Silkworm dropping extract ameliorate trimellitic anhydride-induced allergic contact dermatitis by regulating Th1/Th2 immune response

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is an inflammatory skin disease caused by hapten-specific immune response. Silkworm droppings are known to exert beneficial effects during the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Here, we studied whether topical treatment and oral administration of silkworm dropping extract (SDE) ameliorate trimellitic anhydride (TMA)-induced ACD. In ACD mice model, SDE treatment significantly suppressed the increase in both ear thickness and serum IgE levels. Furthermore, IL-1β and TNF-α levels were reduced by SDE. In allergic responses, SDE treatment significantly attenuated the production of the Th2-associated cytokine IL-4 in both ear tissue and draining lymph nodes. However, it increased the production of the Th1-mediated cytokine IL-12. Thus, these results showed that SDE attenuated TMA-induced ACD symptoms through regulation of Th1/Th2 immune response. Taken together, we suggest that SDE treatment might be a potential agent in the prevention or therapy of Th2-mediated inflammatory skin diseases such as ACD and atopic dermatitis.

Abbreviations: ACD: allergic contact dermatitis; AD: atopic dermatitis; APC: antigen presenting cells; CCL: chemokine (C-C motif) ligand; CCR: C-C chemokine receptor; Dex: dexamethasone; ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; IFN: interferon; Ig: immunoglobulin; IL: interleukin; OVA: ovalbumin; PS: prednisolone; SDE: silkworm dropping extract; Th: T helper; TMA: trimellitic anhydride; TNF: tumor necrosis factor     

High throughput screening methods for ω-transaminases

Recently, ω-transaminases have been increasingly used to synthesize amine compounds by reductive amination of prochiral ketones which are of high pharmacological significance. However, the conventional methods for evaluating these enzymes are time consuming and have often been regarded as a bottle neck in developing these enzymes as industrial biocatalysts. In the past few years, several high throughput screening methods have been developed for fast evaluation and identification of ω-transaminase. This review summarizes the various methodologies developed for rapidly screening ω-transaminases.     

Estimation of ACL forces by reproducing knee kinematics between sets of knees: A novel non-invasive methodology

In situ force in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) has been quantified both in vitro in response to relatively simple loads by means of robotic technology, as well as in vivo in response to more complex loads by means of force transducers and computational models. However, a methodology has been suggested to indirectly estimate the in situ forces in the ACL in a non-invasive, non-contact manner by reproducing six-degree of freedom (six-DOF) in vivo kinematics on cadaveric knees using a robotic/UFS testing system. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of this approach. Kinematics from eight porcine knees (source knees) were collected at 30 degrees , 60 degrees , and 90 degrees of flexion in response to: (1) an anterior load of 100 N and (2) a valgus load of 5 N m. The average of each kinematic data set was reproduced on a separate set of eight knees (target knees). The in situ forces in the ACL were determined for both sets of knees and compared. Significant differences (rho<0.05) were found between the source knees and the target knees for all flexion angles in response to an anterior load. However, in response to valgus loads, there was no significant difference between the source knees and the target knees at 30 degrees and 90 degrees of flexion. It was noted that there was a correlation between anterior knee laxity (the distance along the displacement axis from the origin to the beginning of the linear region of the load-displacement curve) and internal-external rotation. These data suggest that in order to obtain reproducible results one needs to first match knees to knees with comparable anterior knee laxity. Thus, an estimate of the in situ forces in the ACL during in vivo activities might be obtainable using this novel methodology.     

Cancer chemoprevention: inhibitory effect of soybeans fermented with basidiomycetes on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate-induced mouse skin carcinogenesis

In a two-stage skin carcinogenesis model, mice initiated with 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene and promoted with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) for 12 weeks developed an average of 15.8 skin tumours per mouse with 100% tumour incidence. Topical application of polysaccharides from soybeans fermented with either Phellinus igniarius or Agrocybe cylindracea together with TPA twice weekly for 12 weeks inhibited the number of skin tumours per mouse by 70 or 88%, respectively, and the percentage of mice with tumours was lowered by 70 or 30%, respectively.     

