Abstract Currently, research on understanding adipose tissue (AT) metabolism has increased significantly. AT is an endocrine organ, that releases proteins, specific metabolites, hormones, micro-RNAs and signaling lipids, all involved in a network of inter-organ communication. Among other effects, AT dysfunction contributes to a proinflammatory and diabetogenic state, from an early stage in the disease development. Overweight and obesity have reached epidemic proportions worldwide, which has been linked to the development and progression of high-comorbidity and diseases, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Therefore, therapeutic strategies have been devised to modulate the composition of fat stores, including changes in lifestyle and/or pharmacological treatment for weight management or attenuation of cardiometabolic risk factors. As a result, life expectancy has been increasing. However, the population is being overmedicated and secondary adverse effects due to drug usage can be serious. Commonly prescribed drugs for immunosuppression and psychiatric disorders, such as severe depression and anxiety, are known to alter metabolism, particularly, in AT depots. In this review, we discuss important molecular mechanisms in AT, especially in epicardial AT (EAT), that are highly modulated by these drugs, and put forth EAT as a potential therapeutic target for CVD.

Resumo Morcegos e COVID-19: vilões ou vítimas? Desde o início da epidemia de COVID-19, morcegos estão sendo apontados como os culpados por sua origem, mesmo sem evidências científicas sólidas que apontem para tal. Neste artigo de opinião trazemos informações atualizadas sobre morcegos e COVID-19 e discutimos porque morcegos não deveriam ser culpados por uma doença pela qual não foram responsáveis. Morcegos não deveriam ser vistos como animais perigosos, mas sim como fontes de várias ideias e abordagens científicas úteis para a saúde humana.

Abstract Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, bats are being pointed as responsible for its origin, even without solid scientific evidence. In this opinion piece, we discuss the most updated information on bats and COVID-19 and argue that bats should not be blamed for a disease they are not responsible for. Bats should be seen not as dangerous animals but, instead, as sources of several scientific insights useful for human health.

A amiloidose primária (AL) é uma gamapatia monoclonal de envolvimento sistémico. O envolvimento do trato gastrointestinal manifesta-se com sinais e sintomas variados e inespecíficos, podendo apresentar-se de forma distinta consoante a sua localização e mimetizar clínica e endoscopicamente outras doenças do foro digestivo, sendo o diagnóstico final estabelecido pelo exame histológico. Os autores apresentam o caso clínico de um doente com hemorragia digestiva baixa, que apresentava várias sufusões hemorrágicas subepiteliais dispersas pela mucosa do cólon, como manifestação inicial de AL e mieloma múltiplo. Salienta-se a relevância deste caso pela sua raridade e pela iconografia endoscópica e histológica recolhida.

Primary (AL) amyloidosis is a monoclonal gammopathy of systemic involvement. The involvement of the gastrointestinal tract is manifested by varied and nonspecific signs and symptoms, may present itself differently depending on their location, and clinically and endoscopically mimic other diseases of the digestive tract. The final diagnosis is established by histological examination. The authors present the case of a patient with lower gastrointestinal bleeding who presented several subepithelial hemorrhagic suffusions distributed across the colonic mucosa, as the initial manifestation of primary AL amyloidosis and Multiple myeloma. We emphasize the relevance of this case for its rarity and the endoscopic and histological iconography collected.

Dados cariotípicos são apresentados para quatro espécies da família Pimelodidae. Todas apresentaram o mesmo número diploide, 2n = 56 cromossomos, com diferenças nas fórmulas cariotípicas. As espécies aqui analisadas mostraram pouca quantidade de heterocromatina localizada preferencialmente na região centromérica e telomérica de alguns cromossosmos do complemento cariotípico. As regiões organizadoras de nucléolo (Ag-RONs) e a localização dos genes ribossomais pela hibridização in situ fluorescente (FISH), com sondas 18S e 5S, evidenciaram somente um par cromossômico marcado portador de genes ribossomais, à exceção de Pimelodus britskii que apresentou NORs múltiplas e localização sintênica das sondas 18S e 5S. Eventos não-Robertsonianos, como inversão pericêntrica e duplicação das NORs são requeridos para explicar a diversificação cariotípica em Pseudoplatystoma do rio Paraguai (MS), Pimelodus do rio Iguaçu (PR), Sorubim do rio Paraguai (MS) e Steindachneridion do rio Paraíba do Sul (SP). Os dados obtidos para a macroestrutura cariotípica destas espécies corrobora um padrão conservado observado na família Pimelodidae. Por outro lado, evidências de variações interespecíficas pelos marcadores de citogenética molecular empregados possibilitam inferências citotaxonômicas e diferenciação das espécies aqui analisadas.

