Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stella A. Encel, Emily K. Simpson, Timothy M. Schaerf, Ashley J. W. Ward
Summary: Immunocompetence and reproduction are important for fitness. Fish, despite being claimed resistant to immune effects, show significant effects on reproductive behavior when exposed to endotoxins.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Michael P. Gustafson, Courtney M. Wheatley-Guy, Allison C. Rosenthal, Dennis A. Gastineau, Emmanuel Katsanis, Bruce D. Johnson, Richard J. Simpson
Summary: Cancer immunotherapies have shown remarkable success in providing new hope for cancer patients, but a significant number of patients still do not respond to treatment. Exercise and physical activity have been shown to reduce cancer incidence and improve outcomes, potentially through enhancing immune function. Exercise can lead to increased mobilization of leukocytes and improve physical fitness, which in turn may have positive effects on immune responses to cancer immunotherapies.
JOURNAL FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY OF CANCER
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Andrew Hacket-Pain, Jessie J. Foest, Ian S. Pearse, Jalene M. LaMontagne, Walter D. Koenig, Giorgio Vacchiano, Michal Bogdziewicz, Thomas Caignard, Paulina Celebias, Joep van Dormolen, Marcos Fernandez-Martinez, Jose Moris, Ciprian Palaghianu, Mario Pesendorfer, Akiko Satake, Eliane Schermer, Andrew J. Tanentzap, Peter A. Thomas, Davide Vecchio, Andreas P. Wion, Thomas Wohlgemuth, Tingting Xue, Katharine Abernethy, Marie-Claire Aravena Acuna, Marcelo Daniel Barrera, Jessica H. Barton, Stan Boutin, Emma R. Bush, Sergio Donoso Calderon, Felipe S. Carevic, Carolina Volkmer de Castilho, Juan Manuel Cellini, Colin A. Chapman, Hazel Chapman, Francesco Chianucci, Patricia da Costa, Luc Croise, Andrea Cutini, Ben Dantzer, R. Justin DeRose, Jean-Thoussaint Dikangadissi, Edmond Dimoto, Fernanda Lopes da Fonseca, Leonardo Gallo, Georg Gratzer, David F. Greene, Martin A. Hadad, Alejandro Huertas Herrera, Kathryn J. Jeffery, Jill F. Johnstone, Urs Kalbitzer, Wladyslaw Kantorowicz, Christie A. Klimas, Jonathan G. A. Lageard, Jeffrey Lane, Katharina Lapin, Mateusz Ledwon, Abigail C. Leeper, Maria Vanessa Lencinas, Ana Claudia Lira-Guedes, Michael C. Lordon, Paula Marchelli, Shealyn Marino, Harald Schmidt Van Marle, Andrew G. McAdam, Ludovic R. W. Momont, Manuel Nicolas, Lucia Helena de Oliveira Wadt, Parisa Panahi, Guillermo Martinez Pastur, Thomas Patterson, Pablo Luis Peri, Lukasz Piechnik, Mehdi Pourhashemi, Claudia Espinoza Quezada, Fidel A. Roig, Karen Pena Rojas, Yamina Micaela Rosas, Silvio Schueler, Barbara Seget, Rosina Soler, Michael A. Steele, Monica Toro-Manriquez, Caroline E. G. Tutin, Tharcisse Ukizintambara, Lee White, Biplang Yadok, John L. Willis, Anita Zolles, Magdalena Zywiec, Davide Ascoli
Summary: This study introduces a data set called MASTREE+, which collates time-series data on reproduction of perennial plants from around the world and provides it to the community for free. The data set includes 73,828 georeferenced observations of annual reproduction in perennial plant populations, consisting of 5971 population-level time-series from 974 species in 66 countries. The mean and median time-series length is 12.4 and 10 years respectively, with 1122 series extending over at least two decades. The open-access data set will improve understanding of the response of long-lived plant reproduction to environmental change and enable investigation of reproductive strategies and ecosystem dynamics.
GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Dylan Padilla J. Perez, Dale F. DeNardo, Michael J. Angilletta
Summary: Life-history theory suggests that the optimal reproductive effort of an organism is affected by factors such as energy acquisition and predation risk. The foraging-mode paradigm proposes that widely foraging species have evolved greater reproductive effort compared to sit-and-wait species.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Laura Guerrero-Meseguer, Puri Veiga, Marcos Rubal
Summary: This study evaluated the flowering effort, phenology, photophysiology, and vegetative development of colonizing Z. marina patches in the intertidal zone. The results showed that the reproductive characteristics of the patches were similar in emerged and tidepool conditions, indicating the adaptability of Z. marina to intertidal areas.
