Evaluation of anti-biofilm activity of acidic amino acids and synergy with ciprofloxacin on Staphylococcus aureus biofilms

Acidic amino acids, aspartic acid (Asp) and glutamic acid (Glu) can enhance the solubility of many poorly soluble drugs including ciprofloxacin (Cip). One of the mechanisms of resistance within a biofilm is retardation of drug diffusion due to poor penetration across the matrix. To overcome this challenge, this work set to investigate novel counter ion approach with acidic amino acids, which we hypothesised will disrupt the biofilm matrix as well as simultaneously improve drug effectiveness. The anti-biofilm activity of D-Asp and D-Glu was studied on Staphylococcus aureus biofilms. Synergistic effect of combining D-amino acids with Cip was also investigated as a strategy to overcome anti-microbial resistance in these biofilms. Interestingly at equimolar combinations, D-Asp and D-Glu were able to significantly disperse (at 20 mM and 40 mM) established biofilms and inhibit (at 10 mM, 20 mM and 40 mM) new biofilm formation in the absence of an antibiotic. Moreover, our study confirmed L-amino acids also exhibit anti-biofilm activity. The synergistic effect of acidic amino acids with Cip was observed at lower concentration ranges (<40 mM amino acids and <90.54 µM, respectively), which resulted in 96.89% (inhibition) and 97.60% (dispersal) reduction in CFU with exposure to 40 mM amino acids. Confocal imaging indicated that the amino acids disrupt the honeycomb-like extracellular DNA (eDNA) meshwork whilst also preventing its formation

Differential Metabolisms of Green Leaf Volatiles in Injured and Intact Parts of a Wounded Leaf Meet Distinct Ecophysiological Requirements

Almost all terrestrial plants produce green leaf volatiles (GLVs), consisting of six-carbon (C6) aldehydes, alcohols and their esters, after mechanical wounding. C6 aldehydes deter enemies, but C6 alcohols and esters are rather inert. In this study, we address why the ability to produce various GLVs in wounded plant tissues has been conserved in the plant kingdom. The major product in completely disrupted Arabidopsis leaf tissues was (Z)-3-hexenal, while (Z)-3-hexenol and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate were the main products formed in the intact parts of partially wounded leaves. 13C-labeled C6 aldehydes placed on the disrupted part of a wounded leaf diffused into neighboring intact tissues and were reduced to C6 alcohols. The reduction of the aldehydes to alcohols was catalyzed by an NADPH-dependent reductase. When NADPH was supplemented to disrupted tissues, C6 aldehydes were reduced to C6 alcohols, indicating that C6 aldehydes accumulated because of insufficient NADPH. When the leaves were exposed to higher doses of C6 aldehydes, however, a substantial fraction of C6 aldehydes persisted in the leaves and damaged them, indicating potential toxicity of C6 aldehydes to the leaf cells. Thus, the production of C6 aldehydes and their differential metabolisms in wounded leaves has dual benefits. In disrupted tissues, C6 aldehydes and their α,β-unsaturated aldehyde derivatives accumulate to deter invaders. In intact cells, the aldehydes are reduced to minimize self-toxicity and allow healthy cells to survive. The metabolism of GLVs is thus efficiently designed to meet ecophysiological requirements of the microenvironments within a wounded leaf

BCRP expression does not result in resistance to STX140 in vivo, despite the increased expression of BCRP in A2780 cells in vitro after long-term STX140 exposure

The anti-proliferative and anti-angiogenic properties of the endogenous oestrogen metabolite, 2-methoxyoestradiol (2-MeOE2), are enhanced in a series of sulphamoylated derivatives of 2-MeOE2. To investigate possible mechanisms of resistance to these compounds, a cell line, A2780.140, eightfold less sensitive to the 3,17-O,O-bis-sulphamoylated derivative, STX140, was derived from the A2780 ovarian cancer cell line by dose escalation. Other cell lines tested did not develop STX140 resistance. RT–PCR and immunoblot analysis demonstrated that breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) expression is dramatically increased in A2780.140 cells. The cells are cross-resistant to the most structurally similar bis-sulphamates, and to BCRP substrates, mitoxantrone and doxorubicin; but they remain sensitive to taxol, an MDR1 substrate, and to all other sulphamates tested. Sensitivity can be restored using a BCRP inhibitor, and this pattern of resistance is also seen in a BCRP-expressing MCF-7-derived cell line, MCF-7.MR. In mice bearing wild-type (wt) and BCRP-expressing tumours on either flank, both STX140 and mitoxantrone inhibited the growth of the MCF-7wt xenografts, but only STX140 inhibited growth of the MCF-7.MR tumours. In conclusion, STX140, a promising orally bioavailable anti-cancer agent in pre-clinical development, is highly efficacious in BCRP-expressing xenografts. This is despite an increase in BCRP expression in A2780 cells in vitro after chronic dosing with STX140

Indole is an essential herbivore-induced volatile priming signal in maize

Herbivore-induced volatile organic compounds prime non-attacked plant tissues to respond more strongly to subsequent attacks. However, the key volatiles that trigger this primed state remain largely unidentified. In maize, the release of the aromatic compound indole is herbivore-specific and occurs earlier than other induced responses. We therefore hypothesized that indole may be involved in airborne priming. Using indole-deficient mutants and synthetic indole dispensers, we show that herbivore-induced indole enhances the induction of defensive volatiles in neighbouring maize plants in a species-specific manner. Furthermore, the release of indole is essential for priming of mono- and homoterpenes in systemic leaves of attacked plants. Indole exposure markedly increases the herbivore-induced production of the stress hormones jasmonate-isoleucine conjugate and abscisic acid, which represents a likely mechanism for indole-dependent priming. These results demonstrate that indole functions as a rapid and potent aerial priming agent that prepares systemic tissues and neighbouring plants for incoming attacks

