Reducing the Wallacean and the Haeckelian Deficits in Apobaetis Day, 1955 (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae).

During an ongoing project aiming to understand the dynamics of Ephemeroptera biodiversity in the Doce River Basin after the disaster, an unusual large number of Apobaetis Day, 1955 were analyzed. The occurrence of Apobaetis is quite relevant, since the combination of factors such as its small body size and its habitat preferences makes their collection difficult and its presence often neglected. For the first time in science, adults of Apobaetis irai De Lima, Massariol, Cruz & Hamada, 2022 and Apobaetis fiuzai Salles & Lugo-Ortiz, 2002 are described and diagnosed. Apobaetis irai can be easily distinguished, among other characteristics by turbinate portion of compound eyes touching each other along midline; abdominal terga II-III and V-VII with well-marked lines on lateral and posterior margins; posterior margin of subgenital plate with projection broadly rounded to slightly truncate. Apobaetis fiuzai are diagnosed by turbinate portion of compound eyes touching each other posteriorly; mesothorax brown, except for broad cream marks on anterior margin of PSp and SLS, SSLi tinged with white, posterior corner of SMS with a red spot; abdominal terga II-VI translucent orangish-brown, terga VII-X brown, terga II-III and VI with conspicuous red medial mark; posterior margin of subgenital plate with subtriangular projection, apex narrowly truncate; forceps base wider at base, inner irregular edges. The new records of A. irai and A. fiuzai extend the distribution of Apobaetis within Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo States, Brazil. Furthermore, it is reported for the first time cases of gynandromorphs for Apobaetis.

mTOR signaling inhibition decreases lysosome migration and impairs the success of Trypanosoma cruzi infection and replication in cardiomyocytes.

Chagas disease is caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) and, among all the chronic manifestations of the disease, Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy (CCC) is the most severe outcome. Despite high burden and public health importance in Latin America, there is a gap in understanding the molecular mechanisms that results in CCC development. Previous studies showed that T. cruzi uses the host machinery for infection and replication, including the repurposing of the responses to intracellular infection such as mitochondrial activity, vacuolar membrane, and lysosomal activation in benefit of parasite infection and replication. One common signaling upstream to many responses to parasite infection is mTOR pathway, previous associated to several downstream cellular mechanisms including autophagy, mitophagy and lysosomal activation. Here, using human iPSC derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSCCM), we show the mTOR pathway is activated in hiPSCCM after T. cruzi infection, and the inhibition of mTOR with rapamycin reduced number of T. cruzi 48 h post infection (hpi). Rapamycin treatment also reduced lysosome migration from nuclei region to cell periphery resulting in less T. cruzi inside the parasitophorous vacuole (PV) in the first hour of infection. In addition, the number of parasites leaving the PV to the cytoplasm to replicate in later times of infection was also lower after rapamycin treatment. Altogether, our data suggest that host's mTOR activation concomitant with parasite infection modulates lysosome migration and that T. cruzi uses this mechanism to achieve infection and replication. Modulating this mechanism with rapamycin impaired the success of T. cruzi life cycle independent of mitophagy.

Different Transcriptomic Response to T. cruzi Infection in hiPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes From Chagas Disease Patients With and Without Chronic Cardiomyopathy.

Chagas disease is a tropical zoonosis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. After infection, the host present an acute phase, usually asymptomatic, in which an extensive parasite proliferation and intense innate immune activity occurs, followed by a chronic phase, characterized by low parasitemia and development of specific immunity. Most individuals in the chronic phase remain without symptoms or organ damage, a state called indeterminate IND form. However, 20 to 40% of individuals develop cardiac or gastrointestinal complications at any time in life. Cardiomyocytes have an important role in the development of Chronic Chagas Cardiomyopathy (CCC) due to transcriptional and metabolic alterations that are crucial for the parasite survival and replication. However, it still not clear why some infected individuals progress to a cardiomyopathy phase, while others remain asymptomatic. In this work, we used hiPSCs-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CM) to investigate patterns of infection, proliferation and transcriptional response in IND and CCC patients. Our data show that T. cruzi infection and proliferation efficiency do not differ significantly in PBMCs and hiPSC-CM from both groups. However, RNA-seq analysis in hiPSC-CM infected for 24 hours showed a significantly different transcriptional response to the parasite in cells from IND or CCC patients. Cardiomyocytes from IND showed significant differences in the expression of genes related to antigen processing and presentation, as well as, immune co-stimulatory molecules. Furthermore, the downregulation of collagen production genes and extracellular matrix components was significantly different in these cells. Cardiomyocytes from CCC, in turn, showed increased expression of mTORC1 pathway and unfolded protein response genes, both associated to increased intracellular ROS production. These data point to a differential pattern of response, determined by baseline genetic differences between groups, which may have an impact on the development of a chronic outcome with or without the presentation of cardiac symptoms.

Long-term single-cell passaging of human iPSC fully supports pluripotency and high-efficient trilineage differentiation capacity.

