Heavy Hymenolepis nana Infection Possibly Through Organic Foods: Report of a Case

We encountered a patient with heavy Hymenolepis nana infection. The patient was a 44-year-old Korean man who had suffered from chronic hepatitis (type B) for 15 years. A large number of H. nana adult worms were found during colonoscopy that was performed as a part of routine health screening. The parasites were scattered throughout the colon, as well as in the terminal ileum, although the patient was immunocompetent. Based on this study, colonoscopy may be helpful for diagnosis of asymptomatic H. nana infections.     

Customized media based on miniaturized screening improve growth rate and cell yield of methane-oxidizing bacteria of the genus Methylomonas

The growth of twelve methanotrophic strains within the genus Methylomonas, including the type strains of Methylomonas methanica and Methylomonas koyamae, was evaluated with 40 different variations of standard diluted nitrate mineral salts medium in 96-well microtiter plates. Unique profiles of growth preference were observed for each strain, showing a strong strain dependency for optimal growth conditions, especially with regards to the preferred concentration and nature of the nitrogen source. Based on the miniaturized screening results, a customized medium was designed for each strain, allowing the improvement of the growth of several strains in a batch setup, either by a reduction of the lag phase or by faster biomass accumulation. As such, the maintenance of fastidious strains could be facilitated while the growth of fast-growing Methylomonas strains could be further improved. Methylomonas sp. R-45378 displayed a 50 % increase in cell dry weight when grown in its customized medium and showed the lowest observed nitrogen and oxygen requirement of all tested strains. We demonstrate that the presented miniaturized approach for medium optimization is a simple tool allowing the quick generation of strain-specific growth preference data that can be applied downstream of an isolation campaign. This approach can also be applied as a first step in the search for strains with biotechnological potential, to facilitate cultivation of fastidious strains or to steer future isolation campaigns.     

Halocynthiibacter namhaensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel alphaproteobacterium isolated from sea squirt Halocynthia roretzi

A Gram-negative, non-motile and rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated RA2-3^T, was isolated from a sea squirt (Halocynthia roretzi) collected from the South Sea, Korea, and its taxonomic position was investigated by using a polyphasic approach. Strain RA2-3^T was observed to grow optimally at 25 °C, at pH 7.0–7.5 and in the presence of 2 % (w/v) NaCl. Strain RA2-3^T exhibited the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity values to the type strains of Litoreibacter meonggei (95.7 %), Planktotalea frisia (95.6 %), Thalassobius gelatinovorus (95.5 %) and Pelagicola litoralis (95.4 %). A neighbour-joining phylogenetic tree based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain RA2-3^T clustered with the type strains of Planktotalea frisia, Pelagicola litoralis, Pacificibacter maritimus and Roseovarius marinus. Strain RA2-3^T was found to contain Q-10 as the predominant ubiquinone and C_18:1 ω7c as the major fatty acid. The major polar lipids detected in strain RA2-3^T were phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylglycerol, one unidentified aminolipid and one unidentified lipid. The DNA G+C content of strain RA2-3^T was 52.9 mol%. On the basis of the phylogenetic, chemotaxonomic and phenotypic properties, strain RA2-3^T is considered to represent a new genus and species within the family Rhodobacteraceae, for which the name Halocynthiibacter namhaensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of H. namhaensis is RA2-3^T (=KCTC 32362^T=NBRC 109999^T).     

Impact of plasmid architecture on stability and yEGFP3 reporter gene expression in a set of isomeric multicopy vectors in yeast

Multicopy episomal plasmids in yeast, used whenever elevated levels of foreign or homologous gene expression are necessary, are known to be less stable compared to the endogenous 2-μm plasmid they are based on, at least without selective pressure. Considering that rich medium favors growth rate and, simultaneously, is less expensive than selective medium, enhancing stability in non-selective medium is extremely desirable. In this study, we changed the architecture of a multicopy model expression plasmid, creating six isoforms (same size, same DNA content but different positions and orientations of the expression block) and studied mitotic stability, copy number, as well as reporter yEGFP3 expression between isoforms. With one isoform being significantly more stable than the others and another one exhibiting elevated plasmid copy numbers in rich medium, we show that consideration of the arrangement of the plasmid elements might be crucial for productivity employing Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a host. We strongly believe that the ideal architecture has to be assessed for each case and assembly strategy has to begin by evaluating the stability of the vector backbone before insertion of the desired gene. For the plasmid set studied, yEGFP3 reporter production depends more on mitotic stability than on elevated plasmid copy numbers in a small number of cells retaining the plasmid under non-selective conditions.

