Whey protein isolate decreases murine stomach weight and intestinal length and alters the expression of Wnt signalling-associated genes

Acknowledgements K. N. N. was supported by the Teagasc Vision Programme on Obesity (RMIS5974). L. M. was supported by the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship. J. R. S. was supported by a 1000-talents professorship from the Chinese government. The funding bodies had no input on the design of the study or in the interpretation of the data. The authors’ contributions are as follows: L. M., J. R. S., J. F. C. and K. N. N. designed the study; K. N. N. and J. F. C. obtained ethical approval for the study; L. M. performed the experiments; L. M. and J. R. S. analysed the data; L. M. generated the figures. All authors contributed to the drafting of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version for submission. The authors declare that there is no competing interest.

Fork lengths, stomach contents and parasites of ninespine stickleback and arctic char in Iqalugaajuruluit Lake, Canada

Stable d13C and d15N isotopes, diet and parasites demonstrated that the prey consumed by ninespine stickleback Pungitius pungitius in a small lake on Baffin Island changed during the summer and also revealed intraspecific variation in their ecological niche. In July, there were differences in the diets of male and female ninespine stickleback as indicated by the stable isotopes, differences corroborated by the data on diet composition and the parasite fauna. Differences suggested that the sexes occupied different habitats during spawning. During July, females utilise the shallower littoral areas consuming zooplankton and benthic organisms, while males occupy deeper areas of the littoral zone feeding mainly on pelagic zooplankton. Parasite data support these observations as males had higher infections of copepod-transmitted parasites than females. There appeared to be no segregation of resources between males and females in late August, although the diet of both male and female ninespine stickleback shifted towards more benthic organisms, compared with July. Differences in d13C isotope, diet composition and infections of co-occurring parasites demonstrated that sympatric ninespine stickleback and Arctic char Salvelinus alpinus captured in the littoral zone occupied separate niches. Ninespine stickleback preyed mainly on zooplankton and chironomids, while Arctic char consumed a greater variety of prey items, including zooplankton and larger-sized prey such as insects and ninespine stickleback. The multifaceted approach improved our understanding of the trophic ecology of ninespine stickleback in southern Baffin Island and quantified resource use and dietary overlap with Arctic char.

Total gastrectomy with substitution of stomach by jejunal pouch with and without duodenal passage. Study in rats

A comparison was done between the F. Paulino jejunal pouch (FP) and a jejunal pouch (JP) as esophagusduodenum interpositional graft, for replacing the stomach after total gastrectomy. It was investigated the effect of the two procedures on esophagus histology, nutritional state and serum gastrin in rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats weighing 282±17g were randomly submitted to sham operation (S), FP and JP after total gastrectomy. After eight weeks the rats were killed with overdose of anesthetic and tissue was taken from the distal esophagus for histology. Serum levels of total proteins, albumin, iron, transferring, folate, cobalamine, calcium, as well as serum gastrin were determined. Survival was considered. Results: Fourty six rats were operated and thirty survived for eight weeks. Five (33.3%) died after FP and 11 (52.3%) after JP (p<0.05). Postoperative esophagitis occurred in 6 JP rats. At 8th week, no difference was observed on body weight when compared FP and JP rats (p>0.05). The JP rats had a significant decrease in serum albumin, glucose, transferrin, iron, folate and calcium, compared to sham (p<0.05). Serum gastrin, iron and calcium were significantly higher in JP rats than in FP rats (p<0.05). In FP rats, transferrin and cobalamine showed significant decrease comparing the preoperative with 8th week levels (p<0.05). Conclusion: F. Paulino pouch in rats had lower mortality than JP, and esophagitis was not detected in it. JP rats had serum gastrin, iron and calcium unaffected, possibly because of preservation of duodenal passage

Lymphoepithelioma-like gastric carcinoma presenting as giant ulcer of the lesser curvature. Case report

Lymphoepithelioma-like gastric carcinoma (LELGC) has special clinicopathologic features that differentiate it from the common gastric adenocarcinoma. LELGC is a rare neoplasm of the stomach with an incidence of 1-4% of all gastric cancers and is characterized by desmoplastic stroma uniformaly infiltrated by abundant lymphocytes and plasma cells. LELGC is closely associated with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), with 80-100% of LELGC being EBV-positive. LELGC has a male predominance, occurs in elderly people and is usually located in the upper and middle portion of the stomach. We report a rare case of lymphoepithelioma-like gastric carcinoma located in the lesser curvature at the border of the gastric body to the pyloric antrum.

