Browsing by Issue Date, starting with "2015-09-17"
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- Exosome Biogenesis, Regulation, and Function in Viral InfectionPublication . Alenquer, Marta; Amorim, MariaExosomes are extracellular vesicles released upon fusion of multivesicular bodies(MVBs) with the cellular plasma membrane. They originate as intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) duringthe process of MVB formation. Exosomes were shown to contain selectively sorted functionalproteins, lipids, and RNAs, mediating cell-to-cell communications and hence playing a role in thephysiology of the healthy and diseased organism. Challenges in the field include the identificationof mechanisms sustaining packaging of membrane-bound and soluble material to these vesicles andthe understanding of the underlying processes directing MVBs for degradation or fusion with theplasma membrane. The investigation into the formation and roles of exosomes in viral infection is inits early years. Although still controversial, exosomes can, in principle, incorporate any functionalfactor, provided they have an appropriate sorting signal, and thus are prone to viral exploitation.This review initially focuses on the composition and biogenesis of exosomes. It then explores theregulatory mechanisms underlying their biogenesis. Exosomes are part of the endocytic system,which is tightly regulated and able to respond to several stimuli that lead to alterations in thecomposition of its sub-compartments. We discuss the current knowledge of how these changesaffect exosomal release. We then summarize how different viruses exploit specific proteins ofendocytic sub-compartments and speculate that it could interfere with exosome function, althoughno direct link between viral usage of the endocytic system and exosome release has yet beenreported. Many recent reports have ascribed functions to exosomes released from cells infectedwith a variety of animal viruses, including viral spread, host immunity, and manipulation of themicroenvironment, which are discussed. Given the ever-growing roles and importance of exosomesin viral infections, understanding what regulates their composition and levels, and defining theirfunctions will ultimately provide additional insights into the virulence and persistence of infections.
- Dear Enemies Elicit Lower Androgen Responses to Territorial Challenges than Unfamiliar Intruders in a Cichlid FishPublication . Aires, Rui F.; Oliveira, Gonçalo A.; Oliveira, Tânia F.; Ros, Albert F. H.; Oliveira, Rui F.In many territorial species androgen hormones are known to increase in response to territorial intrusions as a way to adjust the expression of androgen-dependent behaviour to social challenges. The dear enemy effect has also been described in territorial species and posits that resident individuals show a more aggressive response to intrusions by strangers than by other territorial neighbours. Therefore, we hypothesized that the dear enemy effect may also modulate the androgen response to a territorial intrusion. Here we tested this hypothesis in male cichlid fish (Mozambique tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus) using a paradigm of four repeated territorial intrusions, either by the same neighbour or by four different unfamiliar intruders. Neighbour intruders elicited lower aggression and a weaker androgen response than strangers on the first intrusion of the experiment. With repeated intrusions, the agonistic behaviour of the resident males against familiar intruders was similar to that displayed towards strangers. By the fourth intrusion the androgen response was significantly reduced and there was no longer a difference between the responses to the two types of intruders. These results suggest that the dear enemy effect modulates the androgen response to territorial intrusions and that repeated intrusions lead to a habituation of the androgen response.