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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Stromal Hedgehog Signaling Drives Segment-Specific Malignant Transformation of Gastrointestinal Stem Cells by Producing Bone Morphogenetic Protein Antagonists.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Hedgehog signaling plays a complex role in epithelial-stromal interactions, but its effects on gastrointestinal stem cells mediated by heterogeneous stromal cell populations remain incompletely defined. Here, we investigate how stromal Hedgehog signaling regulates gastric stem cells and tumorigenesis in a segment-specific manner. METHODS: We genetically activated Hedgehog signaling in distinct stromal cell lineages using Col1a2-, Pdgfra-, Gli1-, Acta2-, and Prrx1-CreERT mouse lines, combined with lineage tracing, RNA sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and pharmacologic interventions. Human gastric cancer data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were also analyzed. RESULTS: We show that genetic activation of Hedgehog signaling in stromal cells marked by Col1a2, Pdgfra, or Gli1, but not by Acta2, induces tumorigenesis in the stomach and gastroesophageal junction, but not in the small or large intestine. Hedgehog signaling increases the expression of multiple bone morphogenetic protein antagonists in gastric but not colonic stromal cells, via Gli1-mediated transcription. These bone morphogenetic protein antagonists, in turn, activate Wnt/β-catenin signaling in gastric stem cells, driving their proliferation and initiating gastric cancer expressing CD44 and Sox9, but not Lgr5. Activating bone morphogenetic protein or inhibiting Wnt signaling blocks tumor initiation. Analysis of patient data from The Cancer Genome Atlas reveals elevated Hedgehog signaling in gastric cancers, which correlates with suppressed bone morphogenetic protein signaling. CONCLUSIONS: These findings uncover a gastrointestinal segment-specific oncogenic role for Hedgehog signaling in Col1a2+Acta2- stromal cells, mediated through the bone morphogenetic protein-Wnt-β-catenin axis.

BMP Antagonists↗
PubMed2026

Whole Genome Characterization of Klebsiella Strains in European Hedgehogs and Human Nosocomial Settings Identified Shared Sequence Types, Antimicrobial Resistance Genes and Plasmids.

INTRODUCTION: Klebsiella pneumoniae is a pathogen associated with healthcare-acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to beta-lactams and carbapenems. Although wild animals are not typically exposed to antibiotics, they can harbour resistant strains. The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) is increasingly found in urban areas, where it interacts with humans and livestock. Studies have identified concerning levels of AMR in hedgehogs, including Extended-Spectrum β-Lactam (ESBL) and carbapenems-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae strains. METHODS: This study focuses on Klebsiella spp. isolated in hedgehogs from urban areas, using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). We compared these isolates with openly available strains isolated from humans in the same region with the objective to have a thorough understanding of ST, AMR gene, and plasmid overlap between human and environmental compartments. RESULTS: High AMR gene levels, including the carbapenemase blaOXA-48, were found in the hedgehog population. Notably, human nosocomial clones, including ST307 and ST392, globally distributed sequence types also found in wildlife, were identified in both hedgehogs and humans. The presence of conjugative plasmids, including IncFIB(K) and IncL1 types, was identified in both hedgehogs and humans, highlighting plasmid dissemination as a significant factor in AMR spread. CONCLUSIONS: Although no direct transmission from wildlife to hospital settings has been conclusively demonstrated, our findings suggest that hedgehogs may play a role in bridging environmental and healthcare environments. The study underscores the need for further investigation into multidrug-resistant Klebsiella spp. and other resistant bacteria in wildlife to better understand their potential role in the dissemination of resistance genes across ecosystems.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Detection and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae and Proteus spp. associated with gastrointestinal disease in rescued hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus).

Western European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are frequently admitted to wildlife rehabilitation centres, where infectious diseases may affect recovery and raise One Health concerns. This study aimed to identify bacterial isolates recovered from hedgehog samples submitted for suspected gastrointestinal infection and to characterise their antimicrobial susceptibility profiles. Five bacterial isolates were analysed using the MicroScan WalkAway Plus® system with the Neg-Urine-Combo 98 panel, and the results were interpreted in accordance with EUCAST guidelines. The identified bacteria included one isolate of Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae, three isolates of Proteus mirabilis and one isolate of Proteus penneri. The Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae isolate was susceptible to all antimicrobials for which a valid result was obtained. Proteus spp. isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, norfloxacin, amikacin, gentamicin, tobramycin, aztreonam, cefoxitin, ceftazidime and fosfomycin. However, resistance was observed to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, ampicillin, ertapenem, meropenem, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, cefuroxime, piperacillin-tazobactam, colistin and nitrofurantoin, with the latter two showing resistance in all Proteus spp. The Proteus penneri isolate displayed the broadest resistance profile, including resistance to several β-lactams, carbapenems. As expected, all Proteus spp. showed intrinsic non-susceptibility to colistin and nitrofurantoin. Although the Salmonella enterica subsp. arizonae isolate was susceptible to the tested agents, Proteus spp. from hedgehog samples may display relevant antimicrobial resistance (AMR) patterns. Therefore, continuous bacteriological monitoring and antimicrobial susceptibility testing are important in wildlife rehabilitation settings to guide treatment decisions and support One Health surveillance.