Transcriptome Analysis of Epithelial and Stromal Contributions to Mammogenesis in Three Week Prepartum Cows

Transcriptome analysis of bovine mammary development has provided insight into regulation of mammogenesis. However, previous studies primarily examined expression of epithelial and stromal tissues combined, and consequently did not account for tissue specific contribution to mammary development. Our objective was to identify differences in gene expression in epithelial and intralobular stromal compartments. Tissue was biopsied from non-lactating dairy cows 3 weeks prepartum, cut into explants and incubated for 2 hr with insulin and hydrocortisone. Epithelial and intralobular stromal tissues were isolated with laser capture microdissection. Global gene expression was measured with Bovine Affymetrix GeneChips, and data were preprocessed using RMA method. Moderated t-tests from gene-specific linear model analysis with cell type as a fixed effect showed more than 3,000 genes were differentially expressed between tissues (P<0.05; FDR<0.17). Analysis of epithelial and stromal transcriptomes using Database for Annotation, Visualization and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) and Ingenuity Pathways Analysis (IPA) showed that epithelial and stromal cells contributed distinct molecular signatures. Epithelial signatures were enriched with gene sets for protein synthesis, metabolism and secretion. Stromal signatures were enriched with genes that encoded molecules important to signaling, extracellular matrix composition and remodeling. Transcriptome differences also showed evidence for paracrine interactions between tissues in stimulation of IGF1 signaling pathway, stromal reaction, angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and immune response. Molecular signatures point to the dynamic role the stroma plays in prepartum mammogenesis and highlight the importance of examining the roles of cell types within the mammary gland when targeting therapies and studying mechanisms that affect milk production

Origins of the Tumor Microenvironment: Quantitative Assessment of Adipose-Derived and Bone Marrow–Derived Stroma

To meet the requirements for rapid tumor growth, a complex array of non-neoplastic cells are recruited to the tumor microenvironment. These cells facilitate tumor development by providing matrices, cytokines, growth factors, as well as vascular networks for nutrient and waste exchange, however their precise origins remain unclear. Through multicolored tissue transplant procedures; we have quantitatively determined the contribution of bone marrow-derived and adipose-derived cells to stromal populations within syngeneic ovarian and breast murine tumors. Our results indicate that subpopulations of tumor-associated fibroblasts (TAFs) are recruited from two distinct sources. The majority of fibroblast specific protein (FSP) positive and fibroblast activation protein (FAP) positive TAFs originate from mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSC) located in bone marrow sources, whereas most vascular and fibrovascular stroma (pericytes, α-SMA+ myofibroblasts, and endothelial cells) originates from neighboring adipose tissue. These results highlight the capacity for tumors to utilize multiple sources of structural cells in a systematic and discriminative manner

Hypophosphatasia

Hypophosphatasia is a rare inherited disorder characterized by defective bone and teeth mineralization, and deficiency of serum and bone alkaline phosphatase activity. The prevalence of severe forms of the disease has been estimated at 1/100 000

Deficiency of a Niemann-Pick, Type C1-related Protein in Toxoplasma Is Associated with Multiple Lipidoses and Increased Pathogenicity

Several proteins that play key roles in cholesterol synthesis, regulation, trafficking and signaling are united by sharing the phylogenetically conserved ‘sterol-sensing domain’ (SSD). The intracellular parasite Toxoplasma possesses at least one gene coding for a protein containing the canonical SSD. We investigated the role of this protein to provide information on lipid regulatory mechanisms in the parasite. The protein sequence predicts an uncharacterized Niemann-Pick, type C1-related protein (NPC1) with significant identity to human NPC1, and it contains many residues implicated in human NPC disease. We named this NPC1-related protein, TgNCR1. Mammalian NPC1 localizes to endo-lysosomes and promotes the movement of sterols and sphingolipids across the membranes of these organelles. Miscoding patient mutations in NPC1 cause overloading of these lipids in endo-lysosomes. TgNCR1, however, lacks endosomal targeting signals, and localizes to flattened vesicles beneath the plasma membrane of Toxoplasma. When expressed in mammalian NPC1 mutant cells and properly addressed to endo-lysosomes, TgNCR1 restores cholesterol and GM1 clearance from these organelles. To clarify the role of TgNCR1 in the parasite, we genetically disrupted NCR1; mutant parasites were viable. Quantitative lipidomic analyses on the ΔNCR1 strain reveal normal cholesterol levels but an overaccumulation of several species of cholesteryl esters, sphingomyelins and ceramides. ΔNCR1 parasites are also characterized by abundant storage lipid bodies and long membranous tubules derived from their parasitophorous vacuoles. Interestingly, these mutants can generate multiple daughters per single mother cell at high frequencies, allowing fast replication in vitro, and they are slightly more virulent in mice than the parental strain. These data suggest that the ΔNCR1 strain has lost the ability to control the intracellular levels of several lipids, which subsequently results in the stimulation of lipid storage, membrane biosynthesis and parasite division. Based on these observations, we ascribe a role for TgNCR1 in lipid homeostasis in Toxoplasma