Tolerogenic probiotics Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus rhamnosus promote anti-inflammatory profile of macrophages-derived monocytes of newly diagnosed patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is known as an autoimmune disorder that is characterized by the breakdown of self-tolerance, resulting in disease onset and progression. Macrophages have been implicated as a factor in the development of SLE through faulty phagocytosis of dead cells or an imbalanced M1/M2 ratio. The study aimed to investigate the immunomodulatory effects of Lactobacillus delbrueckii and Lactobacillus rhamnosus on M1 and M2 macrophages in new case lupus patients. For this purpose, blood monocytes were collected from lupus patients and healthy people and were cultured for 5 days to produce macrophages. For 48 h, the macrophages were then cocultured with either probiotics or lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Flow cytometry and real-time polymerase chain reaction were then used to analyze the expression of cluster of differentiation (CD) 14, CD80, and human leukocyte antigen – DR (HLADR) markers, as well as cytokine expression (interleukin [IL]1-β, IL-12, tumor necrosis factor α [TNF-α], IL-10, and transforming growth factor beta [TGF-β]). The results indicated three distinct macrophage populations, M0, M1, and M2. In both control and patient-derived macrophage-derived monocytes (MDMs), the probiotic groups showed a decrease in CD14, CD80, and HLADR expression compared to the LPS group. This decrease was particularly evident in M0 and M2 macrophages from lupus patients and M1 macrophages from healthy subjects. In addition, the probiotic groups showed increased levels of IL-10 and TGF-β and decreased levels of IL-12, IL1-β, and TNF-α in MDMs from both healthy and lupus subjects compared to the LPS groups. Although there was a higher expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in lupus patients, there was a higher expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines in healthy subjects. In general, L. delbrueckii and L. rhamnosus could induce anti-inflammatory effects on MDMs from both healthy and lupus subjects.     

A Theoretical Description for Elliptical Plasma Antenna Response in Presence of Terahertz Electromagnetic Plane Wave Based on Surface Plasmon Concept

Plasmonics - Excitation of THz surface plasmons due to the scattering of transverse magnetic (TM) wave by an elliptical plasma antenna consisting of a metallic rod with dielectric coating is...     

Implications for MicroRNA involvement in the prognosis and treatment of atherosclerosis

Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry - MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important molecules which implicated in various processes, such as differentiation, development, cell survival, cell apoptosis and also...     

Synthesis and properties of optically active nanostructured polymers bearing amino acid moieties by direct polycondensation of 4,4′-thiobis(2-tert-butyl-5-methylphenol) with chiral diacids

Four derivatives of N-trimellitylimido-l-amino acid (4a–4d) were prepared by the reaction of trimellitic anhydride (1) with the l-amino acids (2a–2d) in acetic acid as diacid monomers and were used with the aim to obtain a new family of amino acid based poly(ester-imide)s (PEI)s. The polymerization was performed by direct polycondensation of chiral diacids (4a–4d) with 4,4′-thiobis(2-tert-butyl-5-methylphenol) (5) in the presence of tosyl chloride (TsCl), pyridine and N,N-dimethyl formamide (DMF). Step-growth polymerization was carried out by varying the time of heating and the molar ratio of TsCl/diacid and the optimum conditions were achieved. The synthesized polymers were characterized by means of specific rotation experiments, FT-IR, ¹H-NMR, X-ray diffraction techniques and elemental analysis. The surface morphology of the obtained polymers was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The result showed nanostructure morphology of the resulting polymers. The obtained PEIs were soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as DMF, N,N-dimethyl acetamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and protic solvents such as sulfuric acid. Thermal stability and the weight-loss behavior of the PEIs were studied by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) techniques. TGA showed that the 10% weight loss temperature in a nitrogen atmosphere was more than 402°C, therefore they had useful levels of thermal stability associated with excellent solubility.     

Comparative Evaluation of Three Supplements for Helicobacter pylori Growth in Liquid Culture

Helicobacter pylori, a microaerophilic fastidious bacterium, has been cultured on various plating and broth media since its discovery. Although the agar media can be sufficient for the identification, typing, and antibiotic resistance studies, no secretory antigen of H. pylori can be evaluated in such media. Thus, satisfactory growth of H. pylori in liquid culture which is needed for analysis of secretory proteins without the presence of interfering agents is in demand. We assessed the impact of β-cyclodextrin, Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS), and charcoal as supplements for H. pylori growth. Furthermore, we aimed to identify the most favorable supplement that supports the secretion of the dominant secretory protein, vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA). Five clinical strains were cultured on broth media and the growth, viability, morphology, and protein content of each strain were determined. Our results revealed that β-cyclodextrin supports the growth rate, viability, and cell lysate protein content to the extent similar to FBS. Application of β-cyclodextrin is found to postpone spiral to coccoid conversion up to 72 h of incubation. Although FBS supports a higher VacA protein content, presence of interfering macromolecules in FBS questions its utility particularly for purposes of studying extra cellular proteins such as VacA. This study recommends further application of β-cyclodextrin as a culture supplement with the potential capacity in neutralizing toxic compounds and flourishing the secretion of H. pylori proteins without addition of interfering proteins.     

