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Results for “Body Patterning”

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At least 1,189 records · Page 66Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

The relationship between patterns of alcohol consumption and body weight. Lung Health Study Research Group.

BACKGROUND: Reported alcohol intake has an inverse association with body weight in women but is related to greater weight or no differences in weight in men. However, the relationship of alcohol consumption to weight appears to be less reliable in cigarette smokers and may be modified by the pattern of alcohol intake. The objective of this investigation was to examine the relationship of both aggregate alcohol intake and daily modal intake to body mass index (BMI) in male and female cigarette smokers. METHODS: Cigarette smoking habits, body weight, and alcohol intake were assessed during screening for a clinical trial of early intervention for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Analyses are based on 3616 men and 2141 women cigarette smokers between 35 and 60 years of age. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in BMI between alcohol drinkers and abstainers in either men or women. However, following regression adjustment for age, education, and cigarettes/day, total weekly alcohol intake was related to a lower BMI in both men and women, whereas a greater modal intake (drinks on a day alcohol is consumed) was related to a greater BMI in both men and women. CONCLUSIONS: The association of alcohol use to BMI in moderate to heavy cigarette smokers appears to be modified by the pattern of intake. Although the factors underlying this association are unclear, increased modal alcohol intake may serve as a marker for dietary or behavioural factors linked to greater body weight in cigarette smokers.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Sp5l is a mediator of Fgf signals in anteroposterior patterning of the neuroectoderm in zebrafish embryo.

The neuroectoderm is patterned along the anterior-posterior axis in vertebrate embryos. Fgf signals are required to induce the posterior neuroectodermal fates, but they repress the anterior fate. Sp5l/Spr2, an Sp1-like transcription factor family member, has been shown to be required for development of mesoderm and posterior neuroectoderm. We demonstrate here that repression of the anterior neuroectodermal markers fez and otx1 by fgf17b or fgf3 coincides with induction of sp5l in the anterior neuroectoderm, and that this repression is efficiently rescued by simultaneous sp5l knockdown. On the other hand, sp5l knockdown is able to inhibit inductive activity of ectopic Fgf signals on the expression of the posterior neuroectodermal markers gbx2, hoxb1b, and krox20. Furthermore, effect of overexpression of a dominant negative Fgf receptor on anteroposterior patterning of the neuroectoderm is rescued by sp5l overexpression. Taken together, these data suggest that sp5l mediates the functions of Fgf signals in anteroposterior patterning of the neuroectoderm during zebrafish embryogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The role of haptic cues from rough and slippery surfaces in human postural control.

Haptic information is critically important in complex sensory-motor tasks such as manipulating objects. Its comparable importance in spatial orientation is only beginning to be recognized. We have shown that postural sway in humans is significantly reduced by lightly touching a stable surface with a fingertip at contact force levels far below those physically necessary to stabilize the body. To investigate further the functional relationship between contact forces at the hand and postural equilibrium, we had subjects stand in the tandem Romberg stance while being allowed physically supportive (force contact) and non-physically supportive (touch contact) amounts of index fingertip force on surfaces with different frictional characteristics. Mean sway amplitude (MSA) was reduced by over 50% with both touch and force contact of the fingertip, compared to standing without fingertip contact. No differences in MSA were observed when touching rough or slippery surfaces. The amplitude of EMG activity in the peroneal muscles and the timing relationships between fingertip forces, body sway and EMG activity suggested that with touch contact of the finger or with force contact on a slippery surface long-loop "reflexes" involving postural muscles were stabilizing sway. With force contact of the fingertip on a rough surface, MSA reduction was achieved primarily through physical support of the body. This pattern of results indicates that light touch contact cues from the fingertip in conjunction with proprioceptive signals about arm configuration are providing information about body sway that can be used to reduce MSA through postural muscle activation.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Association of body size estimation and age in African-American females.

This cross-sectional research study tested the hypothesis that body image estimates of African-American females differ as a function of age. To test this hypothesis, body image estimates of 379 African-American females, ranging in age from 16 to 96 years, were contrasted as a function of age group, while statistically controlling body mass index. Three body size estimates, current body size, ideal body size, and reasonable body size were measured using the Body Image Assessment for Obesity. The discrepancies between current and ideal body size estimates and between current and reasonable body size estimates were also analyzed to assess for differences in body size dissatisfaction. The study found that younger African-American women (16 to 35 years) differed from older African-American women (>35 years) on measures of body size dissatisfaction. Women in the age range of 26 to 35 years reported higher estimates of current body size in comparison to women older than 35 years. The youngest age group (16 to 25 years) reported thinner ideal body size goals in comparison to women who were slightly older (26 to 35 years) and women who were older than 75 years. The pattern of body image estimates across a large age range suggests that younger African-American women, in comparison to older African-American women, may have body images that may make them more susceptible to eating disorders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Expression of hunchback during trunk segmentation in the branchiopod crustacean Artemia franciscana.

