Sex and Ontogenetic Variation in the Crest of Numida meleagris: Implications for Crested Vertebrates

Crested vertebrates are known from a wide variety of modern and fossil taxa, however, the actual formation and function of the crest is still debatable. Among modern birds, the globally distributed guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) is characterized by having a cranial bony crest (overlain by keratin), but surprisingly little is known about its development. Here, we studied the crest of 202 wild guinea fowl from the same population, using anatomical measurements as well as 2D-morphometry. Our results show that juveniles have smaller skulls than adults and have smaller, simpler crests that are visible even in very young individuals. Among adults, female skulls are smaller than males, and they have smaller, simpler shaped crests, which permit a discrimination between the sexes of 93% when the keratin is preserved with the bony crest, and of 89% when only the bony crest is available. By extrapolation, these results confirm that the crest can be used as an ontogenetic character, as well as for sex discrimination in the fossil record. Our results also show that the overlying keratin does not always mimic the underlying bony crest, which should be considered when reconstructing extinct crested vertebrates. Anat Rec, 303:1018–1034, 2020. © 2019 American Association for Anatomy     

Pulmonary endothelium as a site of synthesis and storage of interleukin-6 in experimental congestive heart failure

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary endothelium is an early upstream hemodynamic target of left ventricular dysfunction. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine reported to increase in congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. AIMS: We sought to determine the origin of IL-6, IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) and gp130 in experimental CHF. METHODS: We used rats with coronary artery ligation as an experimental model of either compensated or decompensated heart failure. Lung and aorta samples were analysed by RT-PCR, ELISA and immunohistochemistry for IL-6 and its receptors. RESULTS: IL-6 mRNA expression increased in the lung of rats with decompensated heart failure and was positively correlated with infarct severity whereas IL-6R mRNA decreased in the lung of myocardial infarction rats and gp130 mRNA remained unchanged. In contrast, there were no changes in IL-6 mRNA expression in the aorta and left ventricular myocardium. IL-6 peptide content as determined by ELISA and Western Blot in lung tissue was 2-fold higher in decompensated heart failure as compared to control rats. These data were confirmed by immunohistochemistry showing a preferential endothelial localization of IL-6 in the CHF lung. IL-6 peptide was also present in the pleural effusion of decompensated heart failure and was positively correlated with IL-6 mRNA expression in the lungs of decompensated HF rats. Pulmonary IL-6 overexpression was associated with nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB and cytosolic degradation of IkappaB. CONCLUSION: Dysfunctional pulmonary endothelium is a source of synthesis and storage of IL-6 in an experimental model of CHF.