Total gastrectomy with substitution of stomach by jejunal pouch with and without duodenal passage. Study in rats

A comparison was done between the F. Paulino jejunal pouch (FP) and a jejunal pouch (JP) as esophagusduodenum interpositional graft, for replacing the stomach after total gastrectomy. It was investigated the effect of the two procedures on esophagus histology, nutritional state and serum gastrin in rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats weighing 282±17g were randomly submitted to sham operation (S), FP and JP after total gastrectomy. After eight weeks the rats were killed with overdose of anesthetic and tissue was taken from the distal esophagus for histology. Serum levels of total proteins, albumin, iron, transferring, folate, cobalamine, calcium, as well as serum gastrin were determined. Survival was considered. Results: Fourty six rats were operated and thirty survived for eight weeks. Five (33.3%) died after FP and 11 (52.3%) after JP (p<0.05). Postoperative esophagitis occurred in 6 JP rats. At 8th week, no difference was observed on body weight when compared FP and JP rats (p>0.05). The JP rats had a significant decrease in serum albumin, glucose, transferrin, iron, folate and calcium, compared to sham (p<0.05). Serum gastrin, iron and calcium were significantly higher in JP rats than in FP rats (p<0.05). In FP rats, transferrin and cobalamine showed significant decrease comparing the preoperative with 8th week levels (p<0.05). Conclusion: F. Paulino pouch in rats had lower mortality than JP, and esophagitis was not detected in it. JP rats had serum gastrin, iron and calcium unaffected, possibly because of preservation of duodenal passage

Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the stomach presenting as a huge retroperitoneal tumor: a case report

A man complained of upper abdominal pain and early satiety for one month. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy showed nothing special. A CT scan of the abdomen was performed, which demonstrated a huge heterogeneous retroperitoneal mass close to the dorsal wall of the stomach and surrounding the abdominal aortic and celiac trunk. The resected specimen suggested that an irregular tumor invaded the dorsal wall of the stomach. Postoperative histological examination confirmed that it was a gastric squamous cell carcinoma.

Stomach fullness modulates prey size choice in the frillfin goby, Bathygobius soporator

Behaviours related to foraging and feeding in predator-prey systems are fundamental to our understanding of food webs. From the perspective of a predator, the selection of prey size depends upon a number of factors including prey vulnerability, prey size, and the predator's motivation to eat. Thus, feeding motivation and prey visual cues are supposed to influence predator decisions and it is predicted that prey selection by visual cues is modulated by the predator's stomach fullness prior to attacking a prey. This study was conducted using an animal model from the rocky shores ecosystem, a predatory fish, the frillfin goby Bathygobius soporator, and a benthic prey, the mottled shore crab Pachygrapsus transversus. Our results demonstrate that frillfin gables are capable of visually evaluating prey size and that the size evaluation process is modulated by the level of stomach fullness. Predators with an empty stomach (0% fullness) attacked prey that was larger than the predicted optimal size. Partially satiated predators (50% stomach fullness) selected prey close to the optimal size, while fully satiated predators (100% stomach fullness) showed no preference for size. This finding indicates an integrative response of the predator that depends on the input of both internal and external sensory information when choosing prey. Predator perceptions of visual cues (prey size) and stomach fullness modulate foraging decisions. As a result, a flexible feeding behaviour emerges, evidencing a clearly adaptive response in line with optimal foraging theory predictions. (C) 2012 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Triptolide induces cell apoptosis in human stomach cancer cell via caspase 3-dependent cascade pathway

