Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Effects of Pharmacological Inhibitors of NADPH Oxidase on Myogenic Contractility and Evoked Vasoactive Responses in Rat Resistance Arteries

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as superoxide anions and hydrogen peroxide, are reported to contribute to the dynamic regulation of contractility in various arterial preparations, however, the situation in pressurized, myogenically active resistance arteries is much less clear. In the present study, we have utilized established pharmacological inhibitors of NADPH oxidase activity to examine the potential contribution of ROS to intrinsic myogenic contractility in adult Sprague-Dawley rat resistance arteries and responses to vasoactive agents acting via the endothelium (i.e., acetylcholine, SKA-31) or smooth muscle (i.e., sodium nitroprusside, phenylephrine). In cannulated and pressurized cremaster skeletal muscle and middle cerebral arteries, the NOX inhibitors 2-acetylphenothiazine (2-APT) and VAS2870, selective for NOX1 and NOX2, respectively, evoked concentration-dependent inhibition of basal myogenic tone in a reversible and irreversible manner, respectively, whereas the non-selective inhibitor apocynin augmented myogenic contractility. The vasodilatory actions of 2-APT and VAS2870 occurred primarily via the vascular endothelium and smooth muscle, respectively. Functional responses to established endothelium-dependent and -independent vasoactive agents were largely unaltered in the presence of either 2-APT or apocynin. In cremaster arteries from Type 2 Diabetic (T2D) Goto-Kakizaki rats with endothelial dysfunction, treatment with either 2-APT or apocynin did not modify stimulus-evoked vasoactive responses, but did affect basal myogenic tone. These same NOX inhibitors produced robust inhibition of total NADPH oxidase activity in aortic tissue homogenates from control and T2D rats, and NOX isozymes 1, 2 and 4, along with superoxide dismutase 1, were detected by qPCR in cremaster arteries and aorta from both species. Based on the diverse effects that we observed for established, chemically distinct NOX inhibitors, the functional contribution of vascular NADPH oxidase activity to stimulus-evoked vasoactive signaling in myogenically active, small resistance arteries remains unclear.Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC

Pharmacological Targeting of KCa Channels to Improve Endothelial Function in the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

Systemic hypertension is a major risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease and is often associated with endothelial dysfunction. KCa2.3 and KCa3.1 channels are expressed in the vascular endothelium and contribute to stimulus-evoked vasodilation. We hypothesized that acute treatment with SKA-31, a selective activator of KCa2.x and KCa3.1 channels, would improve endothelium-dependent vasodilation and transiently lower mean arterial pressure (MAP) in male, spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Isolated vascular preparations exhibited impaired vasodilation in response to bradykinin (i.e., endothelial dysfunction) compared with Wistar controls, which was associated with decreased bradykinin receptor expression in mesenteric arteries. In contrast, similar levels of endothelial KCa channel expression were observed, and SKA-31 evoked vasodilation was comparable in vascular preparations from both strains. Addition of a low concentration of SKA-31 (i.e., 0.2–0.3 μM) failed to augment bradykinin-induced vasodilation in arteries from SHRs. However, responses to acetylcholine were enhanced. Surprisingly, acute bolus administration of SKA-31 in vivo (30 mg/kg, i.p. injection) modestly elevated MAP compared with vehicle injection. In summary, pharmacological targeting of endothelial KCa channels in SHRs did not readily reverse endothelial dysfunction in situ, or lower MAP in vivo. SHRs thus appear to be less responsive to endothelial KCa channel activators, which may be related to their vascular pathology

KCa channel activation normalizes endothelial function in Type 2 Diabetic resistance arteries by improving intracellular Ca2+ mobilization.

