Using physiology to better support wild bee conservation

There is accumulating evidence that wild bees are experiencing a decline in terms of species diversity, abundance or distribution, which leads to major concerns about the sustainability of both pollination services and intrinsic biodiversity. There is therefore an urgent need to better understand the drivers of their decline, as well as design conservation strategies. In this context, the current approach consists of linking observed occurrence and distribution data of species to environmental features. While useful, a highly complementary approach would be the use of new biological metrics that can link individual bee responses to environmental alteration with population-level responses, which could communicate the actual bee sensitivity to environmental changes and act as early warning signals of bee population decline or sustainability. We discuss here through several examples how the measurement of bee physiological traits or performance can play this role not only in better assessing the impact of anthropogenic pressures on bees, but also in guiding conservation practices with the help of the documentation of species' physiological needs. Last but not least, because physiological changes generally occur well in advance of demographic changes, we argue that physiological traits can help in predicting and anticipating future population trends, which would represent a more proactive approach to conservation. In conclusion, we believe that future efforts to combine physiological, ecological and population-level knowledge will provide meaningful contributions to wild bee conservation-based research.

Toxicity of the Pesticides Imidacloprid, Difenoconazole and Glyphosate Alone and in Binary and Ternary Mixtures to Winter Honey Bees: Effects on Survival and Antioxidative Defenses

To explain losses of bees that could occur after the winter season, we studied the effects of the insecticide imidacloprid, the herbicide glyphosate and the fungicide difenoconazole, alone and in binary and ternary mixtures, on winter honey bees orally exposed to food containing these pesticides at concentrations of 0, 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 µg/L. Attention was focused on bee survival, food consumption and oxidative stress. The effects on oxidative stress were assessed by determining the activity of enzymes involved in antioxidant defenses (superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase) in the head, abdomen and midgut; oxidative damage reflected by both lipid peroxidation and protein carbonylation was also evaluated. In general, no significant effect on food consumption was observed. Pesticide mixtures were more toxic than individual substances, and the highest mortalities were induced at intermediate doses of 0.1 and 1 µg/L. The toxicity was not always linked to the exposure level and the number of substances in the mixtures. Mixtures did not systematically induce synergistic effects, as antagonism, subadditivity and additivity were also observed. The tested pesticides, alone and in mixtures, triggered important, systemic oxidative stress that could largely explain pesticide toxicity to honey bees.

Warmer winters are associated with lower levels of the cryoprotectant glycerol, a slower decrease in vitellogenin expression and reduced virus infections in winter honeybees

Within the context of climate change, winter temperatures at high latitudes are predicted to rise faster than summer temperatures. This phenomenon is expected to negatively affect the diapause performance and survival of insects, since they largely rely on low temperatures to lower their metabolism and preserve energy. However, some insects like honeybees, remain relatively active during the winter and elevate their metabolic rate to produce endothermic heat when temperatures drop. Warming winters are thus expected to improve overwintering performance of honeybees. In order to verify this hypothesis, for two consecutive years, we exposed honeybee colonies to either a mild or cold winter. We then monitored the influence of wintering conditions on several parameters of honeybee overwintering physiology, such as levels of the cryoprotectant glycerol, expression levels of immune and antioxidant genes, and genes encoding multifunctional proteins, including vitellogenin, which promotes bee longevity. Winter conditions had no effect on the expression of antioxidant genes, and genes related to immunity were not consistently affected. However, mild winters were consistently associated with a lower investment in glycerol synthesis and a higher expression of fat body genes, especially apidaecin and vitellogenin. Finally, while we found that viral loads generally decreased through the winter, this trend was more pronounced under mild winter conditions. In conclusion, and without considering how warming temperatures might affect other aspects of honeybee biology before overwintering, our data suggest that warming temperatures will likely benefit honeybee vitality by notably reducing their viral loads over the winter.

Pesticide risk assessment in honeybees: Toward the use of behavioral and reproductive performances as assessment endpoints

The growing gap between new evidence of pesticide toxicity in honeybees and conventional toxicological assays recommended by regulatory test guidelines emphasizes the need to complement current lethal endpoints with sublethal endpoints. In this context, behavioral and reproductive performances have received growing interest since the 2000s, likely due to their ecological relevance and/or the emergence of new technologies. We review the biological interests and methodological measurements of these predominantly studied endpoints and discuss their possible use in the pesticide risk assessment procedure based on their standardization level, simplicity and ecological relevance. It appears that homing flights and reproduction have great potential for pesticide risk assessment, mainly due to their ecological relevance. If exploratory research studies in ecotoxicology have paved the way toward a better understanding of pesticide toxicity in honeybees, the next objective will then be to translate the most relevant behavioral and reproductive endpoints into regulatory test methods. This will require more comparative studies and improving their ecological relevance. This latter goal may be facilitated by the use of population dynamics models for scaling up the consequences of adverse behavioral and reproductive effects from individuals to colonies.

Toxicological status changes the susceptibility of the honey bee Apis mellifera to a single fungicidal spray application

During all their life stages, bees are exposed to residual concentrations of pesticides, such as insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides, stored in beehive matrices. Fungicides are authorized for use during crop blooms because of their low acute toxicity to honey bees. Thus, a bee that might have been previously exposed to pesticides through contaminated food may be subjected to fungicide spraying when it initiates its first flight outside the hive. In this study, we assessed the effects of acute exposure to the fungicide in bees with different toxicological statuses. Three days after emergence, bees were subjected to chronic exposure to the insecticide imidacloprid and the herbicide glyphosate, either individually or in a binary mixture, at environmental concentrations of 0.01 and 0.1 μg/L in food (0.0083 and 0.083 μg/kg) for 30 days. Seven days after the beginning of chronic exposure to the pesticides (10 days after emergence), the bees were subjected to spraying with the fungicide difenoconazole at the registered field dosage. The results showed a delayed significant decrease in survival when honey bees were treated with the fungicide. Fungicide toxicity increased when honey bees were chronically exposed to glyphosate at the lowest concentration, decreased when they were exposed to imidacloprid, and did not significantly change when they were exposed to the binary mixture regardless of the concentration. Bees exposed to all of these pesticide combinations showed physiological disruptions, revealed by the modulation of several life history traits related mainly to metabolism, even when no effect of the other pesticides on fungicide toxicity was observed. These results show that the toxicity of active substances may be misestimated in the pesticide registration procedure, especially for fungicides.