OBJECTIVES: To establish a straightforward single-cell passaging cultivation method that enables high-quality maintenance of human induced pluripotent stem cells without the appearance of karyotypic abnormalities or loss of pluripotency. METHODS: Cells were kept in culture for over 50 passages, following a structured chronogram of passage and monitoring cell growth by population doubling time calculation and cell confluence. Standard procedures for human induced pluripotent stem cells monitoring as embryonic body formation, karyotyping and pluripotency markers expression were evaluated in order to assess the cellular state in long-term culture. Cells that underwent these tests were then subjected to differentiation into keratinocytes, cardiomyocytes and definitive endoderm to evaluate its differentiation capacity. RESULTS: Human induced pluripotent stem cells clones maintained its pluripotent capability as well as chromosomal integrity and were able to generate derivatives from the three germ layers at high passages by embryoid body formation and high-efficient direct differentiation into keratinocytes, cardiomyocytes and definitive endoderm. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the routine of human induced pluripotent stem cells single-cell passaging as a reliable procedure even after long-term cultivation, providing healthy human induced pluripotent stem cells to be used in drug discovery, toxicity, and disease modeling as well as for therapeutic approaches.

Renal ischemia/reperfusion-induced cardiac hypertrophy in mice: Cardiac morphological and morphometric characterization.

BACKGROUND: Tissue remodeling is usually dependent on the deposition of extracellular matrix that may result in tissue stiffness and impaired myocardium contraction. OBJECTIVES: We had previously demonstrated that renal ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) is able to induce development of cardiac hypertrophy in mice. Therefore, we aimed to characterize renal I/R-induced cardiac hypertrophy. DESIGN: C57BL/6 J mice were subjected to 60 minutes' unilateral renal pedicle occlusion, followed by reperfusion (I/R) for 5, 8, 12 or 15 days. Gene expression, protein abundance and morphometric analyses were performed in all time points. RESULTS: Left ventricle wall thickening was increased after eight days of reperfusion (p < 0.05). An increase in the number of heart ventricle capillaries and diameter after 12 days of reperfusion (p < 0.05) was observed; an increase in the density of capillaries starting at 5 days of reperfusion (p < 0.05) was also observed. Analyses of MMP2 protein levels showed an increase at 15 days compared to sham (p < 0.05). Moreover, TGF-ß gene expression was downregulated at 12 days as well TIMP 1 and 2 (p < 0.05). The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy analysis showed that collagen content was altered only in the internal section of the heart (p < 0.05); such data were supported by collagen mRNA levels. CONCLUSIONS: Renal I/R leads to impactful changes in heart morphology, accompanied by an increase in microvasculature. Although it is clear that I/R is able to induce cardiac remodeling, such morphological changes is present in only a section of the heart tissue.

Comparative Morphology and Redescription of Pleurobranchus Species (Gastropoda, Pleurobranchoidea) from Brazil.

Juliana Alvim and Alexandre Dias Pimenta (2016) The taxonomy of Pleurobranchus from Brazil is little known because the internal anatomy and possible intraspecific variation are poorly understood. This study recognizes three valid species from Brazil: Pleurobranchus areolatus Mörch, 1863, P. iouspi Ev. Marcus, 1984 and P. reticulatus Rang, 1832. Pleurobranchus reticulatus and P. areolatus were misidentified for a long time because of their simple descriptions, without photographs of living animals. However, they are distinguished by: color of the rhinophores, P. reticulatus has a uniform color, while P. areolatus has the same pattern as the dorsum; P. reticulatus is larger and has more pinnae free from the body wall than P. areolatus; the prostate is tubular and highly convoluted in P. reticulatus, while in P. areolatus is elongated with the proximal portion rounded; and, the jaws of P. areolatus, the smaller species, have more rows and fewer platelets per row than P. reticulatus. Pleurobranchus emys and P. iouspi are considered synonyms based on the examination of portions of the types, mainly due the presence of a dense layer of spicules in the mantle and because their original descriptions do not differ significantly. A discussion about some possible synonymies was provided and their recognition were based mainly on the diameter of the tubercles of the mantle, the presence/absence of flaps that surrounds the gonopore and the development of a leaflet in the convex portion of the penis. The detailed anatomical study allowed recognition of a general pattern in the position and presence or absence of extrinsic and intrinsic odontophore muscles for Pleurobranchus. The circulatory and nervous systems do not provide useful characters for species delimitation.

Taxonomic review of Berthella and Berthellina (Gastropoda: Pleurobranchoidea) from Brazil, with description of two new species