Comparative studies have shown that some aspects of segmentation are widely conserved among arthropods. Yet, it is still unclear whether the molecular prepatterns that are required for segmentation in Drosophila are likely to be similarly conserved in other arthropod groups. Homologues of the Drosophila gap genes, like hunchback, show regionally restricted expression patterns during the early phases of segmentation in diverse insects, but their expression patterns in other arthropod groups are not yet known. Here, we report the cloning of a hunchback orthologue from the crustacean Artemia franciscana and its expression during the formation of trunk segments. Artemia hunchback is expressed in a series of segmental stripes that correspond to individual thoracic/trunk, genital, and postgenital segments. However, this expression is not associated with the segmenting ectoderm but is restricted to mesodermal cells that associate with the ectoderm in a regular metameric pattern. All cells in the early segmental mesoderm appear to express hunchback. Later, mesodermal expression fades, and a complex expression pattern appears in the central nervous system (CNS), which is comparable to hunchback expression in the CNS of insects. No regionally restricted expression, reminiscent of gap gene expression, is observed during trunk segmentation. These patterns suggest that the expression patterns of hunchback in the mesoderm and in the CNS are likely to be ancient and conserved among crustaceans and insects. In contrast, we find no evidence for a conserved role of hunchback in axial patterning in the trunk ectoderm.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

From head to toe: conservation of molecular signals regulating limb and craniofacial morphogenesis.

Recent evidence indicates that many molecules involved in generating and patterning the limbs also play a role during craniofacial morphogenesis. On the surface, this is an unexpected finding given that these regions of the body have separate evolutionary origins, are composed of different embryonic tissues, and are quite dissimilar in their anatomy. Results from several experiments involving Sonic hedgehog and retinoic acid point to a remarkable conservation of the signaling pathways mediated by these morphogens across multiple organ systems. Moreover, mutants such as the extra-toes and doublefoot mouse, and the talpid chicken also provide insights on common developmental processes that underlie the formation of the limbs and face. The identification of highly conserved aspects of morphogenesis is important for understanding fundamental mechanisms of development, as well as for revealing the common denominator of countless birth defects and providing new strategies for their prevention and cure.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Effects of vibratory acoustic stimulation on human fetal breathing and gross fetal body movements near term.

Twenty-five pregnant women between 36 and 40 weeks' gestational age were studied to examine effects of a 5-second external vibratory acoustic stimulus on fetal breathing and gross fetal body movement patterns. When the study period was compared with the control period, there was an immediate significant decrease in the incidence of fetal breathing movements that persisted for 1 hour after the stimulus. Moreover the fetal breathing pattern was more irregular for the hour after the stimulus. There was also a significant but delayed increase in the incidence of gross fetal body movements that persisted for 1 hour after the stimulus. We hypothesize that an external vibratory acoustic stimulus causes a change from a state of sleep to a state of wakefulness in near-term healthy fetuses.

Acoustic Stimulation↗
PubMed1993

Correlation of GAP-43 immunoreactivity with subpopulations of chromaffin cells in rat adrenal medulla.

The neuronal growth-associated protein (GAP-43) is widely expressed during embryonic growth and axonal regeneration and has been thought to contribute to synaptic plasticity in adult animals. In contrast to the exclusively presynaptic pattern of GAP-43 immunoreactivity in sympathetic ganglia, GAP-43 intensely and selectively labeled the noradrenergic subpopulation of adult rat adrenal medullary chromaffin cell bodies, a pattern which persisted with adrenal denervation. Adjacent adrenergic islands containing neuropeptide Y and phenylethanolamine-N-methyl transferase immunoreactivity failed to express GAP-43. The immunohistochemical appearance of GAP-43 was qualitatively unchanged in the adrenal medulla of aged and diabetic rats, conditions in which the sympathoadrenal axis is thought to be dysfunctional.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMed2004

Speed of pattern appearance in reaction-diffusion models: implications in the pattern formation of limb bud mesenchyme cells.