Physiological effects of the interaction between Nosema ceranae and sequential and overlapping exposure to glyphosate and difenoconazole in the honey bee Apis mellifera

Pathogens and pollutants, such as pesticides, are potential stressors to all living organisms, including honey bees. Herbicides and fungicides are among the most prevalent pesticides in beehive matrices, and their interaction with Nosema ceranae is not well understood. In this study, the interactions between N. ceranae, the herbicide glyphosate and the fungicide difenoconazole were studied under combined sequential and overlapping exposure to the pesticides at a concentration of 0.1 µg/L in food. In the sequential exposure experiment, newly emerged bees were exposed to the herbicide from day 3 to day 13 after emerging and to the fungicide from day 13 to day 23. In the overlapping exposure experiment, bees were exposed to the herbicide from day 3 to day 13 and to the fungicide from day 7 to day 17. Infection by Nosema in early adult life stages (a few hours post emergence) greatly affected the survival of honey bees and elicited much higher mortality than was induced by pesticides either alone or in combination. Overlapping exposure to both pesticides induced higher mortality than was caused by sequential or individual exposure. Overlapping, but not sequential, exposure to pesticides synergistically increased the adverse effect of N. ceranae on honey bee longevity. The combination of Nosema and pesticides had a strong impact on physiological markers of the nervous system, detoxification, antioxidant defenses and social immunity of honey bees.

Mixtures of an insecticide, a fungicide and a herbicide induce high toxicities and systemic physiological disturbances in winter Apis mellifera honey bees

Multiple pesticides originating from plant protection treatments and the treatment of pests infecting honey bees are frequently detected in beehive matrices. Therefore, winter honey bees, which have a long life span, could be exposed to these pesticides for longer periods than summer honey bees. In this study, winter honey bees were exposed through food to the insecticide imidacloprid, the fungicide difenoconazole and the herbicide glyphosate, alone or in binary and ternary mixtures, at environmental concentrations (0 (controls), 0.1, 1 and 10 μg/L) for 20 days. The survival of the honey bees was significantly reduced after exposure to these 3 pesticides individually and in combination. Overall, the combinations had a higher impact than the pesticides alone with a maximum mortality of 52.9% after 20 days of exposure to the insecticide-fungicide binary mixture at 1 μg/L. The analyses of the surviving bees showed that these different pesticide combinations had a systemic global impact on the physiological state of the honey bees, as revealed by the modulation of head, midgut and abdomen glutathione-S-transferase, head acetylcholinesterase, abdomen glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and midgut alkaline phosphatase, which are involved in the detoxification of xenobiotics, the nervous system, defenses against oxidative stress, metabolism and immunity, respectively. These results demonstrate the importance of studying the effects of chemical cocktails based on low realistic exposure levels and developing long-term tests to reveal possible lethal and adverse sublethal interactions in honey bees and other insect pollinators.

Exposure to pollen-bound pesticide mixtures induces longer-lived but less efficient honey bees

Due to the widespread use of pesticides and their persistence in the environment, non-target organisms are chronically exposed to mixtures of toxic residues. Fungicides, herbicides and insecticides are all found at low doses in the diet of pollinators such as honey bees, but due to the lack of data on the toxicological effects of these mixtures, determining their risk is difficult to assess. We therefore developed a study combining the identification of common pollen-bound pesticide mixtures associated with poor colony development and tested their effects on bee behavior and physiology. We exposed bees to the identified pesticide mixtures during the first days of their adult life, a crucial period for physiological development. Using optic bee counters we recorded the behavior of bees throughout their lives and identified two pesticide mixtures that delay the onset of foraging and slow-down foraging activity. Furthermore, one of these mixtures hampers pollen foraging. As bee longevity is strongly influenced by the time spent foraging, bees exposed to these pesticide mixtures outlived control bees. Physiological analysis revealed that perturbations of the energetic metabolism preceded the altered behavior. In conclusion, we found that early-life exposure to low doses of pesticide mixtures can have long-term effects that translate into longer-lived but slower and less efficient bees. These surprising findings contrast with the commonly reported increase in bee mortality upon pesticide exposure, and demonstrate that exposure that may seem harmless (e.g., very low doses, pesticides not intended to kill insects) can have undesirable effects on non-target organisms.

Efficiency of an air curtain as an anti-insect barrier: the honey bee as a model insect

BACKGROUND

Vector-borne diseases are of high concern for human, animal and plant health. In humans, such diseases are often transmitted by flying insects. Flying insects stop their flight when their kinetic energy cannot compensate for the wind speed. Here, the efficiency of an air curtain in preventing insects from entering a building was studied using the honey bee as a model.

RESULTS

Bees were trained to visit a food source placed in a building. The air curtain was tested with strongly motivated bees, when the visiting activity was very high. Airflow velocity was modulated by setting an air curtain device at different voltages. At the nominal voltage, the anti-insect efficiency was 99.9 ± 0.2% compared with both the number of bees at a given time in the absence of the air curtain and the number of bees before the activation of the air curtain. The efficiency decreased as the airflow velocity decreased.

CONCLUSION

The results show that an air curtain operating at an airflow velocity of 7.5 m s^-1 may prevent a strong flyer with high kinetic energy, such as the honey bee, from entering a building. Thus, air curtains offer an alternative approach for combating vector-borne diseases. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Exposure of larvae to thiamethoxam affects the survival and physiology of the honey bee at post-embryonic stages

Under laboratory conditions, the effects of thiamethoxam were investigated in larvae, pupae and emerging honey bees after exposure at larval stages with different concentrations in the food (0.00001 ng/μL, 0.001 ng/μL and 1.44 ng/μL). Thiamethoxam reduced the survival of larvae and pupae and consequently decreased the percentage of emerging honey bees. Thiamethoxam induced important physiological disturbances. It increased acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity at all developmental stages and increased glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and carboxylesterase para (CaEp) activities at the pupal stages. For midgut alkaline phosphatase (ALP), no activity was detected in pupae stages, and no effect was observed in larvae and emerging bees. We assume that the effects of thiamethoxam on the survival, emergence and physiology of honey bees may affect the development of the colony. These results showed that attention should be paid to the exposure to pesticides during the developmental stages of the honey bee. This study represents the first investigation of the effects of thiamethoxam on the development of A. mellifera following larval exposure.

