Predominant role of GIP in the development of a metabolic syndrome-like phenotype in female Wistar rats submitted to forced catch-up growth

Catch-up growth has been associated with the appearance of metabolic dysfunctions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Because the entero-insular axis is critical to glucose homeostasis control, we explored the relevance of the incretins glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in the development of these pathologies. Offspring of rat dams fed ad libitum (control [C]) or 65% food-restricted during pregnancy and suckling time (undernourished [U]) were weaned onto a high-fat (HF) diet (CHF and UHF, respectively) to drive catch-up growth. Both male and female UHF rats showed an obese phenotype characterized by hyperphagy, visceral fat accumulation, and adipocyte hypertrophy. High-fat diet induced deterioration of glucose tolerance in a sex-dependent manner. Female UHF rats experienced much more severe glucose intolerance than males, which was not compensated by insulin hypersecretion, suggesting insulin resistance, as shown by homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance values. Moreover, female, but not male, UHF rats displayed enhanced GIP but not GLP-1 secretion during oral glucose tolerance test. Administration of the GIP receptor antagonist (Pro3)GIP to UHF female rats over 21 days markedly reduced visceral fat mass and adipocyte hypertrophy without variations in food intake or body weight. These changes were accompanied by improvement of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. In conclusion, the exacerbated production and secretion of GIP after the catch-up growth seems to represent the stimulus for insulin hypersecretion and insulin resistance, ultimately resulting in derangement of glucose homeostasis. Overall, these data evidence the role of GIP as a critical link between catch-up growth and the development of metabolic disturbances.

Inactivation of the pore-forming toxin Sticholysin I by peroxynitrite: protection by cys groups incorporated in the toxin

Sea anemones synthesize a variety of toxic peptides and proteins of biological interest. The Caribbean Sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus, produces two pore-forming toxins, Sticholysin I (St I) and Stichloysin II (St II), with the ability to form oligomeric pores in cell and lipid bilayers characteristically lacking cysteine in their amino acid sequences. Recently, two mutants of a recombinant variant of Sticholysin I (rSt I) have been obtained with a Cys residue in functionally relevant regions for the pore-forming activity of the toxin: r St I F15C (in the amino terminal sequence) and r St I R52C (in the binding site). Aiming at characterizing the effects of oxidants in toxins devoid (r St I) or containing -SH moieties (r St I F15C and r St I R52C), we measured their hemolytic activity and pore forming capacity prior and after their incubation with peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)). At low ONOO(-)/Toxin ratios, nearly 0.8 Trp groups are modified by each added peroxynitrite molecule, and the toxin activity is reduced in ca. 20 %. On the other hand, in -SH bearing mutants only 0.5 Trp groups are modified by each peroxynitrite molecule and the toxin activity is only reduced in 10 %. The results indicated that Cys is the initial target of the oxidative damage and that Trp residues in Cys-containing toxins were less damaged than those in r St I. This relative protection of Trp groups correlates with a smaller loss of hemolytic activity and permeabilization ability in liposomes and emphasizes the relevance of Trp groups in the pore forming capacity of the toxins.

Long-term and seasonal dynamics of dengue in Iquitos, Peru

Introduction

Long-term disease surveillance data provide a basis for studying drivers of pathogen transmission dynamics. Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease caused by four distinct, but related, viruses (DENV-1-4) that potentially affect over half the world's population. Dengue incidence varies seasonally and on longer time scales, presumably driven by the interaction of climate and host susceptibility. Precise understanding of dengue dynamics is constrained, however, by the relative paucity of laboratory-confirmed longitudinal data.

Methods

We studied 10 years (2000–2010) of laboratory-confirmed, clinic-based surveillance data collected in Iquitos, Peru. We characterized inter and intra-annual patterns of dengue dynamics on a weekly time scale using wavelet analysis. We explored the relationships of case counts to climatic variables with cross-correlation maps on annual and trimester bases.