ESTUARINE COASTAL AND SHELF SCIENCE
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Olivier Lavoie, Natalie Jane Michael, Alexandre Caron
Summary: The discovery of leptin in 1994 provided new opportunities to understand energy balance and glucose metabolism. However, the prevailing model of the leptin-melanocortin system is outdated. Recent advances have shown that leptin directly acts on ARC POMC neurons to regulate glucose metabolism, while non-POMC neurons mediate its effects on energy balance.
JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Sandra Navarro, Diego Crespo, Rudiger W. Schulz, Wei Ge, Josep Rotllant, Jose Miguel Cerda-Reverter, Ana Rocha
Summary: Reproduction in both males and females is complex and controlled by various hormonal systems that communicate with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) system. This study provides new insights into the effects of melanocortin system on gonadal physiology, highlighting the modulatory role of ACTH and MSH on steroid secretion and the need for further research to fully understand the impact of melanocortins on reproductive function. Our results suggest that melanocortins play a role in regulating vitellogenesis in females and testosterone production in males, indicating a potential endocrine involvement in the reproductive system.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Emanuela Micioni Di Bonaventura, Luca Botticelli, Fabio Del Bello, Gianfabio Giorgioni, Alessandro Piergentili, Wilma Quaglia, Adele Romano, Silvana Gaetani, Maria Vittoria Micioni Di Bonaventura, Carlo Cifani
Summary: The melanocortinergic neural circuit, particularly the melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) subtype, plays a role in influencing energy expenditure, feeding behavior, stress responses, and stress-related behaviors such as anxiety and depression. MC4R agonists exacerbate stress-induced anxiety and depressive behavior, while MC4R antagonists have been shown to mitigate such disorders, suggesting a potential novel treatment approach for anxiety and depression induced by stress.
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Thomas Caignard, Antoine Kremer, Xavier P. Bouteiller, Julien Parmentier, Jean-Marc Louvet, Samuel Venner, Sylvain Delzon
Summary: The study found that reproductive effort decreases with increasing elevation and decreasing temperature. Significant genetic differentiation was observed between provenances, with trees from cold environments growing more slowly but producing larger acorns. Genetic and phenotypic variation for reproductive traits have opposite signs along the environmental gradient, unlike growth traits.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Joseph C. Waddell, William G. R. Crampton
Summary: The study investigates the terminal investment hypothesis in five sympatric species of the electric knifefish genus Brachyhypopomus. It finds that terminal investment is synchronized by seasonal breeding and is influenced by circannual environmental variation in mortality risk.
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lan Mo, Guang-lei Zhao, Xiao-feng Li, Xing-long Xiao, Ning He, Juan-juan Ma, Yi-gang Yu
Summary: This study synthesized puerarin acid esters (PAES) with different chain lengths via biocatalytic acylation and evaluated their digestion, transport profiles, and immunocompetence. Results showed that PAES with less than 12 carbon chains were positively correlated with hydrolysis, while those with more than 12 carbon chains exhibited higher resistance to hydrolysis. The apparent permeability coefficients of different PAES derivatives varied, and some could significantly promote the secretion of immune factors.
Review
Cell Biology
Antonietta Gerarda Gravina, Raffaele Pellegrino, Tommaso Durante, Giovanna Palladino, Giuseppe Imperio, Giovanbattista D'Amico, Maria Consiglia Trotta, Marcello Dallio, Mario Romeo, Michele D'Amico, Alessandro Federico
Summary: The melanocortin system plays a role in regulating various physiological processes such as melanogenesis, steroidogenesis, neuromodulation, and inflammation. It has been found to be important in chronic digestive inflammation, specifically in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Research suggests that molecules targeting the melanocortin system could be potential new drugs for treating IBD.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ren-Lei Ji, Ya-Xiong Tao
Summary: Two new human MRAP2 splice variants were identified in this study, and the effects of MRAP1 and MRAP2 on MC3R and MC4R were investigated. The results suggest that MRAPs play important roles in the signaling and regulation of neural MC3R and MC4R.
Review
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Patrick Sweeney, Luis E. Gimenez, Ciria C. Hernandez, Roger D. Cone
Summary: This article discusses the neuroanatomy and function of the central melanocortin circuitry, focusing on metabolic disorders. Progress and limitations of therapeutics targeting this system and potential strategies to improve melanocortin-based therapeutics are outlined. A large body of preclinical and clinical data shows that the central melanocortin system is a promising therapeutic target for treating various metabolic disorders. The recent FDA approvals of drugs targeting melanocortin receptors have demonstrated the safety and renewed excitement in the development of melanocortin-based therapeutics.
