The invertebrate lysozyme effector ILYS-3 is systemically activated in response to danger signals and confers antimicrobial protection in C. elegans

Little is known about the relative contributions and importance of antibacterial effectors in the nematode C. elegans, despite extensive work on the innate immune responses in this organism. We report an investigation of the expression, function and regulation of the six ilys (invertebrate-type lysozyme) genes of C. elegans. These genes exhibited a surprising variety of tissue-specific expression patterns and responses to starvation or bacterial infection. The most strongly expressed, ilys-3, was investigated in detail. ILYS-3 protein was expressed constitutively in the pharynx and coelomocytes, and dynamically in the intestine. Analysis of mutants showed that ILYS-3 was required for pharyngeal grinding (disruption of bacterial cells) during normal growth and consequently it contributes to longevity, as well as being protective against bacterial pathogens. Both starvation and challenge with Gram-positive pathogens resulted in ERK-MAPK-dependent up-regulation of ilys-3 in the intestine. The intestinal induction by pathogens, but not starvation, was found to be dependent on MPK-1 activity in the pharynx rather than in the intestine, demonstrating unexpected communication between these two tissues. The coelomocyte expression appeared to contribute little to normal growth or immunity. Recombinant ILYS-3 protein was found to exhibit appropriate lytic activity against Gram-positive cell wall material

Mineral Type and Solution Chemistry Affect the Structure and Composition of Actively Growing Bacterial Communities as Revealed by Bromodeoxyuridine Immunocapture and 16S rRNA Pyrosequencing

© 2016, Springer Science+Business Media New York. Understanding how minerals affect bacterial communities and their in situ activities in relation to environmental conditions are central issues in soil microbial ecology, as minerals represent essential reservoirs of inorganic nutrients for the biosphere. To determine the impact of mineral type and solution chemistry on soil bacterial communities, we compared the diversity, composition, and functional abilities of a soil bacterial community incubated in presence/absence of different mineral types (apatite, biotite, obsidian). Microcosms were prepared containing different liquid culture media devoid of particular essential nutrients, the nutrients provided only in the introduced minerals and therefore only available to the microbial community through mineral dissolution by biotic and/or abiotic processes. By combining functional screening of bacterial isolates and community analysis by bromodeoxyuridine DNA immunocapture and 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing, we demonstrated that bacterial communities were mainly impacted by the solution chemistry at the taxonomic level and by the mineral type at the functional level. Metabolically active bacterial communities varied with solution chemistry and mineral type. Burkholderia were significantly enriched in the obsidian treatment compared to the biotite treatment and were the most effective isolates at solubilizing phosphorous or mobilizing iron, in all the treatments. A detailed analysis revealed that the 16S rRNA gene sequences of the OTUs or isolated strains assigned as Burkholderia in our study showed high homology with effective mineral-weathering bacteria previously recovered from the same experimental site

Intervertebral disc degeneration instigates vertebral endplate remodeling and facet joint pathology in a large animal model

Although the intervertebral discs are the most studied region of the spinal motion segment with respect to their degeneration and contributions to back pain, it is becoming increasingly evident that degeneration of adjacent structures including the facet joints, vertebral endplates and paraspinal muscles occurs concomitant with disc degeneration. However, crosstalk between these adjacent components of the motion segment remains understudied, particularly in preclinical large animal models. In this study, intervertebral disc degeneration was induced in goat cervical discs via intradiscal injection of 2U or 5U of chondroitinase ABC (ChABC). Disc degeneration and trans-endplate small molecule diffusion into the disc were assessed at 12 weeks using in vivo MRI T2 mapping and post-contrast enhanced T1 mapping. Animals were euthanized at 12 weeks post-ChABC injection for end-term structure-function analysis of the disc, vertebral endplate and facet tissues. Intradiscal injection of ChABC yielded a spectrum of disc degeneration independent of ChABC dosage. Increasing severity of disc degeneration correlated with increased vertebral endplate bone density. In levels that did not exhibit severe degeneration or endplate resorptions, we demonstrated a significant correlation between NP T2 values and disc diffusion properties. Early-stage osteoarthritis of the facet joints was observed concomitant with disc degeneration, characterized primarily by alterations in facet cartilage mechanical properties. This work established a large animal model of whole spinal motion segment degeneration, including correlations between trans-endplate diffusion and disc health, which can be utilized to increase the translational relevance of studies evaluating strategies for disc regeneration or repair

An Evaluation of Methods to Improve the Reporting of Adherence in a Placebo Gel Trial in Andhra Pradesh, India

Female sex workers (FSWs) were recruited for a 4-month placebo vaginal gel trial in Nellore, India. Two experiments explored if prior knowledge of biomarkers for unprotected sex and insertion of gel applicators would yield more accurate self-reports. A third experiment compared self-reports of gel use and adherence levels between FSWs randomly assigned to interactive voice response survey (IVRS) and those assigned to paper diaries. Prior knowledge of biomarkers did not improve accuracy of self-reported condom or gel use, nor did it affect actual adherence. Of those who tested positive for the presence of semenogelin in the vagina, 76% reported no unprotected sex in the previous 48 h. Overall, women reported using gel on 90% of days whereas the biomarker indicated gel use on fewer than 50% of days. Compliance to IVRS was low, despite familiarity with mobile phone technology. Additional explorations with other populations are needed

Book of Abstracts: 2019 Health Equity Summer Research Summit Organized by the Center of Excellence in Health Equity, Training and Research, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030, USA on June 18th, 2019

Copyright © 2020 Harris. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited