Changes in the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the mouse lens were detected by ubiquitin immunofluorescence.\n\nRESULTS. BiP expression was upregulated in the fiber VX-770 price cells of transgenic mouse lenses expressing platelet-derived growth factor-A (PDGF-A), dominant-negative fibroblast

growth factor receptor (DN-FGFR), or DN-Sprouty2 (DN-Spy2). BiP upregulation occurred around embryonic day 16.5, primarily in the fiber cells adjacent to the organelle free zone. Fiber cell differentiation was disrupted in the PDGF-A and DN-Spry2 lenses, whereas the fiber cells were degenerating in the DN-FGFR lens. High levels of UPR activation and ubiquitin-labeled protein aggregates were found in the DN-FGFR lens, indicating inefficient disposal of unfolded/misfolded proteins in the fiber cells.\n\nCONCLUSIONS. This study implies that overexpression of some transgenes

in the lens can induce ER or overall cell stress in fiber cells, resulting in the activation of UPR signaling pathways. Therefore, investigators should assess the levels of UPR activation when they analyze the downstream effects of transgene expression in the lens. (Invest Ophthalmol www.selleckchem.com/JNK.html Vis Sci. 2011;52:2100-2108) DOI:10.1167/iovs.10-5650″
“The monogene Dactylogyrus eucalius Mizelle and Regensberger. 1945 and its ability to maintain a population from year to year on the annual fish Culaea inconstans Kirkland was examined in a small lake in central Ontario. Fish were sampled toward the end of their annual breeding season, at a time when the host population consisted of 2 cohorts, i.e., young-of-the-year (0+) and mature adults (I Prevalence of infection was 94%, Willi a mean intensity of 8.9 +/- 9.6; neither measure varied significantly Willi host length or between cohorts (P > 0.05). At necropsy. parasites were characterized as juveniles that included postoncomiracidia (immature, Willi a ventrally directed haptor) as well as developing protandrous

males (body with a near-complete haptor and Willi little or no pigmented vitellaria), or as adults (Willi testis, ovarium, darkened vitellaria, and occasionally bearing a tanned selleck chemical egg). The proportion Of juvenile to adult parasites differed significantly between cohorts (P < 0.05), with 0+ fish infected Willi a mixture of juveniles and adults. whereas 1+ fish had almost exclusively adult parasites. Since adult (1+) brook stickleback typically die after spawning, the increased frequency Of juvenile parasites exploiting juvenile hosts may represent an evolutionary adaptation, maximizing the chances of parasites infecting hosts that will enter winter. It is Suspected that 0+ fish can be infected in the nest within 2 wk of hatching and persist by effectively infecting new host recruits when they are sympatric with their parents.