Probiotic bacteria as potential detoxification tools: assessing their heavy metal binding isotherms

Dietary exposure to heavy metals may have detrimental effects on human and animal health, even at low concentrations. Specific probiotic bacteria may have properties that enable them to bind toxins from food and water. We assessed the interaction of probiotic bacteria with cadmium and lead in vitro as an initial screening step to identify strains for heavy metal decontamination in food and intestinal models. Binding isotherms for cadmium and lead were characterized for Lactobacillus rhamnosus LC-705, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. shermanii JS and a mix of them used by the food industry. Differences among the strains and their combinations in binding performance at a range of concentrations between 0.1 and 100 mg.L-1 were evaluated with the Langmuir model for biosorption. The effects of pH, contact time, and viability on the binding capacities were also investigated. All strains and their combinations were found to bind cadmium and lead efficiently at low concentration ranges commonly observed in foods. However, the two strains and their combinations differed significantly in their maximum binding capacities and affinities represented by the Langmuir constants Qmax and b, respectively. The binding seemed to occur instantaneously and in a pH-dependent manner, which can be perfectly described by a segmented linear-plateau model.     

Effects of the hydraulic coupling between xylem and phloem on diurnal phloem diameter variation

Measurements of diurnal diameter variations of the xylem and phloem are a promising tool for studying plant hydraulics and xylem-phloem interactions in field conditions. However, both the theoretical framework and the experimental verification needed to interpret phloem diameter data are incomplete. In this study, we analytically evaluate the effects of changing the radial conductance between the xylem and the phloem on phloem diameter variations and test the theory using simple manipulation experiments. Our results show that phloem diameter variations are mainly caused by changes in the radial flow rate of water between the xylem and the phloem. Reducing the hydraulic conductance between these tissues decreases the amplitude of phloem diameter variation and increases the time lag between xylem and phloem diameter variation in a predictable manner. Variation in the amplitude and timing of diameter variations that cannot be explained by changes in the hydraulic conductance, could be related to changes in the osmotic concentration in the phloem.     

Magnetic properties and structural characterization of iron oxide nanoparticles formed by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Streptococcus suis</Emphasis> Dpr and four mutants

Streptococcus suis Dpr belongs to the Dps family of bacterial and archaeal proteins that oxidize Fe²⁺ to Fe³⁺ to protect microorganisms from oxidative damage. The oxidized iron is subsequently deposited as ferrihydrite inside a protein cavity, resulting in the formation of an iron core. The size and the magnetic properties of the iron core have attracted considerable attention for nanotechnological applications in recent years. Here, the magnetic and structural properties of the iron core in wild-type Dpr and four cavity mutants were studied. All samples clearly demonstrated a superparamagnetic behavior in superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry and Mössbauer spectroscopy compatible with that of superparamagnetic ferrihydrite nanoparticles. However, all the mutants exhibited higher magnetic moments than the wild-type protein. Furthermore, measurement of the iron content with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry revealed a smaller amount of iron in the iron cores of the mutants, suggesting that the mutations affect nucleation and iron deposition inside the cavity. The X-ray crystal structures of the mutants revealed no changes compared with the wild-type crystal structure; thus, the differences in the magnetic moments could not be attributed to structural changes in the protein. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure measurements showed that the coordination geometry of the iron cores of the mutants was similar to that of the wild-type protein. Taken together, these results suggest that mutation of the residues that surround the iron storage cavity could be exploited to selectively modify the magnetic properties of the iron core without affecting the structure of the protein and the geometry of the iron core.     

Adiponectin associates with markers of cartilage degradation in osteoarthritis and induces production of proinflammatory and catabolic factors through mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways

Introduction  

Adiponectin is an adipokine that regulates energy metabolism and insulin sensitivity, but recent studies have pointed also to a role in inflammation and arthritis. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the association and effects of adiponectin on inflammation and cartilage destruction in osteoarthritis (OA).     

SNP-based typing: a useful tool to study Bordetella pertussis populations

To monitor changes in Bordetella pertussis populations, mainly two typing methods are used; Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and Multiple-Locus Variable-Number Tandem Repeat Analysis (MLVA). In this study, a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing method, based on 87 SNPs, was developed and compared with PFGE and MLVA. The discriminatory indices of SNP typing, PFGE and MLVA were found to be 0.85, 0.95 and 0.83, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis, using SNP typing as Gold Standard, revealed false homoplasies in the PFGE and MLVA trees. Further, in contrast to the SNP-based tree, the PFGE- and MLVA-based trees did not reveal a positive correlation between root-to-tip distance and the isolation year of strains. Thus PFGE and MLVA do not allow an estimation of the relative age of the selected strains. In conclusion, SNP typing was found to be phylogenetically more informative than PFGE and more discriminative than MLVA. Further, in contrast to PFGE, it is readily standardized allowing interlaboratory comparisons. We applied SNP typing to study strains with a novel allele for the pertussis toxin promoter, ptxP3, which have a worldwide distribution and which have replaced the resident ptxP1 strains in the last 20 years. Previously, we showed that ptxP3 strains showed increased pertussis toxin expression and that their emergence was associated with increased notification in The Netherlands. SNP typing showed that the ptxP3 strains isolated in the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe formed a monophyletic branch which recently diverged from ptxP1 strains. Two predominant ptxP3 SNP types were identified which spread worldwide. The widespread use of SNP typing will enhance our understanding of the evolution and global epidemiology of B. pertussis.     