Assessment of the toxic effect of pesticides on honey bee drone fertility using laboratory and semifield approaches: A case study of fipronil

Concern about the reproductive toxicity of plant protection products in honey bee reproducers is increasing. Because the reproductive capacity of honey bees is not currently considered during the risk assessment procedure performed during plant protection product registration, it is important to provide methods to assess such potential impairments. To achieve this aim, we used 2 different approaches that involved semifield and laboratory conditions to study the impact of fipronil on drone fertility. For each approach, the drones were reared for 20 d, from emergence to sexual maturity, and exposed to fipronil via a contaminated sugar solution. In both groups, the effects of fipronil were determined by studying life traits and fertility indicators. The results showed that the survival and maturity rates of the drones were better under laboratory conditions than under semifield conditions. Moreover, the drones reared under laboratory conditions produced more seminal fluid. Although these differences could be explained by environmental factors that may vary under semifield conditions, it was found that regardless of the approach used, fipronil did not affect survival rates, maturity rates, or semen volumes, whereas it did affect fertility by inducing a decrease in spermatozoa quantity that was associated with an increase in spermatozoa mortality. These results confirm that fipronil affects drone fertility and support the relevance of each approach for assessing the potential reproductive toxicity of plant protection products in honey bees. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:2345-2351. © 2017 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of SETAC.

Nosema ceranae, Fipronil and their combination compromise honey bee reproduction via changes in male physiology

The honey bee is threatened by biological agents and pesticides that can act in combination to induce synergistic effects on its physiology and lifespan. The synergistic effects of a parasite/pesticide combination have been demonstrated on workers and queens, but no studies have been performed on drones despite their essential contribution to colony sustainability by providing semen diversity and quality. The effects of the Nosema ceranae/fipronil combination on the life traits and physiology of mature drones were examined following exposure under semi-field conditions. The results showed that the microsporidia alone induced moderate and localized effects in the midgut, whereas fipronil alone induced moderate and generalized effects. The parasite/insecticide combination drastically affected both physiology and survival, exhibiting an important and significant generalized action that could jeopardize mating success. In terms of fertility, semen was strongly impacted regardless of stressor, suggesting that drone reproductive functions are very sensitive to stress factors. These findings suggest that drone health and fertility impairment might contribute to poorly mated queens, leading to the storage of poor quality semen and poor spermathecae diversity. Thus, the queens failures observed in recent years might result from the continuous exposure of drones to multiple environmental stressors.

Combined neonicotinoid pesticide and parasite stress alter honeybee queens' physiology and survival

Honeybee colony survival strongly relies on the queen to overcome worker losses exposed to combined stressors like pesticides and parasites. Queen's capacity to withstand these stressors is however very little known. The effects of the common neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid in a chronic and sublethal exposure together with the wide distributed parasite Nosema ceranae have therefore been investigated on queen's physiology and survivorship in laboratory and field conditions. Early physiological changes were observed on queens, particularly the increase of enzyme activities (catalase [CAT] and glutathione-S-transferase [GST] in the heads) related to protective responses to xenobiotics and oxidative stress against pesticide and parasite alone or combined. Stressors also alter the activity of two other enzymes (carboxylesterase alpha [CaE α] and carboxylesterase para [CaE p] in the midguts) involved in metabolic and detoxification functions. Furthermore, single and combined effects of pesticide and parasite decrease survivorship of queens introduced into mating hives for three months. Because colony demographic regulation relies on queen's fertility, the compromise of its physiology and life can seriously menace colony survival under pressure of combined stressors.

Chronic toxicity and physiological changes induced in the honey bee by the exposure to fipronil and Bacillus thuringiensis spores alone or combined

In the agricultural environment, honey bees may be exposed to combinations of pesticides. Until now, the effects of these combinations on honey bee health have been poorly investigated. In this study, we assessed the impacts of biological and chemical insecticides, combining low dietary concentrations of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) spores (100 and 1000µg/L) with the chemical insecticide fipronil (1µg/L). In order to assess the possible effects of Cry toxins, the Bt kurstaki strain (Btk) was compared with a Bt strain devoid of toxin-encoding plasmids (Bt Cry(-)). The oral exposure to fipronil and Bt spores from both strains for 10 days did not elicit significant effects on the feeding behavior and survival after 25 days. Local and systemic physiological effects were investigated by measuring the activities of enzymes involved in the intermediary and detoxication metabolisms at two sampling dates (day 10 and day 20). Attention was focused on head and midgut glutathione-S-transferase (GST), midgut alkaline phosphatase (ALP), abdomen glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPD) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). We found that Bt Cry(-) and Btk spores induced physiological modifications by differentially modulating enzyme activities. Fipronil influenced the enzyme activities differently at days 10 and 20 and, when combined with Bt spores, elicited modulations of some spore-induced physiological responses. These results show that an apparent absence of toxicity may hide physiological disruptions that could be potentially damaging for the bees, especially in the case of combined exposures to other environmental stressors.

Proteomics identifies Bacillus cereus EntD as a pivotal protein for the production of numerous virulence factors

Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive pathogen that causes a wide variety of diseases in humans. It secretes into the extracellular milieu proteins that may contribute directly or indirectly to its virulence. EntD is a novel exoprotein identified by proteogenomics of B. cereus ATCC 14579. We constructed a ΔentD mutant and analyzed the impact of entD disruption on the cellular proteome and exoproteome isolated from early, late, and stationary-phase cultures. We identified 308 and 79 proteins regulated by EntD in the cellular proteome and the exoproteome, respectively. The contribution of these proteins to important virulence-associated functions, including central metabolism, cell structure, antioxidative ability, cell motility, and toxin production, are presented. The proteomic data were correlated with the growth defect, cell morphology change, reduced motility, and reduced cytotoxicity of the ΔentD mutant strain. We conclude that EntD is an important player in B. cereus virulence. The function of EntD and the putative EntD-dependent regulatory network are discussed. To our knowledge, this study is the first characterization of an Ent family protein in a species of the B. cereus group.

Wings as a new route of exposure to pesticides in the honey bee

In pesticide risk assessment, estimating the routes and levels of exposure is critical. For honey bees subjected to pesticide spray, toxicity is assessed by thorax contact to account for all possible contact exposures. In the present study, the authors tested 6 active substances with different hydrophobicity. For the first time, the authors demonstrated that it is possible to induce mortality by pesticide contact with only the wings of the honey bee. The toxicities induced by contact with the wings and thorax were similar, with the wing median lethal dose (LD50) being 0.99 to 2.23 times higher than that of the thorax. This finding demonstrates that the wings represent a relevant route of exposure in the honey bee. In a second approach, the authors estimated the air volume displaced by the wings during 1 beating cycle to be 0.51 ± 0.03 cm(3), which corresponds to a volume of 116.8 ± 5.8 cm(3)  s(-1) at a wing beat frequency of 230 Hz. The authors then tested realistic scenarios of exposure for bees flying through a pesticide cloud at different concentrations. In the worst-case scenario, the dose accumulated during the flight reached 525 ng bee(-1)  s(-1). These results show that the procedure used to assess the risk posed by contact with pesticides could be improved by accounting for wing exposure.

