Here you will find a regularly updated collection of articles published in physiological journals.
The Physiological Society of Japan
celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. On this occasion the Journal of Physiology compiled a collection of some of the most influential research published by Japanese authors in this journal. Have a closer look here
Plügers Archiv: a selection:
made by Armin Kurtz, the former editor in chief of Pflügers Archiv – Eur J Physiol:
Selected Publication:
Pflügers Arch – Eur J Physiol. Volume 475, issue 1, January 2023 Special Issue: Body and mind: how somatic feedback signals shape brain activity and cognition.
From Pflügers Archiv we highlight a thematic collection of papers. These are in a Special Issue entitled “Body and mind: how somatic feedback signals shape brain activity and cognition”.
During recent years, body-to-brain signaling is gaining increasing attention. Understanding interactions between the brain and “peripheral” functions (cardiovascular, respiratory, metabolic, hormonal and others) bears great potential for basic neurosciences as well as for pathophysiology and clinical innovations. A major focus of the Special Issue is on respiration as a fundamental rhythm which has astonishing impact on brain function and cognition. However, this example can and should be generalized to a modern understanding of embodiment – after all, the brain is an organ, and as such is embedded into the entire organism and its environment.
APSselectA September 2024 Selection from APS Journals
AJP Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology: Mendez Espinosa I et al. SGLT2 inhibition leads to a restoration of hepatic and circulating metabolites involved in the folate cycle and pyrimidine biosynthesis.
From the abstract: Inhibition of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) by empagliflozin (EMPA) and other “flozins” can improve glycemic control under conditions of diabetes and kidney disease. Though they act on the kidney, they also offer cardiovascular and liver protection. Previously, we found that EMPA decreased circulating triglycerides and hepatic lipid and cholesterol esters in male TallyHo mice fed a high-milk-fat diet (HMFD). The goal of this study was to determine whether the liver protection is associated with a change in metabolic function by characterizing the hepatic and circulating metabolic and lipidomic profiles using targeted LC-MS…. n both male and female mice, HMFD feeding significantly altered the circulating and hepatic metabolome compared with low-fat diet (LFD). Addition of EMPA resulted in the restoration of circulating orotate (intermediate in pyrimidine biosynthesis) and hepatic dihydrofolate (intermediate in the folate and methionine cycles) levels in males and acylcarnitines in females. These changes were partially explained by altered expression of rate-limiting enzymes in these pathways. This metabolic signature was not detected when EMPA was incorporated into an LFD… HMFD increased expression of 18 of 20 circulating amino acids in males and 11 of 20 in females, and this pattern was reversed by EMPA.
AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology: Visniauskas B et al. Hypertension disrupts the vascular clock in both sexes.
From the abstract: Blood pressure (BP) displays a circadian rhythm and disruptions in this pattern elevate cardiovascular risk. Although both central and peripheral clock genes are implicated in these processes, the importance of vascular clock genes is not fully understood. BP, vascular reactivity, and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system display overt sex differences, but whether changes in circadian patterns underlie these differences is unknown. Therefore, we hypothesized that circadian rhythms and vascular clock genes would differ across sex and would be blunted by angiotensin II (ANG II)-induced hypertension….This study shows a strikingly similar impact of hypertension on BP rhythmicity, vascular clock genes, and vascular estrogen receptor expression in both sexes. We identified a greater impact of hypertension on locomotor activity and heart rate in females and on baroreflex sensitivity in males and also revealed a diurnal regulation of vascular estrogen receptors
Physiological Genomics: Gurlo T et al. Dysregulation of cholesterol homeostasis is an early signal of β-cell proteotoxicity characteristic of type 2 diabetes.
From the abstract: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a common metabolic disease due to insufficient insulin secretion by pancreatic β-cells in the context of insulin resistance. Islet molecular pathology reveals a role for protein misfolding in β-cell dysfunction and loss with islet amyloid derived from islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), a protein coexpressed and cosecreted with insulin…. Here, we investigated islets from hIAPP transgenic mice at an earlier age (6 wk) to screen for potential mediators of hIAPP toxicity that precede predominance of pro-survival signaling. We identified early suppression of cholesterol synthesis and trafficking along with aberrant intra-β-cell cholesterol and lipid deposits and impaired cholesterol trafficking to cell membranes…. In the present study, investigation of the islet transcriptional signatures in a mouse model of T2D expressing human IAPP revealed decreased cholesterol synthesis and trafficking as a plausible early mediator of IAPP toxicity (“from new and noteworthy)
Much more can be found in this month’s selection of articles from APS journals!
The German Physiological Society (DPG) selects regularly a “Paper of the Month“.
DPG’s latest paper of the month (S Madai et al) was recently published in Theranostics.
From the abstract: Cell metabolism reprogramming to sustain energy production, while reducing oxygen and energy consuming processes is crucially important for the adaptation to hypoxia/ischemia. Adaptive metabolic rewiring is controlled by hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs). Accumulating experimental evidence indicates that timely activation of HIF in brain-resident cells improves the outcome from acute ischemic stroke. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms are still incompletely understood. Thus, we investigated whether HIF-dependent metabolic reprogramming affects the vulnerability of brain-resident cells towards ischemic stress….Neuron-specific gene ablation of prolyl-4-hydroxylase domain 2 (PHD2) protein, negatively regulating the protein stability of HIF-α in an oxygen dependent manner, reduced brain injury and functional impairment of mice after acute stroke in a HIF-dependent manner. Accordingly, PHD2 deficient neurons showed an improved tolerance towards ischemic stress in vitro, which was accompanied by enhanced HIF-1-mediated glycolytic lactate production through pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase-mediated inhibition of the pyruvate dehydrogenase. Systemic treatment of mice with roxadustat, a low-molecular weight pan-PHD inhibitor, not only increased the abundance of numerous metabolites of the central carbon and amino acid metabolism in murine brain, but also ameliorated cerebral tissue damage and sensorimotor dysfunction after acute ischemic stroke…. The authors conclude that collectively their “results indicate that HIF-1-mediated metabolic reprogramming alleviates the intrinsic vulnerability of brain-resident cells to ischemic stress.”
The Physiological Society of Japan publishes regularly Science Topics related of a recently published paper.
The latest topic relates to an article published by Seine A. Shintani in Biophysics and Physicobiology (21(1), e210006, 2024.: The chaotic oscillations of sarcomeres within cardiac muscle cells are induced by calcium fluctuations. For details click here
Don’t miss Physiology Shorts
These new and engaging video feature from The Journal of Physiology aims to deliver short and informative research snapshots directly from the authors of research papers selected by the Editors of the journal!