Genomic sequence of temperate phage Smp131 of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia that has similar prophages in xanthomonads

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium previously named as Xanthomonas maltophilia. This organism is an important nosocomial pathogen associated with infections in immunocompromised patients. Clinical isolates of S. maltophilia are mostly resistant to multiple antibiotics and treatment of its infections is becoming problematic. Several virulent bacteriophages, but not temperate phage, of S. maltophilia have been characterized

Ventricular divergence correlates with epicardial wavebreaks and predicts ventricular arrhythmia in isolated rabbit hearts during therapeutic hypothermia

INTRODUCTION: High beat-to-beat morphological variation (divergence) on the ventricular electrogram during programmed ventricular stimulation (PVS) is associated with increased risk of ventricular fibrillation (VF), with unclear mechanisms. We hypothesized that ventricular divergence is associated with epicardial wavebreaks during PVS, and that it predicts VF occurrence. METHOD AND RESULTS: Langendorff-perfused rabbit hearts (n = 10) underwent 30-min therapeutic hypothermia (TH, 30°C), followed by a 20-min treatment with rotigaptide (300 nM), a gap junction modifier. VF inducibility was tested using burst ventricular pacing at the shortest pacing cycle length achieving 1:1 ventricular capture. Pseudo-ECG (p-ECG) and epicardial activation maps were simultaneously recorded for divergence and wavebreaks analysis, respectively. A total of 112 optical and p-ECG recordings (62 at TH, 50 at TH treated with rotigaptide) were analyzed. Adding rotigaptide reduced ventricular divergence, from 0.13±0.10 at TH to 0.09±0.07 (p = 0.018). Similarly, rotigaptide reduced the number of epicardial wavebreaks, from 0.59±0.73 at TH to 0.30±0.49 (p = 0.036). VF inducibility decreased, from 48±31% at TH to 22±32% after rotigaptide infusion (p = 0.032). Linear regression models showed that ventricular divergence correlated with epicardial wavebreaks during TH (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Ventricular divergence correlated with, and might be predictive of epicardial wavebreaks during PVS at TH. Rotigaptide decreased both the ventricular divergence and epicardial wavebreaks, and reduced the probability of pacing-induced VF during TH

Essential sulfhydryl modification of bacterial luciferase from Vibrio harveyi

Abstract not availabl

Identification of a Broad-Spectrum Peptidoglycan Hydrolase Associated with the Particle of Xanthomonas oryzae Phage Xop411

Virion-associated peptidoglycan hydrolases (VAPGH) in bacteriophages are potential antimicrobials. Xop411 is a syphophage infecting the Gram-negative Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae that causes bacterial leaf blight in rice plants. The Xop411 gp21 protein was identified here as a peptidoglycan glycohydrolase by Western blotting and zymogram assay, and localized to the phage tail by immunogold-labelling electron microscopy. This protein showed an apparent molecular mass of 17 kDa in SDS-polyacrylamide gels, larger than that calculated from the amino acid sequence, 15 kDa with 130 residues. The recombinant gp21 expressed in Escherichia coli formed inclusion bodies, which gained enzyme activity after in-gel renaturation. In contrast, the secreted recombinant protein (s-gp21His) expressed in Pichia pastoris was soluble and enzymatically active. Plate assays showed that s-gp21His was capable of killing 3 species of Xanthomonas, a genus containing 27 closely related plant pathogenic species, as well as the opportunistic Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia causing nosocomial infections. These results indicate that the Xop411 gp21 has possible wide applications as an antimicrobial against xanthomonads and at least 2 opportunistic bacteria. Several other VAPGH from Xanthomonas phages were also identified by bioinformatic analysis, with 1 being confirmed by Western blotting

Functional properties of the major outer membrane protein in Stenotrophomonas maltophilia