Kinetic Extractions of Nickel and Lead from Some Contaminated Calcareous Soils

The mobility of heavy metals in contaminated soils is dependent on the kinetics release from soils. Metal extraction over time is commonly used to distinguish two or more fractions of metal based on differences of extraction or release rates. Kinetic studies using 0.01 M CaCl₂, 0.01 M malic acid, and 0.01 M EDTA extractions were performed to characterize nickel (Ni) and lead (Pb) kinetic release in 10 contaminated calcareous soils. Proportions of Ni and Pb extracted with EDTA were higher than when using malic acid and CaCl₂, respectively. The release of Ni and Pb was characterized by an initial fast rate followed by a slower rate and could best be described by a two first-order reactions model with rate constants k₁ and k₂ and two metal pools: readily labile (Q ₁) and less labile (Q ₂). In an EDTA extractant, different Q₁ /Q₂ ratios for Ni and Pb were observed, indicating binding energies to soil constituents is not comparable. The k₁ of the model for Ni (average of 10 soils: 0.2204 h^?1 and 0.2359 h^?1 for 0.01 M CaCl₂ and 0.01 EDTA, respectively) was higher than Pb (0.1044 h^?1 and 0.1631 h^?1 for 0.01 M CaCl₂ and 0.01 M EDTA, respectively), indicating a higher potential of Ni for leaching and groundwater contamination in contaminated calcareous soils. Relationships between the fraction of Ni and Pb determined with the two first-order reactions model and the soil composition and Pb fractions were established. The results indicated that the efficiency of the extractions Ni and Pb from soils depends both on the Ni and Pb content and soil composition. Overall, the results indicated that the use of a 0.01 M malic acid washing solution would be preferred in the field condition.     

Metakaryotic stem cell nuclei use pangenomic dsRNA/DNA intermediates in genome replication and segregation

Bell shaped nuclei of metakaryotic cells double their DNA content during and after symmetric and asymmetric amitotic fissions rather than in the separate, pre-mitotic S-phase of eukaryotic cells. A parsimonious hypothesis was tested that the two anti-parallel strands of each chromatid DNA helix were first segregated as ssDNA-containing complexes into sister nuclei then copied to recreate a dsDNA genome. Metakaryotic nuclei that were treated during amitosis with RNase A and stained with acridine orange or fluorescent antibody to ssDNA revealed large amounts of ssDNA. Without RNase treatment metakaryotic nuclei in amitosis stained strongly with an antibody complex specific to dsRNA/DNA. Images of amitotic figures co-stained with dsRNA/DNA antibody and DAPI indicated that the entire interphase dsDNA genome (B-form helices) was transformed into two dsRNA/DNA genomes (A-form helices) that were segregated in the daughter cell nuclei then retransformed into dsDNA. As this process segregates DNA strands of opposite polarity in sister cells it hypothetically offers a sequential switching mechanism within the diverging stem cell lineages of development.     

Differences in Retinal Structure and Function between Aging Male and Female Sprague-Dawley Rats are Strongly Influenced by the Estrus Cycle

Purpose

Biological sex and age are considered as two important factors that may influence the function and structure of the retina, an effect that might be governed by sexual hormones such as estrogen. The purpose of this study was to delineate the influence that biological sex and age exert on the retinal function and structure of rodents and also clarify the effect that the estrus cycle might exert on the retinal function of female rats.

Method

The retinal function of 50 normal male and female albino Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats was investigated with the electroretinogram (ERG) at postnatal day (P) 30, 60, 100, 200, and 300 (n = 5–6 male and female rats/age). Following the ERG recording sessions, retinal histology was performed in both sexes. In parallel, the retinal function of premenopausal and menopausal female rats aged P540 were also compared.

Results

Sex and age-related changes in retinal structure and function were observed in our animal model. However, irrespective of age, no significant difference was observed in ERG and retinal histology obtained from male and female rats. Notwithstanding the above we did however notice that between P60 and P200 there was a gradual increase in ERG amplitudes of female rats compared to males. Furthermore, the ERG of premenopausal female rats aged 18 months old (P540) was larger compared to age-matched menopausal female rats as well as that of male rats.

Conclusion

Our results showed that biological sex and age can influence the retinal function and structure of albino SD rats. Furthermore, we showed that cycled female rats have better retinal function compared to the menopausal female rats suggesting a beneficial effect of the estrus cycle on the retinal function.