BackgroundEndothelial dysfunction is an early pathogenic event in the progression of cardiovascular disease in patients with Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Endothelial KCa2.3 and KCa3.1 K+ channels are important regulators of arterial diameter, and we thus hypothesized that SKA-31, a small molecule activator of KCa2.3 and KCa3.1, would positively influence agonist-evoked dilation in myogenically active resistance arteries in T2D.MethodologyArterial pressure myography was utilized to investigate endothelium-dependent vasodilation in isolated cremaster skeletal muscle resistance arteries from 22 to 24 week old T2D Goto-Kakizaki rats, age-matched Wistar controls, and small human intra-thoracic resistance arteries from T2D subjects. Agonist stimulated changes in cytosolic free Ca2+ in acutely isolated, single endothelial cells from Wistar and T2D Goto-Kakizaki cremaster and cerebral arteries were examined using Fura-2 fluorescence imaging.Main findingsEndothelium-dependent vasodilation in response to acetylcholine (ACh) or bradykinin (BK) was significantly impaired in isolated cremaster arteries from T2D Goto-Kakizaki rats compared with Wistar controls, and similar results were observed in human intra-thoracic arteries. In contrast, inhibition of myogenic tone by sodium nitroprusside, a direct smooth muscle relaxant, was unaltered in both rat and human T2D arteries. Treatment with a threshold concentration of SKA-31 (0.3 μM) significantly enhanced vasodilatory responses to ACh and BK in arteries from T2D Goto-Kakizaki rats and human subjects, whereas only modest effects were observed in non-diabetic arteries of both species. Mechanistically, SKA-31 enhancement of evoked dilation was independent of vascular NO synthase and COX activities. Remarkably, SKA-31 treatment improved agonist-stimulated Ca2+ elevation in acutely isolated endothelial cells from T2D Goto-Kakizaki cremaster and cerebral arteries, but not from Wistar control vessels. In contrast, SKA-31 treatment did not affect intracellular Ca2+ release by the sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) inhibitor cyclopiazonic acid.ConclusionsCollectively, our data demonstrate that KCa channel modulation can acutely restore endothelium-dependent vasodilatory responses in T2D resistance arteries from rats and humans, which appears to involve improved endothelial Ca2+ mobilization

SKA-31, an activator of Ca2+-activated K+ channels, improves cardiovascular function in aging.

Aging represents an independent risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, and is associated with complex structural and functional alterations in the vasculature, such as endothelial dysfunction. Small- and intermediate-conductance, Ca2+-activated K+ channels (KCa2.3 and KCa3.1, respectively) are prominently expressed in the vascular endothelium, and pharmacological activators of these channels induce robust vasodilation upon acute exposure in isolated arteries and intact animals. However, the effects of prolonged in vivo administration of such compounds are unknown. In our study, we hypothesized that such treatment would ameliorate aging-related cardiovascular deficits. Aged (∼18 months) male Sprague Dawley rats were treated daily with either vehicle or the KCa channel activator SKA-31 (10 mg/kg, intraperitoneal injection; n = 6/group) for 8 weeks, followed by echocardiography, arterial pressure myography, immune cell and plasma cytokine characterization, and tissue histology. Our results show that SKA-31 administration improved endothelium-dependent vasodilation, reduced agonist-induced vascular contractility, and prevented the aging-associated declines in cardiac ejection fraction, stroke volume and fractional shortening, and further improved the expression of endothelial KCa channels and associated cell signalling components to levels similar to those observed in young male rats (∼5 months at end of study). SKA-31 administration did not promote pro-inflammatory changes in either T cell populations or plasma cytokines/chemokines, and we observed no overt tissue histopathology in heart, kidney, aorta, brain, liver and spleen. SKA-31 treatment in young rats had little to no effect on vascular reactivity, select protein expression, tissue histology, plasma cytokines/chemokines or immune cell properties. Collectively, these data demonstrate that administration of the KCa channel activator SKA-31 improved aging-related cardiovascular function, without adversely affecting the immune system or promoting tissue toxicity

Odor quality coding and categorization in human posterior piriform cortex

Efficient recognition of odorous objects universally shapes animal behavior and is crucial for survival. To distinguish kin from nonkin, mate from nonmate and food from nonfood, organisms must be able to create meaningful perceptual representations of odor qualities and categories. It is currently unknown where and in what form the brain encodes information about odor quality. By combining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with multivariate (pattern-based) techniques, we found that spatially distributed ensemble activity in human posterior piriform cortex (PPC) coincides with perceptual ratings of odor quality, such that odorants with more (or less) similar fMRI patterns were perceived as more (or less) alike. We did not observe these effects in anterior piriform cortex, amygdala or orbitofrontal cortex, indicating that ensemble coding of odor categorical perception is regionally specific for PPC. These findings substantiate theoretical models emphasizing the importance of distributed piriform templates for the perceptual reconstruction of odor object quality