Outcomes from elective colorectal cancer surgery during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

This study aimed to describe the change in surgical practice and the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on mortality after surgical resection of colorectal cancer during the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Rice bran as a substrate for proteolytic enzyme production

Rice bran was used as the substrate for screening nine strains of Rhizopus sp. for neutral protease production by solid-state fermentation. The best producer, Rhizopus microsporus NRRL 3671, was used for optimizing the process parameters for enzyme production. Fermentation carried out with 44.44 % initial moisture content at a temperature of 30 C for 72 h was found to be the optimum for enzyme secretion by the fermenting organism. While most of the carbon supplements favored enzyme production, addition of casein resulted in a marginal increase in protease yield. Fermentation was then carried out under optimized conditions to obtain the crude extract of the enzyme, which was partially purified by precipitation and dialysis. A 3-fold increase in the enzyme purity was achieved in this manner. The enzyme was found to be a metalloprotease, being activated by Mn2+, with maximal activity at a temperature of 60 C and pH 7.0.<br>Farelo de arroz foi utilizado como substrato para seleção de nove linhagens de Rhizopus sp. com vistas a produção de protease neutra. A linhagem que apresentou maior produtividade da enzima foi Rhizopus microsporus NRRL 3671, sendo utilizada na otimização dos parâmetros do processos e produção da enzima. As condições otimizadas para produção da enzima foram 44% de umidade inicial, temperatura de 30ºC e 72h de fermentação.A suplementação do farelo de arroz com uma fonte de carbono favoreceu a produção da enzima, porém a adição de caseína resultou em um aumento marginal do rendimento em protease. Condições otimizadas foram utilizadas para obtenção do extrato cru da enzima que foi parcialmente purificado por precipitação e diálise. A enzima purificada teve sua atividade incrementada 3 vezes. A enzima foi classificada como metalo-protease, sendo ativada pelo Mn2+ , sendo que sua atividade máxima foi obtida a temperatura de 60ºC e a pH 7.0

Sanmarco et al., 2023.pdf

Dendritic cells (DCs) control the generation of self-reactive pathogenic T cells. Thus, DCs are considered attractive therapeutic targets for autoimmune diseases. Using single-cell and bulk transcriptional and metabolic analyses in combination with cell-specific gene perturbation studies we identified a negative feedback regulatory pathway that operates in DCs to limit immunopathology. Specifically, we found that lactate, produced by activated DCs and other immune cells, boosts NDUFA4L2 expression through a mechanism mediated by HIF-1a. NDUFA4L2 limits the production of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species that activate XBP1-driven transcriptional modules in DCs involved in the control of pathogenic autoimmune T cells. Moreover, we engineered a probiotic that produces lactate and suppresses T-cell autoimmunity in the central nervous system via the activation of HIF-1a/NDUFA4L2 signaling in DCs. In summary, we identified an immunometabolic pathway that regulates DC function, and developed a synthetic probiotic for its therapeutic activation. </p