Biology subjects

Cardoso, L.

Publications and source records attributed to Cardoso, L..

6 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Combined Metabolic and Viral Insults in Pregnancy Disrupt Specific Placental Nutrient Transporter Systems in Mice

The placenta adapts to support nutrient transport to meet the demands of the growing fetus. Maternal obesity and viral infection are associated with adverse fetoplacental development. How co-exposure affects placental morphology and nutrient transport across gestation remains unclear. We hypothesise that co-exposure would have a greater impact on placental morphology and nutrient transporter expression than either of the exposures alone. C57BL/6J mice were fed a control (CON) or high-fat (HF) diet before and throughout pregnancy and exposed to poly(I:C) or vehicle at gestational days (GD) 12.5, 15.5, or 18.5. Placental morphology, folate and fatty acid transporter mRNA expression and localisation were evaluated by haematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemistry (reported as % immunoreactivity (ir)-area stained), and qPCR, respectively. At GD12.5, HF diet associated with reduced junctional zone (JZ) and labyrinth zone (LZ) area and increased maternal blood space, followed by reduced fetal blood space at GD15.5 and increased JZ and LZ area size by GD18.5. HF diet and viral infection independently associated with increased placental Fat/Cd36 mRNA expression at GD12.5. However, HF diet and infection associated with increased ir-FR- while HF diet alone decreased ir-PCFT at GD12.5. By GD15.5, HF diet associated with reduced placental ir-FR- but increased ir-PCFT. At GD18.5, infection associated with reduced Rfc1 mRNA expression. HF diet and infection associated with greater prevalence of SGA and LGA fetuses, particularly at GD18.5. Obesity and infection independently and synergistically disrupted placental morphology and nutrient transporter expression in a zone- and gestational age-specific manner, with consequences for fetal growth across gestation.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Maternal High Fat Diet and Acute Viral Mimic Exposure Impact Placental Inflammation, Lipid Peroxidation, and Cellular Dynamics Across Mouse Pregnancy

Maternal obesity and viral infection induce placental inflammation, but how their co-exposure influence fetoplacental development remains unclear. We hypothesized that maternal high fat (HF) diet and viral infection would independently induce placental inflammation and lipid peroxidation, reduce antioxidant defence, and cellular turnover. Further, HF diet would compromise placental capacity to adapt to infection. Female C57BL/6J mice were fed a control (CON) or 62% HF diet six weeks before and throughout pregnancy and injected with poly(I:C) (viral mimic) or vehicle (VEH) 24h before sacrifice at gestational days (GD) 12.5, 15.5, and 18.5 (n=5-8/group/GD). Placental inflammasome (NLRP3), oxidative stress (4-HNE), antioxidant defence (GPx-4), and cellular proliferation-to-death ratio (Ki-67, Caspase-3) were assessed by immunohistochemistry, and mRNA expression of Tlr3, Irf3, Tlr4, Tirap, and Il-1{beta} were measured by qPCR. Data were analysed by linear mixed models (p[≤]0.05). At GD12.5, infection was associated with increased Tlr3 mRNA and immunoreactive (ir)-4-HNE, and reduced ir-GPx-4 expression in the placental labyrinth zone (LZ). By GD15.5, HF diet was associated with increased ir-NLRP3 in both LZ and junctional zones (JZ). Exposure to infection alone and co-exposure to HF diet and infection further increased LZ ir-NLRP3. At GD18.5, HF diet was associated with increased Tirap and Il-1{beta} mRNA expression, ir-4-HNE in the JZ and ir-Caspase-3 in the LZ. Maternal HF diet and infection exert distinct effects on the placenta across gestation, suggesting that maternal overnutrition might reduce the placentas capacity to handle adverse exposures, which may increase susceptibility to poor fetal outcomes.

developmental biology↗

bioRxiv2025

Hidden Diversity of Threatened Sharks and Rays in the Global Meat Trade

International wildlife trade is a major source of biodiversity loss, yet many species lie hidden within aggregated data that conceals trade impacts. We overcome this problem for the largest vertebrate wildlife trade globally - shark and ray meat - comprising 438 538 mt yr-1 across more than 150 species, 76% of which are Threatened. Revealed trade contains greater quantities of skates (+10%), hammerheads (+8%), and smoothhounds, dogfishes & tope (+5%), and fewer pelagic sharks (-38%) than previously known. Shorttail yellownose skate, smoothound, silky, mako, and blue sharks are the most underreported meat species, due to aggregated landings from China, Argentina, Japan, and Indonesia, demonstrating international trade in shark and ray meat as a diverse, pervasive, and previously hidden source of fishing mortality for many threatened species.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2022

