A study on the breeding biology of some bat species in Turkey (Mammalia: Chiroptera)

This study is based on the records of gestation and lactation periods of 17 bat species (Rousettus aegyptiacus, Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, R. hipposideros, R. euryale, R. blasii, Myotis myotis, M. blythii, M. emarginatus, M. nattereri, M. mystacinus, M. capaccinii, Eptesicus serotinus, Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. kuhlii, P. savii, Plecotus auritus, and Miniopterus schreibersii) caught from various localities in Turkey and of the development stages of embryos belonging to Myotis species. It was determined that the gestation period of some insectivorous bat species was generally May and June and following this period the lactation period was June and July in Turkey. In the fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus, the gestation and lactation periods were May, July, August and September. © TÜBİTAK

Alkaline-phosphatase-based nanostructure assemblies for electrochemical detection of microRNAs

Different nanoarchitectures, rich in enzyme labels, are herein investigated for signal amplification in the electrochemical detection of nucleic acids and in particular of microRNAs. Dendritic amplification, accomplished by the use of streptavidin and biotinylated alkaline phosphatase, and enzymedecorated liposomes are used as labels to amplify the microRNA-sensing, by their association to the probe-microRNA hybrid generated onto a gold transducer. Differential pulse voltammetry and faradaic impedance spectroscopy were employed to characterize these different amplification routes

Blood serum proteins of Myotis myotis (Borkhausen, 1797) and Myotis blythii (Tomes, 1857) (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

This study is based on the globulin and albumin proteins, determined using SDS-PAGE, of two sibling bat species Myotis myotis (Borkhausen, 1797) (Greater Mouse-eared Myotis) and M. blythii (Tomes, 1857) (Lesser Mouse-eared Myotis) distributed in Turkey. No difference is found in the globulin and albumin protein bands. It was concluded that blood serum proteins could not be enough diagnostic character for separating Myotis myotis from M. blythii

Candida albicans V132 induces trained immunity and enhances the responses triggered by the polybacterial vaccine MV140 for genitourinary tract infections

INTRODUCTION: Recurrent urinary tract infections (RUTIs) and recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVCs) represent major healthcare problems all over the world. Antibiotics and antifungals are widely used for such infectious diseases, which is linked with microbial resistances and microbiota deleterious effects. The development of novel approaches for genitourinary tract infections (GUTIs) such as trained immunity-based vaccines (TIbV) is therefore highly required. MV140 is a sublingual whole-cell heat-inactivated polybacterial preparation with demonstrated clinical efficacy for RUTIs. The sublingual heat-inactivated Candida albicans vaccine V132 has been developed for RVVCs. We previously showed that the combination of MV140 and V132 promotes potent Th1/Th17 and regulatory T-cell responses against antigens contained in the formulation and unrelated antigens. The specific contribution of each preparation to such effects and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain incompletely understood. METHODS: PBMC and monocytes were isolated from healthy donors and in vitro stimulated with V132, MV140 or MV140/V132. After 6 days of resting, cells were reestimulated with LPS and MV140. Analysis of cytokine production by ELISA, Seahorse assays for functional metabolic experiments and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were performed. BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally and sublingually immunized with V132. RESULTS: We uncover that V132 induces trained immunity in human PBMCs and purified monocytes, significantly increasing the responses triggered by subsequent stimulation with MV140. Mechanistically, V132 drives metabolic rewiring towards increased glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation and induces epigenetic reprogramming that enhances the transcription of the pro-inflammatory genes IL6 and TNFA. Splenocytes and peritoneal cells from V132-immunize mice show increased responses upon in vitro stimulation with MV140. Remarkably, splenocytes from sublingually V132-immunized and MV140 in vivo treatment mice show stronger Th17 responses than mice exposed to excipients upon in vitro stimulation with MV140. CONCLUSION: Overall, we provide novel mechanistic insights into how V132-induced trained immunity enhances both innate and adaptive immune responses triggered by MV140, which might open the door for new interventions for GUTIs with important clinical implications

Art. 1.1475/ringraziamenti

Abstract. -OBJECTIVE: Studies in animals have provided key evidence that antagonizing TNF-α α is a viable therapeutic strategy for diffuse severe brain injury. This study is planned to prevent post-traumatic secondary tissue damages in rat diffuse severe brain injury model, which is induced by alone or combined administration of Etanercept and lithium chloride (LiCl). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Male SpragueDawley rats were used in the current study. Rats were divided into 5 groups. Trauma was not induced and treatment was not applied to rats of Sham group. For rats of Trauma+Saline group, saline 0.9% was administered via intraperitoneal (i.p.) route at dose of 1 mg/100 g body weight 1 hour after trauma. For rats of Trauma+Etanercept group, Etanercept was administered via i.p. route at dose of 5 mg/kg body weight 1 hour after trauma. For rats of Trauma+LiCl group, LiCl was administered via i.p. route at dose of 50 mg/kg body weight 1 hour after trauma. For rats of Etanercept+LiCl group, Etanercept and LiCl were administered via i.p. route at dose of 5 mg/kg body weight and 50 mg/kg body weight, respectively, 1 hour after trauma. Serum glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Tau levels were analyzed with ELISA. For analyses H&E, TUNEL, GFAP and TNF-α α staining methods were used. RESULTS: We demonstrate that Etanercept treatment reduced the TBI-induced brain tissues alteration, reduced the expression of TNF-α α and improve edema and axonal swelling. We observed a significant decrease in TNF-α α and GFAP positivity after LiCl was administered. CONCLUSIONS: The findings obtained in this study suggest that the combination therapy with Etanercept and LiCl decreased neurona

Dimethyl itaconate induces long-term innate immune responses and confers protection against infection

Itaconate is an immunomodulatory metabolite produced by immune cells under microbial stimulation and certain pro-inflammatory conditions and triggers antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. We show that dimethyl itaconate, a derivative of itaconate previously linked to suppression of inflammation and widely employed as an alternative to the endogenous metabolite, can induce long-term transcriptional, epigenomic, and metabolic changes, characteristic of trained immunity. Dimethyl itaconate alters glycolytic and mitochondrial energetic metabolism, ultimately leading to increased responsiveness to microbial ligand stimulation. Subsequently, mice treated with dimethyl itaconate present increased survival to infection with Staphylococcus aureus. Additionally, itaconate levels in human plasma correlate with enhanced ex vivo pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that dimethyl itaconate displays short-term anti-inflammatory characteristics and the capacity to induce long-term trained immunity. This pro-and anti-inflammatory dichotomy of dimethyl itaconate is likely to induce complex immune responses and should be contemplated when considering itaconate derivatives in a therapeutic context. Proteomic