Stand type is more important than red wood ant abundance for the structure of ground‐dwelling arthropod assemblages in managed boreal forests

• 1 The relationships between red wood ants (Formica rufa group) and other ground‐dwelling arthropods were studied in young managed forests stands in Eastern Finland. The main objectives were: (i) to test the influence of stand type (dominant tree species; age: sapling versus pole stage) and numbers of red wood ants on the occurrence of other ground‐dwelling arthropods and (ii) to study the occurrence of red wood ants versus other arthropods on a distance gradient from ant mounds. We used pitfall traps set in 5–14‐year‐old sapling stands and 30–45‐year‐old pole‐stage stands of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and birch (Betula spp.) forests.
• 2 Pitfall trap catches of red wood ants did not vary significantly between the forest stand types, although some groups of other arthropods showed clear responses to stand type (e.g. catches of other Formicinae and Gnaphosidae were higher in sapling stands than in pole‐stage stands). The number of red wood ants clearly explained less of the variation in assemblages of other ground‐dwelling arthropods than the forest stand type.
• 3 Red wood ant numbers decreased significantly with distance from the mounds, but the other ground‐dwelling arthropods were insensitive to this gradient or even showed a preference for proximity to ant mounds and high ant activity.
• 4 The results obtained in the present study suggest that wood ants do not have strong effects on several other ground‐dwelling arthropod groups in young managed forests other than in the immediate vicinity of their mounds.

     

Inhibition of poly(ADP-ribose) Polymerase Interferes with Trypanosoma cruzi Infection and Proliferation of the Parasite

Poly(ADP-ribosylation) is a post-translational covalent modification of proteins catalyzed by a family of enzymes termed poly(ADP-ribose) polymerases (PARPs). In the human genome, 17 different genes have been identified that encode members of the PARP superfamily. Poly (ADP-ribose) metabolism plays a role in a wide range of biological processes. In Trypanosoma cruzi, PARP enzyme appears to play a role in DNA repair mechanisms and may also be involved in controlling the different phases of cell growth. Here we describe the identification of potent inhibitors for T. cruzi PARP with a fluorescence-based activity assay. The inhibitors were also tested on T. cruzi epimastigotes, showing that they reduced ADP-ribose polymer formation in vivo. Notably, the identified inhibitors are able to reduce the growth rate of T. cruzi epimastigotes. The best inhibitor, Olaparib, is effective at nanomolar concentrations, making it an efficient chemical tool for chacterization of ADP-ribose metabolism in T. cruzi. PARP inhibition also decreases drastically the amount of amastigotes but interestingly has no effect on the amount of trypomastigotes in the cell culture. Knocking down human PARP-1 decreases both the amount of amastigotes and trypomastigotes in cell culture, indicating that the effect would be mainly due to inhibition of human PARP-1. The result suggests that the inhibition of PARP could be a potential way to interfere with T. cruzi infection.     

Stem emissions of monoterpenes,acetaldehyde and methanol from Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) affected by tree–water relations and cambial growth

Tree stems are an overlooked source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Their contribution to ecosystem processes and total VOC fluxes is not well studied, and assessing it requires better understanding of stem emission dynamics and their driving processes. To gain more mechanistic insight into stem emission patterns, we measured monoterpene, methanol and acetaldehyde emissions from the stems of mature Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) in a boreal forest over three summers. We analysed the effects of temperature, soil water content, tree water status, transpiration and growth on the VOC emissions and used generalized linear models to test their relative importance in explaining the emissions. We show that Scots pine stems are considerable sources of monoterpenes, methanol and acetaldehyde, and their emissions are strongly regulated by temperature. However, even small changes in water availability affected the emission potentials: increased soil water content increased the monoterpene emissions within a day, whereas acetaldehyde and methanol emissions responded within 2–4 days. This lag corresponded to their transport time in the xylem sap from the roots to the stem. Moreover, the emissions of monoterpenes, methanol and acetaldehyde were influenced by the cambial growth rate of the stem with 6–10-day lags.