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Gomes FR, Hipólito D, Aliácar SC, Fonseca C, Torres RT, de Carvalho LM, Figueiredo AM. Endoparasites of the Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus) and mesocarnivores in Central Portugal. Parasitol Res 2023; 122:435-440. [PMID: 36434319 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-022-07738-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
At the end of the nineteenth century, massive population declines were observed in carnivores due to the emergence of infectious diseases. This study aims to investigate, by means of coprological analysis, the prevalence and intensity of the parasites that infect the endangered Iberian wolf Canis lupus signatus and two mesocarnivores (the red fox Vulpes vulpes and the stone marten Martes foina) in Central Portugal. In total, 67.2% of the samples screened were infected; Toxascaris leonina (40.6%) was the parasite with the highest prevalence, followed by Ancylostomatidae and Eimeria spp. (28.1%). Eimeria spp. was found in stone marten with the highest infection rate (37,800 OPG), followed by T. leonina (10,100 EPG) in a red fox sample. Moderate to high levels of parasitic infections were identified in 73.3% of red foxes from the western area. Our results highlight the possibility of cross-infection among these carnivore species and cross-contamination in the wildlife-livestock-human interface.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fábio Ribeiro Gomes
- Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Dário Hipólito
- Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, Heinzelova 55, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Sara Casado Aliácar
- Rewilding Portugal, Quinta da Maunça SN, 6300-035, Arrifana, Guarda, Portugal
| | - Carlos Fonseca
- Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
- ForestWISE - Collaborative Laboratory for Integrated Forest & Fire Management, Quinta de Prados, 5001-801, Vila Real, Portugal
| | - Rita Tinoco Torres
- Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Luís Madeira de Carvalho
- Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, CIISA - Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health, University of Lisbon, Avenida da Universidade Técnica, 1300-477, Lisbon, Portugal
- Associate Laboratory for Animal and Veterinary Sciences (AL4AnimalS), Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Ana Manuel Figueiredo
- Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Bioscience, University of Oslo, P.O Box 1066 Blindern, NO-316, Oslo, Norway.
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Ferreira LF, Garcia Neto PG, Titon SCM, Titon B, Muxel SM, Gomes FR, Assis VR. Lipopolysaccharide Regulates Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines, Corticosterone, and Melatonin in Toads. Integr Org Biol 2021; 3:obab025. [PMID: 34589667 PMCID: PMC8475549 DOI: 10.1093/iob/obab025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 07/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/26/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Glucocorticoids and melatonin (MEL) show integrated and complex immunomodulatory effects, mostly described for endotherms, yet underexplored in amphibians. In this context, the RT-qPCR of molecules mediating inflammatory processes in amphibians is a valuable tool to explore the relationships among molecular biology, endocrine mediators, and immune response in these animals. In this study, toads (Rhinella diptycha) received an intraperitoneal saline injection or lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 2 mg/kg). Six hours post-injection, we analyzed plasma corticosterone (CORT) and MEL levels and pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules (IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, and C1s). We found increased CORT and decreased MEL levels in response to LPS. Also, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10 were upregulated in LPS-injected toads compared with saline-injected toads. Overall, our results demonstrate an LPS-induced inflammatory response with endocrine and immune modulation in R. diptycha toads, exhibiting expected patterns for an inflammatory stimulus within this time frame (6 h post-injection). Toads were responsive to LPS by secreting different cytokines, such as proinflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6, related to immune cell attraction to inflammatory sites and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, which limits the rate of leukocyte infiltration, inflammation, and downregulates the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Increased circulating CORT levels are probably associated with the activation of the hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal axis by the LPS and the endocrine actions of IL-6. Furthermore, decreased circulating MEL levels are likely due to inhibited MEL secretion by the pineal gland by inflammatory stimuli, indicating the activation/existence of the immune-pineal axis in amphibians.
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Affiliation(s)
- L F Ferreira
- Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras do Centro Universitário Fundação Santo André, Avenida Príncipe de Gales, 821, Santo André, SP 09060-650, Brasil
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 101, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brasil
| | - P G Garcia Neto
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 101, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brasil
| | - S C M Titon
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 101, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brasil
| | - B Titon
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 101, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brasil
| | - S M Muxel
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 101, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brasil
| | - F R Gomes
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 101, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brasil
| | - V R Assis
- Departamento de Fisiologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, 101, São Paulo, SP 05508-090, Brasil
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Citadini JM, Brandt R, Williams CR, Gomes FR. Evolution of morphology and locomotor performance in anurans: relationships with microhabitat diversification. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:371-381. [PMID: 29297953 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2017] [Revised: 11/18/2017] [Accepted: 12/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The relationships between morphology, performance, behavior and ecology provide evidence for multiple and complex phenotypic adaptations. The anuran body plan, for example, is evolutionarily conserved and shows clear specializations to jumping performance back at least to the early Jurassic. However, there are instances of more recent adaptation to habit diversity in the post-cranial skeleton, including relative limb length. The present study tested adaptive models of morphological evolution in anurans associated with the diversity of microhabitat use (semi-aquatic arboreal, fossorial, torrent, and terrestrial) in species of anuran amphibians from Brazil and Australia. We use phylogenetic comparative methods to determine which evolutionary models, including Brownian motion (BM) and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) are consistent with morphological variation observed across anuran species. Furthermore, this study investigated the relationship of maximum distance jumped as a function of components of morphological variables and microhabitat use. We found there are multiple optima of limb lengths associated to different microhabitats with a trend of increasing hindlimbs in torrent, arboreal, semi-aquatic whereas fossorial and terrestrial species evolve toward optima with shorter hindlimbs. Moreover, arboreal, semi-aquatic and torrent anurans have higher jumping performance and longer hindlimbs, when compared to terrestrial and fossorial species. We corroborate the hypothesis that evolutionary modifications of overall limb morphology have been important in the diversification of locomotor performance along the anuran phylogeny. Such evolutionary changes converged in different phylogenetic groups adapted to similar microhabitat use in two different zoogeographical regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Citadini
- Department of Physiology, Bioscience Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - R Brandt
- Department of Biology, FFCLRP/USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - C R Williams
- Sansom Institute for Health Research, School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - F R Gomes
- Department of Physiology, Bioscience Institute, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
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Gomes FR. [Tumor markers (advances and limits)]. ACTA MEDICA PORT 1997; 10:75-80. [PMID: 9245182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The author reviews and discusses the clinical utility of the major tumor markers. In spite of advances in the analytical systems, until recently there were no tumor markers that detect early stage cancer or that were absolutely specific or diagnostic for malignancy. Most of them are normal glycoproteins (that accompany the genetic deregulation of carcinogenesis) which are released into the blood and depend on liver function for their catabolism. Therefore such assays are of no use for screening healthy populations and a normal value does not exclude cancer. Their use may be of great help to the clinician in a number of ways: (1) primary staging of patients known to have cancer; (2) screening of high-risk individuals for the presence of some malignancies; (3) monitoring of the effectiveness of therapy; (4) patient's follow-up for early detection of relapses or metastases; (5) prognostic indexes; and (6) immunodetection of metastatic sites. Whatever the applications, a good clinical judgement is crucial for the use of these assays, with a critical look at the extent to which they contribute to a favorable outcome. At present, we think that their use in check-up studies should be avoided.
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Affiliation(s)
- F R Gomes
- Serviço de Medicina, Hospital de S. Francisco Xavier, Lisboa
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