A pragmatic approach to assess the exposure of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) when subjected to pesticide spray

Plant protection spray treatments may expose non-target organisms to pesticides. In the pesticide registration procedure, the honey bee represents one of the non-target model species for which the risk posed by pesticides must be assessed on the basis of the hazard quotient (HQ). The HQ is defined as the ratio between environmental exposure and toxicity. For the honey bee, the HQ calculation is not consistent because it corresponds to the ratio between the pesticide field rate (in mass of pesticide/ha) and LD50 (in mass of pesticide/bee). Thus, in contrast to all other species, the HQ can only be interpreted empirically because it corresponds to a number of bees/ha. This type of HQ calculation is due to the difficulty in transforming pesticide field rates into doses to which bees are exposed. In this study, we used a pragmatic approach to determine the apparent exposure surface area of honey bees submitted to pesticide treatments by spraying with a Potter-type tower. The doses received by the bees were quantified by very efficient chemical analyses, which enabled us to determine an apparent surface area of 1.05 cm(2)/bee. The apparent surface area was used to calculate the exposure levels of bees submitted to pesticide sprays and then to revisit the HQ ratios with a calculation mode similar to that used for all other living species. X-tomography was used to assess the physical surface area of a bee, which was 3.27 cm(2)/bee, and showed that the apparent exposure surface was not overestimated. The control experiments showed that the toxicity induced by doses calculated with the exposure surface area was similar to that induced by treatments according to the European testing procedure. This new approach to measure risk is more accurate and could become a tool to aid the decision-making process in the risk assessment of pesticides.

Honeybee biomarkers as promising tools to monitor environmental quality

The aim of this study was to distinguish the impacts of two different anthropogenic conditions using the honeybee Apis mellifera as a bioindicator associated with a battery of biomarkers previously validated in the laboratory. Both the urban (RAV, Ravine des Cabris) and semi-natural (CIL, Cilaos) sites in La Reunion Island were compared in order to assess the impacts of two types of local pollution using the discriminating potential of biomarkers. Hives were placed at the CIL and RAV sites and honeybees were collected from each hive every three months over one year. Honeybee responses were evaluated with respect to several biochemical biomarkers: glutathione-S-transferase (GST), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and metallothioneins (MT). The results showed a significant difference between the localities in terms of GST, AChE and ALP activities, as regarding midgut MT tissue levels. Compared to the CIL site, ALP and MT tissue levels were higher at the RAV site, although AChE activity was lower. GST displayed more contrasted effects. These results strongly suggest that the honeybees based in the more anthropized area were subjected to sublethal stress involving both oxidative stress and detoxification processes with the occurrence of neurotoxic pollutants, amongst which metals were good candidates. A classification tree enabled defining a decision procedure to distinguish the sampling locations and enabled excellent classification accuracy (89%) for the data set. This field study constitutes a strong support in favour of the in situ assessment of environmental quality using honeybee biomarkers and validates the possibility of performing further ecotoxicological studies using honeybee biomarkers.

Enzymatic biomarkers as tools to assess environmental quality: a case study of exposure of the honeybee Apis mellifera to insecticides

The present study was intended to evaluate the responses of enzymes in the honeybee Apis mellifera after exposure to deltamethrin, fipronil, and spinosad and their use as biomarkers. After determination of the median lethal doses (LD50), honeybees were exposed at doses of 5.07 ng/bee and 2.53 ng/bee for deltamethrin, 0.58 ng/bee and 0.29 ng/bee for fipronil, and 4.71 ng/bee and 2.36 ng/bee for spinosad (equivalent to 1/10th [LD50/10] and 1/20th [LD50/20] of the LD50, respectively). The responses of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterases (CaEs-1-3), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), catalase (CAT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were assessed. The results showed that deltamethrin, fipronil, and spinosad modulated these biomarkers differentially. For the enzyme involved in the defense against oxidative stress, fipronil and spinosad induced CAT activity. For the remaining enzymes, 3 response profiles were identified. First, exposure to deltamethrin induced slight effects and modulated only CaE-1 and CaE-2, with opposite effects. Second, spinosad exhibited an induction profile for most of the biomarkers, except AChE. Third, fipronil did not modulate AChE, CaE-2, or GST, increased CAT and CaE-1, and decreased ALP. Thus, this set of honeybee biomarkers appears to be a promising tool to evaluate environmental and honeybee health, and it could generate fingerprints to characterize exposures to pesticides.

Influence of pollen nutrition on honey bee health: do pollen quality and diversity matter?

Honey bee colonies are highly dependent upon the availability of floral resources from which they get the nutrients (notably pollen) necessary to their development and survival. However, foraging areas are currently affected by the intensification of agriculture and landscape alteration. Bees are therefore confronted to disparities in time and space of floral resource abundance, type and diversity, which might provide inadequate nutrition and endanger colonies. The beneficial influence of pollen availability on bee health is well-established but whether quality and diversity of pollen diets can modify bee health remains largely unknown. We therefore tested the influence of pollen diet quality (different monofloral pollens) and diversity (polyfloral pollen diet) on the physiology of young nurse bees, which have a distinct nutritional physiology (e.g. hypopharyngeal gland development and vitellogenin level), and on the tolerance to the microsporidian parasite Nosemaceranae by measuring bee survival and the activity of different enzymes potentially involved in bee health and defense response (glutathione-S-transferase (detoxification), phenoloxidase (immunity) and alkaline phosphatase (metabolism)). We found that both nurse bee physiology and the tolerance to the parasite were affected by pollen quality. Pollen diet diversity had no effect on the nurse bee physiology and the survival of healthy bees. However, when parasitized, bees fed with the polyfloral blend lived longer than bees fed with monofloral pollens, excepted for the protein-richest monofloral pollen. Furthermore, the survival was positively correlated to alkaline phosphatase activity in healthy bees and to phenoloxydase activities in infected bees. Our results support the idea that both the quality and diversity (in a specific context) of pollen can shape bee physiology and might help to better understand the influence of agriculture and land-use intensification on bee nutrition and health.

Size changes in honey bee larvae oenocytes induced by exposure to Paraquat at very low concentrations

The effects of the herbicide Paraquat were investigated in honey bee larvae with attention focused on oenocytes. Honey bee larvae were exposed to Paraquat at different concentrations in the food: 0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 µg/kg. In controls, between 24 h and 48 h, oenocytes grew from 630.1 to 1643.8 µm(2) while nuclei changed in size from 124.9 to 245.6 µm(2). At 24 h, Paraquat induced a slight decrease in the size of oenocytes and nuclei. N-acetylcysteine (NAC), an antioxidant substance, slightly lowered the effects of Paraquat. At 48 h, Paraquat elicited a strong concentration-dependent decrease in the size of oenocytes, even at the lowest concentration. NAC reversed the effect of Paraquat at a concentration of ≥0.01 µg/kg. This reversion suggested different modes of action of Paraquat, with an oxidant action prevalent at concentrations ≥0.01 µg/kg. This study is the first which reports an effect of a pesticide at the very low concentration of 1 ng/kg, a concentration below the detection limits of the most efficient analytic methods. It shows that chemicals, including pesticides, are likely to have a potential impact at such exposure levels. We also suggest that Paraquat could be used as a suitable tool for investigating the functions of oenocytes.