Antimicrobial resistance↗
PubMed1975

Sustained fertility in a non-scrotal mammal, the Indian hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris), after CdCl2 administration.

The effects of a single subcutaneous injection of CdCl2 (0.04 mmol/kg body weight) were studied on the testes and caput epididymidis of a non-scrotal mammal, Hemiechinus auritus, and scrotal laboratory mouse. The histological structure of the testes and caput epididymidis of the hedgehog remains normal after 21 days of CdCl2 injection. Testes and sex accessory glands did not show any significant change in weight. The testes and sex accessory organs of mice under comparable condition showed weight loss and involution in tubule diameter. A temperature differential of 1 degree C was found to exist between the rectum and the cremaster sac of the hedgehog. This small temperature difference and the absence of a counter-current mechanism may be involved in conferring the CdCl2 resistance to the testes and epididymis of the hedgehog.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

The distribution of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in Finland in 1975.

The distribution of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in Finland was surveyed in the light of an inquiry. The range presented is based on more than one thousand answers to a questionnaire. The extension further northward of this species during the past ten years was confirmed. The distributional areas of the hedgehog in Finland in 1952, 1965 and 1975 are presented in a cartogram. In southern Finland the number of the hedgehog has clearly decreased during the past ten years (1965-1975). Some possible reasons for the decline are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Food getting conditioned reflexes in hedgehogs].

The object of the study were the characteristics of formation of complex food-procuring conditioned reflexes in hedgehogs to visual stimuli of different complexity, to a simultaneous complex, and the interaction of visual and auditory sensory modalities. It has been shown that hedgehogs are capable of learning to choose one of the three simultaneously presented visual stimuli and perform a sequence of complex motor behavioral acts in stage-by-stage learning. Conditioned reflexes to stimuli of different modality were elaborated with difficulty only at their interaction. Higher nervous activity of hedgehogs (insectivorous) is characterized by primitive organization, weakness of inertness of nervous processes and limited integrative possibilities.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of whole body Co-60 irradiation on the testes and epididymides of hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris): a biochemical analysis.

The effects of 575 and 875 Rontgen (R) of whole-body irradiation in common Indian hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus Collaris) were studied. At 875 R it showed typical signs and symptoms of radiation sickness, transient body loss and radiation mortality. Extensive vasculitis, pyknosis, chromatorrhexix and chromatolysis was noticed in the testes of irradiated hedgehogs. Epididymides and vas deferens were devoid of spermatozoa. Whole body irradiation inhibited the RNA, protein and sialic acid synthesis in the testes. Total cholesterol per gram of testes was increased significantly. Sialic acid contents of the irradiated epididymides were low. Reduced androgen production was confirmed in non-active Leydig cells, with diminished sex accessory organs and decreased fructose contents in the seminal vesicles of irradiated hedgehogs.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Molecular organization and embryonic expression of the hedgehog gene involved in cell-cell communication in segmental patterning of Drosophila.

hedgehog is a segment polarity gene necessary to maintain the proper organization of each segment of the Drosophila embryo. We have identified the physical location of a number of rearrangement breakpoints associated with hedgehog mutations. The corresponding hh RNA is expressed in a series of segmental stripes starting at cellular blastoderm in the posterior portion of each segment. This RNA is localized predominantly within nuclei until stage 10, when the localization becomes primarily cytoplasmic. Expression of hh RNA in the posterior compartment is independent of most other segment polarity genes, including en, until the late extended germ-band stage (stage 11). Sequence analysis of the hedgehog locus suggests the protein product is a transmembrane protein, which may, therefore, be directly involved in cell-cell communication.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Interlaminar connections of the visual cortex in the hedgehog (Paraechinus hypomelas).

The contribution of each cortical lamina to intracortical circuitry was studied in the visual neocortex of the Pakistani hedgehog. Punctate laminar lesions were made electrolytically within the visual cortex, and after five to seven days the brains were processed and stained with the Fink-Heimer technique. The results of this study suggest that both horizontal and vertical connections are important to the organization of visual cortex in the hedgehog. The horizontal projections originate at three distinct cortical depths. Lesions in layer II reveal projections that traverse the inner one-half of layer I; lesions in layers III and IV reveal projections that traverse layer IV and that enter the cortical white matter; lesions in layers V and VI reveal projections that traverse the outer one-half of layer VI and that enter the cortical white matter. The vertical projections are oriented perpendicular to the pial surface. Layers II and III project to underlying layer V. Layers V and VI in turn contribute to a reciprocal projection back to all superficial cortical laminae. This anatomical data about intracortical circuitry is discussed with reference to the functional organization of visual cortex.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Arthroderma benhamiae infection in the Central African hedgehog Erinaceus albiventris, and a report of a human case.

