Animal Science Journal © 2011 Japanese Society of Animal Science April 2011 Volume 82, Issue 2 Pages 187–365

* REVIEW ARTICLES

Conditions affecting growth and developmental competence of mammalian oocytes in vitro (pages 187–197)

Yuji HIRAO

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00870.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00870.x/abstract)

Metabolism of microbial nitrogen in ruminants with special reference to nucleic acids (pages 198–208)

Tsutomu FUJIHARA and Martin N. SHEM

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00871.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00871.x/abstract)

* ORIGINAL ARTICLES

A proximal genomic region of mouse chromosome 10 contains quantitative trait loci affecting fatness (pages 209–214)

Akira ISHIKAWA, Takahisa TANAHASHI and Hiroyuki KODAMA

Article first published online: 4 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00842.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00842.x/abstract)

Establishment and characterization of a fibroblast cell line derived from Mongolian sheep (pages 215–222)

Chang‐Qing LIU, Yu GUO, Wei‐Jun GUAN and Yue‐Hui MA

Article first published online: 23 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00824.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00824.x/abstract)

Allele‐specific PCR typing and sequencing of the mitochondrial D‐loop region in four layer breeds (pages 223–226)

Takashi HARUMI, Akiko SANO, Takeo MINEMATSU and Mitsuru NAITO

Article first published online: 2 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00831.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00831.x/abstract)

Oocytic expression of zona pellucida protein ZP4 in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) (pages 227–235)

Mami SERIZAWA, Mihoko KINOSHITA, Daniela RODLER, Akira TSUKADA, Hiroko ONO, Takashi YOSHIMURA, Norio KANSAKU and Tomohiro SASANAMI

Article first published online: 23 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00830.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00830.x/abstract)

Constant transmission of mitochondrial DNA in intergeneric cloned embryos reconstructed from swamp buffalo fibroblasts and bovine ooplasm (pages 236–243)

Kanokwan SRIRATTANA, Kazutsugu MATSUKAWA, Satoshi AKAGI, Mariko TASAI, Takahiro TAGAMI, Keijiro NIRASAWA, Takashi NAGAI, Yukio KANAI, Rangsun PARNPAI and Kumiko TAKEDA

Article first published online: 23 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00827.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00827.x/abstract)

Contribution of hypoxia‐inducible factor‐1[GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA] to transcriptional regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor in bovine developing luteal cells (pages 244–250)

Zhenghong ZHANG, Dingzhong YIN and Zhengchao WANG

Article first published online: 24 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00832.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00832.x/abstract)

Observations on hand‐mating behaviors, several physiological and hematological parameters in Turkish dairy goats (pages 251–258)

Aynur KONYALI, Cemil TÖLÜ, Bekir Sıtkı AYAĞ and Hande Işıl AKBAĞ

Article first published online: 6 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00851.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00851.x/abstract)

Fermentation characteristics and microorganism composition of total mixed ration silage with local food by‐products in different seasons (pages 259–266)

Yang CAO, Yimin CAI, Tomomi HIRAKUBO, Hiroyuki FUKUI and Hiroki MATSUYAMA

Article first published online: 2 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00840.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00840.x/abstract)

Effects of amino acids infused into the vein on ghrelin‐induced GH, insulin and glucagon secretion in lactating cows (pages 267–273)

Rika FUKUMORI, Akinori YOKOTANI, Toshihisa SUGINO, Fumiaki ITOH, Shiro KUSHIBIKI, Hiroyuki SHINGU, Naoko MORIYA, Yoshihisa HASEGAWA, Masayasu KOJIMA, Kenji KANGAWA, Taketo OBITSU and Kohzo TANIGUCHI

Article first published online: 2 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00838.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00838.x/abstract)

Effect of dietary addition of seaweed and licorice on the immune performance of pigs (pages 274–281)

Masafumi KATAYAMA, Tomokazu FUKUDA, Toshihiro OKAMURA, Eisaku SUZUKI, Katsuo TAMURA, Yuuko SHIMIZU, Yoshihito SUDA and Keiichi SUZUKI

