sm“FISH”ing for Hedgehog

The European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), as a reservoir for helminth parasites in Iran

From April 2009 to December 2011, 44 dead hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) were collected incidentally from areas of Urmia, Iran. The overall prevalence of helminth infections was 95.0%. Specific parasites and their prevalences were: Physalopteraclausa(93.0%), Crenosoma striatum (61.0%), Capillariaaerophila(9.0%), Capillariasspp.(4.0...

sm"FISH"ing for Hedgehog.

Patched (Ptch) receptors are critical negative regulators of Hedgehog signaling, where Ptch1 loss causes basal cell carcinoma and Ptch1;Ptch2 loss disrupts skin and hair follicle development. Adolphe et al. use single molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization to show quantitatively that Ptch receptors create a Hedgehog signaling gradient that may specify hair follicle development.

Hedgehog Nanopackages Ready for Dispatch

Hedgehog proteins are intercellular long-range signaling molecules that spread within tissues and activate gene expression during development. Vyas et al. (2008) propose that Hedgehog forms nanometer-sized oligomers that localize in proteoglycan-rich clusters at the surface of cells expressing Hedgehog. This nanoscale organization and enrichment in clusters ensures that Hedgehog is able to spre...

Somatic Chromosomes of Long-Eared Desert Hedgehog Hemiechinus auritus

Hedgehog hives.

BACKGROUND Hedgehogs are increasingly popular pets in the United States and Europe. A number of infections may be acquired from these animals, and hedgehogs are possible hosts of parasites. However, to our knowledge there arc no previous reports of urticarial reactions to hedgehogs. OBSERVATIONS We describe 3 patients who developed an acute, transient, urticarial reaction after contact with t...