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of triptolide on the induction of cell apoptosis in human gastric cancer BGC-823 cells. Methods: The cytotoxicity of triptolide was evaluated by 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5- diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The effect of triptolide on cell proliferation was measured using lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. Cell apoptosis was determined by Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) double-staining assay. Results: MTT results indicate that triptolide significantly decreased cancer cell numbers in dose- and time-dependent manners in MTT assay. Data from LDH assay showed that triptolide markedly induced cytotoxicity in gastric cancer cells. Triptolide also remarkably induced both early and late apoptotic process in BGC-823 cells. In addition, the compound down-regulated the expression of anti-apoptotic Bcell lymphoma-2 (bcl-2) and up-regulated the expression of pro-apoptotic BCL-2-associated X (bax) in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the pro-apoptotic activity of triptolide was involved in the activation of caspase-3 pathway in BGC-823 cells. Conclusion: Taken together, the findings strongly indicates that the pro-apoptotic activity of triptolide is regulated by caspase 3-dependent cascade pathway, and thus needs to be further developed for cancer therapy.

Occurrence of plastic debris in the stomach of the invasive crab Eriocheir sinensis

The Chinese mitten crab is known as a pest causing damage to fishing gears and fish. On the other hand, this highly invasive species is considered a delicacy by Asian migrants and therefore commercially fished and sold in many countries. The ingestion of plastic by the Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis from the Baltic coastal waters (Poland) and the Tagus Estuary (Portugal) was studied based on stomach content analysis. As many as 13% of the 302 analysed males and females (38.07–89.07 mm carapace width) from both regions, contained microplastic in the form of strands and balls. Most of them were transparent. Ingested plastic particles were identified as fragments of fishing gears. Contamination with plastic may have a negative impact on this species as well as on higher trophic levels feeding on crabs.

The role of combinations between fasting intervals and lairage times on pigs welfare, stomach content and carcass and meat quality.

2016

In step

In Step was a wearable artwork consisting of a pair of embroidered foot bandages and an actuator ‘cushion’ embedded with 15 electromechanical actuator pistons. The bandage was embedded with woven, soft and flexible fabric sensors - interconnected with metallic connecting threads, fasteners and a wireless interface (in a final form). When wrapped around a foot and lower leg the sensors sat on the ball of the toes and heel. This ‘wearable interface’ was then connected wirelessly to a soft sculptural form, which employed actuators to tap gently in response to the qualities of the walk detected by the soft sensors. In this way the ‘tread qualities’ of the walker could then be felt by someone else holding this device against their stomach – thereby allowing pairs of participants to ‘feel’ the tactile qualities of the other's walk. The work was presented both as a working object and via a short videorecorded performance.----- In Step generated innovative new approaches to interface and sensor embedded clothing/footware whilst also creating an evocative vehicle to comment upon contemporary Post Colonial theories of weight and groundedness – particularly the psycho-geographical ‘separation’ from the landscape that inspired Paul Carter’s “environmentally grounded poetics”. The work’s final form also suggested critical new directions for responsive clothing and footwear for the emerging genre of smart textiles.

The proximal first exon architecture of the murine ghrelin gene is highly similar to its human orthologue

BACKGROUND: The murine ghrelin gene (Ghrl), originally sequenced from stomach tissue, contains five exons and a single transcription start site in a short, 19 bp first exon (exon 0). We recently isolated several novel first exons of the human ghrelin gene and found evidence of a complex transcriptional repertoire. In this report, we examined the 5' exons of the murine ghrelin orthologue in a range of tissues using 5' RACE. -----FINDINGS: 5' RACE revealed two transcription start sites (TSSs) in exon 0 and four TSSs in intron 0, which correspond to 5' extensions of exon 1. Using quantitative, real-time RT-PCR (qRT-PCR), we demonstrated that extended exon 1 containing Ghrl transcripts are largely confined to the spleen, adrenal gland, stomach, and skin. -----CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that multiple transcription start sites are present in exon 0 and an extended exon 1 of the murine ghrelin gene, similar to the proximal first exon organisation of its human orthologue. The identification of several transcription start sites in intron 0 of mouse ghrelin (resulting in an extension of exon 1) raises the possibility that developmental-, cell- and tissue-specific Ghrl mRNA species are created by employing alternative promoters and further studies of the murine ghrelin gene are warranted.