Development of biomarkers of exposure to xenobiotics in the honey bee Apis mellifera: application to the systemic insecticide thiamethoxam

This study describes the development of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), carboxylesterases (CaE1, CaE2, CaE3), glutathion-S-transferase (GST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and catalase (CAT) as enzyme biomarkers of exposure to xenobiotics such as thiamethoxam in the honey bee Apis mellifera. Extraction efficiency, stability under freezing and biological variability were studied. The extraction procedure achieved good recovery rates in one extraction step and ranged from 65 percent (AChE) to 97.3 percent (GST). Most of the enzymes were stable at -20°C, except ALP that displayed a slight but progressive decrease in its activity. Modifications of enzyme activities were considered after exposure to thiamethoxam at the lethal dose 50 percent (LD(50), 51.16 ng bee(-1)) and two sublethal doses, LD(50)/10 (5.12 ng bee(-1)) and LD(50)/20 (2.56 ng bee(-1)). The biomarker responses revealed that, even at the lowest dose used, exposure to thiamethoxam elicited sublethal effects and modified the activity of CaEs, GST, CAT and ALP. Different patterns of biomarker responses were observed: no response for AChE, an increase for GST and CAT, and differential effects for CaEs isoforms with a decrease in CaE1 and CaE3 and an increase in CaE2. ALP and CaE3 displayed contrasting variations but only at 2.56 ng bee(-1). We consider that this profile of biomarker variation could represent a useful fingerprint to characterise exposure to thiamethoxam in the honey bee A. mellifera. This battery of honey bee biomarkers might be a promising option to biomonitor the health of aerial and terrestrial ecosystems and to generate valuable information on the modes of action of pesticides.

Gut pathology and responses to the microsporidium Nosema ceranae in the honey bee Apis mellifera

The microsporidium Nosema ceranae is a newly prevalent parasite of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera). Although this parasite is presently spreading across the world into its novel host, the mechanisms by it which affects the bees and how bees respond are not well understood. We therefore performed an extensive characterization of the parasite effects at the molecular level by using genetic and biochemical tools. The transcriptome modifications at the midgut level were characterized seven days post-infection with tiling microarrays. Then we tested the bee midgut response to infection by measuring activity of antioxidant and detoxification enzymes (superoxide dismutases, glutathione peroxidases, glutathione reductase, and glutathione-S-transferase). At the gene-expression level, the bee midgut responded to N. ceranae infection by an increase in oxidative stress concurrent with the generation of antioxidant enzymes, defense and protective response specifically observed in the gut of mammals and insects. However, at the enzymatic level, the protective response was not confirmed, with only glutathione-S-transferase exhibiting a higher activity in infected bees. The oxidative stress was associated with a higher transcription of sugar transporter in the gut. Finally, a dramatic effect of the microsporidia infection was the inhibition of genes involved in the homeostasis and renewal of intestinal tissues (Wnt signaling pathway), a phenomenon that was confirmed at the histological level. This tissue degeneration and prevention of gut epithelium renewal may explain early bee death. In conclusion, our integrated approach not only gives new insights into the pathological effects of N. ceranae and the bee gut response, but also demonstrate that the honey bee gut is an interesting model system for studying host defense responses.

Exposure to sublethal doses of fipronil and thiacloprid highly increases mortality of honeybees previously infected by Nosema ceranae

Background

The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is undergoing a worldwide decline whose origin is still in debate. Studies performed for twenty years suggest that this decline may involve both infectious diseases and exposure to pesticides. Joint action of pathogens and chemicals are known to threaten several organisms but the combined effects of these stressors were poorly investigated in honeybees. Our study was designed to explore the effect of Nosema ceranae infection on honeybee sensitivity to sublethal doses of the insecticides fipronil and thiacloprid.

Methodology/Finding

Five days after their emergence, honeybees were divided in 6 experimental groups: (i) uninfected controls, (ii) infected with N. ceranae, (iii) uninfected and exposed to fipronil, (iv) uninfected and exposed to thiacloprid, (v) infected with N. ceranae and exposed 10 days post-infection (p.i.) to fipronil, and (vi) infected with N. ceranae and exposed 10 days p.i. to thiacloprid. Honeybee mortality and insecticide consumption were analyzed daily and the intestinal spore content was evaluated 20 days after infection. A significant increase in honeybee mortality was observed when N. ceranae-infected honeybees were exposed to sublethal doses of insecticides. Surprisingly, exposures to fipronil and thiacloprid had opposite effects on microsporidian spore production. Analysis of the honeybee detoxification system 10 days p.i. showed that N. ceranae infection induced an increase in glutathione-S-transferase activity in midgut and fat body but not in 7-ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase activity.

Conclusions/Significance

After exposure to sublethal doses of fipronil or thiacloprid a higher mortality was observed in N. ceranae-infected honeybees than in uninfected ones. The synergistic effect of N. ceranae and insecticide on honeybee mortality, however, did not appear strongly linked to a decrease of the insect detoxification system. These data support the hypothesis that the combination of the increasing prevalence of N. ceranae with high pesticide content in beehives may contribute to colony depopulation.

Fipronil is a powerful uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation that triggers apoptosis in human neuronal cell line SHSY5Y

Fipronil is a phenylpyrazole insecticide known to elicit neurotoxicity via an interaction with ionotropic receptors, namely GABA and glutamate receptors. Recently, we showed that fipronil and other phenylpyrazole compounds trigger cell death in Caco-2 cells. In this study, we investigated the mode of action and the type of cell death induced by fipronil in SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells. Flow cytometric and western blot analyses demonstrated that fipronil induces cellular events belonging to the apoptosis process, such as mitochondrial potential collapse, cytochrome c release, caspase-3 activation, nuclear condensation and phosphatidylserine externalization. In addition, fipronil induces a rapid ATP depletion with concomitant activation of anaerobic glycolysis. This cellular response is characteristic of mitochondrial injury associated with a defect of the respiration process. Therefore, we also investigated the effect of fipronil on the oxygen consumption in isolated mitochondria. Interestingly, we show for the first time that fipronil is a strong uncoupler of oxidative phosphorylation at relative low concentrations. Thus in this study, we report a new mode of action by which the insecticide fipronil could triggers apoptosis.

