Respiratory and Neurological Disease across Different Ethnic Groups Is Influenced by the Microbiome

Acute and chronic upper respiratory illnesses such as asthma, and allergic rhinitis (AR) have been linked to the presence of microorganisms in the nose. Microorganisms can exist in symbiotic or commensal relationships with the human body. However, in certain cases, opportunistic pathogens can take over, leading to altered states (dysbiosis) and causing disease. Thus, the microflora present in a host can be useful to reflect health status. The human body contains 10 trillion to 100 trillion microorganisms. Of these populations, certain pathogens have been identified to promote or undermine wellbeing. Therefore, knowledge of the microbiome is potentially helpful as a diagnostic tool for many diseases. Variations have been recognized in the types of microbes that inhabit various populations based on geography, diet, and lifestyle choices and various microbiota have been shown to modulate immune responses in allergic disease. Interestingly, the diseases affected by these changes are prevalent in certain racial or ethnic populations. These prevalent microbiome variations in these groups suggest that the presence of these microorganisms may be significantly associated with health disparities. We review current research in the search for correlations between ethnic diversity, microbiome communities in the nasal cavity and health outcomes in neurological and respiratory functions

Application of C-Terminal Clostridium Perfringens Enterotoxin in Treatment of Brain Metastasis from Breast Cancer

Claudin-4 is part of the Claudin family of transmembrane tight junction (TJ) proteins found in almost all tissues and, together with adherens junctions and desmosomes, forms epithelial and endothelial junctional complexes. Although the distribution of Claudin-4 occurs in many cell types, the level of expression is cell-specific. Claudin proteins regulate cell proliferation and differentiation by binding cell-signaling ligands, and its expression is upregulated in several cancers. As a result, alterations in Claudin expression patterns or distribution are vital in the pathology of cancer. Profiling the genetic expression of Claudin-4 showed that Claudin-4 is also a receptor for the clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) and that Claudin-4 has a high sequence similarity with CPE’s high-affinity receptor. CPE is cytolytic due to its ability to form pores in cellular membranes, and CPE treatment in breast cancer cells have shown promising results due to the high expression of Claudin-4. The C-terminal fragment of CPE (c-CPE) provides a less toxic alternative for drug delivery into breast cancer cells, particularly metastatic tumors in the brain, especially as Claudin-4 expression in the central nervous system (CNS) is low. Therefore, c-CPE provides a unique avenue for the treatment of breast–brain metastatic tumors

Xanthine Analogs Suppress <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> Infection In Vitro Using PDEs as Targets

Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi), the causative agent of Chagas disease, has infected 6 million people, putting 70 million people at risk worldwide. Presently, very limited drugs are available, and these have severe side effects. Hence, there is an urgency to delve into other pathways and targets for novel drugs. Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) expresses a number of different cyclic AMP (cAMP)-specific phosphodiesterases (PDEs). cAMP is one of the key regulators of mammalian cell proliferation and differentiation, and it also plays an important role in T. cruzi growth. Very few studies have demonstrated the important role of cyclic nucleotide-specific PDEs in T. cruzi’s survival. T. cruzi phosphodiesterase C (TcrPDEC) has been proposed as a potential new drug target for treating Chagas disease. In the current study, we screen several analogs of xanthine for potency against trypomastigote and amastigote growth in vitro using three different strains of T. cruzi (Tulahuen, Y and CA-1/CL72). One of the potent analogs, GVK14, has been shown to inhibit all three strains of amastigotes in host cells as well as axenic cultures. In conclusion, xanthine analogs that inhibit T. cruzi PDE may provide novel alternative therapeutic options for Chagas disease