Notes

Repeated TACE in HCC after Fontan surgery as well as situs viscerum inversus: A case report.
Microbial symbionts can mediate plant stress responses by enhancing thermal tolerance, but less attention has been paid to measuring these effects across plant-microbe studies. We performed a meta-analysis of published studies as well as discussed with relevant literature to determine how the symbionts influence plant responses under non-stressed versus thermal-stressed conditions. As compared to non-inoculated plants, inoculated plants had significantly higher biomass and photosynthesis under heat stress conditions. A significantly decreased accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) indicated a lower oxidation level in the colonized plants, which was also correlated with the higher activity of catalase, peroxidase, glutathione reductase enzymes due to microbial colonization under heat stress. However, the activity of superoxide dismutase, ascorbate oxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, and proline were variable. Our meta-analysis revealed that microbial colonization influenced plant growth and physiology, but their effects were more noticeable when their host plants were exposed to high-temperature stress than when they grew under ambient temperature conditions. We discussed the mechanisms of microbial conferred plant thermotolerance, including at the molecular level based on the available literature. Further, we highlighted and proposed future directions toward exploring the effects of symbionts on the heat tolerances of plants for their implications in sustainable agricultural production.Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a herpesvirus family member, is a large, complex enveloped virus. The activation of liver X receptor (LXR) can significantly inhibit the replication of HCMV and weaken the virulence of progeny virus (unpublished data). Our results showed activated LXR affected some important viral protein expression and reduced cholesterol content in HCMV infected cells and virus particles. To further clarify the influence of activated LXR on HCMV replication, HCMV assembly and maturation processes were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in HCMV infected foreskin fibroblasts treated with LXR agonist GW3965. Results showed that activated LXR could reduce the envelope integrity of maturating virions. The functional stage of activated LXR on viral envelope integrity was mainly at virus assembly compartment (VAC) mediated envelopment but not structurally complete virus nucleocapsid formation and the egress of nucleocapsid from the nucleus to the cytoplasm mediated by nuclear egress complex. Reduced cholesterol synthesis and viral protein expression might interfere with the VAC-mediated envelopment. The nucleocapsid and tegument proteins enter the VAC area for the secondary envelope, which was interfered with and resulted in the defective particle, thereby affecting the amount and infectivity of the mature virus. The results indicate that inhibition of HCMV maturation is one mechanism of activated LXR inhibiting virus replication in infected cells.Vegetative incompatibility (VI) is a widespread phenomenon developed in Morchella importuna, a species of ascomycete fungus that is cultivated on a rapidly expanding scale in China. Understanding the genetic bases of this nonself-recognition phenomenon is beneficial for resolving some problems that are associated with the production of this highly prized edible fungus, such as crossbreeding, strain classification, and pathogen transmission. VI is genetically controlled by het genes, organized in two different systems, namely allelic and nonallelic. These het genes have been well characterized in Podospora anserina and Neurospora crassa. In this work, putative het-homologs were identified in the genome of M. importuna, but their low allelic polymorphism in different vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs) suggested that VI in this fungus might not be regulated by these het genes. The progeny derived from vegetative compatible parents became a VCG, while the single-ascospore strains from vegetative incompatible parents were divided into four VCGs, and the interaction between the inter-group strains led to the formation of two types of barrages, viz., thin dark line and raised aggregate of hyphae. The Bulk Segregant Analysis confirmed that the genes mimpvic32 and mimpvic33 were linked to VI reactions in M. importuna; nevertheless, the formation of barrages also occurred between the pairs carrying the same allele of these two genes. In sum, the VI control system in M. importuna was complicated, and there were more other allelic or non-allelic VI-related genes.Chromium of anthropogenic origin contaminates the environment worldwide. The toxicity of chromium, a group I human carcinogen, is greatest when it is in a hexavalent oxidation state, Cr(VI). Cr(VI) is actively transported into the cell, triggering oxidative damage intracellularly. Due to the abundance of unspecific intracellular reductants, any microbial species is capable of bio-transformation of toxic Cr(VI) to innocuous Cr(III), however, this process is often lethal. Only some bacterial species are capable of sustaining the vegetative growth in the presence of a high concentration of Cr(VI) and thus operate as self-sustainable bioremediation agents. One of the successful microbial Cr(VI) detoxification strategies is the activation of chromate efflux pumps. This work describes transplantation of the chromate efflux pump from the potentially pathogenic but highly Cr resistant Bacillus pseudomycoides environmental strain into non-pathogenic but only transiently Cr tolerant Bacillus subtilis strain. In our study, we compared the two Bacillus spp. strains harboring evolutionarily diverged chromate efflux proteins. We have found that individual cells of the Cr-resistant B. pseudomycoides environmental strain accumulate less Cr than the cells of B. subtilis