EVect of Chitosan on Growth and Toxin Production by Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici

The antifungal activity of chitosan, a biopolymer of beta-1-4 glucosamine, against Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici , causal agent of black mold of tomato, was investigated. Chitosan was incorporated into potato-dextrose broth at concentrations of 100-6400 mug ml - 1, and the growth and toxin production by the fungus were assessed after 15 days of incubation. At the higher concentrations, chitosan significantly aVected both fungal growth and toxin production. However, at lower concentrations toxin production was aVected more than growth. The fungus sporulated excessively in the presence of chitosan, but the spores were less viable. Chitosan also induced aggregation, abnormal shape, excessive branching and hyphal contortion of fungal cells, and leakage of proteins. The virulence of the toxin in culture filtrates of the fungus grown on diVerent concentrations of chitosan was assessed by administering toxin on tomato disks. The phospholipid content, electrolyte leakage and activities of xylanase and pectin methylesterase were measured in the tomato tissue administered with culture filtrates containing fungal toxin. Decreased trends in the tendency to cause electrolyte leakage, phospholipid degradation and activation of xylanase and pectin methylesterase in the tomato tissue were observed with increasing concentrations of chitosan. The results showed that toxin produced in the presence of chitosan was less eVective in causing degradation of tomato tissue compared with the control. Thus, chitosan is a potential antifungal agent which can interfere with the pathogenic factors of the fungus.     

Homology between the HrpO protein of Pseudomonas solanacearum and bacterial proteins implicated in a signal peptide-independent secretion mechanism

A region of approximately 22 kb of DNA defines the large hrp gene cluster of strain GMI1000 of Pseudomonas solanacearum. The majority of mutants that map to this region have lost the ability to induce disease symptoms on tomato plants and are no longer able to elicit a hypersensitive reaction (HR) on tobacco, a nonhost plant. In this study we present the complementation analysis and nucleotide sequence of a 4772 by region of this hrp gene cluster. Three complete open reading frames (ORFs) are predicted within this region. The corresponding putative proteins, HrpN, HrpO and HpaP, have predicted sizes of 357, 690 and 197 amino acids, respectively, and predicted molecular weights of 38607, 73 990 and 21959 dalton, respectively. HrpN and HrpO are both predicted to be hydrophobic proteins with potential membrane-spanning domains and HpaP is rich in proline residues. A mutation in hpaP (for hrp associated) does not affect the HR on tobacco or the disease on tomato plants. None of the proteins is predicted to have an N-terminal signal sequence, which would have indicated that the proteins are exported. Considerable sequence similarities were found between HrpO and eight known or predicted prokaryotic proteins: LcrD of Yersinia pestis and Y. enterocolitica, FlbF of Caulobacter crescentus, F1hA of Bacillus subtilis, MxiA and VirH of Shigella flexneri, InvA of Salmonella typhimurium and HrpC2 of Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria. These homologies suggest that certain hrp genes of phytopathogenic bacteria code for components of a secretory system, which is related to the systems for secretion of flagellar proteins, Ipa proteins of Shigella flexneri and the Yersinia Yop proteins. Furthermore, these homologous proteins have the common feature of being implicated in a distinct secretory mechanism, which does not require the cleavage of a signal peptide. The sequence similarity between HrpO and HrpC2 is particularly high (66% identity and 81 % similarity) and the amino acid sequence comparison between these two proteins presented here reveals the first such sequence similarity to be shown between Hrp proteins of P. solanacearum and X. campestris. An efflux of plant electrolytes was found to be associated with the interactions between P. solanacearum and both tomato and tobacco leaves. This phenomenon may be part of the mechanism by which hrp gene products control and determine plant-bacterial interactions, since hrpO mutants induced levels of leakage which were significantly lower than those induced by the wild type on each plant.     

Homoiohydrous (recalcitrant) seeds: Developmental status,desiccation sensitivity and the state of water in axes of Landolphia kirkii Dyer

The desiccation sensitivity in relation to the stage of development was investigated in embryonic axes from the homoiohydrous (recalcitrant) seeds of Landolphia kirkii. Electrolyte leakage, used to assess membrane damage after flash (very rapid) drying, indicated that axes from immature (non-germinable) seeds were the most desiccation-tolerant, followed by those from mature seeds, while axes from seeds germinated for increasing times were progressively more desiccation-sensitive. Differential scanning calorimetry was used to study the relationship between desiccation sensitivity and the properties of water in the tissues. Axes from immature seeds had a lower content of non-freezable water than that of any other developmental stage and a higher enthalpy of melting of freezable water. For mature and immature axes electrolyte leakage increased at the point of loss of freezable water. At other developmental stages the water content at which electrolyte leakage increased markedly correlated with the other properties of the water, such as the change in the shape of the melting endotherm and the onset temperature. Ultrastructural studies of axes at the various developmental stages showed changes in the degree and pattern of vacuolation, the presence and quantities of lipid and starch, and the degree of endomembrane development. The results are discussed in relation to current hypotheses on the basis of desiccation tolerance.Abbreviation DSC differential scanning calorimetry     

Current status and future prospects of array-based comparative genomic hybridisation.