Karyotypic data are presented for four species of fish belonging to the Pimelodidae family. These species show a conserved diploid number, 2n = 56 chromosomes, with different karyotypic formulae. The analyzed species showed little amount of heterochromatin located preferentially in the centromeric and telomeric regions of some chromosomes. The nucleolus organizer regions activity (Ag-NORs) and the chromosomal location of ribosomal genes by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), with 18S and 5S probes, showing only one chromosome pair marked bearer of ribosomal genes, the only exception was Pimelodus britskii that presented multiple NORs and syntenic location of the 18S and 5S probes. Non-Robertsonian events, as pericentric inversion and NORs duplication are requested to explain the karyotype diversification in Pseudoplatystoma from the rio Paraguay (MS), Pimelodus from the rio Iguaçu (PR), Sorubim from the rio Paraguay (MS) and Steindachneridion from the rio Paraíba do Sul (SP). The obtained data for the karyotype macrostructure of these species corroborates a conserved pattern observed in Pimelodidae. On the other hand, interspecific variations detected by molecular cytogenetics markers made possible cytotaxonomic inferences and differentiation of the species here analyzed.

This study aimed to define the karyotype of the recently described Iberian endemic Iberochondrostoma almacai, to revisit the previously documented chromosome polymorphisms of its sister species I. lusitanicum using C-, Ag-/CMA3 and RE-banding, and to compare the two species genome sizes. A 2n = 50 karyotype (with the exception of a triploid I. lusitanicum specimen) and a corresponding haploid chromosome formula of 7M:15SM:3A (FN = 94) were found. Multiple NORs were observed in both species (in two submetacentric chromosome pairs, one of them clearly homologous) and a higher intra and interpopulational variability was evidenced in I. lusitanicum. Flow cytometry measurements of nuclear DNA content showed some significant differences in genome size both between and within species: the genome of I. almacai was smaller than that of I. lusitanicum (mean values 2.61 and 2.93 pg, respectively), which presented a clear interpopulational variability (mean values ranging from 2.72 to 3.00 pg). These data allowed the distinction of both taxa and confirmed the existence of two well differentiated groups within I. lusitanicum: one that includes the populations from the right bank of the Tejo and Samarra drainages, and another that reunites the southern populations. The peculiar differences between the two species, presently listed as "Critically Endangered", reinforced the importance of this study for future conservation plans.

Four Neotropical tiger beetle species, three from the genus Megacephala and one from the genus Oxycheila, currently assigned to the tribe Megacephalini were examined cytogenetically. All three Megacephala species showed simple sex chromosome systems of the X0/XX type but different numbers of autosomal pairs (15 in M. cruciata, 14 in M. sobrina and 12 in M. rutilans), while Oxycheila tristis was inferred to have a multiple sex chromosome system with four X chromosomes (2n = 24 + X1X2X3X4Y/X1X1X2X2X3X3X4X4). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using a PCR-amplified 18S rDNA fragment as a probe revealed the presence of rDNA clusters located exclusively on the autosomes in all the Megacephala species (five clusters in M. cruciata, eight in M. sobrina and three in M. rutilans), indicating variability in the number of clusters and the presence of structural polymorphisms. The same methodology showed that O. tristis had six rDNA clusters, apparently also located on the autosomes. Although our data also show cytogenetic variability within the genus Megacephala, our findings support the most accepted hypothesis for chromosome evolution in the family Cicindelidae. The description of multiple sex chromosomes in O. tristis along with phylogenetic analyses and larval morphological characters may be assumed as an additional evidence for the exclusion of the genus Oxycheila and related taxa from the tribe Megacephalini.