Article first published online: 22 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00826.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00826.x/abstract)

Efficacy of probiotics from anaerobic microflora with prebiotics on growth performance and noxious gas emission in growing pigs (pages 282–290)

Gyo Moon CHU, Shin Ja LEE, Ho Sik JEONG and Sung Sill LEE

Article first published online: 23 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00828.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00828.x/abstract)

Tissue distribution of albumin‐glucose advanced glycation end products administrated to chickens (pages 291–295)

Kazumi KITA

Article first published online: 24 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00837.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00837.x/abstract)

Effect of indigestible sugars on nitrogen utilization in adult rabbits (pages 296–301)

Xiao LI, Xiao MIN, Yuta TSUZUKI and Ei SAKAGUCHI

Article first published online: 4 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00849.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00849.x/abstract)

Evaluation of the heat‐killed and dried cell preparation of Enterococcus faecalis against villous atrophy in early‐weaned mice and pigs (pages 302–306)

Takamitsu TSUKAHARA, Yoko YOSHIDA, Toshiki TSUSHIMA, Takumi WATANABE, Noritaka MATSUBARA, Ryo INOUE and Kazunari USHIDA

Article first published online: 23 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00829.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00829.x/abstract)

Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural characterization of the ovarian surface epithelium of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) (pages 307–313)

Daniela RODLER and Fred SINOWATZ

Article first published online: 4 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00843.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00843.x/abstract)

Effect of intracerebroventricular injections of prolactin‐releasing peptide on prolactin release and stress‐related responses in steers (pages 314–319)

Sayuki KITAGAWA, Naoshige ABE, Madoka SUTOH, Etsuko KASUYA, Shoei SUGITA, Masato AOYAMA and Ken‐ichi YAYOU

Article first published online: 4 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00841.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00841.x/abstract)

Changes in oxidative status in periparturient dairy cows in hot conditions (pages 320–324)

Masahito TANAKA, Yuko KAMIYA, Tomoyuki SUZUKI and Yutaka NAKAI

Article first published online: 24 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00839.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00839.x/abstract)

Japanese consumer categorisation of beef into quality grades, based on Meat Standards Australia methodology (pages 325–333)

Rod J. POLKINGHORNE, Takanori NISHIMURA, Kate E. NEATH and Ray WATSON

Article first published online: 23 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00825.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00825.x/abstract)

Investigation into the durability of washed rice straw for equine bedding and the repetitive use of washing water (pages 334–339)

Akira KUROSAWA, Daisuke ENDO, Shuhei IKEDA and Seizi SUKEMORI

Article first published online: 23 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00822.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00822.x/abstract)

Characterization and partial purification of a bacteriocin‐like substance produced by thermophilic Bacillus licheniformis H1 isolated from cow manure compost (pages 340–351)

Hosnia S ABDEL‐MOHSEIN, Takako SASAKI, Chika TADA and Yutaka NAKAI

Article first published online: 2 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00835.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00835.x/abstract)

Comparison of feeding systems: feed cost, palatability and environmental impact among hay‐fattened beef, consistent grass‐only‐fed beef and conventional marbled beef in Wagyu (Japanese Black cattle) (pages 352–359)

Khounsaknalath SITHYPHONE, Mitsuyasu YABE, Hiroshi HORITA, Keisuke HAYASHI, Tomiko FUMITA, Yuji SHIOTSUKA, Tetsuji ETOH, Fumio EBARA, Olavanh SAMADMANIVONG, Jochen WEGNER and Takafumi GOTOH

Article first published online: 24 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00836.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00836.x/abstract)

* RAPID COMMUNICATION

Survival of embryos and calves derived from somatic cell nuclear transfer in cattle: a nationwide survey in Japan (pages 360–365)

Shinya WATANABE and Takashi NAGAI

Article first published online: 4 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00846.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1740-0929.2010.00846.x/abstract)

Veterinary Nursing Journal Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd April 2011 Volume 26, Issue 4 Pages 106–139

