Significant reduction in helicobacter pylori load in humans with non-viable lactobacillus reuteri DSM17648: A pilot study

Reducing the amount of Helicobacter pylori in the stomach by selective bacterial-bacterial cell interaction was sought as an effective and novel method for combating the stomach pathogen. Lactobacillus reuteri DSM17648 was identified as a highly specific binding antagonist to H. pylori among more than 700 wild-type strains of Lactobacillus species. Applying a stringent screening procedure, the strain DSM17648 was identified as selective binder to H. pylori cells under in vivo gastric conditions. The strain DSM17648 co-aggregates the pathogen in vivo and in vitro. The specific co-aggregation occurs between Lact. reuteri DSM17648 and different H. pylori strains and serotypes, as well as H. heilmannii, but not with Campylobacter jejuni or other commensal oral and intestinal bacteria. Lact. reuteri DSM17648 was shown in a proof-of-concept single-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study to significantly reduce the load of H. pylori in healthy yet infected adults. Reducing the amount of H. pylori in the stomach by selective bacterial-bacterial cell interaction might be an effective and novel method for combating the stomach pathogen. Lact. reuteri DSM17648 might prove useful as an adhesion blocker in antibiotic-free H. pylori therapies

Effects of Invasive Winter Moth Defoliation on Tree Radial Growth in Eastern Massachusetts, USA

Winter moth, Operophtera brumata L. (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), has been defoliating hardwood trees in eastern Massachusetts since the 1990s. Native to Europe, winter moth has also been detected in Rhode Island, Connecticut, eastern Long Island (NY), New Hampshire, and Maine. Individual tree impacts of winter moth defoliation in New England are currently unknown. Using dendroecological techniques, this study related annual radial growth of individual host (Quercus spp. and Acer spp.) trees to detailed defoliation estimates. Winter moth defoliation was associated with up to a 47% reduction in annual radial growth of Quercus trees. Latewood production of Quercus was reduced by up to 67% in the same year as defoliation, while earlywood production was reduced by up to 24% in the year following defoliation. Winter moth defoliation was not a strong predictor of radial growth in Acer species. This study is the first to document impacts of novel invasions of winter moth into New England

Lack of neurotrophin-4 causes selective structural and chemical deficits in sympathetic ganglia and their preganglionic innervation

Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4) is perhaps the still most enigmatic member of the neurotrophin family. We show here that NT-4 is expressed in neurons of paravertebral and prevertebral sympathetic ganglia, i.e., the superior cervical (SCG), stellate (SG), and celiac (CG) ganglion. Mice deficient for NT-4 showed a significant reduction (20-30%) of preganglionic sympathetic neurons in the intermediolateral column (IML) of the thoracic spinal cord. In contrast, neuron numbers in the SCG, SG, and CG were unchanged. Numbers of axons in the thoracic sympathetic trunk (TST) connecting the SG with lower paravertebral ganglia were also reduced, whereas axon numbers in the cervical sympathetic trunk (CST) were unaltered. Axon losses in the TST were paralleled by losses of synaptic terminals on SG neurons visualized by electron microscopy. Furthermore, immunoreactivity for the synaptic vesicle antigen SV2 was clearly reduced in the SG and CG. Levels of catecholamines and tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity were dramatically reduced in the SG and the CG but not in the SCG. Despite this severe phenotype in the sympathetic system, blood pressure levels were not reduced and displayed a pattern more typical of deficits in baroreceptor afferents. Numbers of IML neurons were unaltered at postnatal day 4, suggesting a postnatal requirement for their maintenance. In light of these and previous data, we hypothesize that NT-4 provided by postganglionic sympathetic neurons is required for establishing and/or maintaining synapses of IML neurons on postganglionic cells. Impairment of synaptic connectivity may consequently reduce impulse flow, causing a reduction in transmitter synthesis in postganglionic neurons

A transcriptomic snapshot of early molecular communication between Pasteuria penetrans and Meloidogyne incognita

© The Author(s). 2018Background: Southern root-knot nematode Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid and White, 1919), Chitwood, 1949 is a key pest of agricultural crops. Pasteuria penetrans is a hyperparasitic bacterium capable of suppressing the nematode reproduction, and represents a typical coevolved pathogen-hyperparasite system. Attachment of Pasteuria endospores to the cuticle of second-stage nematode juveniles is the first and pivotal step in the bacterial infection. RNA-Seq was used to understand the early transcriptional response of the root-knot nematode at 8 h post Pasteuria endospore attachment. Results: A total of 52,485 transcripts were assembled from the high quality (HQ) reads, out of which 582 transcripts were found differentially expressed in the Pasteuria endospore encumbered J2 s, of which 229 were up-regulated and 353 were down-regulated. Pasteuria infection caused a suppression of the protein synthesis machinery of the nematode. Several of the differentially expressed transcripts were putatively involved in nematode innate immunity, signaling, stress responses, endospore attachment process and post-attachment behavioral modification of the juveniles. The expression profiles of fifteen selected transcripts were validated to be true by the qRT PCR. RNAi based silencing of transcripts coding for fructose bisphosphate aldolase and glucosyl transferase caused a reduction in endospore attachment as compared to the controls, whereas, silencing of aspartic protease and ubiquitin coding transcripts resulted in higher incidence of endospore attachment on the nematode cuticle. Conclusions: Here we provide evidence of an early transcriptional response by the nematode upon infection by Pasteuria prior to root invasion. We found that adhesion of Pasteuria endospores to the cuticle induced a down-regulated protein response in the nematode. In addition, we show that fructose bisphosphate aldolase, glucosyl transferase, aspartic protease and ubiquitin coding transcripts are involved in modulating the endospore attachment on the nematode cuticle. Our results add new and significant information to the existing knowledge on early molecular interaction between M. incognita and P. penetrans.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Innate immunity in ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection: contribution of IL8 and CSF2 gene variants to risk of trachomatous scarring in Gambians

