Skin morphology and its role in thermoregulation in mole-rats, Heterocephalus glaber and Cryptomys hottentotus.
(1/2331)
The skin structure of 2 Bathyergid rodents, the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) and the common mole-rat (Cryptomys hottentotus) is compared, to investigate whether thermoregulatory differences may be attributed to different skin features. Histological and ultrastructural studies of the dorsal skin of these closely related species show morphological and structural similarities but differences in the degree of skin folding, thickness of the integument and dermal infrastructure were evident. The skin of the common mole-rat conforms with expected morphological/histological arrangements that are commonly found in mammalian skin. Many features of the skin of the naked mole-rat, such as the lack of an insulating layer and the loosely folded morphological arrangement contribute to poikilothermic responses to changing temperatures of this mammal. Further evidence for poikilothermy in the naked mole-rat is indicated by the presence of pigment containing cells in the dermis, rather than the epidermis, as commonly occurs in homeotherms. Lack of fur is compensated by a thicker epidermal layer and a marked reduction in sweat glands. Differences in skin morphology thus contribute substantially to the different thermoregulatory abilities of the 2 Bathyergids. The skin morphology is related to the poor thermoinsulatory ability of the animals while simultaneously facilitating heat transfer from the environment to the animal by thigmothermy and/or other behavioural means. (+info)
Temperature regulation and heat dissipation during flight in birds.
(2/2331)
Core and skin temperature were measured by radiotelemetry in starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) during 30 min flights in a wind tunnel. Core temperature was independent of ambient temperature from 0 to 28 degrees C. The temporal mean of the monitored core temperature during flight was 42-7 degrees C in one bird and 44-0 degrees C in another. These temperatures are 2-4 degrees C higher than the resting temperature in starlings, and are among the highest steady-state temperatures observed in any animal. Skin temperature on the breast was within a few degrees of core temperature. In some locations skin temperature was higher at low ambient temperatures than at intermediate ambient temperatures. An analysis of the data shows that a high core temperature does not function as an aid to head dissipation. On the contrary, insulation is adjusted to maintain a high temperature, presumably because it is necessary for flight. The increase in skin temperature at low ambient temperatures is believed to be a result of a decrease in heat flow through the breast feathers brought about by feather adjustments, to compensate for an unavoidable increase in heat flow in unfeathered or poorly feathered parts of the body. (+info)
Modulation of the thermoregulatory sweating response to mild hyperthermia during activation of the muscle metaboreflex in humans.
(3/2331)
1. To investigate the effect of the muscle metaboreflex on the thermoregulatory sweating response in humans, eight healthy male subjects performed sustained isometric handgrip exercise in an environmental chamber (35 C and 50 % relative humidity) at 30 or 45 % maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), at the end of which the blood circulation to the forearm was occluded for 120 s. The environmental conditions were such as to produce sweating by increase in skin temperature without a marked change in oesophageal temperature. 2. During circulatory occlusion after handgrip exercise at 30 % MVC for 120 s or at 45 % MVC for 60 s, the sweating rate (SR) on the chest and forearm (hairy regions), and the mean arterial blood pressure were significantly above baseline values (P < 0.05). There were no changes from baseline values in the oesophageal temperature, mean skin temperature, or SR on the palm (hairless regions). 3. During the occlusion after handgrip exercise at 30 % MVC for 60 s and during the occlusion alone, none of the measured parameters differed from baseline values. 4. It is concluded that, under mildly hyperthermic conditions, the thermoregulatory sweating response on the hairy regions is modulated by afferent signals from muscle metaboreceptors. (+info)
Reversing adipocyte differentiation: implications for treatment of obesity.
(4/2331)
Conventional treatment of obesity reduces fat in mature adipocytes but leaves them with lipogenic enzymes capable of rapid resynthesis of fat, a likely factor in treatment failure. Adenovirus-induced hyperleptinemia in normal rats results in rapid nonketotic fat loss that persists after hyperleptinemia disappears, whereas pair-fed controls regain their weight in 2 weeks. We report here that the hyperleptinemia depletes adipocyte fat while profoundly down-regulating lipogenic enzymes and their transcription factor, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma in epididymal fat; enzymes of fatty acid oxidation and their transcription factor, PPARalpha, normally low in adipocytes, are up-regulated, as are uncoupling proteins 1 and 2. This transformation of adipocytes from cells that store triglycerides to fatty acid-oxidizing cells is accompanied by loss of the adipocyte markers, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein 2, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and leptin, and by the appearance of the preadipocyte marker Pref-1. These findings suggest a strategy for the treatment of obesity by alteration of the adipocyte phenotype. (+info)
Effects of different light intensities during the daytime on circadian rhythm of core temperature in humans.
(5/2331)
The present study was to determine the effects of bright light exposure during the daytime on core temperature rhythm. Eight female students participated as subjects. They were exposed to bright light of 5000 lux or dim light of 200 lux for 13 hours (06:30-19:30) for two consecutive days. Except the sleep period (22:30-06:30) and during the bright light exposure, light intensity was controlled at 200 lux. Rectal temperature data were collected every 10 min throughout the whole experimental period. The mean level of rectal temperature was not significantly different between the bright and the dim light conditions. However, the evening fall and the morning rise of rectal temperature were significantly greater in the bright light conditions on Day 2 compared to the dim. Furthermore, cosinor analysis showed that the acrophase of rectal temperature rhythm was earlier on Day 2 in the bright light conditions than the dim, and was significantly delayed on Day 2 compared to Day 1 in the dim light conditions. These results suggest that low intensity during the daytime for two consecutive days may induce a phase delay of core temperature rhythm rather than the bright light exposure at least in normally entrained female subjects. (+info)
The Parkes Lecture. Heat and the testis.
(6/2331)
The evidence for the lower temperature of the testes of many mammals is summarized, and the reasons suggested for the descent of the testes into a scrotum are discussed. Descriptions are given of the various techniques used for studying the effects of heat on the testis, whole body heating, local heating of the testes (by inducing cryptorchidism, scrotal insulation or immersion of the scrotum in a water bath), and heating of tissue or cell preparations in vitro. The effects of heat are discussed, effects on the testis (weight, histology, physiology, biochemistry and endocrinology), on the numbers and motility of spermatozoa in rete testis fluid and semen, on fertilizing ability of spermatozoa and on the subsequent development of the embryos produced when spermatozoa from heated testes are used to fertilize normal ova. The possible mechanisms for the damaging effects of heat are discussed, as well as the importance of heat-induced abnormalities in male reproduction in domestic animals and humans. (+info)
Fever: links with an ancient receptor.
(7/2331)
Recent advances have provided evidence that prostaglandin E2 mediates the generation of fever in response to interleukin-1 or lipopolysaccharide and have reinforced the similarities of signaling downstream of these two pyrogens. (+info)
Cytokines as endogenous pyrogens.
(8/2331)
Cytokines are pleiotropic molecules mediating several pathologic processes. Long before the discovery of cytokines as immune system growth factors or as bone marrow stimulants, investigators learned a great deal about cytokines when they studied them as the endogenous mediators of fever. The terms "granulocytic" or "endogenous pyrogen" were used to describe substances with the biologic property of fever induction. Today, we recognize that pyrogenicity is a fundamental biologic property of several cytokines and hence the clinically recognizeable property of fever links host perturbations during disease with fundamental perturbations in cell biology. In this review, the discoveries made on endogenous pyrogens are revisited, with insights into the importance of the earlier work to the present-day understanding of cytokines in health and in disease. (+info)