Echinoderm Antimicrobial Peptides to Contrast Human Pathogens

Increased attention has been focused in marine invertebrates as a source of bioactive molecules for biomedical applications. Many bioactive molecules are part of the innate immune system. Some more recently isolated compounds, mainly from sea urchin and sea cucumber are antimicrobial peptides (AMP) active against Gram positive, Gram negative and fungi. In this review we described the most recent studies on AMP isolated from echinoderms. The AMP are little peptides <10 kDa with cationic charge and amphipathic structure. Recently, it was demonstrated that in the coelomocyte lysates of Paracentrotus. lividus and Holothuria tubulosa AMP are present with activity against staphylococcal and Pseudomonas aeruginosa antibiofilm. The data show the great potential of application of AMPs in biotechnology for developing novel therapeutic agents and as complements to conventional antibiotic therapy to combat the multi - resistant bacterial strains

It is Time for Action in the Struggle against Antibiotic-Resistance, Let’s Start Reducing or Replacing Antibiotics in Agriculture

Million people around the world are infected each year and thousands of them die from pathogens that are resistant to the treatment by any of known antibiotics [1]. The excessive use and abuse of antibiotics in clinical setting and in agriculture, added to the great ability of microorganisms to evolve, are the causes of the wide spread of isolates resistant to all major classes of current antibiotics. It is time for action in order to tackle antimicrobial-resistance (AMR), which can be considered a major threat to global health care and security. While we are waiting for new antimicrobial molecules and strategies, shorter-term approaches are needed to address the menace of AMR and preserve the efficacy of current antibiotic

3,4,5,3’,5’-pentabromo-2-(2’-hydroxybenzoyl) pyrrole: a potential lead compound as anti Gram-positive and anti biofilm agent

The activity against Gram-positive bacteria of 3,4,5,3 ,5 -pentabromo-2-(2 -hydroxybenzoyl)pyrrole I, a synthetic anti-bacterial compound related to pyrrolomycins, was tested in vitro using seven reference bacterial strains and Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus aureus preformed biofilms. Compound I was active against all strains tested, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranging from 0.002 to 0.097 mg/l and minimum bactericidal concentrations (MBCs) from 0.37 to 12.5 mg/l. Compound I was also active at low concentrations against preformed S. epidermidis and S. aureus biofilms

the re discovering of old molecules to face the antibiotic crisis

Drug-resistant bacteria are responsible for 5,000 deaths a year in the UK, 25,000 deaths a year in Europe and it is estimated that at least two million people in the United States are infected each year and 23,000 of those die from pathogens that are not susceptible to the treatment by any of current antibiotics [13]. Antibiotic resistance of common pathogenic microorganisms is a topic of great concern and it has finally attracted the attention of mass-media and of some global leaders. For example, President Obama, answering the question "Is antibiotic resistance a threat to global security?" has replied "Effective antibiotics are vital to our national security... They are, quite simply, essential to the health of our people and people everywhere. So we should do everything in our power to ensure that antibiotics remain effective. These vital drugs have saved countless lives over the past century. It is up to us to make sure they keep saving lives for years to come" [14]. Prime Minister David Cameron has recently said " The world could soon be cast back into the dark ages of medicine unless action is taken to tackle the growing threat of resistance to antibiotics" [15]

Antimicrobial peptides from echinoderms as antibiofilm agents: a natural strategy to combat bacterial infections

Increased attention has been focused on marine invertebrates as a source of bioactive molecules for biomedical applications. Many bioactive molecules are part of the innate immune system. Some more recently isolated compounds, mainly from the sea urchin and the sea cucumber, are antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi. In this review we described the most recent studies on AMPs isolated from echinoderms. AMPs are small peptides (< 10 kDa) with cationic charge and amphipathic structure. Recently, it was demonstrated that in the coelomocyte lysates of Paracentrotus lividus and Holothuria tubulosa, AMPs possess activity against staphylococcal and Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. The data shows a great potential for application of AMPs in biotechnology for developing novel therapeutic agents that are either alternative or complementary to conventional antibiotic therapy to combat multiresistant pathogens

Service Design and Urban Policies. How new models and tools for designing are influencing the debate about the future of cities