Findings

Transmission was dominated by single serotypes, first DENV-3 (2001–2007) then DENV-4 (2008–2010). After 2003, incidence fluctuated inter-annually with outbreaks usually occurring between October and April. We detected a strong positive autocorrelation in case counts at a lag of ∼70 weeks, indicating a shift in the timing of peak incidence year-to-year. All climatic variables showed modest seasonality and correlated weakly with the number of reported dengue cases across a range of time lags. Cases were reduced after citywide insecticide fumigation if conducted early in the transmission season.

Conclusions

Dengue case counts peaked seasonally despite limited intra-annual variation in climate conditions. Contrary to expectations for this mosquito-borne disease, no climatic variable considered exhibited a strong relationship with transmission. Vector control operations did, however, appear to have a significant impact on transmission some years. Our results indicate that a complicated interplay of factors underlie DENV transmission in contexts such as Iquitos.

Description of long-term temporal patterns in disease occurrence improves our understanding of pathogen transmission dynamics and facilitates predicting new epidemics. Dengue, the most prevalent mosquito-borne, viral disease of humans, typically varies seasonally and on longer, inter-annual time scales. In most studies of these patterns, however, only a fraction of putative dengue cases are confirmed with laboratory diagnostics. Here we analyzed 10 years of fully confirmed dengue cases reported to a sentinel surveillance system in Iquitos, Peru. We describe the inter and intra-annual patterns of weekly case counts and relate these to climate and local vector control efforts. We show that dengue case counts vary seasonally in Iquitos despite very little variation in key climatic conditions, such as temperature and humidity. Overall, transmission correlated poorly with climate regardless of time lag. In seasons when vector control was conducted early, there was an apparent decline in cases later that season. We speculate that the relationships between climatic conditions and transmission of DENV in Iquitos are complex and non-linear, and that other factors, such as herd immunity, virus diversity, and vector control efforts, play key roles determining the timing and intensity of transmission.

Efficacy of three different regimens of primaquine for the prevention of relapses of Plasmodium vivax malaria in the Amazon Basin of Peru

We evaluated the efficacy of three primaquine (PQ) regimes to prevent relapses with Plasmodium vivax through an open-label randomized trial in Loreto, Peru. Vivax monoinfections were treated with chloroquine for 3 days and PQ in three different regimes: 0.5 mg/kg per day for 5 days (150 mg total), 0.5 mg/kg per day for 7 days (210 mg total), or 0.25 mg/kg per day for 14 days (210 mg total). Biweekly fever assessments and bimonthly thick smears were taken for 210 days. Recurrences after 35 days were considered relapses. One hundred eighty cases were enrolled in each group; 90% of cases completed follow-up. There were no group-related differences in age, sex, or parasitemia. Relapse rates were similar in the 7- and 14-day regimes (16/156 = 10.3% and 22/162 = 13.6%, P = 0.361) and higher in the 5-day group (48/169 = 28.4%, P < 0.001 and P = 0.001, respectively). The 7-day PQ regimen used in Peru is as efficacious as the recommended 14-day regimen and superior to 5 treatment days.

Traumatismo Encéfalocraneano con Cuerpo Extraño Retrocular e Intracerebral en una Niña de 5 años

Se presenta aquí el caso de una niña de 5 años de edad que cayó sobre una estaca de caña de maíz, provocándose traumatismo encéfalocraneano con lesión punzopenetrante. Quedaron alojados fragmentos de caña en el trayecto que siguió, retroocular e intracerebral. Se logró remisión y recuperación ad integrum gracias a manejo neuroquirúrgico, se discute el caso clínico y su evolución.

Role of B-1 cells in the immune response against an antigen encapsulated into phosphatidylcholine-containing liposomes