It has been postulated that fibroblast growth factor (FGF) treatment of cultured limb bud mesenchyme cells reinforces the lateral inhibitory effect, but the cells also show accelerated pattern appearance. In the present study, we analyze how a small change in a specific parameter affects the speed of pattern appearance in a Turing reaction-diffusion system using linear stability analysis. It is shown that the sign of the change in appearance speed is qualitatively decided if the system is under the diffusion-driven instability condition, and this is confirmed by numerical simulations. Numerical simulations also show that a small change in parameter value induced easily detectable differences in the appearance speed of patterns. Analysis of the Gierer-Meinhardt model revealed that a change in a single parameter can explain two effects of FGF on limb mesenchyme cells-reinforcement of lateral inhibition and earlier appearance of pattern. These qualitative properties and easy detectability make this feature a promising tool to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of biological pattern formation where the quantitative parameters are difficult to obtain.

Animals↗
PubMed2007

Hairy math: insights into hair-follicle spacing and orientation.

Hair follicles in the skin have a characteristic spacing and orientation. Two recent papers (Sick et al., 2006 and Wang et al., 2006) report the use of contrasting mathematical models and experimental manipulations to gain insight into the mechanisms underlying patterns of hair-follicle distribution and orientation.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Serotonin signaling is a very early step in patterning of the left-right axis in chick and frog embryos.

BACKGROUND: Consistent left-right (LR) asymmetry is a fascinating problem in developmental and evolutionary biology. Conservation of early LR patterning steps among vertebrates as well as involvement of nonprotein small-molecule messengers are very poorly understood. Serotonin (5-HT) is a key neurotransmitter with crucial roles in physiology and cognition. We tested the hypothesis that LR patterning required prenervous serotonin signaling and characterized the 5-HT pathway in chick and frog embryos. RESULTS: A pharmacological screen implicated endogenous signaling through receptors R3 and R4 and the activity of monoamine oxidase (MAO) in the establishment of correct sidedness of asymmetric gene expression and of the viscera in Xenopus embryos. HPLC and immunohistochemistry analysis indicates that Xenopus eggs contain a maternal supply of serotonin that is progressively degraded during cleavage stages. Serotonin's dynamic localization in frog embryos requires gap junctional communication and H,K-ATPase function. Microinjection of loss- and gain-of-function constructs into the right ventral blastomere randomizes asymmetry. In chick embryos, R3 and R4 activity is upstream of the asymmetry of Sonic hedgehog expression. MAO is asymmetrically expressed in the node. CONCLUSIONS: Serotonin is present in very early chick and frog embryos. 5-HT pathway function is required for normal asymmetry and is upstream of asymmetric gene expression. The microinjection data reveal asymmetry existing in frog embryos by the 4-cell stage and suggest novel intracellular 5-HT mechanisms. These functional and localization data identify a novel role for the neurotransmitter serotonin and implicate prenervous serotonergic signaling as an obligate aspect of very early left-right patterning conserved to two vertebrate species.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

BMP signaling and early embryonic patterning.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) play pleiotropic roles during embryonic development as well as throughout life. Recent genetic approaches especially using the mouse gene knockout system revealed that BMP signaling is greatly involved in early embryonic patterning, which is a dynamic event to establish three-dimensional polarities. The purpose of this review is to describe the diverse function of BMPs through different receptor signaling systems during embryonic patterning including gastrulation and establishment of the left-right asymmetry.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Linking floral symmetry genes to breeding system evolution.

Understanding the genetic basis of ecologically important traits is a major focus of evolutionary research. Recent advances in molecular genetic techniques should significantly increase our understanding of how regulatory genes function. By contrast, our understanding of the broader macro-evolutionary implications of developmental gene function lags behind. Here we review published data on the floral symmetry gene network (FSGN), and conduct phylogenetic analyses that provide evidence of a link between floral symmetry and breeding systems in angiosperms via dichogamy. Our results suggest that known genes in the FSGN and those yet to be described underlie this association. We posit that the integration of floral symmetry and the roles of other regulatory genes in plant breeding system evolution will provide new insights about macro-evolutionary patterns and processes in flowering plants.

Biological Evolution↗
PubMed2005

The ARID domain protein dril1 is necessary for TGF(beta) signaling in Xenopus embryos.

ARID domain proteins are members of a highly conserved family involved in chromatin remodeling and cell-fate determination. Dril1 is the founding member of the ARID family and is involved in developmental processes in both Drosophila and Caenorhabditis elegans. We describe the first embryological characterization of this gene in chordates. Dril1 mRNA expression is spatiotemporally regulated and is detected in the involuting mesoderm during gastrulation. Inhibition of dril1 by either a morpholino or an engrailed repressor-dril1 DNA binding domain fusion construct inhibits gastrulation and perturbs induction of the zygotic mesodermal marker Xbra and the organizer markers chordin, noggin, and Xlim1. Xenopus tropicalis dril1 morphants also exhibit impaired gastrulation and axial deficiencies, which can be rescued by coinjection of Xenopus laevis dril1 mRNA. Loss of dril1 inhibits the response of animal caps to activin and secondary axis induction by smad2. Dril1 depletion in animal caps prevents both the smad2-mediated induction of dorsal mesodermal and endodermal markers and the induction of ventral mesoderm by smad1. Mesoderm induction by eFGF is uninhibited in dril1 morphant caps, reflecting pathway specificity for dril1. These experiments identify dril1 as a novel regulator of TGF(beta) signaling and a vital component of mesodermal patterning and embryonic morphogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Temporal and spatial action of tolloid (mini fin) and chordin to pattern tail tissues.