The urban environment has been facing multiple challenges, considering the social, political and economical forces which act within this realm. Indeed, various stakeholders have been debating over problems spread within the ci es. The international community is aware about the needs to rethink the urbanization model. Indeed, there is a high number of examples which show the necessity to bring new approaches, methods and processes in the ci es’ strategies and policies. In this paper we will brie y show experimentations, methods and solutions deployed according to the different realities. The digital revolution has a role in facing these challenges, since it is possible to exploit its new means in order to enhance the possible interac on between the urban actors. The service design method becomes fundamental for a different understanding of the urban reality where the technological aspect is intertwined with the social innovation aspect. This possibility gives the chance to investigate an innovative frontier allowing a new engagement and dialogue between public administrations and civil society. This leads to a different collaborative system among the various urban stakeholders, wich gives to citizens the opportunity to become active participants in the city’s transformations and planning. UN-HABITAT is dealing with these digital challenges and is going to address them in the international conference Habitat III, which will be held in Quito in 2016. Various Urban Thinkers Campus (UTC) have been set up across the world as an occasion to debate over the multiple experiences which will be enriching contribution during Habitat III. In this framework, the mission of the UTC in Palermo was to better understand the capacity of the combination of ICT and Service Design to reimagine ci es, especially in less globalized contexts, debating the role of the key actors involved: urban communities, researchers, private businesses and local authorities

Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum essential oil prevented biofilm formation and showed antibacterial activity against planktonic and sessile bacterial cells.

Essential oils from six different populations of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum were compared for their antibiofilm properties. The six essential oils (A to F) were characterized by a combination of gas chromatography with flame ionization detector and gas chromatography with mass spectrometer detector analyses. All oils showed weak activity against the planktonic form of a group of Staphylococcus aureus strains and against a Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 reference strain. The ability to inhibit biofilm formation was investigated at sub-MIC levels of 200, 100, and 50 m g/ml by staining sessile cells with safranin. Sample E showed the highest average effectiveness against all tested strains at 50 m g/ml and had inhibition percentages ranging from 30 to 52%. In the screening that used preformed biofilm from the reference strain P. aeruginosa, essential oils A through E were inactive at 200 m g/ml; F was active with a percentage of inhibition equal to 53.2%. Oregano essential oil can inhibit the formation of biofilms of various food pathogens and food spoilage organisms.Essential oils from six different populations of Origanum vulgare subsp. hirtum were compared for their antibiofilm properties. The six essential oils (A to F) were characterized by a combination of gas chromatography with flame ionization detector and gas chromatography with mass spectrometer detector analyses. All oils showed weak activity against the planktonic form of a group of Staphylococcus aureus strains and against a Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15442 reference strain. The ability to inhibit biofilm formation was investigated at sub-MIC levels of 200, 100, and 50 m g/ml by staining sessile cells with safranin. Sample E showed the highest average effectiveness against all tested strains at 50 m g/ml and had inhibition percentages ranging from 30 to 52%. In the screening that used preformed biofilm from the reference strain P. aeruginosa, essential oils A through E were inactive at 200 m g/ml; F was active with a percentage of inhibition equal to 53.2%. Oregano essential oil can inhibit the formation of biofilms of various food pathogens and food spoilage organisms

Gender differences in the immune system activities of sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus

In the immune system of vertebrates, gender-specific differences in individual immune competence are well known. In general, females possess more powerful immune response than males. In invertebrates, the situation is much less clear. For this purpose we have chosen to study the immune response of the two sexes of the echinoderm Paracentrotus lividus in pre- and post-spawning phases. The coelomic fluid from the echinoderms contains several coelomocyte types and molecules involved in innate immune defenses. In this article we report that the degree of immune responses in the P. lividus differs according to sex in both pre- and post-spawning phases. We found in all tests that females were more active than males. The results indicate that females possess a significant higher number of immunocytes consisting of phagocytes and uncolored spherulocytes. Since the immunological activity is mainly based on immunocytes, it was not surprising that females possessed the highest values of cytotoxicity and hemolysis activity and showed a greater ability to uptake neutral red and phagocyte yeasts cells, while the average number of ingested particles per active phagocyte was not significantly different. Furthermore, agglutinating activity was more evident in the coelomocyte lysate and coelomic fluid of females than in those of males. Finally we found that the acidic extract of female gonads possessed greater antimicrobial activity than that of male gonads. These results make it very likely that gender differences in the immune response are not restricted to vertebrates; rather, they are a general evolutionary phenomenon