* EDITORIAL
Dear Reader (page 106)

Helen Field

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00029.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00029.x/abstract)

* NEWS & REPORTS

NEWS & REPORTS (pages 107–115)

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00030.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00030.x/abstract)

* CLINICAL/PRACTICAL

Parenteral drug administration (pages 117–119)

Claire Shellim

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00031.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00031.x/abstract)

Optimising the theatre environment (pages 121–125)

Gary Rutland

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00033.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00033.x/abstract)

Haematology of the anaemic patient (pages 126–127)

Matthew Garland

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00032.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00032.x/abstract)

* FEATURES

Are you prepared to teach? (pages 128–130)

Ross White

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00036.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00036.x/abstract)

Who needs key skills? Part 3 (pages 132–134)

Jill Macdonald

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00035.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00035.x/abstract)

Blended Learning – the way forward for veterinary nursing? (pages 136–139)

Katherine Kissick

Article first published online: 24 MAR 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00034.x

(http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.2045-0648.2010.00034.x/abstract)

Atlas da vacina BCG mostra luta contra tuberculose

Pesquisadores canadenses acabam de lançar Atlas Mundial da BCG, uma espécie de mapa-múndi interativo onde é possível consultar as políticas de vacinação ao redor do planeta.

Dia Mundial da Tuberculose

A tuberculose continua representando uma grande ameaça à saúde global.

Uma pessoa é infectada com o bacilo da tuberculose no mundo a cada segundo.

Todo ano, mais de 9 milhões de pessoas desenvolvem a tuberculose ativa e cerca de 2 milhões perdem a vida por causa dela.

Hoje, 24 de Março, é celebrado o Dia Mundial da Tuberculose.

Vacina BCG

A vacina BCG (Bacilo de Calmette-Guérin) criada em 1921, continua a ser a única vacina utilizada para prevenir a tuberculose.

Apesar de quase um século de utilização, a vacina ainda é controversa, com variações bem documentadas em termos de eficácia ao redor do mundo.

Essas variações levam também a mudanças nas práticas de vacinação nos diversos países e ao longo do tempo.

Para documentar esse processo, pesquisadores canadenses acabam de lançar Atlas Mundial da BCG, uma espécie de mapa-múndi interativo onde é possível consultar as políticas de vacinação ao redor do planeta.

Atlas Mundial da BCG

"O Atlas foi desenvolvido para ser uma ferramenta útil para os médicos, pesquisadores e formuladores de políticas," declarou o Dr. Madhukar Pai, da Universidade McGill. "Ele terá implicações importantes no diagnóstico e no tratamento da tuberculose e na pesquisa que está sendo feita no desenvolvimento de uma nova vacina contra a tuberculose".

O Atlas Mundial da BCG é mais do que um mapa, é um site interativo, de acesso livre, com informações detalhadas sobre as políticas passadas e atuais de luta contra a tuberculose e de práticas de vacinação da BCG em mais de 180 países.

Os médicos precisam estar cientes das diferentes políticas de aplicação da vacina BCG em diferentes partes do mundo, bem como das alterações nessas políticas ao longo do tempo, especialmente quando se trata de adultos nascidos no estrangeiro que foram vacinados quando crianças e que não possuem mais seus registros pessoais de vacinação.

A vacina BCG pode causar falsos positivos no teste de pele que é rotineiramente usado para triagem de tuberculose latente.

O Atlas Mundial da BCG poderá ser consultado no endereço www.bcgatlas.org.

Entenda por que o tipo 4 do vírus da dengue preocupa os médicos

Variação não é mais nem menos perigosa que as demais. Entrada de um novo tipo de vírus aumenta o risco de contágio.

O avanço do vírus tipo 4 da dengue pelo Brasil é uma ameaça à saúde pública. Não pelo vírus em si, que não é mais nem menos perigoso que os tipos 1, 2 e 3, mas pela entrada em ação de mais uma variação do microorganismo, de acordo com médicos ouvidos pelo G1.