B-1 lymphocytes comprise a unique subset of B cells that differ phenotypically, ontogenetically and functionally from conventional B-2 cells. A frequent specificity of the antibody repertoire of peritoneal B-1 cells is phosphatidylcholine. Liposomes containing phosphatidylcholine have been studied as adjuvants and their interaction with dendritic cells and macrophages has been demonstrated. However, the role of B-1 cells in the adjuvanticity of liposomes composed of phosphatidylcholine has not been explored. In the present work, we studied the contribution of B-1 cells to the humoral response against ovalbumin (OVA) encapsulated into dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and cholesterol-containing liposomes. BALB/X-linked immunodeficient (xid) mice, which are deficient in B-1 cells, showed quantitative and qualitative differences in the anti-OVA antibody response compared with wild-type animals after immunization with these liposomes. The OVA-specific immune response was significantly increased in the BALB/xid mice when reconstituted with B-1 cells from naive BALB/c mice. Our results indicate the internalization of DPPC-containing liposomes by these cells and their migration from the peritoneal cavity to the spleen. Phosphatidylcholine significantly contributed to the immunogenicity of liposomes, as DPPC-containing liposomes more effectively stimulated the anti-OVA response compared with vesicles composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol. In conclusion, we present evidence for a cognate interaction between B-1 cells and phosphatidylcholine liposomes, modulating the immune response to encapsulated antigens. This provides a novel targeting approach to assess the role of B-1 cells in humoral immunity.

Ethanol production from glucose and xylose obtained from steam exploded water-extracted olive tree pruning using phosphoric acid as catalyst

In this work, the effect of phosphoric acid (1% w/w) in steam explosion pretreatment of water extracted olive tree pruning at 175°C and 195°C was evaluated. The objective is to produce ethanol from all sugars (mainly glucose and xylose) contained in the pretreated material. The water insoluble fraction obtained after pretreatment was used as substrate in a simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) process by a commercial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The liquid fraction, containing mainly xylose, was detoxified by alkali and ion-exchange resin and then fermented by the xylose fermenting yeast Scheffersomyces stipitis. Ethanol yields reached in a SSF process were close to 80% when using 15% (w/w) substrate consistency and about 70% of theoretical when using prehydrolysates detoxified by ion-exchange resins. Considering sugars recovery and ethanol yields about 160g of ethanol from kg of water extracted olive tree pruning could be obtained.

32 PREGNANCY OF EQUINE CLONED EMBRYOS MICROINJECTED WITH PLURIPOTENCY INDUCING GENES (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, K1f4)

Animal cloning is a high impact tool for scientific and economical production, but still with inefficient results. The efficiency of the cloning process depends on the state of differentiation of the donor cell. An adult equine somatic cell can be differentiated to a pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) inducing the expression of certain transcription factors (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, and K1f4; Breton et al. 2013). The objective of this work was to assess the effect of the intracytoplasmic injection of pluripotency inducing genes on embryo development and pregnancy rates of equine cloned embryos. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) were obtained from slaughterhouse ovaries. Oocyte collection and maturation procedure were performed as described by Lagutina et al. (2007). After the removal of cumulus cells, oocytes showing first polar body were microinjected with a mixture 1/3 of plasmids/liposomes (Mi group). The plasmid used was the pEP4-E02s-EM2k, which encodes the human genes Oct4, Sox2, Myc, and K1f4. The DNA concentration was adjusted to 0.5 μg mL–1. Microinjected oocytes were enucleated using the zona free method. Adult male skin fibroblasts from the same animal were used as donor nucleus cells. These fibroblasts were attached to the ooplasts with phytohemagglutinin and then fused with an electric pulse. Activation was performed using 8.7 mM ionomycin for 4 min, followed by culture for 4 h in a combination of 1 mM 6-DMAP and 5 mg mL–1 cycloheximide. Zona free reconstructed embryos (ZFRE) were cultured for 7 to 8 days in DMEM-F12 in the well of the well (WOW) system, aggregating 3 embryos per well. A control group (CC group) of not microinjected embryos was included. Cleavage and blastocyst development was assessed at Days 2 and 7, respectively. Transcervical transfer of 49 Day 7 to 8 blastocysts was performed 6 days after ovulation. The mares received 2 blastocysts per transfer. Pregnancy was diagnosed by transrectal ultrasonography 15 days after ovulation. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were analysed by Chi-squared test and pregnancy rate by Fisher test (P < 0.05). Cleavage was 92.1% (n = 58/63) for the Mi group and 90.4% (n = 868/960) for the CC group. Blastocyst rate was statistically higher per well, 28.6% (n = 6/21) v. 13.4% (n = 43/320) but not per oocyte, 9.5% (n = 6/63) v. 4.5% (n = 43/960), for the Mi and CC groups, respectively. Pregnancy rate was 17% (n = 1/6) for the Mi group and 7% (n = 3/43) for the CC group. No twin pregnancies were found and all the pregnancies are still ongoing. The higher blastocyst rates obtained with the embryos microinjected with pluripotency inducing genes compared with the control group showed an improvement in embryo quality. In conclusion, the data presented indicate that the intracytoplasmic microinjection of pluripotency inducing genes in equine zona free cloned embryos improved blastocyst rates on a per well basis and showed a tendency to improve the pregnancy rates. The expression of the Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc, and K1f4 genes could be probably generating better reprogrammed donor nucleus compared with adult differentiated cells used in conventional cloning.

