The activity of the islet B cells as indicated by the nuclear and nucleolar size in the American obese-hyperglycemic mice

Cardiac biomarkers as sensitive tools to evaluate the impact of xenobiotics on amphibians: the effects of anionic surfactant linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS)

Amphibian populations have been experiencing a drastic decline worldwide. Aquatic contaminants are among the main factors responsible for this decline, especially in the aquatic environment. The linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS) is of particular concern, since it represents 84% of the anionic surfactants' trade. In Brazil, the maximal LAS concentration allowed in fresh waters is 0.5mgL^-1, but its potential harmful effects in amphibians remain unknown. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the effects of a sublethal concentration of LAS (0.5mgL^-1) for 96h on sensitive cardiac biomarkers of bullfrog tadpoles, Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802). For this, we measured the activity level (AL - % of animals), in situ heart rate (f_H - bpm), relative ventricular mass (RVM - % of body mass), in vitro myocardial contractility and cardiac histology of the ventricles. Tadpoles' AL and f_H decreased in LAS group. In contrast, the RVM increased, as a result of a hypertrophy of the myocardium, which was corroborated by the enlargement of the nuclear measures and the increase of myocytes' diameters. These cellular effects resulted in an elevation of the in vitro contractile force of ventricle strips. Acceleration in the contraction (TPT - ms) also occurred, although no alterations in the time to relaxation (THR -ms) were observed. Therefore, it can be concluded that even when exposed to an environmentally safe concentration, this surfactant promotes several alterations in the cardiac function of bullfrog tadpoles that can impair their development, making them more susceptible to predators and less competitive in terms of reproduction success. Thus, LAS concentrations that are considered safe by Brazilian by regulatory agencies must be revised in order to minimize a drastic impact over amphibian populations. This study demonstrates the relevance of employing cardiac biomarkers at different levels (e.g., morphological, physiological and cellular) to evaluate effects of xenobiotics in tadpoles.

Changes in pancreatic islets in aging Wistar and Zucker rats: a histochemical and ultrastructural morphometric study

Morphometrical and cytochemical techniques have been applied to characterize the islets of Langerhans tissue in lean and obese Zucker fa/fa and Wistar rats. The changes in cytologic composition correlated with levels of serum glucose and lipids in obese rats and progressed significantly with increasing body weight. Histochemical and enzyme abnormalities observed in Zucker fa/fa and Wistar rats reflect the degenerative and reactive processes in the pancreas: a decrease in Krebs cycle and pentose pathway and increased lysosomal acid phosphatase reflect the degeneration of the islets. Changes consisted of pronounced insulin cell hyperplasia and disruption of islet architecture. The raised functional activity in the islet B-cells of the Zucker fa/fa and Wistar rats was reflected in enlargement and fragmentation of the Golgi apparatus. An increased proportion of light granules is associated with increased insulin secretion, which reinforces the idea that light granules are responsible for immediate insulin secretion, whereas the dark granules represent the insulin stored in the cell for a longer period The islets of Langerhans of the Zucker fa/fa and Wistar rats show marked differences in morphological, histochemical and morphometrical characteristics when compared with littermates. There is a marked difference in insulin secretion between the obese Zucker fa/fa and Wistar rats and its non-obese littermate. These differences may be related to the development with obesity of aging and genetically-conditioned animals.

Laboratory animals exhibiting obesity and diabetes syndromes

Spontaneous hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia and obesity are common features for at least one period of the lifetime in some strains of mice. Both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the pathogenesis of the diabetes-like syndrome, making these strains excellent models for studies in both obesity and diabetes-like states. The metabolic peculiarities can be due to a dominant gene, as for the yellow obese, or a single recessive gene, as in the obese and the diabetes mouse; or they can be of polygenic origin, as for the KK and the NZO mouse. However, the severity of the metabolic disorder is due to the interaction of the mutant genes iwth modifiers in the bat genes themselves. Studies on the pathophysiology and biochemistry of these animals have revealed interstrain differences, different patterns of development of the metabolic disorder, and different degrees of severity of the diabetes-like syndrome. Although the primary causes of the syndrome remain unclear in some strains, an involvement of hypothalamic feeding centers has been implicated.

Gastrointestinal apudosis in obese hyperglycaemic mice

Quantitative histological and immunocytochemical studies have been carried out on the endocrine cells of the gastrointestinal tract in genetically obese mice and their heterozygous (lean) litter mates. In the ob/ob mice hyperplasia of most of the endocrine (APUD) cells of the gut was found, a condition which can be described as apudosis. Quantitative histology of silver-stained preparations, using a method which demonstrates the majority of endocrine cells, showed a significant degree of hyperplasia in all regions of the gastrointestinal tract, with statistically significant differences in the upper intestine (p = less than 0.001). Quantitative immunocytochemical studies by image analysis showed a difference in both number and hormone content of Gastric Inhibitory Peptide (GIP) (p = less than 0.001) and Enteroglucagon (EG) cells in obese as compared to lean mice. Differences in the case of Secretin (S), Gastrin (G) and Vasoactive Intestinal Peptide (VIP) cells were not great but in the obese mice both S and G cells were present in larger numbers in the lower intestine whereas in the lean, and in normal mice, they are predominant in the upper intestine. Whether these complex gut endocrine changes are primary, or secondary to the metabolic abnormalities seen in the ob/ob mouse, cannot presently be determined.