Antibiotics Alter the Expression of Genes Related to Behavioral Development in Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Honey bees, as many species of social insects, display a division of labor among colony members based on behavioral specializations related to age. Adult worker honey bees perform a series of tasks in the hive when they are young (such as brood care or nursing) and at ca. 2-3 wk of age, shift to foraging for nectar and pollen outside the hive. The transition to foraging involves changes in metabolism and neuroendocrine activities. These changes are associated with a suite of developmental genes. It was recently demonstrated that antibiotics influence behavioral development by accelerating or delaying the onset of foraging depending on timing of antibiotic exposure. To understand the mechanisms of these changes, we conducted a study on the effects of antibiotics on expression of candidate genes known to regulate behavioral development. We demonstrate a delay in the typical changes in gene expression over the lifetime of the individuals that were exposed to antibiotics during immature stage and adulthood. Additionally, we show an acceleration in the typical changes in gene expression on individuals that were expose to antibiotics only during immature stage. These results show that timing of antibiotic exposure alter the typical regulation of behavioral development by metabolic and neuroendocrine processes.

Intranasal Administration of Mesenchymal Stem Cell Secretome Reduces Hippocampal Oxidative Stress, Neuroinflammation and Cell Death, Improving the Behavioral Outcome Following Perinatal Asphyxia.

Perinatal Asphyxia (PA) is a leading cause of motor and neuropsychiatric disability associated with sustained oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and cell death, affecting brain development. Based on a rat model of global PA, we investigated the neuroprotective effect of intranasally administered secretome, derived from human adipose mesenchymal stem cells (MSC-S), preconditioned with either deferoxamine (an hypoxia-mimetic) or TNF-α+IFN-γ (pro-inflammatory cytokines). PA was generated by immersing fetus-containing uterine horns in a water bath at 37 °C for 21 min. Thereafter, 16 µL of MSC-S (containing 6 µg of protein derived from 2 × 105 preconditioned-MSC), or vehicle, were intranasally administered 2 h after birth to asphyxia-exposed and control rats, evaluated at postnatal day (P) 7. Alternatively, pups received a dose of either preconditioned MSC-S or vehicle, both at 2 h and P7, and were evaluated at P14, P30, and P60. The preconditioned MSC-S treatment (i) reversed asphyxia-induced oxidative stress in the hippocampus (oxidized/reduced glutathione); (ii) increased antioxidative Nuclear Erythroid 2-Related Factor 2 (NRF2) translocation; (iii) increased NQO1 antioxidant protein; (iv) reduced neuroinflammation (decreasing nuclearNF-κB/p65 levels and microglial reactivity); (v) decreased cleaved-caspase-3 cell-death; (vi) improved righting reflex, negative geotaxis, cliff aversion, locomotor activity, anxiety, motor coordination, and recognition memory. Overall, the study demonstrates that intranasal administration of preconditioned MSC-S is a novel therapeutic strategy that prevents the long-term effects of perinatal asphyxia.

Antibiotics in hives and their effects on honey bee physiology and behavioral development.

Recurrent honeybee losses make it critical to understand the impact of human interventions, such as antibiotic use in apiculture. Antibiotics are used to prevent or treat bacterial infections in colonies. However, little is known about their effects on honeybee development. We studied the effect of two commercial beekeeping antibiotics on the bee physiology and behavior throughout development. Our results show that antibiotic treatments have an effect on amount of lipids and rate of behavioral development. Lipid amount in treated bees was higher than those not treated. Also, the timing of antibiotic treatment had distinct effects for the age of onset of behaviors, starting with cleaning, then nursing and lastly foraging. Bees treated during larva-pupa stages demonstrated an accelerated behavioral development and loss of lipids, while bees treated from larva to adulthood had a delay in behavioral development and loss of lipids. The effects were shared across the two antibiotics tested, TerramycinR (oxytetracycline) and TylanR (tylosin tartrate). These effects of antibiotic treatments suggest a role of microbiota in the interaction between the fat body and brain that is important for honeybee behavioral development.This paper has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the article.

Associations of Birth Weight for Gestational Age with Child Health and Neurodevelopment among Term Infants: A Nationwide Japanese Population-Based Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the association of specific Z-score categories of birth weight for gestational age with child health and neurodevelopment using a large nationwide survey in Japan, focusing on term infants. STUDY DESIGN: We included 36 321 children born in 2010. Hospitalization up to 66 months of age was used as an indicator of health status, and responses to questions about age-appropriate behaviors at 30 and 66 months of age were used to indicate neurobehavioral development. We conducted binomial log-linear regression analyses, controlling for child and parental variables. A restricted cubic spline function was used to model the relationship. RESULTS: Compared with children with birth weight appropriate for gestational age (-1.28 to 1.28 SDs of expected birthweight for gestational age), children who were small for gestational age (SGA) (<-1.28 SD) had higher risks of hospitalization and unfavorable neurobehavioral development, and the risks increased as SGA status became more severe. Compared with the appropriate for gestational age group, the adjusted risk ratios for hospitalization for all causes were 2.5 (95% CI, 1.7-3.6), 1.3 (95% CI, 1.1-1.6), and 1.1 (95% CI, 1.0-1.2) for children who were severely, moderately, and mildly SGA and 1.0 (95% CI, 0.9-1.1), 1.1 (95% CI, 0.9-1.2), and 1.4 (95% CI, 0.9-2.1) for children who were mildly, moderately, and severely large for gestational age, respectively. Severely large for gestational age children also had higher risks of unfavorable neurobehavioral development. These results were supported by spline analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Among term infants, the risks of unfavorable child health and neurodevelopment increased with the severity of SGA.