“Em termos de classificação, estamos falando do mesmo tipo de vírus, com quatro variações”, explica Marcelo Litvoc, infectologista do Hospital Sírio-Libanês, em São Paulo. “Do ponto de vista clínico, são absolutamente iguais, vão gerar o mesmo quadro”, esclarece o médico.

Saiba reconhecer os sintomas da dengue

A explicação do problema provocado pelo vírus 4 está no sistema imunológico do corpo humano. Quem já teve dengue causada por um tipo do vírus não registra um novo episódio da doença com o mesmo tipo. Ou seja, quem já teve dengue devido ao tipo 1 só pode ter novamente se ela for causada pelos tipos 2, 3 ou 4.

“Quanto mais vírus existirem, maior a probabilidade de haver uma infecção”, resume Caio Rosenthal, infectologista e consultor do programa Bem Estar, da TV Globo. Se houvesse só um tipo de vírus, ninguém poderia ter dengue duas vezes na vida.

A possibilidade da reincidência da doença é preocupante. Caso ocorra um segundo episódio da dengue, os sintomas se manifestam com mais severidade. “Existe certa sensibilização do sistema imunológico e ele dá uma resposta exacerbada”, afirma Litvoc.

Esta reação exagerada do sistema imunológico é um problema. Pode causar inflamações e, por isso, aumenta o risco de lesões nos vasos sanguíneos, o que levaria à dengue hemorrágica. Um terceiro episódio poderia ser ainda mais grave, e um quarto seria mais perigoso que o terceiro.

Clique para visualizar melhor

Nanomodified Surfaces Seal Leg Implants Against Infection

ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2011) — In recent years, researchers have worked to develop more flexible, functional prosthetics for soldiers returning home from battlefields in Afghanistan or Iraq with missing arms or legs. But even new prosthetics have trouble keeping bacteria from entering the body through the space where the device has been implanted.

Nanotubular surfaces Anodizing the titanium surface of a surgical implant, left, yields a roughened surface of nanotubes, which skin cells colonize more quickly. 

"You need to close (the area) where the bacteria would enter the body, and that's where the skin is," said Thomas Webster, associate professor of engineering and orthopaedics at Brown University.

Webster and a team of researchers at Brown may have come across the right formula to deter bacterial migrants. The group reports two ways in which it modified the surface of titanium leg implants to promote skin cell growth, thereby creating a natural skin layer and sealing the gap where the device has been implanted into the body. The researchers also created a molecular chain to sprinkle skin-growing proteins on the implant to hasten skin growth.

The findings are published in the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research A.

The researchers, including Melanie Zile, a Boston University student who worked in Webster's lab as part of Brown's Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards program, and Sabrina Puckett, who earned her engineering doctorate last May, created two different surfaces at the nanoscale, dimensions less than a billionth of a meter.

In the first approach, the scientists fired an electron beam of titanium coating at the abutment (the piece of the implant that is inserted into the bone), creating a landscape of 20-nanometer mounds. Those mounds imitate the contours of natural skin and trick skin cells into colonizing the surface and growing additional keratinocytes, or skin cells.

Webster knew such a surface, roughened at the nanoscale, worked for regrowing bone cells and cartilage cells, but he was unsure whether it would be successful at growing skin cells. This may be the first time that a nanosurface created this way on titanium has been shown to attract skin cells.

The second approach, called anodization, involved dipping the abutment into hydrofluoric acid and giving it a jolt of electric current. This causes the titanium atoms on the abutment's surface to scurry about and regather as hollow, tubular structures rising perpendicularly from the abutment's surface. As with the nanomounds, skin cells quickly colonize the nanotubular surface.

In laboratory (in vitro) tests, the researchers report nearly a doubling of skin cell density on the implant surface; within five days, the keratinocyte density reached the point at which an impermeable skin layer bridging the abutment and the body had been created.

"You definitely have a complete layer of skin," Webster said. "There's no more gap for the bacteria to go through."