Fertiliser drawn forward osmosis desalination: the concept, performance and limitations for fertigation

With the world??s population growing rapidly, pressure is increasing on the limited fresh water resources. Membrane technology could play a vital role in solving the water scarcity issues through alternative sources such as saline water sources and wastewater reclamation. The current generation of membrane technologies, particularly reverse osmosis (RO), has significantly improved in performance. However, RO desalination is still energy intensive and any effort to improve energy efficiency increases total cost of the product water. Since energy, environment and climate change issues are all inter-related, desalination for large-scale irrigation requires new novel technologies that address the energy issues. Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging membrane technology. However, FO desalination for potable water is still a challenge because, recovery and regeneration of draw solutes require additional processes and energy. This article focuses on the application of FO desalination for non-potable irrigation where maximum water is required. In this concept of fertiliser drawn FO (FDFO) desalination, fertilisers are used as draw solutions (DS). The diluted draw solution after desalination can be directly applied for fertigation without the need for recovery and regeneration of DS. FDFO desalination can make irrigation water available at comparatively lower energy than the current desalination technologies. As a low energy technology, FDFO can be easily powered by renewable energy sources and therefore suitable for inland and remote applications. This article outlines the concept of FDFO desalination and critically evaluates the scope and limitations of this technology for fertigation, including suggestions on options to overcome some of these limitations.     

The response to oxidative stress induced by magnesium deficiency in kidney bean plants

To understand the plant response to oxidative stresses, we studied the influence of magnesium (Mg⁺⁺) deficiency on the formation of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), malondialdehyde (MDA), and protease activity in kidney bean plants. The expression pattern of proteins under Mg⁺⁺ deficiency also was examined via two-dimensional electrophoresis. The formation of H₂O₂ and MDA increased in the primary leaves of plants grown in a nutrient solution deficient in Mg⁺⁺. Protease activity in Mg⁺⁺-deficient plants was also higher than in those grown with sufficient Mg⁺⁺. The expression pattern of the proteins showed that 25 new proteins were generated and 64 proteins disappeared under Mg⁺⁺-deficient conditions. Therefore, a deficiency in Mg⁺⁺ may cause oxidative stress and a change in protein expression. Some of these proteins may be related to the oxidative stress induced by Mg⁺⁺ deficiency.     

Nano-mechanical measurements of protein-DNA interactions with a silicon nitride pulley

Proteins adhere to DNA at locations and with strengths that depend on the protein conformation, the underlying DNA sequence and the ionic content of the solution. A facile technique to probe the positions and strengths of protein-DNA binding would aid in understanding these important interactions. Here, we describe a ‘DNA pulley’ for position-resolved nano-mechanical measurements of protein-DNA interactions. A molecule of λ DNA is tethered by one end to a glass surface, and by the other end to a magnetic bead. The DNA is stretched horizontally by a magnet, and a nanoscale knife made of silicon nitride is manipulated to contact, bend and scan along the DNA. The mechanical profile of the DNA at the contact with the knife is probed via nanometer-precision optical tracking of the magnetic bead. This system enables detection of protein bumps on the DNA and localization of their binding sites. We study theoretically the technical requirements to detect mechanical heterogeneities in the DNA itself.     

A deep learning model for predicting optimal distance range in crosslinking mass spectrometry data

Macromolecular assemblies play an important role in all cellular processes. While there has recently been significant progress in protein structure prediction based on deep learning, large protein complexes cannot be predicted with these approaches. The integrative structure modeling approach characterizes multi-subunit complexes by computational integration of data from fast and accessible experimental techniques. Crosslinking mass spectrometry is one such technique that provides spatial information about the proximity of crosslinked residues. One of the challenges in interpreting crosslinking datasets is designing a scoring function that, given a structure, can quantify how well it fits the data. Most approaches set an upper bound on the distance between Cα atoms of crosslinked residues and calculate a fraction of satisfied crosslinks. However, the distance spanned by the crosslinker greatly depends on the neighborhood of the crosslinked residues. Here, we design a deep learning model for predicting the optimal distance range for a crosslinked residue pair based on the structures of their neighborhoods. We find that our model can predict the distance range with the area under the receiver-operator curve of 0.86 and 0.7 for intra- and inter-protein crosslinks, respectively. Our deep scoring function can be used in a range of structure modeling applications.     

The phospholipid composition ofBradyrhizobium spp

The phospholipid composition of two strains ofBradyrhizobium is reported. In contrast to previous studies [Bunn CR, Elkan GH (1970) Can J Microbiol 17:291–295; and Gerson T, Patel JJ (1975) Appl Microbiol 30:193–198], we determined that phosphatidylglycerol is a major phospholipid within this bacterial genus. Furthermore, neither phosphatidylserine nor phosphatidylinositol was detected within lipid extracts derived from these bacteria. In addition to phosphatidylglycerol, other major phospholipids ofBradyrhizobium were shown to include phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, and cardiolipin. Possible explanations for the discrepancies between the present study and those of previous investigations are discussed.