Lifestyle and Horizontal Gene Transfer- Mediated Evolution of \u3ci\u3eMucispirillum schaedleri\u3c/i\u3e, a Core Member of the Murine Gut Microbiota

Mucispirillum schaedleri is an abundant inhabitant of the intestinal mucus layer of rodents and other animals and has been suggested to be a pathobiont, a commensal that plays a role in disease. In order to gain insights into its lifestyle, we analyzed the genome and transcriptome of M. schaedleri ASF 457 and performed physiological experiments to test traits predicted by its genome. Although described as a mucus inhabitant, M. schaedleri has limited capacity for degrading host-derived mucosal glycans and other complex polysaccharides. Additionally, M. schaedleri reduces nitrate and expresses systems for scavenging oxygen and reactive oxygen species in vivo, which may account for its localization close to the mucosal tissue and expansion during inflammation. Also of note, M. schaedleri harbors a type VI secretion system and putative effector proteins and can modify gene expression in mucosal tissue, suggesting intimate interactions with its host and a possible role in inflammation. The M. schaedleri genome has been shaped by extensive horizontal gene transfer, primarily from intestinal Epsilon- and Deltaproteobacteria, indicating that horizontal gene transfer has played a key role in defining its niche in the gut ecosystem

Lifestyle and Horizontal Gene Transfer- Mediated Evolution of Mucispirillum schaedleri, a Core Member of the Murine Gut Microbiota

Mucispirillum schaedleri is an abundant inhabitant of the intestinal mucus layer of rodents and other animals and has been suggested to be a pathobiont, a commensal that plays a role in disease. In order to gain insights into its lifestyle, we analyzed the genome and transcriptome of M. schaedleri ASF 457 and performed physiological experiments to test traits predicted by its genome. Although described as a mucus inhabitant, M. schaedleri has limited capacity for degrading host-derived mucosal glycans and other complex polysaccharides. Additionally, M. schaedleri reduces nitrate and expresses systems for scavenging oxygen and reactive oxygen species in vivo, which may account for its localization close to the mucosal tissue and expansion during inflammation. Also of note, M. schaedleri harbors a type VI secretion system and putative effector proteins and can modify gene expression in mucosal tissue, suggesting intimate interactions with its host and a possible role in inflammation. The M. schaedleri genome has been shaped by extensive horizontal gene transfer, primarily from intestinal Epsilon- and Deltaproteobacteria, indicating that horizontal gene transfer has played a key role in defining its niche in the gut ecosystem

Lifestyle and Horizontal Gene Transfer- Mediated Evolution of \u3ci\u3eMucispirillum schaedleri\u3c/i\u3e, a Core Member of the Murine Gut Microbiota

Mucispirillum schaedleri is an abundant inhabitant of the intestinal mucus layer of rodents and other animals and has been suggested to be a pathobiont, a commensal that plays a role in disease. In order to gain insights into its lifestyle, we analyzed the genome and transcriptome of M. schaedleri ASF 457 and performed physiological experiments to test traits predicted by its genome. Although described as a mucus inhabitant, M. schaedleri has limited capacity for degrading host-derived mucosal glycans and other complex polysaccharides. Additionally, M. schaedleri reduces nitrate and expresses systems for scavenging oxygen and reactive oxygen species in vivo, which may account for its localization close to the mucosal tissue and expansion during inflammation. Also of note, M. schaedleri harbors a type VI secretion system and putative effector proteins and can modify gene expression in mucosal tissue, suggesting intimate interactions with its host and a possible role in inflammation. The M. schaedleri genome has been shaped by extensive horizontal gene transfer, primarily from intestinal Epsilon- and Deltaproteobacteria, indicating that horizontal gene transfer has played a key role in defining its niche in the gut ecosystem

The risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia after P. falciparum malaria: An individual patient data meta-analysis from the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network.

