Biotechnological Potential of Bacteria Isolated from the Sea Cucumber Holothuria leucospilota and Stichopus vastus from Lampung, Indonesia

In order to minimize re-discovery of already known anti-infective compounds, we focused our screening approach on understudied, almost untapped marine environments including marine invertebrates and their associated bacteria. Therefore, two sea cucumber species, Holothuria leucospilota and Stichopus vastus, were collected from Lampung (Indonesia), and 127 bacterial strains were identified by partial 16S rRNA-gene sequencing analysis and compared with the NCBI database. In addition, the overall bacterial diversity from tissue samples of the sea cucumbers H. leucospilota and S. vastus was analyzed using the cultivation-independent Illumina MiSEQ analysis. Selected bacterial isolates were grown to high densities and the extracted biomass was tested against a selection of bacteria and fungi as well as the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Identification of putative bioactive bacterial-derived compounds were performed by analyzing the accurate mass of the precursor/parent ions (MS1) as well as product/daughter ions (MS2) using high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) analysis of all active fractions. With this attempt we were able to identify 23 putatively known and two previously unidentified precursor ions. Moreover, through 16S rRNA-gene sequencing we were able to identify putatively novel bacterial species from the phyla Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria and also Firmicutes. Our findings suggest that sea cucumbers like H. leucospilota and S. vastus are promising sources for the isolation of novel bacterial species that produce compounds with potentially high biotechnological potential

Building in Quatar - Field excursion of the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the HTWG Konstanz

Die große Exkursion 2010 der Fakultät Bauingenieurwesen führte in das Emirat Qatar am persischen Golf. Qatar verfügt über 15% der weltweiten Reserven anErdgas und investiert u.a. in Infrastruktur- und Bau¬maßnahmen. Deutsche Firmen sind an diesem Aufbau beteiligt. Bei der Exkursion wurden verschiedene Hoch- und Tiefbaustellen, „Mega-Projekte“ deutscher Unternehmen, aber auch eines arabischen Baukonzerns besucht. Auch das Ausstellungszentrum der Deutschen Bahn stand auf dem Programm. Der Bericht gibt die Eindrücke beim Besuch der Projekte wie auch die Reiseerlebnisse wieder.The student excursion of the University of Applied Sciences, Konstanz, Germany, lead to the Emirat of Qatar at the Persian Gulf. The country possesses 15% of the reserves of natural gas and is investing in building and infrastructures measures. German companies are part of this development. During the excursion different structural sites of “mega-projects” of German and Arabic Companies as well as the exposition Center of the “Deutsche Bahn” have been visited

Metastatic Pheochromocytoma and Paraganglioma: Somatostatin Receptor 2 Expression, Genetics, and Therapeutic Responses

CONTEXT: Pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs) with pathogenic mutations in the succinate dehydrogenase subunit B (SDHB) are associated with a high metastatic risk. Somatostatin receptor 2 (SSTR2)-dependent imaging is the most sensitive imaging modality for SDHB-related PPGLs, suggesting that SSTR2 expression is a significant cell surface therapeutic biomarker of such tumors. OBJECTIVE: Exploration of the relationship between SSTR2 immunoreactivity and SDHB immunoreactivity, mutational status, and clinical behavior of PPGLs. Evaluation of SSTR-based therapies in metastatic PPGLs. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of a multicenter cohort of PPGLs at 6 specialized Endocrine Tumor Centers in Germany, The Netherlands, and Switzerland. Patients with PPGLs participating in the ENSAT registry were included. Clinical data were extracted from medical records, and immunohistochemistry (IHC) for SDHB and SSTR2 was performed in patients with available tumor tissue. Immunoreactivity of SSTR2 was investigated using Volante scores. The main outcome measure was the association of SSTR2 IHC positivity with genetic and clinical-pathological features of PPGLs. RESULTS: Of 202 patients with PPGLs, 50% were SSTR2 positive. SSTR2 positivity was significantly associated with SDHB- and SDHx-related PPGLs, with the strongest SSTR2 staining intensity in SDHB-related PPGLs (P = .01). Moreover, SSTR2 expression was significantly associated with metastatic disease independent of SDHB/SDHx mutation status (P < .001). In metastatic PPGLs, the disease control rate with first-line SSTR-based radionuclide therapy was 67% (n = 22, n = 11 SDHx), and with first-line "cold" somatostatin analogs 100% (n = 6, n = 3 SDHx). CONCLUSION: SSTR2 expression was independently associated with SDHB/SDHx mutations and metastatic disease. We confirm a high disease control rate of somatostatin receptor-based therapies in metastatic PPGLs

