Reversible and irreversible adhesion of motile Escherichia coli cells analyzed by total internal reflection aqueous fluorescence microscopy

The initial events in bacterial adhesion are often explained as resulting from electrostatic and van der Waals forces between the cell and the surface, as described by DLVO theory (developed by Derjaguin, Landau, Verwey, and Overbeek). Such a theory predicts that negatively charged bacteria will experience greater attraction toward a negatively charged surface as the ionic strength of the medium is increased. In the present study we observed both smooth-swimming and nonmotile Escherichia coli bacteria close to plain, positively, and hydrophobically coated quartz surfaces in high- and low-ionic-strength media by using total internal reflection aqueous fluorescence microscopy. We found that reversibly adhering cells (cells which continue to swim along the surface for extended periods) are too distant from the surface for this behavior to be explained by DLVO-type forces. However, cells which had become immobilized on the surface did seem to be affected by electrostatic interactions. We propose that the "force" holding swimming cells near the surface is actually the result of a hydrodynamic effect, causing the cells to swim at an angle along the glass, and that DLVO-type forces are responsible only for the observed immobilization of irreversibly adhering cells. We explain our observations within the context of a conceptual model in which bacteria that are interacting with the surface may be thought of as occupying one of three compartments: bulk fluid, near-surface bulk, and near-surface constrained. A cell in these compartments feels either no effect of the surface, only the hydrodynamic effect of the surface, or both the hydrodynamic and the physicochemical effects of the surface, respectively.     

Antibody isotype responses to egg antigens in human chronic Schistosomiasis mansoni before and after treatment

In the present communication we analyzed the levels of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4 and IgE isotypes to soluble egg antigen of Schistosoma mansoni by ELISA in individuals from an endemic area for schistosomiasis in Northeast Brazil. The analysis was performed before and after treatment to evaluate the age-dependent pattern, and to identify differences in the reactivities to antigens. Our results suggest that schistosomiasis treatment would not interfere with this sort of immune response.     

First report of Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965 (Nematoda, Ascaridoidea, Anisakidae) parasitizing Trachipterus arawatae (Pisces, Lampridiformes) on the Atlantic coast of Brazil

New host and geographical records are reported for the nematode Lappetascaris lutjani Rasheed, 1965, parasitizing the marine fish Trachipterus arawatae Clark, 1881 in Brazilian waters. Morphometric data and illustrations of the parasites are included.     

Temperature influence on embryonic development of Anopheles albitarsis and Anopheles aquasalis

Temperature influence on the embryonic development of Anopheles aquasalis and An. albitarsis was investigated. At 26 degrees C, 75% and 60% of respectively An. aquasalis and An. albitarsis eggs hatched, with one peak of eclosion, between the 2nd and 3rd day after oviposition. At 20 +/- 2 degrees C, around 66-70% of An. aquasalis eggs hatched, with one eclosion peak, on the 5th day. On the other hand, An. albitarsis eclosion at 21+/- 2 degrees C decreased to 10-22%, with two eclosion peaks, on the 4th-5th day and on the 9th-12th day. These data indicate a stronger temperature influence over An.albitarsis than over An. aquasalis embryos.     

Protective immunity of single and multi-antigen DNA vaccines against schistosomiasis

We evaluated the usefulness of the combination of three plasmids encoding tegumental (pECL and pSM14) and muscular (pIRV5) antigens of the Schistosoma mansoni on improving the protective immunity over the use of a single antigen as DNA vaccines. Female BALB/c mice were inoculated twice with 25 micro g DNA plasmid within two weeks interval. The challenge was performed with 80 cercarias of a regional isolate of S. mansoni (SLM) one week after the last immunization. Six weeks after challenge, all mice were perfused for worm load determination. The following groups were analyzed: saline; empty vector; monovalent formulations of pECL; pSM14 and pIRV5 and also double combinations of pECL/pIRV5 and pIRV5/pSM14 and a triple combination of pECL/pIRV5/pSM14. The protection was expressed as a percentage of worm loads in each group compared with the saline group. The results obtained were 41% (p < 0.05); 52% (p < 0.05); 51% (p < 0.05); 48% (p < 0.05); 55% (p < 0.05); 45% (p < 0.05); 65% (p < 0.05) for each group respectively.     

Cholesterol assimilation by lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria isolated from the human gut

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of human gut-derived lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria on cholesterol levels in vitro. Continuous cultures inoculated with fecal material from healthy human volunteers with media supplemented with cholesterol and bile acids were used to enrich for potential cholesterol assimilators among the indigenous bacterial populations. Seven potential probiotics were found: Lactobacillus fermentum strains F53 and KC5b, Bifidobacterium infantis ATCC 15697, Streptococcus bovis ATCC 43143, Enterococcus durans DSM 20633, Enterococcus gallinarum, and Enterococcus faecalis. A comparative evaluation regarding the in vitro cholesterol reduction abilities of these strains along with commercial probiotics was undertaken. The degree of acid and bile tolerance of strains was also evaluated. The human isolate L. fermentum KC5b was able to maintain viability for 2 h at pH 2 and to grow in a medium with 4,000 mg of bile acids per liter. This strain was also able to remove a maximum of 14.8 mg of cholesterol per g (dry weight) of cells from the culture medium and therefore was regarded as a candidate probiotic.     

Quantification of the influence of HPrSer46P on CcpA-cre interaction

Carbon catabolite repression (CCR) of the Bacillus megateriumxyl operon is dependent on the catabolite responsive element cre, the catabolite control protein (CcpA) and the histidine-containing phosphocarrier protein phosphorylated at the serine 46 residue (HPrSer46P). The latter is formed in the presence of glucose and mediates CCR via CcpA. We present evidence for the presence of HPrSer46P in a ternary complex with CcpA and cre. We also demonstrate increased stability of this complex compared to the CcpA-cre complex by electrophoretic mobility shift analysis (EMSA). This stabilization by HPrSer46P is the same for the xyl cre and an improved cre. Thus, HPrSer46P is a co-repressor for CcpA. In addition, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments yielded binding constants of CcpA and the CcpA-HPrSer46P complex with cre. HPrSer46P stimulated CcpA binding to cre 50-fold. The binding constant is 4.9(+/- 0.5) x 10(6) M(-1). Non-phosphorylated HPr did not affect the complex formation between CcpA and cre. Previously proposed effects by glucose-6-phosphate, fructose-1,6-diphosphate and NADP on CcpA-cre or CcpA-HPrSer46P-cre formation were not found in EMSA and SPR experiments.     

Unconventional ligands and modulators of nicotinic receptors

Evidence gathered from epidemiologic and behavioral studies have indicated that neuronal nicotinic receptors (nAChRs) are intimately involved in the pathogenesis of a number of neurologic disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and schizophrenia. In the mammalian brain, neuronal nAChRs, in addition to mediating fast synaptic transmission, modulate fast synaptic transmission mediated by the major excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA, respectively. Of major interest, however, is the fact that the activity of the different subtypes of neuronal nAChR is also subject to modulation by substances of endogenous origin such as choline, the tryptophan metabolite kynurenic acid, neurosteroids, and beta-amyloid peptides and by exogenous substances, including the so-called nicotinic allosteric potentiating ligands, of which galantamine is the prototype, and psychotomimetic drugs such as phencyclidine and ketamine. The present article reviews and discusses the effects of unconventional ligands on nAChR activity and briefly describes the potential benefits of using some of these compounds in the treatment of neuropathologic conditions in which nAChR function/expression is known to be altered.