97 IN VIVO AND IN VITRO EMBRYO PRODUCTION WITH Y-SEXED SORTED OR CONVENTIONAL SEMEN IN BEEF CATTLE

An experiment was designed to evaluate in vivo and in vitro embryo production following the use of frozen–thawed conventional or Y-sexed semen from a Brangus bull with known high fertility. For in vivo embryo production, Brangus heifers (n = 12) were superovulated twice in a crossover design and inseminated with sexed or conventional semen. On Day 0, all heifers received an intravaginal progesterone device (DIB 1 g, Syntex S.A., Buenos Aires, Argentina) and 2.5 mg oestradiol benzoate and 50 mg progesterone (Progestar, Syntex S.A.) by intramuscular injection (IM). On Day 4, heifers were superstimulated with 200 mg of NIH-FSH-P1 Folltropin-V (Bioniche Animal Health, Belleville, Ontario, Canada) in twice-daily decreasing doses over 4 days. In the a.m. and p.m. of Day 6, all heifers received PGF2a (Ciclase, Syntex) and DIBs were removed in the p.m.. In the a.m. of Day 8, heifers received 100 μg de Gonadolerin (Gonasyn, Syntex S.A.) and were randomly allocated to receive either one straw of conventional semen (24 × 106 sperm per dose) 12 and 24 h later or two straws of sexed semen (2.4 × 106 sperm per dose) 18 and 24 h after GnRH. Ova/embryos were collected nonsurgically on Day 15 and evaluated following IETS recommendations. Means were compared by t-test. Mean ( ± s.e.m.) number of ova/embryos, fertilized ova, and transferable embryos were 14.8 ± 2.7, 9.4 ± 1.8, and 7.1 ± 1.7 v. 16.8 ± 3.1, 9.9 ± 2.5, and 8.1 ± 2.0 for donors inseminated with conventional or sexed semen, respectively (P > 0.6). For in vitro production, oocytes were obtained from 50 ultrasound-guided follicle aspiration (OPU) sessions that was performed at random stages of the oestrous cycle and without superstimulation in 22 Brangus cows and heifers. Oocytes were classified and matured in TCM-199 medium with NaHCO3 and supplemented with 1% fetal bovine serum. Semen samples from the same bull used for in vivo embryo production were selected using Percoll and capacitated in Fert medium and used at a final concentration of sperm/mL for nonsexed semen and 2 × 106 sperm mL–1 for sexed semen. After 16 h (sexed) or 18 h (conventional) in Fert medium, zygotes were denuded and cultured in SOF supplemented with 0.4% BSA under oil at 37°C, 5% CO2 and saturated humidity for 7 days. The total number of oocytes matured and fertilized was 528 and 318 for conventional and sexed semen, respectively. Means were compared by t-test and proportions by chi-squared test. Mean (± s.e.m.) number of cleaved zygotes and blastocysts produced per OPU session did not differ between conventional (11.0 ± 1.4 and 7.1 ± 1.0) and sexed (8.7 ± 0.8 and 4.9 ± 0.7; P > 0.2) semen. However, the proportion of cleaved zygotes and blastocysts produced were significantly higher (P < 0.05) with conventional semen (61.2%; 329/538 and 39.4%; 212/538) than with sexed semen (54.4%; 173/318 and 30.8%; 98/318), respectively. In conclusion, comparable number of embryos can be obtained in vivo with sexed or conventional semen from a bull with proven high fertility. However, the proportion of blastocysts produced in vitro is likely to be reduced following the use of sexed as compared with conventional semen from the same bull.