To further promote skin cell growth around the implant, Webster's team looked to FGF-2, a protein secreted by the skin to help other skin cells grow. Simply slathering the abutment with the proteins doesn't work, as FGF-2 loses its effect when absorbed by the titanium. So the researchers came up with a synthetic molecular chain to bind FGF-2 to the titanium surface, while maintaining the protein's skin-cell growing ability. Not surprisingly, in vitro tests showed the greatest density of skin cells on abutment surfaces using the nanomodified surfaces and laced with FGF-2. Moreover, the nanomodified surfaces create more surface area for FGF-2 proteins than would be available on traditional implants.

The next step is to perform in vivo studies; if they are successful, human trials could begin, although Webster said that could be years away.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. National Science Foundation funded the research

Scientists Grow Personalized Collections of Intestinal Microbes

ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2011) — Each of us carries a unique collection of trillions of friendly microbes in our intestines that helps break down food our bodies otherwise couldn't digest

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis show they can grow and manipulate personalized collections of human intestinal microbes in the laboratory and pluck out particular microbes of interest. The research sets the stage for identifying new probiotics and evaluating in preclinical trials whether microbe transplants can restore the natural balance of intestinal bacteria in "sick" microbial communities. 

This relationship between humans and their microbes is generally a healthy one, but changes to the mix of microbes in the digestive tract are suspected to play a role in obesity, malnutrition, Crohn's disease and other ailments.

Now, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis show they can grow and manipulate personalized collections of human intestinal microbes in the laboratory and pluck out particular microbes of interest.

The research sets the stage for identifying new probiotics and evaluating in preclinical trials whether microbe transplants can restore the natural balance of intestinal bacteria in "sick" microbial communities.

The research, by Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD, the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor and director of the Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology, and his team is reported online March 21 in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This research helps set up a discovery pipeline in which we can deliberately manipulate collections of human intestinal microbes from people of different ages and cultures who are either healthy or sick," says Gordon, whose research first established a possible link between obesity and other facets of nutritional status and the mix of microbes that inhabit the intestine. "This gives us the opportunity to identify new groups of microbes that may be extremely beneficial in various therapeutic settings."

Researchers have grown bacterial microbes in the laboratory before, but until recently there's been no reliable way to know whether communities captured in a Petri dish mirror the extensive bacterial collections that exist in particular habitats of the body, such as the intestine.

"There are so many types of bacteria that live in different parts of our bodies, as well as substantial differences in these collections from person to person, that most scientists have thought we're probably missing a lot of the richness of microbial communities when we try to grow them in the laboratory," Gordon says. "But we found that the ability to successfully grow collections of gut microbes is much greater than had been expected."

For the study, the researchers obtained stool samples from two unrelated people. A portion of each sample was grown in the laboratory under strict "anaerobic" conditions because gut microbes live in an environment that lacks oxygen.

Then, they used the latest DNA sequencing technology to sequence a gene found in all microbes. This gene, 16S rDNA, functions as a barcode of life to determine "who" is there and can be used to inventory the various species present in a microbial community.

In all, they discovered that most of the different groups of intestinal bacteria found in an individual also were present in their corresponding bacterial collections that were grown, or cultured, in the laboratory.

"We were able to capture a remarkable proportion of the diversity of each person's intestinal bacteria in the samples we grew in the laboratory," says first author Andrew Goodman, PhD, a former postdoctoral student in Gordon's lab who is now on the faculty at Yale University.

The researchers then transplanted collections of microbial communities from the cultured and uncultured samples into the intestinal tracts of formerly germ-free mice. The mice, in essence, acquired a collection of gut microbes that mimicked the community in the original human donor.

By analyzing these "humanized" mice, the researchers demonstrated that both cultured and uncultured gut microbial communities from the same person behaved in the same manner when the mice were switched from their typical diet -- a low-fat, plant-based mouse chow -- to a standard western diet that is high in fat and sugar. Some species became more dominant and others less so, but the changes were virtually identical, regardless of whether the original sample was cultured or not.

The researchers also demonstrated they could split apart an entire community of cultured intestinal microbes and create a "personalized" library of bacterial species.