Exposure to sublethal doses of fipronil and thiacloprid highly increases mortality of honeybees previously infected by Nosema ceranae

BACKGROUND

The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is undergoing a worldwide decline whose origin is still in debate. Studies performed for twenty years suggest that this decline may involve both infectious diseases and exposure to pesticides. Joint action of pathogens and chemicals are known to threaten several organisms but the combined effects of these stressors were poorly investigated in honeybees. Our study was designed to explore the effect of Nosema ceranae infection on honeybee sensitivity to sublethal doses of the insecticides fipronil and thiacloprid.

METHODOLOGY/FINDING

Five days after their emergence, honeybees were divided in 6 experimental groups: (i) uninfected controls, (ii) infected with N. ceranae, (iii) uninfected and exposed to fipronil, (iv) uninfected and exposed to thiacloprid, (v) infected with N. ceranae and exposed 10 days post-infection (p.i.) to fipronil, and (vi) infected with N. ceranae and exposed 10 days p.i. to thiacloprid. Honeybee mortality and insecticide consumption were analyzed daily and the intestinal spore content was evaluated 20 days after infection. A significant increase in honeybee mortality was observed when N. ceranae-infected honeybees were exposed to sublethal doses of insecticides. Surprisingly, exposures to fipronil and thiacloprid had opposite effects on microsporidian spore production. Analysis of the honeybee detoxification system 10 days p.i. showed that N. ceranae infection induced an increase in glutathione-S-transferase activity in midgut and fat body but not in 7-ethoxycoumarin-O-deethylase activity.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

After exposure to sublethal doses of fipronil or thiacloprid a higher mortality was observed in N. ceranae-infected honeybees than in uninfected ones. The synergistic effect of N. ceranae and insecticide on honeybee mortality, however, did not appear strongly linked to a decrease of the insect detoxification system. These data support the hypothesis that the combination of the increasing prevalence of N. ceranae with high pesticide content in beehives may contribute to colony depopulation.

Pathological effects of the microsporidium Nosema ceranae on honey bee queen physiology (Apis mellifera)

Nosema ceranae, a microsporidian parasite originally described in the Asian honey bee Apis cerana, has recently been found to be cross-infective and to also parasitize the European honey bee Apis mellifera. Since this discovery, many studies have attempted to characterize the impact of this parasite in A. mellifera honey bees. Nosema species can infect all colony members, workers, drones and queens, but the pathological effects of this microsporidium has been mainly investigated in workers, despite the prime importance of the queen, who monopolizes the reproduction and regulates the cohesion of the society via pheromones. We therefore analyzed the impact of N. ceranae on queen physiology. We found that infection by N. ceranae did not affect the fat body content (an indicator of energy stores) but did alter the vitellogenin titer (an indicator of fertility and longevity), the total antioxidant capacity and the queen mandibular pheromones, which surprisingly were all significantly increased in Nosema-infected queens. Thus, such physiological changes may impact queen health, leading to changes in pheromone production, that could explain Nosema-induced supersedure (queen replacement).

Interactions between Nosema microspores and a neonicotinoid weaken honeybees (Apis mellifera)

Global pollinators, like honeybees, are declining in abundance and diversity, which can adversely affect natural ecosystems and agriculture. Therefore, we tested the current hypotheses describing honeybee losses as a multifactorial syndrome, by investigating integrative effects of an infectious organism and an insecticide on honeybee health. We demonstrated that the interaction between the microsporidia Nosema and a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid) significantly weakened honeybees. In the short term, the combination of both agents caused the highest individual mortality rates and energetic stress. By quantifying the strength of immunity at both the individual and social levels, we showed that neither the haemocyte number nor the phenoloxidase activity of individuals was affected by the different treatments. However, the activity of glucose oxidase, enabling bees to sterilize colony and brood food, was significantly decreased only by the combination of both factors compared with control, Nosema or imidacloprid groups, suggesting a synergistic interaction and in the long term a higher susceptibility of the colony to pathogens. This provides the first evidences that interaction between an infectious organism and a chemical can also threaten pollinators, interactions that are widely used to eliminate insect pests in integrative pest management.

Phenylpyrazole insecticides induce cytotoxicity by altering mechanisms involved in cellular energy supply in the human epithelial cell model Caco-2

Phenylpyrazoles are relatively new insecticides designed to manage problematic insect resistance and public health hazards encountered with older pesticide families. In vitro cytotoxicity induced by the phenylpyrazole insecticides, Ethiprol and Fipronil, and Fipronil metabolites, sulfone and sulfide, was studied in Caco-2 cells. This cellular model was chosen because it made possible to mimic the primary site of oral exposure to xenobiotics, the intestinal epithelium. Assessment of the barrier function of Caco-2 epithelium was assessed by TEER measurement and showed a major loss of barrier integrity after exposure to Fipronil and its metabolites, but not to Ethiprol. The disruption of the epithelial barrier was attributed to severe ATP depletion independent of cell viability, as revealed by LDH release. The origin of energetic metabolism failure was investigated and revealed a transient enhancement of tetrazolium salt reduction and an increase in lactate production by Caco-2 cells, suggesting an increase in glucose metabolism by pesticides. Cellular symptoms observed in these experiments lead us to hypothesize that phenylpyrazole insecticides interacted with mitochondria.

Intestinal absorption of the acetamiprid neonicotinoid by Caco-2 cells: transepithelial transport, cellular uptake and efflux

The human intestinal absorption of acetamiprid (AAP) using the Caco-2 cell line reveals that AAP flux was active in a bidirectional mode with an apparent permeability coefficient of 26 x 10(-6) cm x s(-1) at 37 degrees C. Apical uptake was concentration-dependent and unsaturated for AAP concentrations up to 200 micro M. AAP cell preloading demonstrated the involvement of active transport mechanisms. Arrhenius plot analysis revealed an unusual profile with two apparent activation energies suggesting two transport processes. Uptake Vi studies indicated the involvement of a sodium-dependent transporter, the presence of a common transporter of AAP and nicotine and the involvement of Ti-sensitive ATP-dependent efflux transporters. Apical efflux investigations showed the involvement of inward active transporter(s). Whereas vincristine had no effect on intracellular accumulation, taxol and daunorubicin treatments unexpectedly led to 10% and 23% reductions respectively, suggesting that the latter shared a common inward transporter with AAP. All these results suggest full and express AAP absorption in vivo with transport involving both inward and outward, passive and active mechanisms. Thus, AAP or its metabolites could be representative of a risk for human health after its ingestion in food.