Effect of human serum albumin upon the permeabilizing activity of sticholysin II, a pore forming toxin from Stichodactyla heliantus

Sticholysin II (St II) is a haemolytic toxin isolated from the sea anemone Stichodactyla helianthus. The high haemolytic activity of this toxin is strongly dependent on the red cell status and the macromolecule conformation. In the present communication we evaluate the effect of human serum albumin on St II haemolytic activity and its capacity to form pores in the bilayer of synthetic liposomes. St II retains its pore forming capacity in the presence of large concentrations (up to 500 μM) of human serum albumin. This effect is observed both in its capacity to produce red blood cells haemolysis and to generate functional pores in liposomes. In particular, the capacity of the toxin to lyse red blood cells increases in the presence of human serum albumin (HSA). Regarding the rate of the pore forming process, it is moderately decreased in liposomes and in red blood cells, in spite of an almost total coverage of the interface by albumin. All the data obtained in red cells and model membranes show that St II remains lytically active even in the presence of high HSA concentrations. This stubbornness can explain why the toxin is able to exert its haemolytic activity on membranes immersed in complex plasma matrixes such as those present in living organisms.

Abstract C41: BRAFV600 serum/plasma analysis: Predictive value of survival in melanoma treated with BRAF inhibitors

Background: BRAF mutation is present in 50% of metastatic melanoma patients. Treatment with BRAF inhibitors improves survival of BRAF mutant melanoma patients, with a median progression free survival time of 6 months. Twenty percent of patients are refractory to BRAF inhibitors, and others have early resistance development. Pretreatment analysis of BRAFV600 mutation in cell free DNA from serum or plasma could help to select patients for BRAF inhibitor treatments. We have investigated the sensitivity of the assay and its predictive value. Methods: Analysis of BRAFV600 mutation was performed in cell free DNA (cf DNA) from serum and plasma of 22 metastatic melanoma patients before starting a BRAF inhibitor treatment. Results: Six patients were women, median age was 62 years old (58-81). Four patients (18%) had complete response to treatment. Eleven patients (50%) had partial response to treatment. Two patients (9%) had progression disease as their best response. Median progression free survival time (PFS) for patients with complete response, partial response, stable disease and progression disease were: not reached, 4.6 months, 3 months and one month, respectively (p&lt;0.00001). Twelve patients (54.5%) had BRAF positive analysis pretreatment in serum/plasma. From BRAF serum/plasma positive patients 1 had CR (8%) and 7 PR (58%). From BRAF serum/plasma negative patients: 3 (30%) CR and 4 (40%) PR. Median PFS for patients treated with BRAF inhibitors was 3.5 months for BRAF serum/plasma positive patients and 13.57 months for BRAF serum/plasma negative patients (p=0.026) Conclusion: BRAFV600 serum/plasma analysis is a good predictor of survival for patients treated with BRAF inhibitors.

Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):C41.

Citation Format: Maria Gonzalez Cao, Salvador Martin Algarra, Eva Muñoz, Clara Mayo de las Casas, Jose Luis Manzano, Javier Cortes, Miguel Angel Molina-Vila, Jose Pablo Berros, Leticia De Mattos-Arruda, Miguel Sanmamed, Alvaro Gonzalez, Carlos Alvarez, Niki Karachaliou, Rafael Rosell. BRAFV600 serum/plasma analysis: Predictive value of survival in melanoma treated with BRAF inhibitors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C41.

The quality of quality measures: HEDIS® quality measures for medication management in the elderly and outcomes associated with new exposure

BACKGROUND

Clinical validation studies of the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) measures of inappropriate prescribing in the elderly are limited.

OBJECTIVES

The objective of this study was to examine associations of new exposure to high-risk medication in the elderly (HRME) and drug-disease interaction (Rx-DIS) with mortality, hospital admission, and emergency care.

