The Novel Use of Zwitterionic Bacterial Components and Polysaccharides in Immunotherapy of Cancer and Immunosuppressed Cancer Patients

The recognition of pathogenic antigens as foreign particles by adaptive immune cells induces T and B lymphocytes to start defensive humoral and cellular reaction. Latest research revealed that proteins and some lipids are the main molecules inducing protective T cell responses during microbial infections while polysaccharides which are important components of microbial pathogens and many vaccines were not regarded as important antigens. However, research regarding the role of the adaptive immune system by polysaccharides gained interest only recently. Traditionally, polysaccharides were considered to be T cell-independent antigens that did not directly activate T cells or induce protective immune responses, but chemically modified polysaccharides, namely zwitterionic polysaccharides (ZPSs) were recently found highly immunogenic. Therefore, in this chapter we will discuss the role of zwittrionized polysaccharides in immune reaction induction and their immunostimulatory effect in cancer patients. Several studies were conducted to use ZPSs to induce vigorous immune response and to establish immunostimulatory or immunomodulatroy effect which can be used in cancer immunotherapy. Bacterial ZPSs that are naturally zwitterionic or those that were artificially zwitterionized were recently identified as potent immune regulators. The immunomodulatory effect of ZPSs requires antigen processing and presentation by antigen presenting cells, the activation of CD4 T cells and subpopulations of CD8 T cells and the modulation of host cytokine responses

Effect of Organic Acids on Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus Contaminated Meat

Appropriate and safe antibacterial agents able to decontaminate meat surfaces have long been big concern of meat industry. In an attempt to manage beef carcass contamination, spray wash treatments utilizing three concentrations (1, 1.5 and 2%) of acetic, lactic, propionic and formic acids were performed to evaluate their efficacy in reducing numbers of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Staphylococcus aureus on meat tissues. The procured beef pieces of freshly slaughtered animals were decontaminated with hot water and then inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 and S. aureus individually which then were spray washed with organic acids separately. The total plate count of the treated samples showed that the populations of bacteria decreased after being exposed to organic acids. Spray wash of formic acid resulted in the highest reduction of both bacterial species on meat surface. Significantly, higher log reductions were obtained for S. aureus than E. coli O157:H7. It was concluded that organic acids are highly effective in decontaminating meat surfaces and organic acids are shown to be safe, simple, efficient, and cheap modality of meat decontamination which can be highly recommended for industrial scales

The Impact of the Level of the Intestinal Short Chain Fatty Acids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Versus Healthy Subjects

The aim of this study was to determine the changes of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in faeces of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients compared to healthy subjects. SCFAs such as pyruvic, lactic, formic, acetic, propionic, isobutyric and butyric acids were analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). This study showed that the level of acetic, 162.0 µmol/g wet faeces, butyric, 86.9 µmol/g wet faeces, and propionic acids, 65.6 µmol/g wet faeces, decreased remarkably in IBD faecal samples when compared with that of healthy individuals, 209.7, 176.0, and 93.3 µmol/g wet faeces respectively. On the contrary, lactic and pyruvic acids showed higher levels in faecal samples of IBD than in healthy subjects. In the context of butyric acid level, this study also found that the molar ratio of butyric acid was higher than propionic acid in both faecal samples. This might be due to the high intake of starch from rice among Malaysian population. It was concluded that the level of SCFAs differ remarkably between faecal samples in healthy subjects and that in IBD patients providing evidence that SCFAs more likely play an important role in the pathogenesis of IBD

Practical and Novel Sterilization Approach for the Pathogenic Staphylococcus aureus Bacteria.

Problem statement: Decontaminating meat surfaces has been the big concern of meat industry. Thus, various intervention strategies have been studied to reduce the level of bacteria on animals’ carcass surfaces. Approach: Mixture of different concentrations 1, 1.5 and 2% of acetic, lactic, propionic and formic acids at 1:1 ratio were spray washed on inoculated meat to evaluate their efficacy in reducing numbers of Staphylococcus aureus on meat tissue at 4±1°C. The beef pieces were decontaminated with hot water and then inoculated with S. aureus which then were spray washed with treatments for 15 sec separately. Results: Spray wash combinations of acetic and formic, lactic and formic and propionic and formic acids reduced the number of S. aureus at a range of 1.18-1.43 log cfu mL-1 more than combinations of acetic and lactic, acetic and propionic and lactic and propionic acids on meat tissue. Increasing the concentration of used acids increased the lethality of treatments as lethal effect of 2% concentration >1.5% concentration >1%concentration. Conclusion: Lactic and formic acids Combination showed the strongest lethal effect on S. aureus among other treatments. Moreover, this study showed that the combination of lactic and formic acids treatment is a feasible, safe, and economical decontamination method which is highly recommended for use rather than other combinations or single organic acids

Incidence of extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing pseudomonas aeruginosa and frequency of OXA-2 and OXA-10 genes

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has emerged as a major cause of infection in the last few decades. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of extended spectrum beta lactamaseproducing P. aeruginosa and the frequency of OXA-2 and OXA-10 genes. 350 and 120 P. aeruginosa samples were isolated from patients in two locations in Iran representing the region of the Middle East. Antibiotic pattern and OXA type ESBLs were detected by disk diffusion and PCR methods. Of 350 isolates of P. aeruginosa isolates in the first location, 105 (30) isolates were positive for ESBLs from which 92 (87.61) isolates were positive for OXA-10 Type ESBLs while only 5 (4.76) isolates were positive for OXA-2 ESBLs by using PCR methods in Ilam hospitals. In the second location, 46 (38.33) of P. aeruginosa isolates were positive for ESBLs of which 29 (63) were positive for OXA-10 Type ESBLs and only 1 (2.1) isolates were positive for OXA-2 ESBLs by PCR methods in Kerman hospitals. Results of the current study showed the presence of high percentage of OXA genes, 2 and 10, ESBLs in the region of the Middle East associated with extended resistance profile against almost all cephalosporins. Moreover, comparing the results of the studied two cities indicated that distribution of OXA type ESBLs is locally diverse even in the same geographical region. © 2010, INSInet Publication