Three tiger beetle species from the Cicindelini tribe were examined cytogenetically and found to have the following karyotypes: Cicindela argentata, 2n = 18 + X1X2Y/X1X1X2X 2; Cicindela aurulenta, 2n=18 + X1X2X3Y/X1X1X 2X2X3X3 and Cicindela suturalis, 2n = 18 + X1X2X3X4Y/X1X 1X2X2X3X3X4X 4. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using a PCR-amplified 18S rDNA fragment as a probe showed the presence of ribosomal clusters in two autosomes in C. argentata, two autosomes and two heterosomes in C. aurulenta and in two heterosomes in C. suturalis (male configuration), revealing two new patterns of rDNA localization. Such results are representative of the cytogenetic variability observed in the species rich genus Cicindela (sensu lato) mainly as regards the localization of rDNA genes and the number and morphology of the heterosomes, in spite of the stability of autosome numbers. Changes in the localization and number of rDNA clusters were independent of changes in the number of sex chromosomes, indicating that several processes might have contributed to the great karyotypic diversity found within this speciose Coleopteran group.

A análise citogenética dos dois endemismos de Leuciscus atualmente descritos na Península Ibérica foi efetuada em amostras obtidas ao longo da sua área de distribuição. Apresentaram um valor diplóide de 2n = 50, com exceção de dois exemplares de L. carolitertii, os quais exibiam um cromossomo supranumerário em algumas metáfases. Caracterizaram-se por um padrão cariológico idêntico ao dos restantes táxons do mesmo gênero, igualmente partilhado pelos Leuciscinae europeus: um elevado número de cromossomos metacêntricos e submetacêntricos e um número reduzido de acrocêntricos (três a quatro pares), incluindo-se neste último grupo o maior par do complemento. As NORs localizaram-se tipicamente num par de submetacêntricos de reduzidas dimensões, existindo também evidências de um sistema cromossômico de determinação sexual do tipo ZW/ZZ. Porém, os espécimes do norte, L. carolitertii, aparentaram possuir um cariótipo mais estável em termos estruturais (12M:30S:8A) do que os do sul, pertencentes a L. pyrenaicus (12M:32S:6A). Esta espécie exibiu, nas suas populações mais meridionais que se localizam nas bacias do Mira, Aljezur, Bordeira e Arade, alterações da referida fórmula cromossômica, fato que vem em apoio da recente descoberta de dois taxóns de Leuciscus geneticamente diferenciados no sul da Península Ibérica, sugerindo a fixação de rearranjos cromossômicos estruturais nestas pequenas e isoladas bacias hidrográficas, com grandes variações dos seus regimes hidrológicos produzindo os chamados" efeitos de gargalo".

The presently described Iberian chubs - Leuciscus carolitertii and L. pyrenaicus - sampled throughout their distribution ranges in Portugal were cytogenetically analyzed. Their chromosome numbers were consistently 2n = 50, except for two specimens of L. carolitertii, which exhibited a supernumerary chromosome in some of the metaphases. The karyotypes were found to be highly typical for other Leuciscus taxa, as well as for European leuciscine cyprinids: the chromosome sets are dominated by metacentric and submetacentric elements with a reduced number of acrocentric pairs (three to four); the largest pair of the complements belongs typically to this latter category. The chubs from northern drainages, assignable to L. carolitertii, have apparently a more stable karyotype structure (12M:30S:8A) than the chubs from L. pyrenaicus, which have 12M:32S:6A, but may exhibit in the most southern river basins (Guadiana, Mira, Aljezur, Bordeira and Arade) more variable karyotypes. Besides, these data support the very recent discovery of two genetically distinct Leuciscus taxa in this region of the Iberian Peninsula, suggesting the stochastic fixation of structural chromosome rearrangements in these small and isolated drainages, which may be affected by bottlenecks due to significant variations in hydrological regimes. The NORs were apparently located in one small submetacentric pair of chromosomes and the presence of a heteromorphic sex chromosome system of the ZW/ZZ type was also evidenced for the Iberian endemic chubs.