Computational modeling of posteroanterior lumbar traction by an automated massage bed: predicting intervertebral disc stresses and deformation

Spinal traction is a physical intervention that provides constant or intermittent stretching axial force to the lumbar vertebrae to gradually distract spinal tissues into better alignment, reduce intervertebral disc (IVD) pressure, and manage lower back pain (LBP). However, such axial traction may change the normal lordotic curvature, and result in unwanted side effects and/or inefficient reduction of the IVD pressure. An alternative to axial traction has been recently tested, consisting of posteroanterior (PA) traction in supine posture, which was recently shown effective to increase the intervertebral space and lordotic angle using MRI. PA traction aims to maintain the lumbar lordosis curvature throughout the spinal traction therapy while reducing the intradiscal pressure. In this study, we developed finite element simulations of mechanical therapy produced by a commercial thermo-mechanical massage bed capable of spinal PA traction. The stress relief produced on the lumbar discs by the posteroanterior traction system was investigated on human subject models with different BMI (normal, overweight, moderate obese and extreme obese BMI cases). We predict typical traction levels lead to significant distraction stresses in the lumbar discs, thus producing a stress relief by reducing the compression stresses normally experienced by these tissues. Also, the stress relief experienced by the lumbar discs was effective in all BMI models, and it was found maximal in the normal BMI model. These results are consistent with prior observations of therapeutic benefits derived from spinal AP traction.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2022

Computational modeling of deep tissue heating by an automatic thermal massage bed: predicting the effects on circulation

Automatic thermal and mechanical massage beds support selfmanaged treatment, including reduction of pain and stress, enhanced circulation, and improved mobility. As the devices become more sophisticated (increasing the degrees of freedom), it is essential to identify the settings that best target the desired tissue. To that end, we developed an MRI-derived model of the lower back and simulated the physiological effects of a commercial thermal-mechanical massage bed. Here we specifically estimated the tissue temperature and increased circulation under steady-state conditions for typical thermal actuator settings (i.e., 45-65{degrees}C). Energy transfer across nine tissues was simulated with finite element modeling (FEM) and the resulting heating was coupled to blood flow with an empirically-guided model of temperature-dependent circulation. Our findings indicate that thermal massage increases tissue temperature by 3-8{degrees}C and 1-3{degrees}C at depths of 2 and 3 cm, respectively. Importantly, due to the rapid (non-linear) increase of circulation with local temperature, this is expected to increase blood flow four-fold (4x) at depths occupied by deep tissue and muscle. These predictions are consistent with prior clinical observations of therapeutic benefits derived from spinal thermal massage.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2020

Robust range of auditory periphery development, eye opening, and brain gene expression in Wistar rat pups that experience variation in maternal backgrounds

The experience of variation in maternal licking and grooming (LG) is considered a critical influence in neurodevelopment related to stress and cognition, but little is known about its relationship to early sensory development. In this study, we used a maternal selection approach to test the hypothesis that differences in LG during the first week of life influence the timing of hearing onset in Wistar rat pups. We performed a range of tests, including auditory brainstem responses (ABR), tracking of eye opening (EO), micro-CT X-ray tomography, and qRT-PCR to monitor neurodevelopmental changes in the female and male progeny of low-LG and high-LG dams. Our results show that variation in maternal LG is not overtly associated with different timing of ABR onset and EO in the progeny. However, the data provide insight on the delay between hearing onset and EO, on key functional and structural properties that define hearing onset at the auditory periphery, and on changes in brain gene expression that include the first evidence that: a) the hypoxia-sensitive pathway is regulated in subcortical and cortical auditory brain regions before hearing onset, and b) implicates maternal LG in regulation of Bdnf signaling in auditory cortex after hearing onset. Altogether, these findings provide a baseline to evaluate how factors that severely disrupt the early maternal environment may affect the expression of robust developmental sensory programs. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTEarly life experience during sensitive developmental periods can induce long-term effects on the neurobiological development of the offspring. In the present work we tested the hypothesis that variation in maternal licking and grooming (LG) affects the timing of hearing onset in Wistar rat pups. To our surprise the results did not support the hypothesis. Instead, we found a robust range of early and late auditory development that was independent of maternal LG. Nevertheless, the study provides new findings on the delay between hearing onset and eye opening, on key functional and structural properties that define hearing onset at the auditory periphery, and the first evidence that a) the hypoxia-sensitive pathway is regulated in the central auditory system during the sensitive period before hearing onset, and b) maternal LG is implicated in regulation of Bdnf signaling during the sensitive period after hearing onset. These findings provide a baseline to evaluate how factors that severely disrupt the early maternal environment may affect the expression of robust developmental sensory programs.

neuroscience↗