Comprehensive analysis of temporal alterations in cellular proteome of bacillus subtilis under curcumin treatment

Curcumin is a natural dietary compound with antimicrobial activity against various gram positive and negative bacteria. This study aims to investigate the proteome level alterations in Bacillus subtilis due to curcumin treatment and identification of its molecular/cellular targets to understand the mechanism of action. We have performed a comprehensive proteomic analysis of B. subtilis AH75 strain at different time intervals of curcumin treatment (20, 60 and 120 min after the drug exposure, three replicates) to compare the protein expression profiles using two complementary quantitative proteomic techniques, 2D-DIGE and iTRAQ. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive longitudinal investigation describing the effect of curcumin treatment on B. subtilis proteome. The proteomics analysis revealed several interesting targets such UDP-N-acetylglucosamine 1-carboxyvinyltransferase 1, putative septation protein SpoVG and ATP-dependent Clp protease proteolytic subunit. Further, in silico pathway analysis using DAVID and KOBAS has revealed modulation of pathways related to the fatty acid metabolism and cell wall synthesis, which are crucial for cell viability. Our findings revealed that curcumin treatment lead to inhibition of the cell wall and fatty acid synthesis in addition to differential expression of many crucial proteins involved in modulation of bacterial metabolism. Findings obtained from proteomics analysis were further validated using 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) assay for respiratory activity, resazurin assay for metabolic activity and membrane integrity assay by potassium and inorganic phosphate leakage measurement. The gene expression analysis of selected cell wall biosynthesis enzymes has strengthened the proteomics findings and indicated the major effect of curcumin on cell division

Grandparental immune priming in the pipefish Syngnathus typhle

Background: Phenotypic changes in response to environmental influences can persist from one generation into the next. In many systems parental parasite experience influences offspring immune responses, known as transgenerational immune priming (TGIP). TGIP in vertebrates is mainly maternal and short-term, supporting the adaptive immune system of the offspring during its maturation. However, if fathers and offspring have a close physical connection, evolution of additional paternal immune priming can be adaptive. Biparental TGIP may result in maximized immunological protection. Here, we investigate multigenerational biparental TGIP in the sex-role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle by exposing grandparents to an immune challenge with heat-killed bacteria and assessing gene expression (44 target genes) of the F2-generation. Results: Grandparental immune challenge induced gene expression of immune genes in one-week-old grandoffspring. Similarly, genes mediating epigenetic regulation including DNA-methylation and histone modifications were involved in grandparental immune priming. While grand-maternal impact was strong on genes of the complement component system, grand-paternal exposure changed expression patterns of genes mediating innate immune defense. Conclusion: In a system with male pregnancy, grandparents influenced the immune system of their grandoffspring in a sex-specific manner, demonstrating multigenerational biparental TGIP. The involvement of epigenetic effects suggests that TGIP via the paternal line may not be limited to the pipefish system that displays male pregnancy. While the benefits and costs of grandparental TGIP depend on the temporal heterogeneity of environmental conditions, multigenerational TGIP may affect host-parasite coevolution by dampening the amplitude of Red Queen Dynamics

Atypical Kawasaki disease presenting with macroscopic hematuria in an infant: a case report

Abstract Background Kawasaki disease is an acute febrile condition in children. It affects mainly children under 5 years old, and is known to cause coronary artery abnormalities if treatment is delayed. The diagnosis rests mainly on clinical criteria. However, it is also known that some infants do not have diagnostic criteria sufficient enough for the diagnosis of Kawasaki disease. Further, children may rarely present with unusual features, and this entity is recognized as “Atypical Kawasaki disease.” Case presentation We present the case of a 9-month-old Tamil boy who presented with sterile gross hematuria in association with prolonged fever, lymphadenopathy, and generalized maculopapular rash. He had high inflammatory markers and echocardiogram disclosed left coronary artery dilatation. The diagnosis of incomplete Kawasaki disease was confirmed based on clinical grounds supported by investigations and exclusion of differential diagnosis. The child showed a good response to intravenous immunoglobulin and aspirin. Conclusion Kawasaki disease is one of the important differential diagnoses of protracted fever of unknown origin in very young children. Since delayed treatment is associated with a high risk of complications, atypical Kawasaki disease needs to be suspected in children presenting with unusual features such as macroscopic hematuria that occurs in association with unexplained prolonged fever

COVID 19 second wave – What has changed since the first wave

A pandemic named SARS-COV2 COVID 19 affected many people's life in different ways globally. The normal life is still far away, lockdown rules have been relaxed in many countries. Morbidity and mortality increased a lot after the first wave. COVID-19 has affected medical education in a significant way. Most of the patients were asymptomatic during the second wave and some had symptoms such as myalgia, fever, and cough, which complicated to pneumonia, respiratory distress, and thromboembolic complications. There have been the development of many vaccines such as Covaxin, Pfizer–BioNTech, Covishield, Sputnik V, and Moderna, and these vaccinations have been given to frontline medical workers, people with comorbidities, aged people, etc., with high priority and then the general population. Many pregnant and peripartum women were put on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) in severe to critical cases. A new black fungus was found in post-COVID 19 infections. It was named mucormycosis which usually affected immunocompromised people. There is a high importance in the examination of all the different epidemiological variables of all the places in all the regions across the world, to understand the mutations, and severity of the disease and also to be prepared. Many studies done on COVID-19 in first and the second wave was reviewed in detail and were compared for this review