strain. Further, we found that survival of the B. subtilis strain during the Cr stress can be increased by the introduction of the chromate transporter from the Cr resistant environmental strain into its genome. Additionally, the expression of B. pseudomycoides chromate transporter ChrA in B. subtilis seems to be activated by the presence of chromate, hinting at versatility of Cr-efflux proteins. This study outlines the future direction for increasing the Cr-tolerance of non-pathogenic species and safe bioremediation using soil bacteria.Biting midges (Culicoides) are vectors of arboviruses of both veterinary and medical importance. The surge of emerging and reemerging vector-borne diseases and their expansion in geographical areas affected by climate change has increased the importance of understanding their capacity to contribute to novel and emerging infectious diseases. Selleck BMS-986020 The study of Culicoides virome is the first step in the assessment of this potential. In this study, we analyzed the RNA virome of 10 Culicoides species within the geographical area of Thrace in the southeastern part of Europe, a crossing point between Asia and Europe and important path of various arboviruses, utilizing the Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing (NGS) platform and a custom bioinformatics pipeline based on TRINITY assembler and alignment algorithms. The analysis of the RNA virome of 10 Culicoides species resulted in the identification of the genomic signatures of 14 novel RNA viruses, including three fully assembled viruses and four segmented viruses with at least one segment fully assembled, most of which were significantly divergent from previously identified related viruses from the Solemoviridae, Phasmaviridae, Phenuiviridae, Reoviridae, Chuviridae, Partitiviridae, Orthomyxoviridae, Rhabdoviridae, and Flaviviridae families. Each Culicoides species carried a species-specific set of viruses, some of which are related to viruses from other insect vectors in the same area, contributing to the idea of a virus-carrier web within the ecosystem. The identified viruses not only expand our current knowledge on the virome of Culicoides but also set the basis of the genetic diversity of such viruses in the area of southeastern Europe. Furthermore, our study highlights that such metagenomic approaches should include as many species as possible of the local virus-carrier web that interact and share the virome of a geographical area.The natural product 4-hydroxycinnamic acid (HA) was firstly isolated from the metabolites of Phomopsis liquidambari, one endophytic fungus from Punica granatum leaves. The anti-QS potential of HA was evaluated by β-galactosidase assay and acylated homoserine lactones (AHL) analysis. The MIC of HA was > 1.20 mM. Exposure to HA at sub-MIC concentrations (0.30-0.60 mM) remarkably reduced the β-galactosidase activity and AHL secretion. Transcriptional analysis by qRT-PCR and docking simulation indicated that HA functions as an anti-QS agent by inhibiting the transcriptional levels of traI and traR rather than signal mimicry. The blocked QS lead to suppressed biofilm formation, motilities, and flagella formation after exposure to HA at concentrations ranging from 0.30 to 0.80 mM. The dysfunctional QS also resulted in repressed antioxidant enzymes and intensified oxidative stress. The intensified oxidative stress destroyed membrane integrity, induced energy supply deficiency, resulted in disorder of protein and nuclear acid metabolism, and ultimately weakened pathogenicity of A. tumefaciens. HA may have promising potential for controlling A. tumefaciens.Assay sensitivity can be a limiting factor in the use of PCR as a tool for the detection of tick-borne pathogens in blood. We evaluated the performance of Tick-borne disease Capture Sequencing Assay (TBDCapSeq), a capture sequencing assay targeting tick-borne agents, to test 158 whole blood specimens obtained from the Lyme Disease Biobank. These included samples from 98 individuals with signs and symptoms of acute Lyme disease, 25 healthy individuals residing in Lyme disease endemic areas, and 35 samples collected from patients admitted to the Massachusetts General Hospital or referred to the infectious disease clinic. Compared to PCR, TBDCapSeq had better sensitivity and could identify infections with a wider range of tick-borne agents. TBDCapSeq identified a higher rate of samples positive for Borrelia burgdorferi (8 vs. 1 by PCR) and Babesia microti (26 vs. 15 by PCR). TBDCapSeq also identified previously unknown infections with Borrelia miyamotoi, Ehrlichia, and Rickettsia species. Overall, TBDCapSeq identified a pathogen in 43 samples vs. 23 using PCR, with four co-infections detected versus zero by PCR. We conclude that capture sequencing enables superior detection of tick-borne agents relative to PCR.The study of livestock microbiota has immediate benefits for animal health as well as mitigating food contamination and emerging pathogens. While prior research has indicated the gastrointestinal tract of cattle as the source for many zoonoses, including Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli and antibiotic resistant bacteria, the bovine urinary tract microbiota has yet to be thoroughly investigated. Here, we describe 5 E. coli and 4 Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains isolated from urine of dairy Gyr cattle. While both species are typically associated with urinary tract infections and mastitis, all of the animals sampled were healthy. The bovine urinary strains were compared to E. coli and P. aeruginosa isolates from other bovine samples as well as human urinary samples. While the bovine urinary E. coli isolates had genomic similarity to isolates from the gastrointestinal tract of cattle and other agricultural animals, the bovine urinary P. aeruginosa strains were most similar to human isolates suggesting niche adaptation rather than host adaptation.
Homepage: https://www.selleckchem.com/products/bms-986020.html