ChileAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, which is probably caused by the cytotoxic effect of the amyloid b-peptide (Ab). We report here molecular changes induced by Ab, both in neuronal cells in culture and in rats injected in the dorsal hippocampus with preformed Ab fibrils, as an in vivo model of the disease. Results indicate that in both systems, Ab neurotoxicity resulted in the destabilization of endogenous levels of b-catenin, a key transducer of the Wnt signaling pathway. Lithium chloride, which mimics Wnt signaling by inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase-3b promoted the survival of post-mitotic neurons against Ab neurotoxicity and recovered cytosolic b-catenin to control levels. Moreover, the neurotoxic effect of Ab fibrils was also modulated with protein kinase C agonists/inhibitors and reversed with conditioned medium containing the Wnt-3a ligand. We also examined the spatial memory performance of rats injected with preformed Ab fibrils in the Morris water maze paradigm, and found that chronic lithium treatment protected neurodegeneration by rescuing b-catenin levels and improved the deficit in spatial learning induced by Ab. Our results are consistent with the idea that Ab-dependent neurotoxicity induces a loss of function of Wnt signaling components and indicate that lithium or compounds that mimic this signaling cascade may be putative candidates for therapeutic intervention in Alzheimer's patients.

The necessary replacement of fish meal with other protein source in diets of commercially important fish has prompted the study of the effect of the inclusion of different vegetable proteins sources on growth performance and on the gastro-intestinal tract. Currently, soybean meal is the primary protein source as a fish meal replacement because of its low price and high availability. Likewise, it is been documented that the ingestion of soybean meal by several fish species, such as salmonids and carp, triggers a type of intestinal inflammation called enteritis. In this paper, we analyzed the effects of the ingestion of soybean meal and two of its components, soy protein and soy saponin, on zebrafish to establish the basis for using zebrafish larvae as a model for fish nutrition. We took advantage of the existence of different transgenic lines, which allowed us to perform in vivo analysis. Our results indicated that larvae that were feed with soybean meal developed a clear intestinal inflammation as early as two day after beginning the diet. Moreover, we determined that is not the soy protein present in the diet but the soy saponin that is primarily responsible for triggering the immune response. These findings support the use of zebrafish screening assays to identify novel ingredients that would to improved current fish diets or would formulate new ones.

Hif-1α is a novel and important regulator of EMT and chemotaxis during migration of neural crest cells.

BackgroundDepressive disorders are frequently under diagnosed in resource‐limited settings because of lack of access to mental health care or the inability of healthcare providers to recognize them. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)‐2 and the PHQ‐9 have been widely used for screening and diagnosis of depression in primary care settings; however, the validity of their use in rural, Spanish‐speaking populations is unknown.MethodWe used a cross‐sectional design to assess the psychometric properties of the PHQ‐9 for depression diagnosis and estimated the sensitivity and specificity of the PHQ‐2 for depression screening. Data were collected from 223 adults in a rural community of Chiapas, Mexico, using the PHQ‐2, the PHQ‐9, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF Scale (WHOQOL‐ BREF).ResultsConfirmatory factor analysis suggested that the 1‐factor structure fit reasonably well. The internal consistency of the PHQ‐9 was good (Cronbach's alpha > = 0.8) overall and for subgroups defined by gender, literacy, and age. The PHQ‐9 demonstrated good predictive validity: Participants with a PHQ‐9 diagnosis of depression had lower quality of life scores on the overall WHOQOL‐BREF Scale and each of its domains. Using the PHQ‐9 results as a gold standard, the optimal PHQ‐2 cutoff score for screening of depression was 3 (sensitivity 80.00%, specificity 86.88%, area under receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.89; 95% confidence interval [0.84, 0.94]).ConclusionThe PHQ‐2 and PHQ‐9 demonstrated good psychometric properties, suggesting their potential benefit as tools for depression screening and diagnosis in rural, Spanish‐speaking populations.