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is an opportunistic pathogen that is closely associated with high morbidity and mortality in debilitated and immunocompromised individuals. Therefore, to investigate the pathogenesis mechanism is urgently required. However, there are very few studies to evaluate the functional properties of outer membrane protein, which may contribute to the pathogenesis in S. maltophilia. In this study, three abundant proteins in the outer membrane fraction of S. maltophilia were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry as OmpW1, MopB, and a hypothetical protein. MopB, a member of the OmpA family, was firstly chosen for functional investigation in this study because many OmpA-family proteins are known to be involved in pathogenesis and offer potential as vaccines. Membrane fractionation analyses demonstrated that MopB was indeed the most abundant outer membrane protein (OMP) in S. maltophilia. For functional studies, the mopB mutant of S. maltophilia (SmMopB) was constructed by insertional mutation. MopB deficiency resulted in a change in the protein composition of OMPs and altered the architecture of the outer membrane. The SmMopB strain exhibited reduced cytotoxicity toward L929 fibroblasts and was more sensitive to numerous stresses, including human serum, sodium dodecyl sulfate, and hydrogen peroxide compared with wildtype S. maltophilia. These results suggest that MopB may be a good candidate for the design of vaccines or anti-MopB drugs for controlling serious nosocomial infections of multidrug-resistant S. maltophilia, especially in immunosuppressed patients

Isolation of cDNA clones for genes that are specifically expressed in the rice embryo

We isolated thirty-eight cDNA clones representing genes expressed in the rice embryo by differential screening of a cDNA library made with poly(A) RNA from embryos at the stage of 10-days after pollination. Eighteen cDNA clones displayed either a significant nucleic acid or amino acid sequence similarity to sequences known in the GenBank, i.e., two rice oleosins, four globulin or glutelin-like proteins, two ABA response proteins, two LEA-like proteins, one trypsin inhibitor, one metallothionein-like protein, one protein kinase, one leucine-zipper containing protein, one proline-rich protein, and three genes of unknown function. Experimental results indicated the presence of redundant cDNA clones for genes that produced an abundant amount of mRNAs in the embryo. RNA slat blot hybridization demonstrated the embryo-specific expression for thirty-seven cDNA clones. The majority of the identified cDNAs had not been known in rice. Results in this study contribute toward the on-going attempt to isolate embryo-specific and novel genes in rice

Acute Embolic Myocardial Infarction in a Patient with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation Receiving Direct-current Cardioversion

Coronary embolism with acute myocardial infarction (MI) following direct-current (DC) cardioversion of atrial fibrillation (AF) has rarely been reported. We present the case of a 34-year-old female with severe aortic regurgitation and highly symptomatic paroxysmal AF. Acute embolic MI occurred 4 days after DC cardioversion of AF, although there was no left atrial thrombus detected before this procedure. Insufficient anticoagulation therapy during the post-cardioversion period was the cause, leading to embolic MI

Recombinant Lactococcus lactis Expressing Ling Zhi 8 Protein Ameliorates Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver and Early Atherogenesis in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by lipid deposits in the subendothelial space leading to severe inflammation. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) shares several risk factors with atherosclerosis, including dyslipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome, all of which lead to lipid deposition in the liver causing inflammation and fibrosis. Several clinical trials have shown that certain Chinese herbal medicines with anti-inflammatory effects can be used as adjuvant therapy to prevent the development of cardiovascular events and liver disease. Ling Zhi 8 (LZ8) is an immunomodulatory protein isolated from a medicinal mushroom and has been well documented to possess a broad range of pharmacological properties. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of recombinant Lactococcus lactis expressing LZ8 protein on NAFLD and atherogenesis in a cholesterol-fed rabbit model. Twelve rabbits were divided into three groups and fed with syrup only, L. lactis vehicle, or recombinant L. lactis-LZ8 once a day on weekdays for five weeks, respectively. The gene expression of IL-1β in the aorta was significantly suppressed after oral administration of L. lactis-LZ8. Moreover, in hematoxylin and eosin staining of the aorta, the intima-medial thickness was decreased, and foam cells were significantly reduced in the subendothelial space. LZ8 also inhibited the expression of IL-1β in the liver, decreased fat droplet deposits and infiltration of inflammatory cells, and improved liver function by decreasing liver enzymes in an animal model. Our results suggest that the Lactococcus-expressing LZ8 appears to be a promising medicine for improving both NAFLD and early atherogenesis owing to its anti-inflammatory effect. Furthermore, it is available as a low-cost food-grade product