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Tsukada E, Rodrigues CC, Jacintho JC, Franco-Belussi L, Jones-Costa M, Abdalla FC, Rocha TL, Salla RF. The amphibian's spleen as a source of biomarkers for ecotoxicity assessment: Historical review and trends. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 901:165915. [PMID: 37532037 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165915] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Amphibians are very sensitive to many environmental changes, so these animals are considered good bioindicator models for ecotoxicology. Given the importance of the amphibian spleen for hematopoietic and immune responses, this can be a key organ for the evaluation of biomarkers to monitor the health of individuals in nature or in captivity. In this systematic review, we searched databases and summarized the main findings concerning the amphibian spleen as a source of possible biomarkers applied in different scientific fields. The searches resulted in 83 articles published from 1923 to 2022, which applied the use of splenic samples to evaluate the effects of distinct stressors on amphibians. Articles were distributed in more than twenty countries, with USA, Europe, and Brazil, standing out among them. Publications focused mainly on anatomical and histomorphological characterization of the spleen, its physiology, and development. Recently, the use of splenic biomarkers in pathology and ecotoxicology began to grow but many gaps still need to be addressed in herpetological research. About 85 % of the splenic biomarkers showed responses to various stressors, which indicates that the spleen can provide numerous biomarkers to be used in many study fields. The limited amount of information on morphological description and splenic anatomy in amphibians may be a contributing factor to the underestimated use of splenic biomarkers in herpetological research around the world. We hope that this unprecedented review can instigate researchers to refine herpetological experimentation, using the spleen as a versatile and alternative source for biomarkers in ecotoxicology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabete Tsukada
- Post-graduation Program of Biotechnology and Environmental Monitoring, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), campus Sorocaba, Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Cândido C Rodrigues
- Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology, Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil
| | - Jaqueline C Jacintho
- Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology, Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil
| | - Lilian Franco-Belussi
- Departament of Biological Sciences, São Paulo State University, campus São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo, Brazil; Laboratory of Experimental Pathology (LAPex), Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil
| | - Monica Jones-Costa
- Department of Biology, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), campus Sorocaba, Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Fábio Camargo Abdalla
- Post-graduation Program of Biotechnology and Environmental Monitoring, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), campus Sorocaba, Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil; Laboratory of Structural and Functional Biology, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), campus Sorocaba, Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Thiago Lopes Rocha
- Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology, Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil
| | - Raquel F Salla
- Post-graduation Program of Biotechnology and Environmental Monitoring, Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), campus Sorocaba, Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brazil; Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology, Institute of Tropical Pathology and Public Health, Federal University of Goiás, Goiânia, Brazil.
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Lametschwandtner A, Spornitz U, Minnich B. Microvascular anatomy of the non-lobulated liver of adult Xenopus laevis: A scanning electron microscopic study of vascular casts. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2021; 305:243-253. [PMID: 33943032 PMCID: PMC9292344 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24649] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The microvascular anatomy of the non-lobulated liver of adult Xenopus laevis was studied by scanning electron microscopy of vascular corrosion casts. Hepatic portal veins and hepatic arteries entered hepatic lobes at the hiluses, hepatic veins left at these sites. Intraparenchymal, hepatic portal veins branched up to 10 times before terminal portal venules supplied liver sinusoids. Hepatic arteries closely followed portal vessels. Arteriolar side branches formed anastomoses with close by portal venules (arteriolar-portal anastomoses; APAs), liver sinusoids (arteriolar-sinusoidal anastomoses; ASAs), and peribiliary plexus vessels. Distally, hepatic arteries anastomosed with terminal portal venules having >100 μm in diameter. Liver sinusoids formed a dense three-dimensional network displaying signs of non-sprouting and sprouting angiogenesis evidenced by "holes" and blind ending tapering cast vascular structures (sprouts), respectively. Sinusoids