Glucocorticoids are vital for the structural and functional maturation of foetal organs, yet excessive foetal exposure is detrimental to adult cardiovascular health. To elucidate the role of glucocorticoid signalling in late-gestation cardiovascular maturation, we have generated mice with conditional disruption of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle cells using smooth muscle protein 22-driven Cre recombinase (SMGRKO mice) and compared them with mice with global deficiency in GR (GR(-/-)). Echocardiography shows impaired heart function in both SMGRKO and GR(-/-) mice at embryonic day (E)17.5, associated with generalized oedema. Cardiac ultrastructure is markedly disrupted in both SMGRKO and GR(-/-) mice at E17.5, with short, disorganized myofibrils and cardiomyocytes that fail to align in the compact myocardium. Failure to induce critical genes involved in contractile function, calcium handling and energy metabolism underpins this common phenotype. However, although hearts of GR(-/-) mice are smaller, with 22% reduced ventricular volume at E17.5, SMGRKO hearts are normally sized. Moreover, while levels of mRNA encoding atrial natriuretic peptide are reduced in E17.5 GR(-/-) hearts, they are normal in foetal SMGRKO hearts. These data demonstrate that structural, functional and biochemical maturation of the foetal heart is dependent on glucocorticoid signalling within cardiomyocytes and vascular smooth muscle, though some aspects of heart maturation (size, ANP expression) are independent of GR at these key sites.

The sensitive to freezing6 (sfr6) mutant of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) is late flowering in long days due to reduced expression of components in the photoperiodic flowering pathway in long-day photoperiods. Microarray analysis of gene expression showed that a circadian clock-associated motif, the evening element, was overrepresented in promoters of genes down-regulated in sfr6 plants. Analysis of leaf movement rhythms found sfr6 plants showed a sucrose (Suc)-dependent long period phenotype; unlike wild-type Arabidopsis, the clock in sfr6 plants did not have a shorter rhythm in the presence of Suc. Other developmental responses to Suc were unaltered in sfr6 plants, suggesting insensitivity to Suc is restricted to the clock. We investigated the effect of sfr6 and Suc upon clock gene expression over 24 h. The sfr6 mutation resulted in reduced expression of the clock components CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED1, GIGANTEA, and TIMING OF CAB1. These changes occurred independently of Suc supplementation. Wild-type plants showed small increases in clock gene expression in the presence of Suc; this response to Suc was reduced in sfr6 plants. This study shows that large changes in level and timing of clock gene expression may have little effect upon clock outputs. Moreover, although Suc influences the period and accuracy of the Arabidopsis clock, it results in relatively minor changes in clock gene expression.

BMDMs Phagocytosis Necrotic hepatocytes Proinflammatory cytokines Crosstalk with innate immune system AAMs Infiltrating neutrophils +IL-4 +IL-13 Endothelial cell proliferation Growth factors Central vein Highlights Primary BMDMs localised to liver and spleen within hours following intravenous injection in mice. AAMs were highly phagocytic and i.v. transfer elicited reductions in necrotic area, HMGB1 translocation, and hepatic neutrophil infiltration. AAM injection reduced inflammatory mediators and stimulated hepatocyte/endothelium proliferation in injured liver. Injection of clinical-grade human AAMs could partially recapitulate the efficacy of murine AAMs in immunocompetent mice.

Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV), which aids ventilation-perfusion matching in the lungs, is triggered by mechanisms intrinsic to pulmonary arterial smooth muscles. The unique sensitivity of these muscles to hypoxia is conferred by mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4 isoform 2, the inhibition of which has been proposed to trigger HPV through increased generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species. Contrary to this model, we have shown that the LKB1–AMPK-α1 signaling pathway is critical to HPV. Spectral Doppler ultrasound revealed that deletion of the AMPK-α1 catalytic subunit blocked HPV in mice during mild (8% O2) and severe (5% O2) hypoxia, whereas AMPK-α2 deletion attenuated HPV only during severe hypoxia. By contrast, neither of these genetic manipulations affected serotonin-induced reductions in pulmonary vascular flow. HPV was also attenuated by reduced expression of LKB1, a kinase that activates AMPK during energy stress, but not after deletion of CaMKK2, a kinase that activates AMPK in response to increases in cytoplasmic Ca2+. Fluorescence imaging of acutely isolated pulmonary arterial myocytes revealed that AMPK-α1 or AMPK-α2 deletion did not affect mitochondrial membrane potential during normoxia or hypoxia. However, deletion of AMPK-α1, but not of AMPK-α2, blocked hypoxia from inhibiting KV1.5, the classical “oxygen-sensing” K+ channel in pulmonary arterial myocytes. We conclude that LKB1–AMPK-α1 signaling pathways downstream of mitochondria are critical for the induction of HPV, in a manner also supported by AMPK-α2 during severe hypoxia.

Summary• Temperature has a direct effect at the cellular level on an organism. For instance, in the case of biomembranes, cooling causes lipids to lose entropy and pack closely together. Reducing temperature should, in the absence of other factors, increase the viscosity of a lipid membrane. We have investigated the effect of temperature variation on plasma membrane (PM) viscosity.• We used dispersion tracking of photoactivated green fluorescent protein (GFP) and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching in wild-type and desaturase mutant Arabidopsis thaliana plants along with membrane lipid saturation analysis to monitor the effect of temperature and membrane lipid composition on PM viscosity.• Plasma membrane viscosity in A. thaliana is negatively correlated with ambient temperature only under constant-temperature conditions. In the more natural environment of temperature cycles, plants actively manage PM viscosity to counteract the direct effects of temperature.• Plasma membrane viscosity is regulated by altering the proportion of desaturated fatty acids. In cold conditions, cell membranes accumulate desaturated fatty acids, which decreases membrane viscosity and vice versa. Moreover, we show that control of fatty acid desaturase 2 (FAD2)-dependent lipid desaturation is essential for this homeostasis of membrane viscosity. Finally, a lack of FAD2 function results in aberrant temperature responses.

Key Findings r What is the topic of this review?This review describes the use of high spatial and temporal resolution ultrasound imaging for the evalution of cardiovascular function. r What advances does it highlight?This short reveiw succintly highlights the advances in the use of high-resolution ultrasound in the assessment of rodent cardiac function, with emphasis on the differences between human and rodent echocardiography and on the main principles involved in completing a successful echocardiographic study in preclinical models.The high temporal and spatial resolution of echocardiography makes it a powerful and reliable tool for the non-invasive study of cardiac phenotype and disease in both adult and embryonic preclinical models. This overview of the use of high-resolution ultrasound for echocardiography highlights the present and potential applications of the technique.

This study characterized the acoustic properties of an International Electromechanical Commission (IEC) agar-based tissue mimicking material (TMM) at ultrasound frequencies in the range 10–47 MHz. A broadband reflection substitution technique was employed using two independent systems at 21°C ± 1°C. Using a commercially available preclinical ultrasound scanner and a scanning acoustic macroscope, the measured speeds of sound were 1547.4 ± 1.4 m∙s−1 and 1548.0 ± 6.1 m∙s−1, respectively, and were approximately constant over the frequency range. The measured attenuation (dB∙cm−1) was found to vary with frequency f (MHz) as 0.40f + 0.0076f2. Using this polynomial equation and extrapolating to lower frequencies give values comparable to those published at lower frequencies and can estimate the attenuation of this TMM in the frequency range up to 47 MHz. This characterisation enhances understanding in the use of this TMM as a tissue equivalent material for high frequency ultrasound applications.

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