METHODS

A retrospective database study was conducted examining new use of HRME and Rx-DIS in fiscal year 2006 (Oct 2005-Sep 2006; FY06), with index date being the date of first HRME/Rx-DIS exposure, or first day of FY07 if no HRME/Rx-DIS exposure. Outcomes were assessed 1 year after the index date. The participants were veterans who were ≥65 years old in FY06 and received Veterans Health Administration (VA) care in FY05-06. A history of falls/hip fracture, chronic renal failure, and/or dementia per diagnosis codes defined the Rx-DIS subsample. The variables included a number of new unique HRME drug exposures and new unique Rx-DIS drug exposure (0, 1, >1) in FY06, and outcomes (i.e., 1-year mortality, hospital admission, and emergency care) up to 1 year after exposure. Descriptive statistics summarized variables for the overall HRME cohort and the Rx-DIS subset. Multivariable statistical analyses using generalized estimating equations (GEE) models with a logit link accounted for nesting of patients within facilities. For these latter analyses, we controlled for demographic characteristics, chronic disease states, and indicators of disease burden the previous year (e.g., number of prescriptions, emergency/hospital care).

RESULTS

Among the 1,807,404 veterans who met inclusion criteria, 5.2 % had new HRME exposure. Of the 256,388 in the Rx-DIS cohort, 3.6 % had new Rx-DIS exposure. Multivariable analyses found that HRME was significantly associated with mortality [1: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.62, 95 % CI 1.56-1.68; >1: AOR = 1.80, 95 % CI 1.45-2.23], hospital admission (1: AOR = 2.31, 95 % CI 2.22-2.40; >1: AOR = 3.44, 95 % CI 3.06-3.87), and emergency care (1: AOR = 2.59, 95 % CI 2.49-2.70; >1: AOR = 4.18, 95 % CI 3.71-4.71). Rx-DIS exposure was significantly associated with mortality (1: AOR = 1.60, 95 % CI 1.51-1.71; >1: AOR = 2.00, 95 % CI 1.38-2.91), hospital admission for one exposure (1: AOR = 1.12, 95 % CI 1.03-1.27; >1: AOR = 1.18, 95 % CI 0.71-1.95), and emergency care for two or more exposures (1: AOR = 1.06, 95 % CI 0.97-1.15; >1: AOR = 2.0, 95 % CI 1.35-3.10).

CONCLUSIONS

Analyses support the link between HRME/Rx-DIS exposure and clinically significant outcomes in older veterans. Now is the time to begin incorporating input from both patients who receive these medications and providers who prescribe to develop approaches to reduce exposure to these agents.

Prolonged clinical benefit of everolimus therapy in the management of high-grade pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma

Treatment options for patients with high-grade pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNET) are limited, especially for those with progressive disease and for those who experience treatment failure. Everolimus, an oral inhibitor of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), has been approved for the treatment of patients with low- or intermediate-grade advanced pNET. In the randomized phase III RADIANT-3 study in patients with low- or intermediate-grade advanced pNET, everolimus significantly increased progression-free survival (PFS) and decreased the relative risk for disease progression by 65% over placebo. This case report describes a heavily pretreated patient with high-grade pNET and liver and peritoneal metastases who achieved prolonged PFS, clinically relevant partial radiologic tumor response, and resolution of constitutional symptoms with improvement in Karnofsky performance status while receiving a combination of everolimus and octreotide long-acting repeatable (LAR). Radiologic and clinical responses were maintained for 19 months, with minimal toxicity over the course of treatment. This case supports the findings that the combination of everolimus plus octreotide LAR may be considered for use in patients with high-grade pNET and progressive disease. Although behavior and aggressiveness are different between low- or intermediate-grade and high-grade pNET, some high-grade pNET may express mTOR; hence, everolimus should be considered in a clinical trial.

Reliability of retrospective assignment of gross motor function classification system scores

OBJECTIVES

To assess "alternate forms" reliability and inter-rater reliability of Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) scores.

METHODS

Fifty randomly selected children with cerebral palsy were divided into two groups: (1) GMFCS score assigned during gait assessment ("GMFCS previously assigned") and (2) no GMFCS score assigned. Using database information, two physiotherapists independently determined GMFCS scores for 25 children from the "previously assigned" group, and 25 from the "no score assigned" group. Therapists compared their recently assigned scores for the "previously assigned" group, discussing discrepancies until attaining agreement. This group's consensus scores were compared to GMFCS scores assigned at time of actual assessment to calculate "alternate forms" reliability.

