Showing 2051 - 2060 of 5831 Items
Midgut epithelial endocrine cells are a rich source of the neuropeptides APSGFLGMRamide (Cancer borealis tachykinin-related peptide Ia) and GYRKPPFNGSIFamide (Gly1-SIFamide) in the crabs Cancer borealis, Cancer magister and Cancer productus
Date: 2007-02-01
Creator: Andrew E. Christie, Kimberly K. Kutz-Naber, Elizabeth A. Stemmler, Alexandra Klein, Daniel I., Messinger, Christopher C. Goiney, Anna J. Conterato, Emily A. Bruns, Yun Wei A. Hsu, Lingjun Li, Patsy S. Dickinson
Access: Open access
- Over a quarter of a century ago, Mykles described the presence of putative endocrine cells in the midgut epithelium of the crab Cancer magister (Mykles, 1979). In the years that have followed, these cells have been largely ignored and nothing is known about their hormone content or the functions they play in this species. Here, we used a combination of immunohistochemistry and mass spectrometric techniques to investigate these questions. Using immunohistochemistry, we identified both SIFamide-and tachykinin-related peptide (TRP)-like immunopositive cells in the midgut epithelium of C. magister, as well as in that of Cancer borealis and Cancer productus. In each species, the SIFamide-like labeling was restricted to the anterior portion of the midgut, including the paired anterior midgut caeca, whereas the TRP-like immunoreactivity predominated in the posterior midgut and the posterior midgut caecum. Regardless of location, label or species, the morphology of the immunopositive cells matched that of the putative endocrine cells characterized ultrastructurally by Mykles (Mykles, 1979). Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ ionization-Fourier transform mass spectrometry identified the peptides responsible for the immunoreactivities as GYRKPPFNGSIFamide (Gly 1-SIFamide) and APSGFLGMRamide [Cancer boreatis tachykinin-related peptide Ia (CabTRP Ia)], respectively, both of which are known neuropeptides of Cancer species. Although the function of these midgut-derived peptides remains unknown, we found that both Gly1-SIFamide and CabTRP Ia were released when the midgut was exposed to high-potassium saline. In addition, CabTRP Ia was detectable in the hemolymph of crabs that had been held without food for several days, but not in that of fed animals, paralleling results that were attributed to TRP release from midgut endocrine cells in insects. Thus, one function that midgut-derived CabTRP Ia may play in Cancer species is paracrine/hormonal control of feeding-related behavior, as has been postulated for TRPs released from homologous cells in insects.
General relativistic magnetohydrodynamics for the numerical construction of dynamical spacetimes
Date: 2003-01-01
Creator: T.W. Baumgarte, S.L. Shapiro
Access: Open access
Neurotransmitter interactions in the stomatogastric system of the spiny lobster: One peptide alters the response of a central pattern generator to a second peptide
Date: 1997-01-01
Creator: Patsy S. Dickinson, Wesley P. Fairfield, John R. Hetling, Jane Hauptman
Access: Open access
- Two of the peptides found in the stomatogastric nervous system of the spiny lobster. Panulirus interruptus, interacted to modulate the activity of the cardiac sac motor pattern. In the isolated stomatogastric ganglion, red- pigment-concentrating hormone (RPCH), but not proctolin, activated the bursting activity in the inferior ventricular (IV) neurons that drives the cardiac sac pattern. The cardiac sac pattern normally ceased within 15 min after the end of RPCH superfusion. However, when proctolin was applied within a few minutes of that time, it was likewise able to induce cardiac sac activity. Similarly, proctolin applied together with subthreshold RPCH induced cardiac sac bursting. The amplitude of the excitatory postsynaptic potentials from the IV neurons to the cardiac sac dilator neuron CD2 (1 of the 2 major motor neurons in the cardiac sac system) was potentiated in the presence of both proctolin and RPCH. The potentiation in RPCH was much greater than in proctolin alone. However, the potentiation in proctolin after RPCH was equivalent to that recorded in RPCH alone. Although we do not yet understand the mechanisms for these interactions of the two modulators, this study provides an example of one factor that can determine the 'state' of the system that is critical in determining the effect of a modulator that is 'state dependent,' and it provides evidence for yet another level of flexibility in the motor output of this system.
Identification and characterization of genes involved in Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide and glycoprotein biosynthesis Access to this record is restricted to members of the Bowdoin community. Log in here to view.
Date: 2021-01-01
Creator: Andrew James Mulholland
Access: Access restricted to the Bowdoin Community
Focusing Surface-Acoustic-Wave Microcavities on GaAs
Date: 2020-01-22
Creator: Madeleine E. Msall, Paulo V. Santos
Access: Open access
- Focusing microcavities for surface acoustic waves (SAWs) produce highly localized strain and piezoelectric fields that can dynamically control excitations in nanostructures. Focusing transducers (FIDTs) that generate SAW beams that match nanostructure dimensions require pattern correction due to diffraction and wave-velocity anisotropy. The anisotropy correction is normally implemented by adding a quadratic term to the dependence of the wave velocity on the propagation angle. We show that a SAW focusing to a diffraction-limited size in GaAs requires corrections that more closely follow the group-velocity wave front, which is not a quadratic function. Optical interferometric mapping of the resultant SAW displacement field reveals tightly focused SAW beams on GaAs with a minimal beam waist. An additional set of Gouy-phase-corrected passive fingers creates an acoustic microcavity in the focal region with a small volume and a high quality factor. Our λSAW=5.6μm FIDTs are expected to scale well to the approximately 500-nm wavelength regime needed to study strong coupling between vibrations and electrons in electrostatic GaAs quantum dots.
Determining the sites at which neuromodulators exert peripheral effects in the cardiac neuromuscular system of the American Lobster, Homarus americanus
Date: 2021-01-01
Creator: Audrey Elizabeth Jordan
Access: Open access
- Networks of neurons known as central pattern generators (CPGs) generate rhythmic patterns of output to drive behaviors like locomotion. CPGs are relatively fixed networks that produce consistent patterns in the absence of other inputs. The heart contractions of the Homarus americanus are neurogenic and controlled by the CPG known as the cardiac ganglion. Neuromodulators can enable flexibility in CPG motor output, and also on muscle contractions by acting on the neuromuscular junction and the muscle itself. A tissue-specific transcriptome gleaned from the cardiac ganglion and cardiac muscle of the American lobster was used to predict the sites and sources of a variety of crustacean neuromodulators. If corresponding receptors were predicted to be expressed in the cardiac muscle, then it was hypothesized that the neuropeptide had peripheral effects. One peptide for which a cardiac muscle receptor was identified is myosuppressin. Myosuppressin has been shown to have modulatory effects at the cardiac neuromuscular system of the American lobster. In previous research, myosuppressin had modulatory effects on the periphery of cardiac neuromuscular system alone. It remains an open question of whether myosuppressin acts on the cardiac muscle directly, if it is exerting its effects at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), or both. To test this, I performed physiological experiments on the isolated NMJ. Myosuppressin did not modulate the amplitude of the excitatory junction potentials. Since no modulatory effects were seen at the NMJ, the cardiac muscle was isolated from the cardiac ganglion and then glutamate-evoked contractions were stimulated. I showed that myosuppressin increased glutamate-evoked contraction amplitude. These data suggest myosuppressin exerts its peripheral effects at the cardiac muscle and not the NMJ.