Outer membrane protein a of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium activates dendritic cells and enhances Th1 polarization

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Typhoid, which is caused by <it>Salmonella enterica </it>serovar Typhimurium, remains a major health concern worldwide. Multidrug-resistant strains of <it>Salmonella </it>have emerged which exhibit increased survivability and virulence, thus leading to increased morbidity. However, little is known about the protective immune response against this microorganism. The outer membrane protein (Omp)A of bacteria plays an important role in pathogenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We purified OmpA from <it>S. enterica </it>serovar Typhimurium (OmpA-sal) and characterized the role of OmpA-sal in promoting adaptive and innate immune responses. OmpA-sal functionally activated bone marrow-derived dendritic cells by augmenting expression of CD80, CD86, and major histocompatibility complex classes I and II. Interestingly, OmpA-sal induced production of interferon-γ from T cells in mixed lymphocyte reactions, thus indicating Th1-polarizing capacity. The expression of surface markers and cytokine production in dendritic cells was mediated by the TLR4 signaling pathway in a TLR4 Knock-out system.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our findings suggest that OmpA-sal modulates the adaptive immune responses to <it>S. enterica </it>serovar Typhimurium by activating dendritic cells and driving Th1 polarization, which are important properties to consider in the development of effective <it>S. enterica </it>serovar Typhimurium vaccines and immunotherapy adjuvant.</p

Genome sequence of Mycobacterium yongonense RT 955-2015 isolate from a patient misdiagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: First clinical detection in Tanzania

Background: Mycobacterium yongonense is a recently described novel species belonging to Mycobacterium avium complex, which is the most prevalent aetiology of non-tuberculous mycobacteria associated with pulmonary infections, and poses tuberculosis diagnostic challenges in high-burden, resource-constrained settings. Methods: Whole genome shotgun sequencing and comparative microbial genomic analyses were used to characterize the isolate from a patient diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) after relapse. Results: The genome sequence of the first case of M. yongonense (M. yongonense RT 955-2015) in Tanzania is presented. Sequence analysis revealed that the RT 955-2015 strain had a high similarity to M. yongonense 05-1390(T) (98.74%) and Mycobacterium chimaera DSM 44623(T) (98%). Its 16S rRNA showed similarity to Mycobacterium paraintracellulare KCTC 290849(T) (100%), Mycobacterium intracellulare ATCC 13950(T) (100%), M. chimaera DSM 44623(T) (99.9%), and M. yongonense 05-1390(T) (98%). The strain exhibited a substantially different rpoB sequence to that of M. yongonense 05-1390 (95.16%), but closely related to that of M. chimaera DSM 44623(T) (99.86%), M. intracellulare ATCC 13950(T), (99.53%), and M. paraintracellulare KCTC 290849(T) (99.53%). Conclusions: In light of the OrthoANI algorithm and phylogenetic analysis, it was concluded that the isolate was M. yongonense Type II genotype, which is an indication that the patient was misdiagnosed with TB/MDR-TB and received inappropriate treatment. (C) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of International Society for Infectious Diseases.

Sequence Level Analysis of Recently Duplicated Regions in Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] Genome

A single recessive gene, rxp, on linkage group (LG) D2 controls bacterial leaf-pustule resistance in soybean. We identified two homoeologous contigs (GmA and GmA′) composed of five bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) during the selection of BAC clones around Rxp region. With the recombinant inbred line population from the cross of Pureunkong and Jinpumkong 2, single-nucleotide polymorphism and simple sequence repeat marker genotyping were able to locate GmA′ on LG A1. On the basis of information in the Soybean Breeders Toolbox and our results, parts of LG A1 and LG D2 share duplicated regions. Alignment and annotation revealed that many homoeologous regions contained kinases and proteins related to signal transduction pathway. Interestingly, inserted sequences from GmA and GmA′ had homology with transposase and integrase. Estimation of evolutionary events revealed that speciation of soybean from Medicago and the recent divergence of two soybean homoeologous regions occurred at 60 and 12 million years ago, respectively. Distribution of synonymous substitution patterns, Ks, yielded a first secondary peak (mode Ks = 0.10–0.15) followed by two smaller bulges were displayed between soybean homologous regions. Thus, diploidized paleopolyploidy of soybean genome was again supported by our study

A Case of Right Sided Aortic Arch Combined with Atrial Septal Defect

Right sided aortic arch is an uncommon congenital anomaly. It can be classified into three types, depending on the left aortic arch's degenerating pattern and the branching pattern of the great vessels. It can be associated with major congenital heart disease, depending on the type of right sided aortic arch. We report a case of an 18-years-old female who has right sided aortic arch with atrial septal defect (ASD). In our case, the patient had a right sided aortic arch and aberrant left subclavian artery, also she had ASD (ostium secundum) and moderate tricuspid regurgitation with pulmonary hypertension. The patient was successfully performed patch closure of ASD and tricuspid valve annuloplasty via midline sternotomy. The patient had uneventful postoperative course

Practice Pattern of Gastroenterologists for the Management of GERD Under the Minimal Influence of the Insurance Reimbursement Guideline: A Multicenter Prospective Observational Study

