Sex-specific in the relationship between hyperuricemia and pulse pressure in non-diabetic Korean adults: the 2017 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background and objective: The present study assesses the relationship between hyperuricemia and pulse pressure (PP) in non-diabetic Korean adults. Material and methods: Data from 5122 subjects (2251 men and 2871 women) in the seventh Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES VII-2, 2017) were analyzed. Results: Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and PP were significant factors determining the odds ratios (ORs) for hyperuricemia (uric acid ≥7.0 mg/dL in men or ≥6.0 mg/dL in women) in men and the overall population. In women, SBP, diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and PP were not significant factors determining the OR for hyperuricemia. After adjusting for related variables, the OR of hyperuricemia was significantly higher in the high PP group (PP >60.0 mmHg) for men (OR, 1.760; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.152–2.688) and the overall population (OR, 1.557; 95% CI, 1.132–2.140) compared with the normal PP group, but this trend was not seen in women (OR, 1.060; 95% CI, 0.646–1.740). Conclusions: Hyperuricemia was positively associated with PP in non-diabetic Korean men but not in women

Schisandrae Fructus ethanol extract ameliorates inflammatory responses and articular cartilage damage in monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis in rats

Schisandrae Fructus, the fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., is widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a number of chronic diseases. Although, Schisandrae Fructus was recently reported to attenuate the interleukin (IL)-1β-induced inflammatory response in chondrocytes in vitro, its protective and therapeutic potential against osteoarthritis (OA) in an animal model remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of the ethanol extract of Schisandrae Fructus (SF) on inflammatory responses and cartilage degradation in a monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA rat model. Our results demonstrated that administration with SF had a tendency to attenuate MIA-induced damage of articular cartilage as determined by a histological grade of OA. SF significantly suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α in MIA-induced OA rats. SF also effectively inhibited expression of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase and cyclooxygenase-2, thereby inhibiting the release of NO and prostaglandin E2. In addition, the elevated levels of matrix metalloproteinases-13 and two biomarkers for diagnosis and progression of OA, such as cartilage oligomeric matrix protein and C-telopeptide of type II collagen, were markedly ameliorated by SF administration. These findings indicate that SF could be a potential candidate for the treatment of OA

Schisandrae Fructus ethanol extract ameliorates inflammatory responses and articular cartilage damage in monosodium iodoacetate-induced osteoarthritis in rats

Schisandrae Fructus, the fruit of Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., is widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of a number of chronic diseases. Although, Schisandrae Fructus was recently reported to attenuate the interleukin (IL)-1β-induced inflammatory response in chondrocytes in vitro, its protective and therapeutic potential against osteoarthritis (OA) in an animal model remains unclear. Therefore, we investigated the effects of the ethanol extract of Schisandrae Fructus (SF) on inflammatory responses and cartilage degradation in a monosodium iodoacetate (MIA)-induced OA rat model. Our results demonstrated that administration with SF had a tendency to attenuate MIA-induced damage of articular cartilage as determined by a histological grade of OA. SF significantly suppressed the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α in MIA-induced OA rats. SF also effectively inhibited expression of inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase and cyclooxygenase-2, thereby inhibiting the release of NO and prostaglandin E2. In addition, the elevated levels of matrix metalloproteinases-13 and two biomarkers for diagnosis and progression of OA, such as cartilage oligomeric matrix protein and C-telopeptide of type II collagen, were markedly ameliorated by SF administration. These findings indicate that SF could be a potential candidate for the treatment of OA

Impact of a Recombinant Biocontrol Bacterium, Pseudomonas fluorescens pc78, on Microbial Community in Tomato Rhizosphere

Pseudomonas fluorescens pc78 is an effective biocontrol agent for soil-borne fungal diseases. We previously constructed a P43-gfp tagged biocontrol bacteria P. fluorescens pc78-48 to investigate bacterial traits in natural ecosystem and the environmental risk of genetically modified biocontrol bacteria in tomato rhizosphere. Fluctuation of culturable bacteria profile, microbial community structure, and potential horizontal gene transfer was investigated over time after the bacteria treatment to the tomato rhizosphere. Tagged gene transfer to other organisms such as tomato plants and bacteria cultured on various media was examined by polymerase chain reaction, using gene specific primers. Transfer of chromosomally integrated P43-gfp from pc78 to other organisms was not apparent. Population and colony types of culturable bacteria were not significantly affected by the introduction of P. fluorescens pc78 or pc78-48 into tomato rhizosphere. Additionally, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism profiles were investigated to estimate the influence on the microbial community structure in tomato rhizosphere between non-treated and pc78-48-treated samples. Interestingly, rhizosphere soil treated with strain pc78-48 exhibited a significantly different bacterial community structure compared to that of non-treated rhizosphere soil. Our results suggest that biocontrol bacteria treatment influences microbial community in tomato rhizosphere, while the chromosomally modified biocontrol bacteria may not pose any specific environmental risk in terms of gene transfer

Species-Specific Detection and Quantification of Erwinia pyrifoliae in Plants by a Direct SYBR Green Quantitative Real-Time PCR Assay

The present study describes a SYBR Green real-time quantitative (q) PCR assay to detect Erwinia pyrifoliae in plants. E. pyrifoliae, first described in South Korea, is a phytopathogenic bacterial species in the genus Erwinia. In particular, specific detection, quantitation, and identification of E. pyrifoliae is still challenging, as symptoms resulting from its colonization of Asian pear blossoms are very similar to those caused by E. amylovora. E. pyrifoliae has biochemical, phenotypic, and genetic properties similar to those of E. amylovora. Moreover, other Erwinia species, including E. tasmaniensis and E. billingiae, are also detected by currently available molecular methods and with traditional methods as well. Therefore, in this study, previously published genome sequences of the genera Erwinia and Pantoea were compared to exploit species-specific genes for use as improved qPCR targets to detect E. pyrifoliae. In silico analyses of the selected gene and designed primer sequences, in conjunction with bio-SYBR Green real-time qPCR, confirmed the robustness of this newly developed assay. Consequently, the bio-SYBR Green real-time qPCR-based protocols developed here can be used for rapid and specific detection of E. pyrifoliae. They will potentially simplify and facilitate diagnosis and monitoring of this pathogen and guide plant disease management. [Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license