Ghrelin gene-related peptides : multifunctional endocrine/autocrine modulators in health and disease

Ghrelin is a multi-functional peptide hormone which affects various processes including growth hormone and insulin release, appetite regulation, gut motility, metabolism and cancer cell proliferation. Ghrelin is produced in the stomach and in other normal and pathological cell types. It may act as an endocrine or autocrine/paracrine factor. The ghrelin gene encodes a precursor protein, preproghrelin, from which ghrelin and other potentially active peptides are derived by alternative mRNA splicing and/or proteolytic processing. The metabolic role of the peptide obestatin, derived from the preproghrelin C-terminal region, is controversial. However, it has direct effects on cancer cell proliferation. The regulation of ghrelin expression and the mechanisms through which the peptide products arise are unclear. We have recently re-examined the organisation of the ghrelin gene and identified several novel exons and transcripts. One transcript, which lacks the ghrelin-coding region of preproghrelin, contains the coding sequence of obestatin. Furthermore, we have identified an overlapping gene on the antisense strand of ghrelin, GHRLOS, which generates transcripts that may function as non-coding regulatory RNAs or code for novel, short bioactive peptides. The identification of these novel ghrelin-gene related transcripts and peptides raises critical questions regarding their physiological function and their role in obesity, diabetes and cancer.

A re-examination of the Ghrelin and Ghrelin receptor genes

The last few years have seen dramatic advances in genomics, including the discovery of a large number of non-coding and antisense transcripts. This has revolutionised our understanding of multifaceted transcript structures found within gene loci and their roles in the regulation of development, neurogenesis and other complex processes. The recent and continuing surge of knowledge has prompted researchers to reassess and further dissect gene loci. The ghrelin gene (GHRL) gives rise to preproghrelin, which in turn produces ghrelin, a 28 amino acid peptide hormone that acts via the ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor/GHSR 1a). Ghrelin has many important physiological and pathophysiological roles, including the stimulation of growth hormone (GH) release, appetite regulation, and cancer development. A truncated receptor splice variant, GHSR 1b, does not bind ghrelin, but dimerises with GHSR 1a, and may act as a dominant negative receptor. The gene products of ghrelin and its receptor are frequently overexpressed in human cancer While it is well known that the ghrelin axis (ghrelin and its receptor) plays a range of important functional roles, little is known about the molecular structure and regulation of the ghrelin gene (GHRL) and ghrelin receptor gene (GHSR). This thesis reports the re-annotation of the ghrelin gene, discovery of alternative 5’ exons and transcription start sites, as well as the description of a number of novel splice variants, including isoforms with a putative signal peptide. We also describe the discovery and characterisation of a ghrelin antisense gene (GHRLOS), and the discovery and expression of a ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor/GHSR) antisense gene (GHSR-OS). We have identified numerous ghrelin-derived transcripts, including variants with extended 5' untranslated regions and putative secreted obestatin and C-ghrelin transcripts. These transcripts initiate from novel first exons, exon -1, exon 0 and a 5' extended 1, with multiple transcription start sites. We used comparative genomics to identify, and RT-PCR to experimentally verify, that the proximal exon 0 and 5' extended exon 1 are transcribed in the mouse ghrelin gene, which suggests the mouse and human proximal first exon architecture is conserved. We have identified numerous novel antisense transcripts in the ghrelin locus. A candidate non-coding endogenous natural antisense gene (GHRLOS) was cloned and demonstrates very low expression levels in the stomach and high levels in the thymus, testis and brain - all major tissues of non-coding RNA expression. Next, we examined if transcription occurs in the antisense orientation to the ghrelin receptor gene, GHSR. A novel gene (GHSR-OS) on the opposite strand of intron 1 of the GHSR gene was identified and characterised using strand-specific RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). GHSR-OS is differentially expressed and a candidate non-coding RNA gene. In summary, this study has characterised the ghrelin and ghrelin receptor loci and demonstrated natural antisense transcripts to ghrelin and its receptor. Our preliminary work shows that the ghrelin axis generates a broad and complex transcriptional repertoire. This study provides the basis for detailed functional studies of the the ghrelin and GHSR loci and future studies will be needed to further unravel the function, diagnostic and therapeutic potential of the ghrelin axis.