In vertebrates, a bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway patterns all ventral cell fates along the embryonic axis. BMP activity is positively regulated by Tolloid, a metalloprotease, that can eliminate the activity of the BMP antagonist Chordin. A tolloid mutant in zebrafish, mini fin (mfn), exhibits a specific loss of ventral tail tissues. Here, we investigate the spatial and temporal requirements for Tolloid (Mfn) in dorsoventral patterning of the tail. Through chimeric analyses, we found that Tolloid (Mfn) functions cell non-autonomously in the ventral-most vegetal cells of the gastrula or their derivatives. We generated a tolloid transgene under the control of the inducible hsp70 promoter and demonstrate that tolloid (mfn) is first required at the completion of gastrulation. Although tolloid is expressed during gastrulation and dorsally and ventrally within the tail bud, our results indicate that Tolloid (Mfn) acts specifically in the ventral tail bud during a approximately 4 h period extending from the completion of gastrulation to early somitogenesis stages to regulate BMP signaling. Examination of the temporal requirements of Chordin activity by overexpression of the hsp70-tolloid transgene indicates that Chordin is required both during and after gastrulation for proper patterning of the tail, contrasting Tld's requirement only during post-gastrula stages. We hypothesize that the gastrula role of Chordin in tail patterning is to generate the proper size domains of cells to enter the ventral and dorsal tail bud, whereas post-gastrula Chordin activity patterns the derivatives of the tail bud. Thus, fine modulation of BMP signaling levels through the negative and positive actions of Chordin and Tolloid, respectively, patterns tail tissues.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

The ventralized ogon mutant phenotype is caused by a mutation in the zebrafish homologue of Sizzled, a secreted Frizzled-related protein.

The BMP signaling pathway plays a key role during dorsoventral pattern formation of vertebrate embryos. In zebrafish, all cloned mutants affecting this process are deficient in members of the BMP pathway. In a search for factors differentially expressed in swirl/bmp2b mutants compared with wild type, we isolated zebrafish Sizzled, a member of the secreted Frizzled-related protein family and putative Wnt inhibitor. The knockdown of sizzled using antisense morpholino phenocopied the ventralized mutant ogon (formerly also known as mercedes and short tail). By sequencing and rescue experiments, we demonstrate that ogon encodes sizzled. Overexpression of sizzled, resulting in strongly dorsalized phenotypes, and the expression domains of sizzled in wild type embryos, localized in the ventral side during gastrulation and restricted to the posterior end during segmentation stages, correlate with its role in dorsoventral patterning. The expanded expression domain of sizzled in ogon and chordino together with its downregulation in swirl suggests a BMP2b-dependent negative autoregulation of sizzled. Indicating a novel role for a secreted Frizzled-related protein, we show that, in addition to the BMP pathway, a component of the Wnt signaling pathway is required for dorsoventral pattern formation in zebrafish.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Involvement of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)18-FGF8 signaling in specification of left-right asymmetry and brain and limb development of the chick embryo.

To elucidate roles of fibroblast growth factors (FGF)18 during vertebrate development, we examined expression patterns of Fgf18 in chick embryos and observed effects of FGF18 protein on the Hensen's node, isthmus, and limb buds. Fgf18 is expressed on the right side of the node before the expression of Fgf8 starts. FGF18 protein can induce expression of Fgf8 on the left side of the node, indicating involvement of both FGFs in specification of left-right asymmetry. In the developing brain, Fgf18 is expressed in the isthmus, following the Fgf8 expression. Since Fgf18 is induced ectopically during formation of the second midbrain by FGF8 protein, both FGFs also elaborate midbrain development. In the limb bud, Fgf18 is expressed in the mesenchyme and ectopic application of FGF18 protein inhibits bone growth in the limb. FGF18 is thus likely an endogenous ligand of FGF receptor 3, whose mutation causes bone dysplasia in humans. These results demonstrate that the FGF18-FGF8 signaling is involved in various organizing activities and the signaling hierarchies between FGF18 and FGF8 seem to change during patterning of different structures.

Amino Acid Sequence↗