Berthella currently comprises five valid species recorded from the western Atlantic, of which only Berthella agassizii (MacFarland, 1909) and Berthella stellata (Risso, 1826) have been recorded from Brazil. Two species of Berthellina occur in Brazil: Berthellina quadridens (Mõrch, 1963) and Berthellina circularis (Mõrch, 1863); however, based on a literature review and the anatomical study presented here, we only recognize B. circularis as occurring in the country. This study gives a detailed re-description of B. agassizii, B. stellata and B. circularis based on material from Brazil, and adds two new species to the genus, from the Brazilian coast, Berthella punctata sp. nov. and Berthellina ignis sp. nov. Berthellina circularis and B. quadridens are considered distinct species based on the denticulation of the radular teeth. B. quadridens presents the majority of teeth with two denticles, rarely three-four denticles, while in B. circularis from Brazil the radular teeth are highly denticulate with up to 17 denticles. Berthella and Berthellina do not form a monophyletic group, and cluster in a large polytomy within Pleurobranchidae. A detailed anatomical study is performed to improve the understanding of the evolutionary history of Pleurobranchidae. The comparison with available data on the odontophoric muscles of Pleurobranchoidea shows that Berthella and Berthellina present a pair of the muscle m10v that connects the mj with the ventral portion of the m5, while in Pleurobranchus and Pleurobranchaea the m10v connects the mj with the ventral portion of the m4; Berthella and Berthellina do not present the muscle m10d, which is present in Pleurobranchus and Pleurobranchaea. Based on these characters, Berthella seems to be more closely related to Berthellina than to Pleurobranchus.

Taxonomic review of Berthella and Berthellina (Gastropoda: Pleurobranchoidea) from Brazil, with description of two new species

Berthella currently comprises five valid species recorded from the western Atlantic, of which only Berthella agassizii (MacFarland, 1909) and Berthella stellata (Risso, 1826) have been recorded from Brazil. Two species of Berthellina occur in Brazil: Berthellina quadridens (Mõrch, 1963) and Berthellina circularis (Mõrch, 1863); however, based on a literature review and the anatomical study presented here, we only recognize B. circularis as occurring in the country. This study gives a detailed re-description of B. agassizii, B. stellata and B. circularis based on material from Brazil, and adds two new species to the genus, from the Brazilian coast, Berthella punctata sp. nov. and Berthellina ignis sp. nov. Berthellina circularis and B. quadridens are considered distinct species based on the denticulation of the radular teeth. B. quadridens presents the majority of teeth with two denticles, rarely three-four denticles, while in B. circularis from Brazil the radular teeth are highly denticulate with up to 17 denticles. Berthella and Berthellina do not form a monophyletic group, and cluster in a large polytomy within Pleurobranchidae. A detailed anatomical study is performed to improve the understanding of the evolutionary history of Pleurobranchidae. The comparison with available data on the odontophoric muscles of Pleurobranchoidea shows that Berthella and Berthellina present a pair of the muscle m10v that connects the mj with the ventral portion of the m5, while in Pleurobranchus and Pleurobranchaea the m10v connects the mj with the ventral portion of the m4; Berthella and Berthellina do not present the muscle m10d, which is present in Pleurobranchus and Pleurobranchaea. Based on these characters, Berthella seems to be more closely related to Berthellina than to Pleurobranchus.(AU)

Taxonomic review of the family Discodorididae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) from Brazil, with descriptions of two new species.

The family Discodorididae was previously represented by 11 species in Brazil; however, recently collected specimens from several localities in Rio de Janeiro, in addition to the study of material previously deposited in scientific collections, revealed the existence of 13 taxa: Diaulula greeleyi (MacFarland, 1909), Discodoris hummelincki (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1963) comb. nov., Discodoris branneri MacFarland, 1909, Geitodoris pusae (Er. Marcus, 1955), Hoplodoris hansrosaorum Domínguez, García & Troncoso, 2006, Jorunna spazzola Er. Marcus, 1955, Jorunna spongiosa sp. nov., Paradoris mulciber (Ev. Marcus, 1971), Platydoris angustipes (Mörch, 1863), Rostanga byga Er. Marcus, 1958a, Taringa telopia Er. Marcus, 1955, Taringa iemanja sp. nov., and Thordisa diuda Er. Marcus, 1955. Discodoris voniheringi MacFarland, 1909 was previously regarded as nomen dubium, and this view is maintained in the present study. Three new records for the Brazilian coast are recognized among these 13 taxa; the previous record of Diaulula phoca (Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1967a) is rectified as Discodoris hummelincki comb. nov., constituting the first record of this species from Brazil; two new species, Taringa iemanja sp. nov. and Jorunna spongiosa sp. nov., are described in anatomical detail. The following taxa, which were formerly considered junior synonyms of species studied in this work, have been revalidated: Diaulula nayarita (Ortea & Llera, 1981), from the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, which differs from Diaulula greeleyi in the length and width of caryophyllidia; Discodoris mortenseni Ev. Marcus & Er. Marcus, 1963, from the Caribbean, which is likely to belong to Jorunna, yet differs from Jorunna spazzola in body size and coloration, radula appearance, and number of lamellae in the rhinophores; Jorunna luisae Ev. Marcus, 1976, which differs from Jorunna spazzola in the reproductive system, mainly in the size and shape of the accessory gland; and Thordisa azmani Cervera & García-Gómez, 1989, which differs from Thordisa diuda in the presence of two accessory glands in the genital atrium and the absence of one denticle in the external surface of the inner lateral teeth. Finally, the specimens of Geitodoris pusae reported from the European coast and Mediterranean Sea show differences in general coloration and in the radula, gill, and reproductive system, thereby these specimens likely refer to different taxa.