The present study explored alternative strategies to improve the health status and growth metabolism in cultured juvenile fish. In this context the effects of alginic acid administration on the ...welfare of rainbow trout juveniles were investigated. Both the hepatic gene expression of heat shock protein 70 and the cortisol plasma levels were evaluated in order to estimate the possible beneficial role of alginic acid in improving animal well-being. At the same time the body weight was measured and was correlated with the hepatic expression of insulin-like growth factor I, myostatin, and two isoforms of the thyroid receptor. Finally, improvement of the immune system was investigated by monitoring the expression of innate immune-related genes, such as interleukin1β, interleukin8 and toll-like receptor3, in the spleen. The data obtained demonstrated an improvement in the welfare of rainbow trout juveniles, revealed by growth and innate immune response enhancement by alginic acid administration. These results may be of great importance for the further development of more sustainable aquaculture practices, and can be considered as a biotechnological application to produce a safer product for human health.
The vasa gene is an important maternal regulator of primordial germ cell (PGC) development in both vertebrate and invertebrate models. It is also expressed in the mature gonads, but its role in these ...tissues is still unclear. In oviparous species, oogenesis is a complex process under hormonal control: estrogens, gonadotropins, and other hormones operate at different stages of oogenesis, regulating meiosis, vitellogenesis, follicle maturation, and egg release. The aim of this work is the determination of a regulative role of hormones controlling oocyte maturation on vasa mRNA expression in the sea bream ovary through a molecular biology approach. By in situ hybridization and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), reaction (the vasa mRNA in the sea bream ovary was found to be expressed at higher levels in the advanced stages of oocyte maturation. After in vivo hormonal treatment, the effect on ovarian vasa mRNA expression was studied through semiquantitative RT-PCR. The quantification of vasa-like mRNA expression in sea bream ovary demonstrates that estradiol (E2), growth hormone (GH), and the combination of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) with GH are able to induce an increase in vasa mRNA expression. In contrast, the treatments with GnRH alone or E2 plus GH significantly decreased vasa mRNA expression. These data suggest a regulative interplay between the vasa gene expression and the endocrine system that controls the oogenesis in the ovary of the sea bream.
Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMPs) are increasingly used for different pathologies with new clinical insights. Although the study of otolithic function selectively in both its saccular ...(cervical VEMPs) and utricular (ocular VEMPs) parts does not represent a recent achievement, the clinical utility of this tool is still emerging. The aim of the present report is to define advances in application of VEMPs in diagnosis and clinical study of vestibular neuritis, Ménière’s disease and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. To perform a systematic review of the literature, three appropriate strings were run in PubMed to retrieve dedicated articles. A double cross-check was performed on citations and two independent investigators independently reviewed all full-text articles and performed a comprehensive quality assessment. Of 140 articles identified, 26 articles were included, comprising a total of 1,181 patients affected by vestibular neuritis (296 subjects), Ménière’s disease (378 patients) and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (507 patients). Overall, the use of both cVEMP and oVEMP appeared particularly useful in improving the topographic diagnosis of vestibular neuritis. Most (n = 8) of the studies dedicated to Ménière’s disease and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (10 overall) also reported significantly abnormal VEMP values compared to healthy controls. Although further reports will be necessary to better define normal threshold levels of VEMPs for each pathology, our review suggests that VEMPs may represent a useful aid in improving the diagnostic accuracy for these three common vestibular pathologies.
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