BACKGROUND: Trachoma, a chronic keratoconjunctivitis caused by Chlamydia trachomatis, is the world's commonest infectious cause of blindness. Blindness is due to progressive scarring of the conjunctiva (trachomatous scarring) leading to in-turning of eyelashes (trichiasis) and corneal opacification. We evaluated the contribution of genetic variation across the chemokine and cytokine clusters in chromosomes 4q and 5q31 respectively to risk of scarring trachoma and trichiasis in a large case-control association study in a Gambian population. METHODS: Linkage disequilibrium (LD) mapping was used to investigate risk effects across the 4q and 5q31 cytokine clusters in relation to the risk of scarring sequelae of ocular Ct infection. Disease association and epistatic effects were assessed in a population based study of 651 case-control pairs by conditional logistic regression (CLR) analyses. RESULTS: LD mapping suggested that genetic effects on risk within these regions mapped to the pro-inflammatory innate immune genes interleukin 8 (IL8) and granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulatory factor (CSF2) loci. The IL8-251 rare allele (IL8-251 TT) was associated with protection from scarring trachoma (OR = 0.29 p = 0.027). The intronic CSF2_27348 A allele in chromosome 5q31 was associated with dose dependent protection from trichiasis, with each copy of the allele reducing risk by 37% (p = 0.005). There was evidence of epistasis, with effects at IL8 and CSF2 loci interacting with those previously reported at the MMP9 locus, a gene acting downstream to IL8 and CSF2 in the inflammatory cascade. CONCLUSION: innate immune response SNP-haplotypes are linked to ocular Ct sequelae. This work illustrates the first example of epistatic effects of two genes on trachoma

The PDZ Protein Canoe/AF-6 Links Ras-MAPK, Notch and Wingless/Wnt Signaling Pathways by Directly Interacting with Ras, Notch and Dishevelled

Over the past few years, it has become increasingly apparent that signal transduction pathways are not merely linear cascades; they are organized into complex signaling networks that require high levels of regulation to generate precise and unique cell responses. However, the underlying regulatory mechanisms by which signaling pathways cross-communicate remain poorly understood. Here we show that the Ras-binding protein Canoe (Cno)/AF-6, a PDZ protein normally associated with cellular junctions, is a key modulator of Wingless (Wg)/Wnt, Ras-Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) and Notch (N) signaling pathways cross-communication. Our data show a repressive effect of Cno/AF-6 on these three signaling pathways through physical interactions with Ras, N and the cytoplasmic protein Dishevelled (Dsh), a key Wg effector. We propose a model in which Cno, through those interactions, actively coordinates, at the membrane level, Ras-MAPK, N and Wg signaling pathways during progenitor specification

Recent advances in Pichia pastoris as host for heterologous expression system for lipases : a review

The production of heterologous lipases is one of the most promising strategies to increase the productivity of the bioprocesses and to reduce costs, with the final objective that more industrial lipase applications could be implemented. In this chapter, an overview of the new success in synthetic biology, with traditional molecular genetic techniques and bioprocess engineering in the last 5 years in the cell factory Pichia pastoris, the most promising host system for heterologous lipase production, is presented. The goals get on heterologous Candida antarctica, Rhizopus oryzae, and Candida rugosa lipases, three of the most common lipases used in biocatalysis, are showed. Finally, new cell factories producing heterologous lipases are presented

Prevention of age-related macular degeneration

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness in the developed world. Although effective treatment modalities such as anti-VEGF treatment have been developed for neovascular AMD, there is still no effective treatment for geographical atrophy, and therefore the most cost-effective management of AMD is to start with prevention. This review looks at current evidence on preventive measures targeted at AMD. Modalities reviewed include (1) nutritional supplements such as the Age-Related Eye Disease Study (AREDS) formula, lutein and zeaxanthin, omega-3 fatty acid, and berry extracts, (2) lifestyle modifications, including smoking and body-mass-index, and (3) filtering sunlight, i.e. sunglasses and blue-blocking intraocular lenses. In summary, the only proven effective preventive measures are stopping smoking and the AREDS formula