Brain MR patterns in inherited disorders of monoamine neurotransmitters: An analysis of 70 patients

Inherited monoamine neurotransmitter disorders (iMNDs) are rare disorders with clinical manifestations ranging from mild infantile hypotonia, movement disorders to early infantile severe encephalopathy. Neuroimaging has been reported as non-specific. We systematically analysed brain MRIs in order to characterize and better understand neuroimaging changes and to re-evaluate the diagnostic role of brain MRI in iMNDs

IL-1β Is Upregulated in the Diabetic Retina and Retinal Vessels: Cell-Specific Effect of High Glucose and IL-1β Autostimulation

Many molecular and cellular abnormalities detected in the diabetic retina support a role for IL-1β-driven neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of diabetic retinopathy. IL-1β is well known for its role in the induction and, through autostimulation, amplification of neuroinflammation. Upregulation of IL-1β has been consistently detected in the diabetic retina; however, the mechanisms and cellular source of IL-1β overexpression are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of high glucose and IL-1β itself on IL-1β expression in microglial, macroglial (astrocytes and Müller cells) and retinal vascular endothelial cells; and to study the effect of diabetes on the expression of IL-1β in isolated retinal vessels and on the temporal pattern of IL-1β upregulation and glial reactivity in the retina of streptozotocin-diabetic rats. IL-1β was quantified by RealTime RT-PCR and ELISA, glial fibrillar acidic protein, α2-macroglobulin, and ceruloplasmin by immunoblotting. We found that high glucose induced a 3-fold increase of IL-1β expression in retinal endothelial cells but not in macroglia and microglia. IL-1β induced its own synthesis in endothelial and macroglial cells but not in microglia. In retinal endothelial cells, the high glucose-induced IL-1β overexpression was prevented by calphostin C, a protein kinase C inhibitor. The retinal vessels of diabetic rats showed increased IL-1β expression as compared to non-diabetic rats. Retinal expression of IL-1β increased early after the induction of diabetes, continued to increase with progression of the disease, and was temporally associated with upregulation of markers of glial activation. These findings point to hyperglycemia as the trigger and to the endothelium as the origin of the initial retinal upregulation of IL-1β in diabetes; and to IL-1β itself, via autostimulation in endothelial and macroglial cells, as the mechanism of sustained IL-1β overexpression. Interrupting the vicious circle triggered by IL-1β autostimulation could limit the progression of diabetic retinopathy

Symbionts as Major Modulators of Insect Health: Lactic Acid Bacteria and Honeybees

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are well recognized beneficial host-associated members of the microbiota of humans and animals. Yet LAB-associations of invertebrates have been poorly characterized and their functions remain obscure. Here we show that honeybees possess an abundant, diverse and ancient LAB microbiota in their honey crop with beneficial effects for bee health, defending them against microbial threats. Our studies of LAB in all extant honeybee species plus related apid bees reveal one of the largest collections of novel species from the genera Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium ever discovered within a single insect and suggest a long (>80 mya) history of association. Bee associated microbiotas highlight Lactobacillus kunkeei as the dominant LAB member. Those showing potent antimicrobial properties are acquired by callow honey bee workers from nestmates and maintained within the crop in biofilms, though beekeeping management practices can negatively impact this microbiota. Prophylactic practices that enhance LAB, or supplementary feeding of LAB, may serve in integrated approaches to sustainable pollinator service provision. We anticipate this microbiota will become central to studies on honeybee health, including colony collapse disorder, and act as an exemplar case of insect-microbe symbiosis

Diversity of Myxobacteria—We Only See the Tip of the Iceberg

The discovery of new antibiotics is mandatory with regard to the increasing number of resistant pathogens. One approach is the search for new antibiotic producers in nature. Among actinomycetes, Bacillus species, and fungi, myxobacteria have been a rich source for bioactive secondary metabolites for decades. To date, about 600 substances could be described, many of them with antibacterial, antifungal, or cytostatic activity. But, recent cultivation-independent studies on marine, terrestrial, or uncommon habitats unequivocally demonstrate that the number of uncultured myxobacteria is much higher than would be expected from the number of cultivated strains. Although several highly promising myxobacterial taxa have been identified recently, this so-called Great Plate Count Anomaly must be overcome to get broader access to new secondary metabolite producers. In the last years it turned out that especially new species, genera, and families of myxobacteria are promising sources for new bioactive metabolites. Therefore, the cultivation of the hitherto uncultivable ones is our biggest challenge