The occurrence of ringworm caused by Arthroderma benhamiae Ajello & Cheng is reported in Central African hedgehogs (Erinaceus albiventris Wagner), caught near Nairobi, Kenya. Of the 45 animals examined, 10 were positive on culture, including a litter of 4 young. Six infected animals were without lesions, and 2 littermates showed scaly areas similar to those described in E. europaeus L. caused by Trichophyton erinacei (Smith & Marples) Padhye & Carmichael. No correlation with mite infestation or mange lesions was evident. Ringworm-like lesions were found which were repeatedly negative on culture. A human infection by A. benhamiae was contracted from the hedgehogs.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1979

Amino acid sequences of the alpha and beta chains of adult hemoglobin of the European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus.

Globin prepared from hemoglobin of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) was separated into alpha and beta polypeptide chains by chromatography on a CM 52 column. The S-aminoethylated alpha and beta chains were each digested with trypsin and the resulting peptides were isolated. The sequences of all the tryptic peptides were established. The ordering of these peptides in the alpha and beta chains was deduced from their homology with the primary structures of alpha and beta chains of human adult hemoglobin. Comparing the primary structures of the alpha and beta chains of adult hemoglobin of the European hedgehog thus obtained with those of adult hemoglobin of the tupai (Tupaia glis), 35 amino acids substitutions in the alpha chains and 30 in the beta chains were recognized.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1979

Seasonal changes in membrane lipid transitions and thyroid function in the hedgehog.

Upper (Tf) and lower (Ts) temperature limits of order-disorder transitions in blood cell lipids of hedgehogs, Erinaceus europaeus, were determined over an annual cycle. There was a significant decrease in the temperature of both Tf and Ts from values of 19 and 6 degrees C, respectively, for summer animals to values of 14 and -2.0 degrees C for winter animals. Plasma thyroxine levels decreased from a summer mean of 16.0 nmol/liter to a mean of 2.3 nmol/liter in winter. Basal oxygen consumption also decreased from the summer mean 0.45 ml/g body wt/h to a mean 0.39 ml/g body wt/h in winter. In winter a group of hedgehogs kept indoors at room temperature was compared with a group kept outdoors exposed to natural winter conditions, and there was no significant difference between them in the above parameters. We conclude that the winter membrane lipid and metabolic changes are not a response to low temperature per se but part of a circannual homeostatic adjustment at least partly regulated by thyroid hormone.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Heterosensory interaction in neocortical neurons of the hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus].

Reactions of neurons in different areas have been investigated in the hedgehog cortex by means of the microelectrode technique. A wide dispersion of afferent inputs was shown over the whole neocortex, alongside with the existence of definite projection foci of appropriate modalities. In the specific projection zones the conditioning heterosensory stimulation did not influence the onset of the response of the testing specific stimulus. Blocking of responses was observed in the so-called "associative" area, irrespectively of the mode of the conditioning and testing stimulation. It is suggested that the onset of responses by the specific projection zones to other stimuli depends on the specific impulsation irradiation to the specific projection pathways. Reciprocal heterosensory blocking in the "associative" zone may indicate the existence of an integrative formation in the hedgehog thalamus, possessing its own projection to the neocortex.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Connections of the visual cortex in the hedgehog (Paraechinus hypomelas). II. Corticocortical projections.

Cortical subdivisions based on cytoarchitectural and myeloarchitectural observations of normal tissue were correlated with the topography of corticocortical connections in the visual system of the Pakistani hedgehog. Large subpial aspiration lesions were made in both visual and non-visual cortical regions to determine the areal limits of the corticocortical connections of the visual cortex. Subsequently, discrete electrolytic lesions were placed within the visual cortex. After appropriate survival periods, the brains were processed and stained with the Fink-Heimer technique. The results of these studies show that the visual cortex may be subdivided into four distinct regions from lateral to medial; the lateral parastriate cortex, the lateral and medial part of striate cortex, and the medial parastriate cortex. Within these regions, interhemispheric connections between visual cortices arise mainly in the lateral striate and lateral parastriate regions and terminate in a single band within the lateral portion of the cytoarchitecturally defined striate cortex. These corticocortical projections, therefore, substantially overlap with the geniculostriate projections. Lateral striate cortex and lateral parastriate cortex project in a reciprocal fashion that correlates well with the physiologically defined mirror image representation of two retinotopic maps of the binocular visual field on cortex. These connections are reflected about a line that is closely correlated with the medial edge of the band of commissural axon terminals that is located within the lateral striate cortex, instead of corresponding exactly with the striate-parastriate border as they do in other mammals. Medial striate cortex projects to medial parastriate cortex, indicating that the monocular portion of V I is related to a separate secondary area of cortex on the medial wall of the hemisphere.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Comparison of induced and spontaneous arousals in hibernating hedgehogs.

Respiratory and circulatory differences between periodic spontaneous arousals and induced arousals in hibernating hedgehogs were studied in a constant ambient temperature of + 4.2 +/- 0.5 oC. The increase in O2 consumption, blood pressure and heart rate was faster during induced arousals than during periodic spontaneous arousals. Based on our present studies we suggest that even the smallest stimulus able to induce the awakening is sufficient to modify the process so that it differs markedly from a spontaneous arousal.

Animals↗