NATURE REVIEWS ENDOCRINOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Jineta Banerjee, Mauricio D. Dorfman, Rachael Fasnacht, John D. Douglass, Alice C. Wyse-Jackson, Andres Barria, Joshua P. Thaler
Summary: The study shows that suppressing hypothalamic microglial activation during high fat diet feeding can reduce susceptibility to diet-induced obesity by increasing POMC neuron excitability and melanocortin signaling.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Silvia Castiglione, Marina Melchionna, Antonio Profico, Gabriele Sansalone, Maria Modafferi, Alessandro Mondanaro, Stephen Wroe, Paolo Piras, Pasquale Raia
Summary: Modern phylogenetic comparative methods allow estimation of evolutionary rates and direction of change, with a new method introduced to map rate variation directly onto three-dimensional phenotypes. The highly derived shape of the human face is found to have evolved through rapid changes in specific facial regions, while unique features such as the canine fossa are identified as by-products of midface evolution.
Article
Paleontology
Silvia Castiglione, Carmela Serio, Alessandro Mondanaro, Marina Melchionna, Pasquale Raia, Robert Sansom
Summary: This article introduces a new interactive software for the fast production of large, time-calibrated informal supertrees, which allows the merging of different phylogenetic information from various sources. The software automatically implements time calibration and has been applied to two case studies with efficient results.
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Maria Modafferi, Marina Melchionna, Silvia Castiglione, Davide Tamagnini, Luigi Maiorano, Gabriele Sansalone, Antonio Profico, Giorgia Girardi, Pasquale Raia
Summary: The study found partial convergence in cranial shape between Kolponomos and the sabretoothed cat Smilodon, particularly in the canine area and the posterior part of the cranium. This suggests that the fusion of mandibles between Kolponomos and Smilodon also partially influenced the shape of the cranium.
BIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Axel Timmermann, Kyung-Sook Yun, Pasquale Raia, Jiaoyang Ruan, Alessandro Mondanaro, Elke Zeller, Christoph Zollikofer, Marcia Ponce de Leon, Danielle Lemmon, Matteo Willeit, Andrey Ganopolski
Summary: The study demonstrates that climate changes over the past 2 million years have had a significant impact on the distribution of hominin species. Early hominins settled in environments with weak climate variability, while after the mid-Pleistocene transition, humans became global wanderers adapting to a wide range of climatic gradients. Phased climate disruptions in southern Africa and Eurasia further contributed to the evolutionary transformation of Homo heidelbergensis populations into Homo sapiens and Neanderthals.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jacob Dembitzer, Silvia Castiglione, Pasquale Raia, Shai Meiri
Summary: This study suggests that in the Late Quaternary extinctions, large-bodied mammals with larger brain sizes had a higher chance of survival. Having a larger brain size was found to be more important than other factors in coping with rapidly changing environmental conditions.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rita Del Giudice, Mikaela Lindvall, Oktawia Nilsson, Daria Maria Monti, Jens O. Lagerstedt
Summary: ApoA-I amyloidosis is a rare disease where misfolded ApoA-I protein accumulates in various organs, causing organ failure. The factors leading to tissue damage and the mechanisms behind organ specificity are mostly unknown. In this study, the impact of ApoA-I variants on cell physiology and tissue specificity was investigated. The variants showed cytotoxic effects in a time and cell-type-specific manner, possibly due to protein accumulation in lysosomes. The variants also exhibited preferential binding to extracellular matrix components, reflecting their tissue accumulation pattern in vivo.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Alfonso Annunziata, Paola Imbimbo, Maria Elena Cucciolito, Giarita Ferraro, Vincenzo Langellotti, Alessandra Marano, Massimo Melchiorre, Gabriella Tito, Marco Trifuoggi, Daria Maria Monti, Antonello Merlino, Francesco Ruffo
Summary: This study presents new platinum(II) cationic five-coordinate complexes with different alkyl and imidazole-based NHC-carbene ligands. These complexes exhibit stability in both DMSO and aqueous solvents. Hydrophobicity studies showed their potential as anticancer drugs, as they were internalized in cancer cells and induced apoptosis. Reactivity studies revealed the compound's ability to bind with DNA and interact with model protein lysozyme, maintaining its five-coordinate geometry.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Alessandro Mondanaro, Mirko Di Febbraro, Silvia Castiglione, Marina Melchionna, Carmela Serio, Giorgia Girardi, Arianna Morena Belfiore, Pasquale Raia
Summary: Species distribution models (SDMs) are useful tools to understand the impact of environmental variation on species distribution. However, they often lose accuracy when applied to rare species, creating a paradox. In this study, we introduce a new algorithm, ENphylo, that combines Environmental Niche Factor Analysis and phylogenetic imputation to model the distribution of rare species. Using the fossil record of 31 late Pleistocene large mammals, we demonstrate that ENphylo provides accurate predictions with just 10 randomly sampled occurrences.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Eleonora Rivieccio, Claudia Troiano, Simona Petrelli, Valeria Maselli, Gabriele de Filippo, Domenico Fulgione, Maria Buglione
Summary: The study explores the expansion dynamics of reintroduced populations of Italian roe deer and red deer in contributing to landscape diversity recovery. It shows that deer gradually disperse from their release location and areas with lower grazing density are significantly affected by forest encroachment. The reintroduction of vulnerable Italian roe deer is demonstrated as a possible conservation method.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Grygoriy Zolotarov, Bastian Fromm, Ivano Legnini, Salah Ayoub, Gianluca Polese, Valeria Maselli, Peter J. Chabot, Jakob Vinther, Ruth Styfhals, Eve Seuntjens, Anna Di Cosmo, Kevin J. Peterson, Nikolaus Rajewsky
Summary: Research suggests that RNA regulation, particularly the expansion of the miRNA gene repertoire, plays a crucial role in the cognitive success and evolution of complex animal brains, specifically in cephalopods and vertebrates.
