Snježana Vuković

Adhesion and aggregation ability of probiotic strain Lactobacillus acidophilus M92

Aims: To investigate aggregation and adhesiveness of Lactobacillus acidophilus M92 to porcine ileal epithelial cells in vitro, and the influence of cell surface proteins on autoaggregation and adhesiveness of this strain.

Adhesins of Immunoglobulin-like Superfamily from Earthworm Eisenia foetida

1. From the biologically active extract (G-90) isolated from the tissue homogenate of Eisenia foetida immunoglobulin-like structures were isolated and named G-90/4. 2. G-90/4 in nanogram concentrations stimulated cell proliferation more than did the original G-90. It lyses cells in microgram concentrations. 3. G-90/4 acts as an adhesion molecule between the receptors of adjacent cells. 4. The increase in proliferative activity was accompanied by the elevation of cytoplasmic protein containing tyrosine. 5. Immunohistochemical analyses confirm immunoglobulin-like transmembrane structures in the connective and muscular tissues of E. foetida.

Histological structure of the adrenal gland of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and the striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) from the Adriatic Sea.

The structure of the adrenal gland was studied in 11 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and five striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba). These species are legally protected in Croatia. All examined animals died of natural causes and were found stranded along eastern Adriatic coast. In both species the adrenal gland consists of a cortex and a medulla; the cortex is divided into three zones. Whereas in the bottlenose dolphin, there is a zona arcuata which contains columnar cells arranged in the form of arches; in the striped dolphin this zone is replaced by zona glomerulosa containing rounded clusters of polygonal cells. In both species, the zona fasciculata consists of radially oriented cords of polygonal cells, whereas in zona reticularis cells are arranged in branching and anastomosing cords. The adrenal medulla in both species contains dark, epinephrine‐secreting cells and light norepinephrine‐secreting cells. Epinephrine‐secreting cells are localized in the outer part of the medulla, whereas norepinephrine‐secreting cells are found in the inner part, arranged in clusters and surrounded by septa of thin connective tissue. The gland is surrounded by a thick connective‐tissue capsule, from where thick trabeculae extend towards the interior. In the bottlenose dolphin, group of cells resembling both medullar and cortical cells can be seen within the capsule; whereas only groups of cells resembling cortical cells are found within the capsule of the striped dolphin. In the bottlenose dolphin invagination of the adrenal cortex into the medulla is obvious as well as medullary protrusions extending through cortex to the connective tissue capsule.