Curcumin Increases the Pathogenicity of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium in Murine Model

Curcumin has gained immense importance for its vast therapeutic and prophylactic applications. Contrary to this, our study reveals that it regulates the defense pathways of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) to enhance its pathogenicity. In a murine model of typhoid fever, we observed higher bacterial load in Peyer''s patches, mesenteric lymph node, spleen and liver, when infected with curcumin-treated Salmonella. Curcumin increased the resistance of S. Typhimurium against antimicrobial agents like antimicrobial peptides, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. This increased tolerance might be attributed to the up-regulation of genes involved in resistance against antimicrobial peptides - pmrD and pmrHFIJKLM and genes with antioxidant function - mntH, sodA and sitA. We implicate that iron chelation property of curcumin have a role in regulating mntH and sitA. Interestingly, we see that the curcumin-mediated modulation of pmr genes is through the PhoPQ regulatory system. Curcumin downregulates SPI1 genes, required for entry into epithelial cells and upregulates SPI2 genes required to intracellular survival. Since it is known that the SPI1 and SPI2 system can be regulated by the PhoPQ system, this common regulator could explain curcumin''s mode of action. This data urges us to rethink the indiscriminate use of curcumin especially during Salmonella outbreaks.     

Discovery of pyrrolo[2,1-f][1,2,4]triazine C6-ketones as potent, orally active p38α MAP kinase inhibitors

Pyrrolo[2,1-f][1,2,4]triazine based inhibitors of p38α have been prepared exploring functional group modifications at the C6 position. Incorporation of aryl and heteroaryl ketones at this position led to potent inhibitors with efficacy in in vivo models of acute and chronic inflammation.     

Molecular profiling of mucosal tissue associated microbiota in patients manifesting acute exacerbations and remission stage of ulcerative colitis

Dysbiosis of intestinal microflora has been postulated in ulcerative colitis (UC), which is characterized by imbalance of mucosal tissue associated bacterial communities. However, the specific changes in mucosal microflora during different stages of UC are still unknown. The aim of the current study was to investigate the changes in mucosal tissue associated microbiota during acute exacerbations and remission stages of UC. The mucosal microbiota associated with colon biopsy of 12 patients suffering from UC (exacerbated stage) and the follow-up samples from the same patients (remission stage) as well as non-IBD subjects was studied using 16S rRNA gene-based sequencing and quantitative PCR. The total bacterial count in patients suffering from exacerbated phase of UC was observed to be two fold lower compared to that of the non-IBD subjects (p?=?0.0049, Wilcox on matched-pairs signed rank tests). Bacterial genera including Stenotrophomonas, Parabacteroides, Elizabethkingia, Pseudomonas, Micrococcus, Ochrobactrum and Achromobacter were significantly higher in abundance during exacerbated phase of UC as compared to remission phase. The alterations in bacterial diversity with an increase in the abnormal microbial communities signify the extent of dysbiosis in mucosal microbiota in patients suffering from UC. Our study helps in identifying the specific genera dominating the microbiota during the disease and thus lays a basis for further investigation of the possible role of these bacteria in pathogenesis of UC.     

A novel tunnel in mycobacterial type III polyketide synthase reveals the structural basis for generating diverse metabolites

The superfamily of plant and bacterial type III polyketide synthases (PKSs) produces diverse metabolites with distinct biological functions. PKS18, a type III PKS from Mycobacterium tuberculosis, displays an unusual broad specificity for aliphatic long-chain acyl-coenzyme A (acyl-CoA) starter units (C(6)-C(20)) to produce tri- and tetraketide pyrones. The crystal structure of PKS18 reveals a 20 A substrate binding tunnel, hitherto unidentified in this superfamily of enzymes. This remarkable tunnel extends from the active site to the surface of the protein and is primarily generated by subtle changes of backbone dihedral angles in the core of the protein. Mutagenic studies combined with structure determination provide molecular insights into the structural elements that contribute to the chain length specificity of the enzyme. This first bacterial type III PKS structure underlines a fascinating example of the way in which subtle changes in protein architecture can generate metabolite diversity in nature.     

Construction of the model for the Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 simulated data: genotype-phenotype relationships,gene interaction,linkage, association,disequilibrium, and ascertainment effects for a complex phenotype

The Genetic Analysis Workshop 14 simulated dataset was designed 1) To test the ability to find genes related to a complex disease (such as alcoholism). Such a disease may be given a variety of definitions by different investigators, have associated endophenotypes that are common in the general population, and is likely to be not one disease but a heterogeneous collection of clinically similar, but genetically distinct, entities. 2) To observe the effect on genetic analysis and gene discovery of a complex set of gene x gene interactions. 3) To allow comparison of microsatellite vs. large-scale single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data. 4) To allow testing of association to identify the disease gene and the effect of moderate marker x marker linkage disequilibrium. 5) To observe the effect of different ascertainment/disease definition schemes on the analysis. Data was distributed in two forms. Data distributed to participants contained about 1,000 SNPs and 400 microsatellite markers. Internet-obtainable data consisted of a finer 10,000 SNP map, which also contained data on controls. While disease characteristics and parameters were constant, four "studies" used varying ascertainment schemes based on differing beliefs about disease characteristics. One of the studies contained multiplex two- and three-generation pedigrees with at least four affected members. The simulated disease was a psychiatric condition with many associated behaviors (endophenotypes), almost all of which were genetic in origin. The underlying disease model contained four major genes and two modifier genes. The four major genes interacted with each other to produce three different phenotypes, which were themselves heterogeneous. The population parameters were calibrated so that the major genes could be discovered by linkage analysis in most datasets. The association evidence was more difficult to calibrate but was designed to find statistically significant association in 50% of datasets. We also simulated some marker x marker linkage disequilibrium around some of the genes and also in areas without disease genes. We tried two different methods to simulate the linkage disequilibrium.     

Production of oxygen free radicals by Ehrlich ascites tumour cells: effect of lipids

Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), calcium ionophore A23187 and platelet activating factor (PAF) stimulated the generation of oxygen free radicals (nitro-blue tetrazolium reduction) in Ehrlich ascites tumour (EAT) cells. PAF was effective at an optimal concentration of 4 muM, but was inhibited by BN 52021, a specific PAF antagonist. Lyso-PAF was ineffective. Inclusion of different lipids during incubation prior to the addition of PAF, resulted in the activation/inhibition of free radical generation. Among the phospholipids at a concentration of 50 mug/ml, the order of activation was phosphatidylserine > phosphatidylglycerol > phosphoinositides > phosphatidylinositol > phosphatidylethanolamine. Phosphatidylcholine was not effective, while sphingolipids were inhibitory. In addition, Ehrlich ascites tumour cells grown in mice under marginal vitamin A deficiency, showed an augmented production of free radicals compared to control cells. This was suppressed by exogenous addition of vitamin A or superoxide dismutase. These results suggest that membrane lipids and dietary factors like vitamin A probably function as physiological modulators in regulating the free radical generation.     

Detail in network models of epidemiology: are we there yet?

Network models of infectious disease epidemiology can potentially provide insight into how to tailor control strategies for specific regions, but only if the network adequately reflects the structure of the region's contact network. Typically, the network is produced by models that incorporate details about human interactions. Each detail added renders the models more complicated and more difficult to calibrate, but also more faithful to the actual contact network structure. We propose a statistical test to determine when sufficient detail has been added to the models and demonstrate its application to the models used to create a synthetic population and contact network for the USA.