Microbes that react strongly to changes in diet or exposure to antibiotics, for example, can be retrieved from these libraries and their genomes can be sequenced to help understand why they respond as they do. Then, these microbes can be reunited with other members of a microbial community in germ-free mice to create more simplified models of human gut communities.

Gordon envisions that this approach makes it possible to obtain personalized microbial communities from people around the world who consume different diets and from individuals who are obese or malnourished or who have Crohn's or other diseases.

"This gives us the ability to test the contributions of specific microbes or groups of microbes and their influence on a person's health," Gordon explains. "One central question we hope to answer is how much of a person's overall nutritional status can be ascribed to their gut microbes and whether nutritional status can be improved by therapeutic interventions directed to gut microbial communities."

The research is funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.

Bird Embryo Provides Unique Insights Into Development Related to Cancer and Wound Healing

ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2011) — Avian embryos could join the list of model organisms used to study a specific type of cell migration called epiboly, thanks to the results of a study published this month in the journal Developmental Dynamics. The new study provides insights into the mechanisms of epiboly, a developmental process involving mass movement of cells as a sheet, which is linked with medical conditions that include wound healing and cancer.

This confocal image shows high levels of the protein vimentin (white) at the edge zone of a quail embryo. Cell nuclei are labeled green. 

The study, published online on March 15, explains how epithelial cells expand as a sheet and migrate to engulf the entire avian egg yolk as it grows. It also reveals the presence of certain molecules during this process that have not been previously reported in other major developmental models, including Xenopus frogs and zebrafish.

"These molecules and mechanisms of early development in the avian embryo may demonstrate evolutionary differences across species in the collective movement of epithelial cells and motivate additional studies of avian embryo development," said Evan Zamir, an assistant professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech.

Matt Futterman, who worked on the project as a graduate student at Georgia Tech, and mechanical engineering professor Andrés García also contributed to this study. The research was funded by Zamir's new faculty support from Georgia Tech and by a grant to García from the National Institutes of Health.

In the study, the researchers conducted immunofluorescence and high-resolution confocal microscopy experiments to examine the spatial distribution and expression of five proteins -- vimentin, cytokeratin, β-catenin, E-cadherin and laminin -- as cells moved to wrap the yolk sac of quail embryos during development.

The results showed that during this process, four of the proteins -- vimentin, cytokeratin, β-catenin and E-cadherin -- appeared in the cells located at the free edge of the migrating cell sheet. Finding dense interconnected networks of both vimentin and cytokeratin in the edge cells surprised the researchers.

"Since cytokeratin is generally associated with the epithelial phenotype and vimentin is generally associated with the mesenchymal phenotype, it's rare to see them expressed in the same cells, but this does occur in metastasizing tumor cells," said Zamir.

Cells expressing the mesenchymal phenotype are typically found in connective tissues -- such as bone, cartilage, and the lymphatic and circulatory systems -- whereas cells of the epithelial phenotype are found in cavities and glands and on surfaces throughout the body.

This finding provides evidence that epithelial cells normally attached to a membrane surface underwent biochemical changes that enabled them to assume a mesenchymal cell phenotype, which enhanced their migratory capacity. This process, called partial epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, has many similarities to the initiation of tumor cell metastasis and wound healing.

Since this epithelial and mesenchymal expression pattern in the edge cells has not previously been reported in Xenopus or zebrafish, it may be unique to the avian embryo. This discovery would make the avian embryo a valuable model for studying tumor cell migration and wound healing.

In addition to detailing protein expression in the quail embryo during development, the researchers also determined the origin of the new cells required at the migrating edge to cover the growing yolk. During development, the radius of the quail yolk doubles every day for the first few days, representing a hundreds-fold increase in the egg yolk surface area.

"For each individual cell that has to cover the egg yolk as it grows, the migration around the yolk is extraordinary, because it's such a large territory -- it'd be like an ant walking across the earth," explained Zamir.

Looking more closely at the edge cells, the researchers found strong evidence that expansion of the edge cell population was due exclusively to cells relocating from an interior region to the edge as the embryo expanded. The cells located at the free edge generated the bulk of the traction force necessary for expansion and towed the cells within the interior of the epithelium.