RESULTS

Between-therapist agreements were kappa = 0.84 for "GMFCS previously assigned" group and 0.95 for "no GMFCS assigned" group. Kappa agreement between direct assessment and retrospectively assigned scores for the "GMFCS previously assigned" group was 0.79.

CONCLUSIONS

Retrospective GMFCS scores can be reliably assigned.

Undernutrition upregulates fumarate hydratase in the rat nucleus accumbens

Previous comparative studies of fumarate hydratase (FH) protein density revealed that the enzyme was overexpressed in the striatum of rodents that are less influenced by rewarding stimuli, from cocaine to food. Therefore, we recently proposed FH as a potential striatal biomarker of brain reward deficiency and addiction vulnerability. This work has been focused to investigate FH activity in the Nucleus Accumbens (NAc) of undernourished rats, taking into account that malnutrition has been related to increased responsiveness to food and drug reward. To this end, we have studied adult female Wistar rats severely food restricted from the 16th day of intrauterine life until adulthood. Animals were sacrificed to dissect the NAc and obtain mitochondrial and cytosolic fractions after homogenisation and centrifugation. FH activity was measured by conversion of malate to fumarate, and protein levels were compared by Western blot analysis when fractions showed differences in activity. Undernutrition did not change cytosolic FH activity but led to a marked increase of mitochondrial FH activity (72 %) and protein content (50 %) in the NAc. This change was in the opposite direction that one would predict if it was related to addiction vulnerability of some kind, but strongly suggests that mitochondrial FH needs to be at some optimal level for normal reward responsiveness.

53 EFFECT OF THE NUCLEAR REPROGRAMMING TIME ON IN VITRO DEVELOPMENT OF EQUINE AGGREGATED CLONED EMBRYOS

The time allowed for nuclear reprogramming is considered an essential factor for the efficiency of cloning and has not been evaluated in equine aggregated cloned embryos. The aim of our work was to assess the effect of different timing of activation stimulus after fusion of adult equine fibroblast cells to enucleated equine oocytes on embryo development and embryo quality. We processed a total of 1874 equine ovaries, recovering 3948 oocytes, of which 1914 (48.5%) had extruded the first polar body after 24 h of maturation. Oocyte collection, maturation, and the NT procedure were performed as described by Lagutina et al. (2007 Theriogenology 67, 90–98). Reconstructed oocytes (RO) were activated at 3 different times after cell fusion: (1) 1 h, (2) 1.5 h, and (3) 2 h. Activation was performed using 8.7 µM ionomycin for 4 min, followed by a 4-h culture in a combination of 1 mM DMAP and 5 mg mL–1 of cycloheximide. The RO were cultured in the well of the well system, aggregating 3 RO per well. The RO were cultured in DMEM-F12 with 5% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and antibiotics. Cleavage (48 h after activation), blastocyst, and expanded blastocyst rates (8–9 days) were assessed. In vitro development was compared using the chi-square test (P < 0.05). A total of 1608 RO were cultured. Cleavage was significantly lower in group 3 with respect to the other 2 groups [(1): 396/450, 88%; (2): 540/639, 84.5%; (3): 365/519, 70.3%]. There were no significant differences in blastocyst rates within the 3 groups considering the number of total RO [(1): 19/450, 4.2%; (2): 23/639, 3.6%; (3): 15/519, 2.9%] or aggregated RO per well [(1): 12.7%; (2): 10.8%; (3): 8.7%]. However, the rate of blastocyst expansion was higher (P < 0.05) in group 2 than in group 3 [(1): 17/19, 89.5%; (2): 23/23, 100%; (3): 11/15, 73.3%]. In conclusion, the timing of nuclear reprogramming did not affect blastocyst rates but affected cleavage rates and blastocyst quality. This indicates that 1 h before activation stimulus is enough for embryo development of equine aggregated cloned embryos.