drained via efferent hepatic veins. Right and left hepatic veins drained into the posterior caval vein. Locally, a dense honeycomb-like 3D-meshwork of resin structures was found around terminal portal venules and hepatic arteries. These networks were fed by hepatic arterioles and drained into adjacent terminal portal venules. As their morphologies differed significantly from sinusoids and they were found at sites where diffuse lymphoid tissue is described, we are convinced that they represent the vasculature of diffuse lymphoid tissue areas. Frequencies and diameter ratios of hepatic portal venules versus hepatic arterioles anastomosing with the former (APAs) implicate that the arterial supply contributes to the oxygenation of parenchymal and stromal cells rather than to a significant increase in blood flow towards hepatic sinusoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alois Lametschwandtner
- Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Vascular and Exercise Biology Research Group, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Udo Spornitz
- Department of Biomedicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Bernd Minnich
- Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg, Vascular and Exercise Biology Research Group, Salzburg, Austria
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Dimitrakopoulou D, Tulkens D, Van Vlierberghe P, Vleminckx K. Xenopus tropicalis: Joining the Armada in the Fight Against Blood Cancer. Front Physiol 2019; 10:48. [PMID: 30774603 PMCID: PMC6367902 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Aquatic vertebrate organisms such as zebrafish have been used for over a decade to model different types of human cancer, including hematologic malignancies. However, the introduction of gene editing techniques such as CRISPR/Cas9 and TALEN, have now opened the road for other organisms featuring large externally developing embryos that are easily accessible. Thanks to its unique diploid genome that shows a high degree of synteny to the human, combined with its relatively short live cycle, Xenopus tropicalis has now emerged as an additional powerful aquatic model for studying human disease genes. Genome editing techniques are very simple and extremely efficient, permitting the fast and cheap generation of genetic models for human disease. Mosaic disruption of tumor suppressor genes allows the generation of highly penetrant and low latency cancer models. While models for solid human tumors have been recently generated, genetic models for hematologic malignancies are currently lacking for Xenopus. Here we describe our experimental pipeline, based on mosaic genome editing by CRISPR/Cas9, to generate innovative and high-performing leukemia models in X. tropicalis. These add to the existing models in zebrafish and will extend the experimental platform available in aquatic vertebrate organisms to contribute to the field of hematologic malignancies. This will extend our knowledge in the etiology of this cancer and assist the identification of molecular targets for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dionysia Dimitrakopoulou
- Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dieter Tulkens
- Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Ghent, Belgium
| | - Pieter Van Vlierberghe
- Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Kris Vleminckx
- Department of Biomedical Molecular Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.,Cancer Research Institute Ghent (CRIG), Ghent, Belgium.,Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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Neely HR, Guo J, Flowers EM, Criscitiello MF, Flajnik MF. "Double-duty" conventional dendritic cells in the amphibian Xenopus as the prototype for antigen presentation to B cells. Eur J Immunol 2018; 48:430-440. [PMID: 29235109 DOI: 10.1002/eji.201747260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2017] [Revised: 10/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Two populations of dendritic cells (DCs) are found in mammals, one derived from hematopoietic precursors (conventional/cDC), and another derived from mesenchymal precursors, the follicular DC (FDC); the latter is specialized for antigen presentation to B cells, and has only been definitively demonstrated in mammals. Both cDC and FDC are necessary for induction of germinal centers (GC) and GC-dependent class switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM). We demonstrate that in Xenopus, an amphibian in which immunoglobulin CSR and SHM occur without GC formation, a single type of DC has properties of both cDC and FDC, including high expression of MHC class II for the former and display of native antigen at the cell surface for the latter. Our data confirm that the advent of FDC functionality preceded emergence of bona fide FDC, which was in turn crucial for the development of GC formation and efficient affinity maturation in mammals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harold R Neely
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA.,Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jacqueline Guo
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Emily M Flowers
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | | | - Martin F Flajnik
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD, USA
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