Article
Ecology
Gabriele Sansalone, Antonio Profico, Stephen Wroe, Kari Allen, Justin Ledogar, Sarah Ledogar, Dave Rex Mitchell, Alessandro Mondanaro, Marina Melchionna, Silvia Castiglione, Carmela Serio, Pasquale Raia
Summary: There is controversy regarding the mechanisms behind the changes in brain shape during the evolution of modern humans. Recent studies suggest that high levels of covariation between brain cortical areas in modern humans and Neanderthals evolved under distinctly higher evolutionary rates than in any other primate, indicating that the highly integrated brain played a critical role in the evolution of unique cognitive capacities and complex behaviors.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Elke Zeller, Axel Timmermann, Kyung-Sook Yun, Pasquale Raia, Karl Stein, Jiaoyang Ruan
Summary: By simulating the evolution of the earth system-biome and analyzing extensive hominin fossil and archaeological data, we examine the impact of vegetation and ecosystem diversity on hominin adaptation and migration. The findings indicate that early African hominins primarily inhabited open environments such as grasslands and dry shrublands. As they migrated to Eurasia, hominins gradually adapted to a wider range of biomes. Furthermore, our ancestors actively selected spatially diverse environments, as evidenced by the correlation between the location and age of hominin sites and simulated regional biomes. In light of the quantitative results, a new diversity hypothesis is proposed, suggesting that Homo species, particularly Homo sapiens, possessed special abilities to adapt to landscape mosaics.
Article
Soil Science
Pasquale Napoletano, Costantina Barbarisi, Valeria Maselli, Daniela Rippa, Carmen Arena, Maria Grazia Volpe, Claudio Colombo, Domenico Fulgione, Anna De Marco
Summary: The study aimed to evaluate the immediate impact of invasive wild boar on olive orchards in southern Italy. Seasonal changes in soil biology, chemistry, leaf and fruit characteristics were measured over a one-year period in grubbed and ungrubbed areas. The results showed that grubbing increased soil moisture, pH, organic matter, and C/N ratio in the topsoil, but reduced these parameters at a greater depth. Microbial biomass and fungal activity were also influenced by grubbing, with different effects observed at different depths. The study concluded that wild boar grubbing negatively impacted soil quality and fruit polyphenol content, particularly in the Autumn/Winter season.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jiaoyang Ruan, Axel Timmermann, Pasquale Raia, Kyung-Sook Yun, Elke Zeller, Alessandro Mondanaro, Mirko Di Febbraro, Danielle Lemmon, Silvia Castiglione, Marina Melchionna
Summary: This study investigates the possibility of interbreeding between Neanderthals and Denisovans using species distribution models and simulations of global climate and biomes. The research reveals that climate-driven zonal shifts in central Eurasia influenced the timing and intensity of potential interbreeding events between these archaic humans. Glacial-interglacial climate swings played an important role in favoring gene flow between Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Davide Tamagnini, Margot Michaud, Carlo Meloro, Pasquale Raia, Leopoldo Soibelzon, P. Sebastian Tambusso, Luciano Varela, Luigi Maiorano
Summary: Among closely related species, smaller-sized species tend to have proportionally shorter rostra and larger braincases, known as CREA. This study used a broad cranial dataset and geometric morphometrics to assess the validity of CREA in extinct and living felids. The results provided support for CREA at the family level, but exceptions were found in big cats like Pantherinae and Machairodontinae, likely due to biomechanical demands and unique rostral adaptations. These findings suggest that extreme features and developmental changes can lead to exceptions to common biological rules.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
