suitable for direct human consumption without being properly treated. However, there is the need for regular monitoring of the heavy metals load in this water body and the aquatic organisms because of the long term effects


2013 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Pál ◽  
O. Gondor ◽  
T. Janda

Low temperature is one of the most important limiting factors for plant growth throughout the world. Exposure to low temperature may cause various phenotypic and physiological symptoms, and may result in oxidative stress, leading to loss of membrane integrity and to the impairment of photosynthesis and general metabolic processes. Salicylic acid (SA), a phenolic compound produced by a wide range of plant species, may participate in many physiological and metabolic reactions in plants. It has been shown that exogenous SA may provide protection against low temperature injury in various plant species, while various stress factors may also modify the synthesis and metabolism of SA. In the present review, recent results on the effects of SA and related compounds in processes leading to acclimation to low temperatures will be discussed.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Prieto ◽  
AB Segarra ◽  
M Martinez-Canamero ◽  
M De Gasparo ◽  
S Zorad ◽  
...  

AbstractThe cardiovascular control involves a bidirectional functional connection between the brain and heart. We hypothesize that this connection could be extended to other organs using endocrine and autonomic nervous systems (ANS) as communication pathways. This implies a neuroendocrine interaction controlling particularly the cardiovascular function where the enzymatic cascade of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays an essential role. It acts not only through its classic endocrine connection but also the ANS. In addition, the brain is functionally, anatomically, and neurochemically asymmetric. Moreover, this asymmetry goes even beyond the brain and it includes both sides of the peripheral nervous and neuroendocrine systems. We revised the available information and analyze the asymmetrical neuroendocrine bidirectional interaction for the cardiovascular control. Negative and positive correlations involving the RAS have been observed between brain, heart, kidney, gut, and plasma in physiologic and pathologic conditions. The central role of the peptides and enzymes of the RAS within this neurovisceral communication, as well as the importance of the asymmetrical distribution of the various RAS components in the pathologies involving this connection, are particularly discussed. In conclusion, there are numerous evidences supporting the existence of a neurovisceral connection with multiorgan involvement that controls, among others, the cardiovascular function. This connection is asymmetrically organized.


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