Aboveground Whitefly Infestation-mediated Reshaping of the Root Microbiota

Plants respond to various types of herbivore and pathogen attack using well-developed defensive machinery designed for self-protection. The phloem-sucking insect infestation such as whitefly and aphid on plant leaves were previously shown to influence both the saprophytic and pathogenic bacterial community in the plant rhizosphere. However, the modulation of the root microbial community by plants following insect infestation has been largely unexplored. Only limited studies of culture-dependent bacterial diversity caused by whitefly and aphid have been conducted. In this study, to obtain a complete picture of the belowground microbiome community, we performed high-speed and high-throughput next-generation sequencing. We sampled the rhizosphere soils of pepper seedlings at 0, 1, and 2 weeks after whitefly infestation versus the water control. We amplified a partial 16S ribosomal RNA gene (V1–V3 region) by polymerase chain reaction with specific primers. Our analysis revealed that whitefly infestation reshaped the overall microbiota structure compared to that of the control rhizosphere, even after 1 week of infestation. Examination of the relative abundance distributions of microbes demonstrated that whitefly infestation shifted the proteobacterial groups at week 2. Intriguingly, the population of Pseudomonadales of the class Gammaproteobacteria significantly increased after 2 weeks of whitefly infestation and confirmed the recruitment of fluorescent Pseudomonas spp. exhibiting the insect-killing capacity. Additionally, three taxa, including Caulobacteraceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Flavobacteriaceae, and three genera, including Achromobacter, Janthinobacterium, and Stenotrophomonas, were the most abundant bacterial groups in the whitefly-infested plant rhizosphere. Our results indicate that whitefly infestation leads plant recruiting specific group of rhizosphere bacteria conferring beneficial traits for host plant. This study provides a new framework for investigating how aboveground insect feeding modulates the belowground microbiom

Population Dynamics of Intestinal Enterococcus Modulate Galleria mellonella Metamorphosis

ABSTRACT Microbes found in the digestive tracts of insects are known to play an important role in their host’s behavior. Although Lepidoptera is one of the most varied insect orders, the link between microbial symbiosis and host development is still poorly understood. In particular, little is known about the role of gut bacteria in metamorphosis. Here, we explored gut microbial biodiversity throughout the life cycle of Galleria mellonella, using amplicon pyrosequencing with the V1 to V3 regions, and found that Enterococcus spp. were abundant in larvae, while Enterobacter spp. were predominant in pupae. Interestingly, eradication of Enterococcus spp. from the digestive system accelerated the larval-to-pupal transition. Furthermore, host transcriptome analysis demonstrated that immune response genes were upregulated in pupae, whereas hormone genes were upregulated in larvae. In particular, regulation of antimicrobial peptide production in the host gut correlated with developmental stage. Certain antimicrobial peptides inhibited the growth of Enterococcus innesii, a dominant bacterial species in the gut of G. mellonella larvae. Our study highlights the importance of gut microbiota dynamics on metamorphosis as a consequence of the active secretion of antimicrobial peptides in the G. mellonella gut. IMPORTANCE First, we demonstrated that the presence of Enterococcus spp. is a driving force for insect metamorphosis. RNA sequencing and peptide production subsequently revealed that antimicrobial peptides targeted against microorganisms in the gut of Galleria mellonella (wax moth) did not kill Enterobacteria species, but did kill Enterococcus species, when the moth was at a certain stage of growth, and this promoted moth pupation

Genetic Determinants for Pyomelanin Production and Its Protective Effect against Oxidative Stress in Ralstonia solanacearum.

Ralstonia solanacearum is a soil-borne plant pathogen that infects more than 200 plant species. Its broad host range and long-term survival under different environmental stress conditions suggest that it uses a variety of mechanisms to protect itself against various types of biotic and abiotic stress. R. solanacearum produces a melanin-like brown pigment in the stationary phase when grown in minimal medium containing tyrosine. To gain deeper insight into the genetic determinants involved in melanin production, transposon-inserted mutants of R. solanacearum strain SL341 were screened for strains with defective melanin-producing capability. In addition to one mutant already known to be involved in pyomelanin production (viz., strain SL341D, with disruption of the hydroxphenylpyruvate dioxygenase gene), we identified three other mutants with disruption in the regulatory genes rpoS, hrpG, and oxyR, respectively. Wild-type SL341 produced pyomelanin in minimal medium containing tyrosine whereas the mutant strains did not. Likewise, homogentisate, a major precursor of pyomelanin, was detected in the culture filtrate of the wild-type strain but not in those of the mutant strains. A gene encoding hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase exhibited a significant high expression in wild type SL341 compared to other mutant strains, suggesting that pyomelanin production is regulated by three different regulatory proteins. However, analysis of the gene encoding homogentisate dioxygenase revealed no significant difference in its relative expression over time in the wild-type SL341 and mutant strains, except for SL341D, at 72 h incubation. The pigmented SL341 strain also exhibited a high tolerance to hydrogen peroxide stress compared with the non-pigmented SL341D strain. Our study suggests that pyomelanin production is controlled by several regulatory factors in R. solanacearum to confer protection under oxidative stress