BACKGROUND: There is a high risk of Plasmodium vivax parasitaemia following treatment of falciparum malaria. Our study aimed to quantify this risk and the associated determinants using an individual patient data meta-analysis in order to identify populations in which a policy of universal radical cure, combining artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) with a hypnozoitocidal antimalarial drug, would be beneficial. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A systematic review of Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews identified efficacy studies of uncomplicated falciparum malaria treated with ACT that were undertaken in regions coendemic for P. vivax between 1 January 1960 and 5 January 2018. Data from eligible studies were pooled using standardised methodology. The risk of P. vivax parasitaemia at days 42 and 63 and associated risk factors were investigated by multivariable Cox regression analyses. Study quality was assessed using a tool developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute. The study was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO: CRD42018097400). In total, 42 studies enrolling 15,341 patients were included in the analysis, including 30 randomised controlled trials and 12 cohort studies. Overall, 14,146 (92.2%) patients had P. falciparum monoinfection and 1,195 (7.8%) mixed infection with P. falciparum and P. vivax. The median age was 17.0 years (interquartile range [IQR] = 9.0-29.0 years; range = 0-80 years), with 1,584 (10.3%) patients younger than 5 years. 2,711 (17.7%) patients were treated with artemether-lumefantrine (AL, 13 studies), 651 (4.2%) with artesunate-amodiaquine (AA, 6 studies), 7,340 (47.8%) with artesunate-mefloquine (AM, 25 studies), and 4,639 (30.2%) with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DP, 16 studies). 14,537 patients (94.8%) were enrolled from the Asia-Pacific region, 684 (4.5%) from the Americas, and 120 (0.8%) from Africa. At day 42, the cumulative risk of vivax parasitaemia following treatment of P. falciparum was 31.1% (95% CI 28.9-33.4) after AL, 14.1% (95% CI 10.8-18.3) after AA, 7.4% (95% CI 6.7-8.1) after AM, and 4.5% (95% CI 3.9-5.3) after DP. By day 63, the risks had risen to 39.9% (95% CI 36.6-43.3), 42.4% (95% CI 34.7-51.2), 22.8% (95% CI 21.2-24.4), and 12.8% (95% CI 11.4-14.5), respectively. In multivariable analyses, the highest rate of P. vivax parasitaemia over 42 days of follow-up was in patients residing in areas of short relapse periodicity (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] = 6.2, 95% CI 2.0-19.5; p = 0.002); patients treated with AL (AHR = 6.2, 95% CI 4.6-8.5; p < 0.001), AA (AHR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.4-3.7; p = 0.001), or AM (AHR = 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-1.9; p = 0.028) compared with DP; and patients who did not clear their initial parasitaemia within 2 days (AHR = 1.8, 95% CI 1.4-2.3; p < 0.001). The analysis was limited by heterogeneity between study populations and lack of data from very low transmission settings. Study quality was high. CONCLUSIONS: In this meta-analysis, we found a high risk of P. vivax parasitaemia after treatment of P. falciparum malaria that varied significantly between studies. These P. vivax infections are likely attributable to relapses that could be prevented with radical cure including a hypnozoitocidal agent; however, the benefits of such a novel strategy will vary considerably between geographical areas

Temporal and spatial analysis of the 2014-2015 Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa

West Africa is currently witnessing the most extensive Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak so far recorded. Until now, there have been 27,013 reported cases and 11,134 deaths. The origin of the virus is thought to have been a zoonotic transmission from a bat to a two-year-old boy in December 2013 (ref. 2). From this index case the virus was spread by human-to-human contact throughout Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. However, the origin of the particular virus in each country and time of transmission is not known and currently relies on epidemiological analysis, which may be unreliable owing to the difficulties of obtaining patient information. Here we trace the genetic evolution of EBOV in the current outbreak that has resulted in multiple lineages. Deep sequencing of 179 patient samples processed by the European Mobile Laboratory, the first diagnostics unit to be deployed to the epicentre of the outbreak in Guinea, reveals an epidemiological and evolutionary history of the epidemic from March 2014 to January 2015. Analysis of EBOV genome evolution has also benefited from a similar sequencing effort of patient samples from Sierra Leone. Our results confirm that the EBOV from Guinea moved into Sierra Leone, most likely in April or early May. The viruses of the Guinea/Sierra Leone lineage mixed around June/July 2014. Viral sequences covering August, September and October 2014 indicate that this lineage evolved independently within Guinea. These data can be used in conjunction with epidemiological information to test retrospectively the effectiveness of control measures, and provides an unprecedented window into the evolution of an ongoing viral haemorrhagic fever outbreak.status: publishe