     

Distinctive roles of receptor‐interacting protein kinases 1 and 3 in caspase‐independent cell death of L929

Upon tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) stimulation, cells respond actively by way of cell survival, apoptosis or programmed necrosis. The receptor‐interacting proteins 1 (RIP1) and 3 (RIP3) are responsible for TNFα‐mediated programmed necrosis. To delineate the differential contributions of RIP3 and RIP1 to programmed necrosis, L929 cells were stimulated with TNFα, carbobenzoxy‐valyl‐alanyl‐aspartyl‐[O‐methyl]‐fluoromethylketone (zVAD) or zVAD along with TNFα following RNA interference against RIP1 and RIP3, respectively. RIP1 silencing did not protect cells from TNFα‐mediated cell death, while RIP3 down‐regulation made them refractory to TNFα. The heat shock protein 90 inhibitor geldanamycin (GA) down‐regulated both RIP1 and RIP3 expression, which rendered cells resistant to zVAD/TNFα‐mediated cell death but not to TNFα‐mediated cell death alone. Therefore, the protective effect of GA on zVAD/TNFα‐stimulated necrosis might be attributed to RIP3, not RIP1, down‐regulation. Pretreatment of L929 cells with rapamycin mitigated zVAD‐mediated cell death, while the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine did not affect necrotic cell death. Meanwhile, necrotic cell death by zVAD and TNFα was caused by reactive oxygen species generation and effectively diminished by lipid‐soluble butylated hydroxyanisole. Taken together, the results indicate that RIP1 and RIP3 can independently mediate death signals being transduced by two different death stimuli, zVAD and TNFα. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

2-(Trimethylammonium) Ethyl (R)-3-Methoxy-3-oxo-2-Stearamidopropyl Phosphate Suppresses Osteoclast Maturation and Bone Resorption by Targeting Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor Signaling

2-(Trimethylammonium) ethyl (R)-3-methoxy-3-oxo-2-stearamidopropyl phosphate [(R)-TEMOSPho], a derivative of an organic chemical identified from a natural product library, promotes highly efficient megakaryopoiesis. Here, we show that (R)-TEMOSPho blocks osteoclast maturation from progenitor cells of hematopoietic origin, as well as blocking the resorptive function of mature osteoclasts. The inhibitory effect of (R)-TEMOSPho on osteoclasts was due to a disruption of the actin cytoskeleton, resulting from impaired downstream signaling of c-Fms, a receptor for macrophage-colony stimulating factor linked to c-Cbl, phosphoinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), Vav3, and Rac1. In addition, (R)-TEMOSPho blocked inflammation-induced bone destruction by reducing the numbers of osteoclasts produced in mice. Thus, (R)-TEMOSPho may represent a promising new class of antiresorptive drugs for the treatment of bone loss associated with increased osteoclast maturation and activity.     

Relationship between Initial Telomere Length,Initial Telomerase Activity,Age, and Replicative Capacity of Nucleus Pulposus Chondrocytes in Human Intervertebral Discs: What Is a Predictor of Replicative Potential?

There is evidence that telomere length (TL), telomerase activity (TA), and age are related to the replicative potential of human nucleus pulposus chondrocytes (NPCs). However, it has not yet been established if any of these factors can serve as predictors of the replicative potential of NPCs. To establish predictors of the replicative potential of NPCs, we evaluated potential relationships between replicative capacity of NPCs, initial TL (telomere length at the first passage), initial TA (telomerase activity at the first passage), and age. Nucleus pulposus specimens were obtained from 14 patients of various ages undergoing discectomy. NPCs were serially cultivated until the end of their replicative lifespans. Relationships among cumulative population doubling level (PDL), initial TL, initial TA, and age were analyzed. Initial TA was negatively correlated with age (r = -0.674, P = 0.008). However, no correlation between initial TL and age was observed. Cumulative PDL was also negatively correlated with age (r = -0.585, P = 0.028). Although the cumulative PDL appeared to increase with initial TL or initial TA, this trend was not statistically significant. In conclusion, age is the sole predictor of the replicative potential of human NPCs, and replicative potential decreases with age. Initial TL and initial TA are not predictors of replicative potential, and can serve only as reference values.     

The Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQR): validation and psychometric properties

Introduction  

The Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ) is a commonly used instrument in the evaluation of fibromyalgia (FM) patients. Over the last 18 years, since the publication of the original FIQ, several deficiencies have become apparent and the cumbersome scoring algorithm has been a barrier to widespread clinical use. The aim of this paper is to describe and validate a revised version of the FIQ: the FIQR.