"These experiments confirm that edge cell proliferation is not the primary mechanism for expansion of the edge cell population," noted Zamir. "And our observation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in the edge cells explains how these epithelial cells might be changing phenotype to become migratory in this rapidly expanding sheet."

To determine if this study's findings are indeed unique to the avian embryo, Zamir plans to conduct further studies to characterize protein expression and cell migration in Xenopus and zebrafish.

Drug Prevents Type 2 Diabetes in Majority of High-Risk Individuals

ScienceDaily (Mar. 23, 2011) — A pill taken once a day in the morning prevented type 2 diabetes in more than 70 percent of individuals whose obesity, ethnicity and other markers put them at highest risk for the disease, U.S. scientists report.

The team also noted a 31 percent decrease in the rate of thickening of the carotid artery, the major vessel that supplies blood to the brain. The study, which enrolled 602 participants through The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and seven collaborating centers, is described in the New England Journal of Medicine and has direct implications for the care of 40 million Americans who are pre-diabetic.

"It's a blockbuster study," said senior author Ralph DeFronzo, M.D., professor in the School of Medicine and chief of the diabetes division at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio. "The 72 percent reduction is the largest decrease in the conversion rate of pre-diabetes to diabetes that has ever been demonstrated by any intervention, be it diet, exercise or medication."

Multiple-year follow-up

Dr. DeFronzo led the trial of pioglitazone, which is marketed as Actos® by Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. The Japanese company provided an independent investigator grant to Dr. DeFronzo to conduct the ACT Now study. Some patients were followed for as long as four years; the average follow-up was 2.4 years.

Pioglitazone is widely used as an insulin sensitizer in patients with type 2 diabetes. In the ACT Now study, participants were chosen because of their high risk for diabetes, including obesity, family history and impaired glucose tolerance as demonstrated by a glucose test.

"The drug shows outstanding results," said Robert R. Henry, M.D., president, medicine and science, of the American Diabetes Association. "It is the most efficacious method we have studied to date to delay or prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes." A study co-investigator, Dr. Henry is professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego, and chief of the section of endocrinology and diabetes at the VA San Diego Healthcare System.

Blood vessel damage prevented

Robert Chilton, D.O., FACC, a UT Health Science Center San Antonio cardiologist who was not involved with the study, said the slowing of carotid artery thickness indicated that the participants' glucose was well controlled, preventing blood vessel damage that leads to heart attacks, strokes and peripheral vascular disease.

Individuals who have diabetes have the same high risk of having a first heart attack as do non-diabetic people who already had a heart attack, he noted.

"The drug was able to postpone conversion to diabetes in 72 percent of people," Dr. Chilton said. "The only thing that could potentially beat that is the free pill no one seems to be able to take -- diet and exercise."

Insulin resistance

Type 2 diabetes involves abnormalities with insulin, a hormone secreted by beta cells in the pancreas. Insulin helps the body store and use sugar from food, but in type 2 diabetes the body is insulin resistant, that is, it inefficiently responds to the hormone. With time the beta cells in diabetic patients start to die, resulting in less insulin to handle the demands. Levels of the hormone become progressively lower and sugar levels are increased progressively, damaging blood vessels and organs.

Dr. Henry said the ACT Now study highlights the importance of insulin resistance in the development of type 2 diabetes and how, by treating this resistance, the beta cell secretion of insulin is preserved for a longer period of time.

Pioglitazone was well tolerated by participants, with weight gain and fluid retention observed at the dose used in the study. Dr. DeFronzo said those side effects can be mitigated by using a lower dose that works equally well. Pioglitazone stimulates appetite while at the same time shifting fat around in the body, taking it out of muscle, the liver and beta cells and putting it in subcutaneous fat depots under the skin where it is inert and not harmful, he said.

"No drug is perfect," Dr. DeFronzo said. "This particular medication does two things -- improves insulin resistance and improves beta cell function, which are the two core defects of diabetes."