Neuronal postdevelopmentally acting SAX-7S/L1CAM can function as cleaved fragments to maintain neuronal architecture in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Whereas remarkable advances have uncovered mechanisms that drive nervous system assembly, the processes responsible for the lifelong maintenance of nervous system architecture remain poorly understood. Subsequent to its establishment during embryogenesis, neuronal architecture is maintained throughout life in the face of the animal's growth, maturation processes, the addition of new neurons, body movements, and aging. The Caenorhabditis elegans protein SAX-7, homologous to the vertebrate L1 protein family of neural adhesion molecules, is required for maintaining the organization of neuronal ganglia and fascicles after their successful initial embryonic development. To dissect the function of sax-7 in neuronal maintenance, we generated a null allele and sax-7S-isoform-specific alleles. We find that the null sax-7(qv30) is, in some contexts, more severe than previously described mutant alleles and that the loss of sax-7S largely phenocopies the null, consistent with sax-7S being the key isoform in neuronal maintenance. Using a sfGFP::SAX-7S knock-in, we observe sax-7S to be predominantly expressed across the nervous system, from embryogenesis to adulthood. Yet, its role in maintaining neuronal organization is ensured by postdevelopmentally acting SAX-7S, as larval transgenic sax-7S(+) expression alone is sufficient to profoundly rescue the null mutants' neuronal maintenance defects. Moreover, the majority of the protein SAX-7 appears to be cleaved, and we show that these cleaved SAX-7S fragments together, not individually, can fully support neuronal maintenance. These findings contribute to our understanding of the role of the conserved protein SAX-7/L1CAM in long-term neuronal maintenance and may help decipher processes that go awry in some neurodegenerative conditions.

Structural Characterization and Biological Activities of Polysaccharides from Olive Mill Wastewater.

Olive mill wastewater (OMWW), the main waste product of olive oil extraction process, was investigated as a source of polysaccharides. The yield of alcohol insoluble residue (AIR) was 20.5 % based on the dry matter of OMWW. Extraction with water gave water soluble (WSF) and insoluble (WIF) fractions from AIR with yields of 13.3 % (w/w) and 3.7 % (w/w) based on the dry matter, respectively. Chemical composition and monosaccharide analysis indicated that glucose was the main monosaccharide of these extracts in addition to galactose, arabinose, rhamnose, and galacturonic acid. Prebiotic and antioxidant activities of polysaccharidic fractions from OMWW were evaluated. Results gave evidence for their scavenging capacity toward the 2,2'-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyle (DPPH) (IC50 value of 89.43 µg/mL) and hydroxyl radicals (IC50 value of 158.70 µg/mL), resistance toward artificial human gastric juice, and ability to be fermented by Lactobacilli strains.