Lactobacillus acidophilus Contributes to a Healthy Environment for Vaginal Epithelial Cells

Lactobacillus species in the female genital tract are thought to act as a barrier to infection. Several studies have demonstrated that lactobacilli can adhere to vaginal epithelial cells. However, little is known about how the adherence of lactobacilli to vaginal epithelial cells affects the acidity, cell viability, or proliferation of the lactobacilli themselves or those of vaginal epithelial cells. Lactobacillus acidophilus was co-cultured with immortalized human vaginal epithelial cells (MS74 cell line), and the growth of L. acidophilus and the acidity of the culture medium were measured. MS74 cell density and viability were also assessed by counting cell numbers and observing the cell attachment state. L. acidophilus showed exponential growth for the first 6 hr until 9 hr, and the pH was maintained close to 4.0-5.0 at 24 hr after culture, consistent with previous studies. The growth curve of L. acidophilus or the pH values were relatively unaffected by co-culture with MS74 cells, confirming that L. acidophilus maintains a low pH in the presence of MS74 cells. This co-culture model could therefore potentially be used to mimic vaginal conditions for future in vitro studies. On the other hand, MS74 cells co-cultured with L. acidophilus more firmly attached to the culture plate, and a higher number of cells were present compared to cells cultured in the absence of L. acidophilus. These results indicate that L. acidophilus increases MS74 cell proliferation and viability, suggesting that lactobacilli may contribute to the healthy environment for vaginal epithelial cells

Differential Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases in Thioacetamide-Induced Chronic Liver Injury

Hepatic fibrogenesis, a complex process that involves a marked accumulation of extracellular matrix components, activation of cells capable of producing matrix materials, cytokine release, and tissue remodeling, is regulated by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs). The MMP-TIMP balance can regulate liver fibrogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression patterns of MMPs and TIMPs during thioacetamide (TAA)-induced liver fibrogenesis. Chronic liver injury was induced with TAA (200 mg/kg i.p.) for 4 or 7 weeks in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Hepatic injury and fibrosis were assessed by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, and collagen deposition was confirmed by Sirius Red staining. The level of hepatic injury was quantified by serological analysis. The transcriptional and translational levels of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), MMPs, and TIMPs in the liver were measured by Western blotting, RT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry. MMP, TIMP, and α-SMA were observed along fibrotic septa and portal spaces around the lobules. TAA treatment increased transcription of both MMPs and TIMPs, but only TIMPs showed increased translation. The dominant expression of TIMPs may regulate the function of MMPs to maintain liver fibrosis induced by TAA

Whole blood transcriptome analysis in dairy calves experimentally challenged with Bovine Herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1) and comparison to a Bovine Respiratory Syncytial Virus (BRSV) challenge

Publication history: Accepted - 25 January 2023; Published online - 17 February 2023Bovine herpesvirus 1 (BoHV-1), is associated with several clinical syndromes in cattle, among which bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is of particular significance. Despite the importance of the disease, there is a lack of information on the molecular response to infection via experimental challenge with BoHV-1. The objective of this study was to investigate the whole-blood transcriptome of dairy calves experimentally challenged with BoHV-1. A secondary objective was to compare the gene expression results between two separate BRD pathogens using data from a similar challenge study with BRSV. Holstein-Friesian calves (mean age (SD) = 149.2 (23.8) days; mean weight (SD) = 174.6 (21.3) kg) were either administered BoHV-1 inoculate (1 × 107 /mL × 8.5 mL) (n = 12) or were mock challenged with sterile phosphate buffered saline (n = 6). Clinical signs were recorded daily from day (d) −1 to d 6 (post-challenge), and whole blood was collected in Tempus RNA tubes on d six post-challenge for RNA-sequencing. There were 488 differentially expressed (DE) genes (p < 0.05, False Discovery rate (FDR) < 0.10, fold change ≥2) between the two treatments. Enriched KEGG pathways (p < 0.05, FDR <0.05); included Influenza A, Cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and NOD-like receptor signalling. Significant gene ontology terms (p < 0.05, FDR <0.05) included defence response to virus and inflammatory response. Genes that are highly DE in key pathways are potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of BoHV-1 infection. A comparison to data from a similar study with BRSV identified both similarities and differences in the immune response to differing BRD pathogensThis project was funded by the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), Northern Ireland, as part of the US-Ireland R&D partnership call (RMIS_0033 Project 16/RD/US-ROI/11). JT and JK were supported by Grant No. 2017-67015-26760 from the United States Department for Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agricultur

Determination of Malignant and Invasive Predictors in Branch Duct Type Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasms of the Pancreas: A Suggested Scoring Formula

Prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of branch duct type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (Br-IPMN) is difficult, and proper treatment strategy has not been well established. The authors investigated the characteristics of Br-IPMN and explored its malignancy or invasiveness predicting factors to suggest a scoring formula for predicting pathologic results. From 1994 to 2008, 237 patients who were diagnosed as Br-IPMN at 11 tertiary referral centers in Korea were retrospectively reviewed. The patients' mean age was 63.1 ± 9.2 yr. One hundred ninty-eight (83.5%) patients had nonmalignant IPMN (81 adenoma, 117 borderline atypia), and 39 (16.5%) had malignant IPMN (13 carcinoma in situ, 26 invasive carcinoma). Cyst size and mural nodule were malignancy determining factors by multivariate analysis. Elevated CEA, cyst size and mural nodule were factors determining invasiveness by multivariate analysis. Using the regression coefficient for significant predictors on multivariate analysis, we constructed a malignancy-predicting scoring formula: 22.4 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 0.5 (cyst size [mm]). In invasive IPMN, the formula was expressed as invasiveness-predicting score = 36.6 (mural nodule [0 or 1]) + 32.2 (elevated serum CEA [0 or 1]) + 0.6 (cyst size [mm]). Here we present a scoring formula for prediction of malignancy or invasiveness of Br-IPMN which can be used to determine a proper treatment strategy

Compromised fidelity of B-cell tolerance checkpoints in AChR and MuSK myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis () is an autoimmune condition in which neurotransmission is impaired by binding of autoantibodies to acetylcholine receptors (hR) or, in a minority of patients, to muscle specific kinase (Mu). There are differences in the dominant IgG subclass, pathogenic mechanisms, and treatment responses between the two subtypes (hR or Mu). The antibodies are thought to be T-cell dependent, but the mechanisms underlying their production are not well understood. One aspect not previously described is whether defects in central and peripheral tolerance checkpoints, which allow autoreactive B cells to accumulate in the naive repertoire, are found in both or either form of . An established set of assays that measure the frequency of both polyreactive and autoreactive B cell receptors () in naive populations was applied to specimens collected from patients with either hR or Mu and healthy controls. Radioimmuno- and cell-based assays were used to measure binding to hR and Mu. The frequency of polyreactive and autoreactive s (n = 262) was higher in both hR and Mu patients than in healthy controls. None of the -derived s bound hR or Mu. The results indicate that both these subtypes harbor defects in central and peripheral B cell tolerance checkpoints. Defective B cell tolerance may represent a fundamental contributor to autoimmunity in and is of particular importance when considering the durability of myasthenia gravis treatment strategies, particularly biologics that eliminate B cells

On the inertia sets of some symmetric sign patterns

summary:A matrix whose entries consist of elements from the set $\lbrace +,-,0\rbrace$ is a sign pattern matrix. Using a linear algebra theoretical approach we generalize of some recent results due to Hall, Li and others involving the inertia of symmetric tridiagonal sign matrices