The objective of the study was to document practice pattern of gastroenterologists for the management of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) under the minimal influence of the insurance reimbursement guideline. Data on management for 1,197 consecutive patients with typical GERD symptoms were prospectively collected during 16 weeks. In order to minimize the influence of reimbursement guideline on the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), rabeprazole was used for the PPI treatment. A total of 861 patients (72%) underwent endoscopy before the start of treatment. PPIs were most commonly prescribed (87%). At the start of treatment, rabeprazole 20 mg daily was prescribed to 94% of the patients who received PPI treatment and 10 mg daily to the remaining 6%. At the third visits, rabeprazole 20 mg daily was prescribed to 70% of those who were followed and 10 mg daily for the remaining 30%. Continuous PPI treatment during the 16-week period was performed in 63% of the study patients. In conclusion, a full-dose PPI is preferred for the initial and maintenance treatment of GERD under the minimal influence of the insurance reimbursement guideline, which may reflect a high proportion of GERD patients requiring a long-term treatment of a full-dose PPI

Overexpression of arabidopsis YUCCA6 in potato results in high-auxin developmental phenotypes and enhance

Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), a major plant auxin, is produced in both tryptophan-dependent and tryptophanindependent pathways. A major pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana generates IAA in two reactions from tryptophan. Step one converts tryptophan to indole-3-pyruvic acid (IPA) by tryptophan aminotransferases followed by a rate-limiting step converting IPA to IAA catalyzed by YUCCA proteins. We identified eight putative StYUC (Solanum tuberosum YUCCA) genes whose deduced amino acid sequences share 50%-70% identity with those of Arabidopsis YUCCA proteins. All include canonical, conserved YUCCA sequences: FATGY motif, FMO signature sequence, and FAD-binding and NADPbinding sequences. In addition, five genes were found with ~50% amino acid sequence identity to Arabidopsis tryptophan aminotransferases. Transgenic potato (Solanum tuberosum cv. Jowon) constitutively overexpressing Arabidopsis AtYUC6 displayed high-auxin phenotypes such as narrow downward-curled leaves, increased height, erect stature, and longevity. Transgenic potato plants overexpressing AtYUC6 showed enhanced drought tolerance based on reduced water loss. The phenotype was correlated with reduced levels of reactive oxygen species in leaves. The results suggest a functional YUCCA pathway of auxin biosynthesis in potato that may be exploited to alter plant responses to the environment. © 2012 The Author

Comparison of the prevalence and histology between primary benign bladder tumors and recurrent benign lesions after transurethral resection of malignant bladder tumors

Background Benign bladder tumors are rare disease entities, and insufficient studies have assessed their epidemiological characteristics. The authors investigated the prevalence of benign bladder tumors by retrospectively investigating pathology reports of transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TURBT) procedures over the past 20 years. Methods We analyzed 1,674 pathology reports of TURBT conducted in 1,160 patients from January 1, 2000, to April 30, 2022. The prevalence of benign tumors and histological classification according to the presence of primary (group 1) and recurrent (group 2) bladder lesions were retrospectively investigated. Results The mean age of patients was 65.2±11.5 years, and 1,284 cases (79.1%) were in men. Benign bladder tumors comprised 278 cases (248 patients) accounting for about 17.1% of the total TURBT cases (278/1,624). Furthermore, 184 patients (16.0%, 184/1,147) belonged to group 1 and 78 patients (27.4%, 78/285) belonged to group 2. Among all benign lesions that underwent TURBT, cystitis was the most common (41.0%, 114/278), and this rate was higher in group 2 (64/184 [34.8%] vs. 50/94 [53.2%], p<0.001). The prevalence of non-neoplastic lesions was higher in group 1 (44/184 [23.9] vs. 11/94 [11.7%], p<0.001). There was no difference in the prevalence of noninvasive urothelial neoplasms between the two groups (22/184 [12.0%] vs. 8/94 [8.5%], p=0.86). Conclusions The probability of benign lesions in TURBT was 17.1%, among which cystitis was the most common. When TURBT was performed for recurrent lesions, the frequency of benign tumors was higher than that of primary benign bladder tumors

OGLE-2016-BLG-1227L: A Wide-separation Planet from a Very Short-timescale Microlensing Event

We present the analysis of the microlensing event OGLE-2016-BLG-1227. The light curve of this short-duration event appears to be a single-lens event affected by severe finite-source effects. Analysis of the light curve based on single-lens single-source (1L1S) modeling yields very small values of the event timescale, t_E ∼ 3.5 days, and the angular Einstein radius, θ_E ∼ 0.009 mas, making the lens a candidate of a free-floating planet. Close inspection reveals that the 1L1S solution leaves small residuals with amplitude ΔI ≲ 0.03 mag. We find that the residuals are explained by the existence of an additional widely-separated heavier lens component, indicating that the lens is a wide-separation planetary system rather than a free-floating planet. From Bayesian analysis, it is estimated that the planet has a mass of _p = 0.79^(+1.30)_(−0.39) M_J and it is orbiting a low-mass host star with a mass of M_(host) = 0.10+0.17−0.05 M_⊙ located with a projected separation of a_ = 3.4^(+2.1)_(−1.0) au. The planetary system is located in the Galactic bulge with a line-of-sight separation from the source star of D_(LS) = 1.21^(+0.96)_(−0.63) kpc. The event shows that there are a range of deviations in the signatures of host stars for apparently isolated planetary lensing events and that it is possible to identify a host even when a deviation is subtle