Existence of two membrane-bound acetylcholinesterases in the honey bee head

Two acetylcholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.7) membrane forms AChE(m1) and AChE(m2), have been characterised in the honey bee head. They can be differentiated by their ionic properties: AChE(m1) is eluted at 220 mM NaCl whereas AChE(m2) is eluted at 350 mM NaCl in anion exchange chromatography. They also present different thermal stabilities. Previous processing such as sedimentation, phase separation, and extraction procedures do not affect the presence of the two forms. Unlike AChE(m1), AChE(m2) presents reversible chromatographic elution properties, with a shift between 350 to 220 mM NaCl, depending on detergent conditions. Purification by affinity chromatography does not abolish the shift of the AChE(m2) elution. The similar chromatographic behaviour of soluble AChE strongly suggests that the occurrence of the two membrane forms is not due to the membrane anchor. The two forms have similar sensitivities to eserine and BW284C51. They exhibit similar electrophoretic mobilities and present molecular masses of 66 kDa in SDS-PAGE and a sensitivity to phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C in non-denaturing conditions, thus revealing the presence of a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol anchor. We assume that bee AChE occurs in two distinct conformational states whose AChE(m2) apparent state is reversibly modulated by the Triton X-100 detergent into AChE(m1).

In vivo metabolic fate of [14C]-acetamiprid in six biological compartments of the honeybee, Apis mellifera L

The in vivo metabolism of acetamiprid was studied in the honeybee, Apis mellifera L. The distribution of acetamiprid and its metabolites was monitored over a 72-h period in six biological compartments: head, thorax, abdomen, haemolymph, midgut and rectum. Honeybees were treated orally with 100 microg [14C]-acetamiprid kg(-1) bee, a dose which is about 1500 times lower than the median lethal dose. After 72 h, only 40% of the total radioactivity was eliminated, suggesting that acetamiprid and its metabolites tended to persist in the honeybee. Acetamiprid was rapidly distributed in all compartments and metabolized. Just after administration, radioactivity was mainly localized in the abdomen and subsequently in the rectum. After 72 h, the maximum amount of radioactivity (about 20% of the ingested dose) was detected again in the abdomen, whereas the lowest level of total radioactivity was detected in the haemolymph. Radioactivity in the head did not exceed 7.6% of total ingested radioactivity. More than 50% of acetamiprid was metabolised in less than 30 min, indicating a very short half-life for the compound. During the first hours, acetamiprid was mainly detected in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor-rich tissues: abdomen, thorax and head. Of the seven metabolites detected, the major ones were 6-choronicotinic acid and an unknown metabolite called U1, which was present mainly in the rectum, the thorax and the head. Our results indicate that the low toxicity of acetamiprid may reflect its rapid metabolism.

Human intestinal absorption of imidacloprid with Caco-2 cells as enterocyte model

In order to assess the risk to mammals of a chronic exposure to imidacloprid (IMI), we investigated its absorption with the human intestinal Caco-2 cell line. Measurements of transepithelial transport revealed an apparent permeability coefficient of 21.6 x 10(-6) +/- 3.2 x 10(-6) cm/s reflecting a 100% absorption. The comparison of apical to basal (A-B) and basal to apical (B-A) transports showed that the monolayer presents a basal to apical polarized transport. Studies of apical uptake demonstrated that the transport was concentration-dependent and not saturable from 5 to 200 microM. Arrhenius plot analysis revealed two apparent activation energies, Ea(4-12 degrees C) = 63.8 kJ/mol and Ea(12-37 degrees C) = 18.2 kJ/mol, suggesting two temperature-dependent processes. IMI uptake was equivalent when it was performed at pH 6.0 or 7.4. Depletion of Na+ from the transport buffer did not affect the uptake, indicating that a sodium-dependent transporter was not involved. Decrease of uptake with sodium-azide or after cell surface trypsin (Ti) treatment suggested the involvement of a trypsin-sensitive ATP-dependent transporter. Investigations on apical efflux demonstrated that initial velocities paralleled the increase of loading concentrations. A cell surface trypsin treatment did not affect the apical efflux. The lack of effect when the efflux was performed against an IMI concentration gradient suggested that an energy-dependent transporter was involved. However, the inhibition of P-glycoproteins (P-gp) and multidrug resistance-associated proteins (MRP) by taxol, vincristine, and daunorubicine had no effect on IMI intracellular accumulation suggesting the involvement of transporters distinct from classical ATP binding cassette transport (ABC-transport) systems. All results suggest that IMI is strongly absorbed in vivo by inward and outward active transporters.

[Role of pathological delayed-type hypersensitivity in chronic fatigue syndrome: importance of the evaluation of lymphocyte activation by flow cytometry and the measurement of urinary neopterin]

Chronic fatigue syndrome or benign myalgic encephalomyelitis has been extensively described and investigated. Although numerous immunological abnormalities have been linked with the syndrome, none have been found to be specific. This article describes the detection of delayed-type hypersensitive responses to certain common environmental antigens in almost fifty per cent of patients with this syndrome. Such hypersensitivity can be detected by the intradermal administration of antigens derived from commensal organisms like the yeast Candida albicans, and then monitoring for a systemic reaction over the following six to forty eight hours. This approach can be consolidated by performing lymphocyte activation tests in parallel and measuring in vitro T-cell activation by Candida albicans antigens by three-colour flow cytometry based on CD3, CD4 and either CD69 or CD25. Another useful parameter is the kinetics of neopterin excretion in the urine over the course of the skin test. The results showed that the intensity of the DTH response correlated with the number of T-cells activated in vitro. Various factors have been implicated in the fatigue of many patients, notably lack of sleep. However, it remains difficult to establish causality in either one direction or the other. This work is in the spirit of a multifactorial approach to the group of conditions referred to as "chronic fatigue syndrome".

Delayed-type hypersensitivity and chronic fatigue syndrome: the usefulness of assessing T-cell activation by flow cytometry--preliminary study

Chronic fatigue syndrome or benign myalgic encephalomyelitis has been extensively described and investigated. Although numerous immunological abnormalities have been linked with the syndrome, none have been found to be specific. This article describes the detection of delayed-type hypersensitive responses to certain common environmental antigens in almost fifty per cent of patients with this syndrome. Such hypersensitivity can be detected by the intradermal administration of antigens derived from commensal organisms like the yeast Candida albicans albicans, and then monitoring for a systemic reaction over the following six to forty-eight hours. This approach can be consolidated by performing lymphocyte activation tests in parallel and measuring in vitro T-cell activation by Candida albicans albicans antigens by three-colour flow cytometry based on CD3, CD4 and either CD69 or CD25. Another useful parameter is the kinetics of neopterin excretion in the urine over the course of the skin test. The results showed that the intensity of the DTH response correlated with the number of T-cells activated in vitro. Various factors have been implicated in the fatigue of many patients, notably lack of sleep. However, it remains difficult to establish causality in either one direction or the other. This work is in the spirit of a multifactorial approach to the group of conditions referred to as "chronic fatigue syndrome".