Insights into the ecology and evolution of the mucus-dwelling gut bacterium Mucispirillum schaedleri

Mucispirillum schaedleri is an abundant inhabitant of the intestinal mucus layer of rodents and other animals. To gain insights into its lifestyle, we analyzed the genome and transcriptome of M. schaedleri ASF 457 and tested for traits predicted by the genome using physiological experiments. Although thought to be a mucus degrader, its genome surprisingly predicts that M. schaedleri has limited capacity for degrading host-derived mucosal glycans or other complex polysaccharides. Rather, it may utilize small compounds such as peptides, amino acids, glycerol, and short chain fatty acids. Additionally, it can reduce nitrate and has systems for scavenging oxygen and reactive oxygen species, which accounts for its presence close to the mucosal tissue and during inflammation. Also of note, M. schaedleri harbors a type VI secretion system (T6SS) and several putative effector proteins containing eukaryotic domains, which suggest intimate interactions with the host and a role in inflammation. Examination of the individual phylogenies of all genes in the M. schaedleri genome revealed extensive horizontal gene transfer, primarily from intestinal Epsilon- and Deltaproteobacteria. Though M. schaedleri utilizes non-horizontally-transferred pathways (e.g. nitrate reduction), horizontally-acquired pathways from gut organisms (e.g. T6SS and glycerol-P utilization) are also likely also important for its survival in the intestine, suggesting that lateral gene transfer may have played a key role in facilitating its establishment in the gut ecosystem

Genome and transcriptome of Mucispirillum schaedleri ASF457 (MCS)

Mucispirillum schaedleri is an abundant inhabitant of the intestinal mucus layer of rodents and other animals. We analyzed the genome and transcriptome of M. schaedleri ASF 457 to gain insights into its lifestyle and tested traits predicted by the genome with physiological experiments. Surprisingly, though thought to be a mucus degrader its genome predicts that M. schaedleri has limited capacity for degrading host-derived mucosal glycans or other complex polysaccharides. It may rather utilize small compounds such as peptides, amino acids, glycerol, and short chain fatty acids. Additionally, it can reduce nitrate and has systems for scavenging oxygen and reactive oxygen species, which accounts for its survival close to the mucosal tissue blooms during inflammation. Interestingly, M. schaedleri harbors a type VI secretion system (T6SS) and several putative effector proteins containing eukaryotic domains, which may be involved in interacting with the host and may play a role in inflammation. An examination of individual phylogenies of all genes in the M. schaedleri genome indicated extensive lateral gene transfer, primarily from intestinal Epsilon- and Deltaproteobacteria. Though M. schaedleri utilizes non-laterally-transferred pathways (e.g. nitrate reduction), laterally acquired pathways from gut organisms (e.g. T6SS and glycerol-P utilization) are likely also important for its survival in the intestine, suggesting that lateral gene transfer may have played a key role in facilitating its establishment in the gut ecosystem

Novel spiroindoline HDAC inhibitors: Synthesis, molecular modelling and biological studies

This paper describes the rational development of a series of novel spiroindoline derivatives endowed with selective inhibitory activity on the HDAC6 isoform. A convenient multicomponent one-pot protocol was applied for the assembly of the desired N1-substituted spiroindoline core which allowed a straightforward analoging. Computational studies and in vitro determination of inhibitory potency for the developed compounds against HDAC6 and HDAC1 isoforms were flanked by cell-based studies on histone H3 and α-tubulin acetylation. The effects on cancer cell cycle and apoptosis of the best performing derivatives were assessed on cancer cell lines highlighting a promising antitumor potential. In view of cell-based data and calculated drug-like properties, the selective HDAC6 inhibitor 5b, with a spiroindoline-based hydroxamate bearing a tert-butyl carbamate functionality, was selected to be further investigated for its potential in inhibiting tumor cells migration. It was able to potently inhibit cell migration in SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells and did not display toxicity in NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts. Taken together, these data foster further investigation and optimization for this class of compounds as novel anticancer agents