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Nothobranchius furzeri is emerging as an exciting vertebrate organism in the field of biomedicine, developmental biology and ecotoxicology research. Its short generation time, compressed lifespan and accelerated ageing make it a versatile model for longitudinal studies with high traceability. Although in recent years the use of this model has increased enormously, there is still little information on the anatomy, morphology and histology of its main organs. In this paper, we present a description of the digestive system of N. furzeri, with emphasis on the intestine. We note that the general architecture of the intestinal tissue is shared with other vertebrates, and includes a folding mucosa, an outer muscle layer and a myenteric plexus. By immunohistochemical analysis, we reveal that the mucosa harbours the same type of epithelial cells observed in mammals, including enterocytes, goblet cells and enteroendocrine cells, and that the myenteric neurons express neurotransmitters common to other species, such as serotonin, substance P and tyrosine hydroxylase. In addition, we detect the presence of a proliferative compartment at the base of the intestinal folds. The description of the normal intestinal morphology provided here constitutes a baseline information to contrast with tissue alterations in future lines of research assessing pathologies, ageing-related diseases or damage caused by toxic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brain asymmetry is a conserved feature in vertebrates. The dorsal diencephalic habenular complex shows conspicuous structural and functional asymmetries in a wide range of species, yet it is unclear if this condition is also present in humans. Addressing this possibility becomes relevant in light of recent findings presenting the habenula as a novel target for therapeutic intervention of affective disorders through deep brain stimulation. Here we performed volumetric analyses in postmortem diencephalic samples of male and female individuals, and report for the first time, the presence of directional asymmetries in the volume of the human habenula. The habenular volume is larger on the left side in both genders, a feature that can be explained by an enlargement of the left lateral habenula compared to the right counterpart. In contrast, the volume of the medial habenula shows no left-right directional bias in either gender. It is remarkable that asymmetries involve the lateral habenula, which in humans is particularly enlarged compared to other vertebrates and plays relevant roles in aversive processing and aversively motivated learning. Our findings of structural asymmetries in the human habenula are consistent with recent observations of lateral bias in activation, metabolism and damage of the human habenula, highlighting a potential role of habenular laterality in contexts of health and illness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The injured skin produces a number of mediators that directly or indirectly modulate cell chemotaxis, migration, proliferation, and angiogenesis. Components of the kinin pathway including the kinin B receptor (BR) have been found to occur in the human skin, but information about its role on keratinocyte biology is still scarce. Our aim was to determine whether stimulation of BR causes the secretion of IL-4 and/or VEGF from human keratinocytes and to evaluate the role of the BR agonist Lys-des[Arg]bradykinin and IL-4 on various stages of angiogenesis, such as cell migration, proliferation, and release of metalloproteases. By using ELISA and Western blotting, we showed that HaCaT keratinocytes stimulated with the BR agonist release IL-4 and VEGF. Stimulation of BR also caused transient c-JunN-terminal kinase phosphorylation and JunB nuclear translocation, transcription factor that regulates IL-4 expression. The 3D-angiogenesis assay, performed on spheroids of EA.hy923 endothelial cells embedded in a collagen matrix, showed that their cumulative sprout area increased significantly following stimulation with either IL-4 or BR agonist. Furthermore, these ligands produced significant endothelial cell migration and release of metalloproteases 2 and 9, but did not increase endothelial cell proliferation as measured by 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation. Our results provide experimental evidence that establishes IL-4 and BR agonist as important angiogenic factors of relevance for skin repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic and environmental factors control morphological and functional differences between the two sides of the nervous system. Neural asymmetries are proposed to have important roles in circuit physiology, cognition and species-specific behaviours. We propose two fundamentally different mechanisms for encoding left-right asymmetry in neural circuits. In the first, asymmetric circuits share common components; in the second, there are unique unilateral structures. Research in both vertebrates and invertebrates is helping to reveal the mechanisms underlying the development of neural lateralization, but less is known about the function of circuit asymmetries. Technical advances in the coming years are likely to revolutionize our understanding of left-right asymmetry in the nervous system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tests the use of a fine-structure glass wool for the removal of extraneous material from seminal plasma. Evaluation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production by spermatozoa in oligozoospermic patients with leukocytospermia; Comparison of ROS levels in native semen and after glass wool filtration.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spreading of mesenchymal-like cell layers is critical for embryo morphogenesis and tissue repair, yet we know little of this process in vivo. Here we take advantage of unique developmental features of the non-conventional annual killifish embryo to study the principles underlying tissue spreading in a simple cellular environment, devoid of patterning signals and major morphogenetic cell movements. Using in vivo experimentation and physical modelling we reveal that the extra-embryonic epithelial enveloping cell layer, thought mainly to provide protection to the embryo, directs cell migration and the spreading of embryonic tissue during early development. This function relies on the ability of embryonic cells to couple their autonomous random motility to non-autonomous signals arising from the expansion of the extra-embryonic epithelium, mediated by cell membrane adhesion and tension. Thus, we present a mechanism of extra-embryonic control of embryo morphogenesis that couples the mechanical properties of adjacent tissues in the early killifish embryo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]