[Diagnosis of normal and abnormal delayed hypersensitivity to Candida albicans. Importance of evaluating lymphocyte activation by flow cytometry]

Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) to Candida albicans is commonly observed in human. Abnormal DTH has already been described but its diagnosis is difficult to ascertain. We present now a clinical and biological study in 60 patients with a clear distinction between these two kind of Candida albicans DTH. Clinical abnormal Candida albicans DTH was characterized by a syndromic reaction 24 to 48 hours after intradermal injection. This reaction was characterized by an exacerbation of clinical symptoms. In vitro, activation of whole blood with Candida albicans antigen was detected by using flow cytometry after staining for activating markers. CD 25 positive T cells were detected in a 7 days culture in all patients. Percentage of CD 25 positive T cells was correlated to the intensity of the local cutaneous DTH reaction. CD 69 positive T cells were detected after a one day culture only in patient who presented a syndromic reaction to intradermal injection.

[Evaluation of allergic-type reactions to antibiotics and rapid immunotherapy]

Adverse effects of medications, most notably antimicrobials, are becoming increasingly common and raise difficult challenges in the area of clinical pattern definition (wide variety of symptoms, polypharmacy in many cases), diagnosis, and methodology (need for a rapid diagnosis, frequent obscurity of causative mechanisms, and less than ideal reliability of laboratory techniques). Sixty patients were treated by rush immunotherapy to one or more antimicrobials. The pretreatment evaluation included oriented history taking, skin tests, blood cell counts, IgE assays, and cell activation tests (basophils and lymphocytes). The results of this study confirm the usefulness of skin tests (intradermal, prick, or patch tests), which provided etiological orientation in 54 of the 60 cases. They also provide additional evidence of the lack of reliability of currently available in vitro tests (only 29 of the 60 tests were positive).

[Diagnostic contribution of abnormal delayed-type hypersensitivity to Candida albicans. Characterization test by activation of cells sensitized to successive dilutions of Candida]

By measuring the activation of different cell models (lymphocytes and lymphocytic subsets) in the presence of Candida albicans with flow cytometry reading, it is possible to show that successive dilutions of Candida albicans can lead to lymphocyte activation in abnormally-sensitized subjects. In a first trial, 10 subjects were tested in duplicate. The decrease of activity of the dilutions does not appear to be regular in relation to the progression of the dilutions. The activity of the dilutions wanes relatively rapidly with the first dilutions, then recurs later very distinctly, at the 6th dilution, then ebbs, then reappears in similar manner at the 9th, the 14th, and finally, the 19th dilution. Cell reactivity appears to differ depending on the subject. It can be represented through the calculated slope of the regression line, for each series of data. It therefore appears feasible to determine a threshold of reactivity and a scale of sensitivity, to make it possible to specify the degree of abnormal reactivity existing at a given time for a given subject. The constancy of the activity of the different dilutions tested, on 10 cultures of a single cell suspension, is especially well demonstrated in the second trial, showing unusually small standard deviations. Thus, the question arises as to the exact nature of the observed phenomenon and of its analysis from a physical-chemical point of view, with regard to the pharmacological effect of successive dilutions of Candida albicans.

[Diagnosis of delayed type hypersensitivity to Candida albicans. Evaluation of lymphocyte activation by flow cytometry (171 observations)]

Abnormal delayed-type hypersensitivy to Candida albicans, since it results in an excessive reaction of the immune system, is very difficult to diagnose. This study shows that the syndromic reaction observed after intradermal injection of an extract of Candida albicans, in patients suspected of abnormal delayed-type hypersensitivy to this antigen, is associated with the presence of specific circulating T cells, detectable through cell culture in the presence of Candida albicans. There is a very significant correlation between the clinical symptoms, the cutaneous tests, and the lymphocyte activation tests. This abnormal reactivity essentially involves the CD8 cells.

Tonic activation of NMDA receptors causes spontaneous burst discharge of rat midbrain dopamine neurons in vivo

Midbrain dopamine neurons in vivo discharge in a single-spike firing pattern or in a burst-firing pattern. Such activity in vivo strikingly contrasts with the pacemaker activity of the same dopamine neurons recorded in vitro. We have recently shown that burst activity in vivo of midbrain dopamine neurons is due to the local activation of excitatory amino acid receptors, as microapplication of the broad-spectrum antagonist of excitatory amino acids, kynurenic acid, strongly regularized the spontaneous firing pattern of these dopamine neurons. In the present study, we investigated which subtypes of excitatory amino acid receptors are involved in the burst-firing of midbrain dopamine neurons in chloral hydrate-anaesthetized rats, iontophoretic or pressure microejections of 6-cyano, 7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), a non-N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, did not alter the spontaneous burst firing of dopamine neurons (n = 36). In contrast, similar ejections of (+-)2-amino,5-phosphonopentanoic acid (AP-5), a specific antagonist at NMDA receptors, markedly regularized the firing pattern by reducing the occurrence of bursts (n = 52). In addition, iontophoretic ejections of NMDA, but not kainate or quisqualate, elicited a discharge of these dopamine neurons in bursts (n = 20, 12 and 14, respectively). These data suggest that burst-firing of midbrain dopamine neurons in vivo results from the tonic activation of NMDA receptors by endogenous excitatory amino acids. In view of the critical dependency of catecholamine release on the discharge pattern of source neurons, excitatory amino acid inputs to midbrain dopamine neurons may constitute a major physiological substrate in the control of the dopamine level in target areas.

Inhibition of locus coeruleus neurons by the phencyclidine analog, N-[1-(2-benzo(b)thiophenyl)cyclohexyl]piperidine: evidence for potent indirect adrenoceptor agonist properties

The effects of the phencyclidine derivative, N-[1-(2-benzo(b)thiophenyl)cyclohexyl]piperidine (BTCP), on the electrical activity of noradrenaline (NA) neurons of the locus coeruleus (LC) were studied in halothane-anesthetized rats. Systemic administration of BTCP potently inhibited LC neurons (ID50 of 1.1 +/- 0.1 mg/kg i.v.). This effect was mimicked by local microejection of BTCP into the LC. Both the systemic and local effects of BTCP were blocked by alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonists and prevented by prior depletion of catecholamines with reserpine. These and other data suggest that BTCP behaves as a potent indirect NA agonist (i.e. via NA re-uptake and/or release systems).