The majority of human cancers as well as many developmental abnormalities harbour chromosomal imbalances, many of which result in the gain and/or loss of genomic material. Conventional comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) has been used extensively to map DNA copy number changes to chromosomal positions. The introduction of microarray CGH provided a powerful tool to precisely detect and quantify genomic aberrations and map these directly onto the sequence of the human genome. In the past several years, a number of different approaches towards array-based CGH have been undertaken. This paper reviews these approaches and presents some of the recently-developed applications of this new technology in both research and clinical settings.     

Influence of hormonal replacement on the ventral lobe of the prostate of rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) submitted to chronic ethanol treatment

The harmful influence of the chronic alcohol ingestion on the male reproductive system leads to important alterations including hypogonadism and feminization, besides the morphological and functional disorganization of the different sexual glands. So, the aim of this study was to analyse the structural changes on the ventral lobe of the prostate of rats with hormonal replacement associated to chronic alcohol ingestion. A total of 30 rats (Rattus norvegicus albinus) was divided into three groups: control-received water; alcoholic-received ethanol diluted to 20% and hormone-treated alcoholic-received ethanol diluted to 20% associated with the administering of testosterone (5mg/kg of weight) during the last 30 days of treatment. After 150 days of treatment, the animals were sacrificed, the prostate removed and submitted to transmission and scanning electron microscopies, histochemical analysis for acid phosphatase, testosterone level and stereologic analysis. In the alcoholic group the results demonstrated reduction of the total cellular volume and disorganization of the organelles involved in the secretory process. It was characterized a partial recovery of the cellular volume after treatment with testosterone. It was concluded that the ethanol impaired the cellular morphology and the hormonal replacement by itself did not bring about efficient remodeling of the organelles responsible for the secretory process.     

Selective stimulation and blockade of β-adrenergic receptors in the mandibular gland of the red kangaroo, Macropus rufus

Intracarotid infusions of noradrenaline (0.15 nmol · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹) either alone or accompanied by phentolamine (1.5 nmol · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹) caused similar-sized increases in salivary protein, magnesium and bicarbonate, and decreases in osmolality, sodium, potassium and chloride whereas intravenous noradrenaline stimulated much smaller responses. Concurrent infusions of the β₁-antagonist, CGP20712A, blocked these noradrenaline-induced changes in salivary composition more effectively than equimolar infusions of the β₂-antagonist, ICI118551, thereby confirming the presence of β₁-adrenoceptors. Intracarotid infusion of salbutamol at 0.15, 0.3 and 1.5 nmol · kg⁻¹ · min⁻¹ caused increasing but qualitatively similar changes in salivary composition, sodium excepted, to intracarotid noradrenaline with 0.3 nmol being most similar quantitatively. Intravenous infusion of salbutamol caused larger changes in salivary composition than equimolar intravenous noradrenaline thereby indicating that the response to salbutamol may, in part, be mediated by reflex increases in general sympathetic tone triggered by lowered blood pressure. Eliminating this hypotensive effect by concurrent intravenous and intracarotid infusions of β₁-(CGP or atenolol) and β₂-(ICI118551) antagonists with intracarotid salbutamol showed that ICI118551 was more potent than the β₁-antagonists thereby demonstrating the presence of β₂-receptors. It was concluded that the kangaroo mandibular has functional β₁- and β₂-adrenoceptor subtypes in both endpieces and excurrent ducts and that the duct system has two populations of cells, each expressing one receptor subtype. Accepted: 26 July 2000     

Cytotoxicity of 1,4-diamino-2-butanone,a putrescine analogue,to RKO cells: mechanism and redox imbalance

Abstract

α-Aminocarbonyl metabolites (e.g., 5-aminolevulinic acid and aminoacetone) and the wide spectrum microbicide 1,4-diamino-2-butanone (DAB) have been shown to exhibit pro-oxidant properties. In vitro, these compounds undergo phosphate-catalyzed enolization at physiological pH and subsequent superoxide radical-propagated aerobic oxidation, yielding a reactive α-oxoaldehyde and H₂O₂. DAB cytotoxicity to pathogenic microorganisms has been attributed to the inhibition of polyamine biosynthesis. However, the role played in cell death by reactive DAB oxidation products is still poorly understood. This work aims to clarify the mechanism of DAB-promoted pro-oxidant action on mammalian cells. DAB (0.05–10 mM) treatment of RKO cells derived from human colon carcinoma led to a decrease in cell viability (IC₅₀ ca. 0.3 mM DAB, 24 h incubation). Pre-addition of either catalase (5 μM) or aminoguanidine (20 mM) was observed to partially inhibit the toxic effects of DAB to the cells, while N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, 5 mM) or reduced glutathione (GSH, 5 mM) provided almost complete protection against DAB. Changes in redox balance and stress response pathways were indicated by the increased expression of HO-1, NQO1 and xCT. Moreover, the observation of caspase 3 and PARP cleavage products is consistent with DAB-triggered apoptosis in RKO cells, which was corroborated by the partial protection afforded by the pan-caspase inhibitor z-VAD-FMK. Finally, DAB treatment disrupted the cell cycle in response to increased p53 and activation of ATM. Altogether, these data support the hypothesis that DAB exerts cytotoxicity via a mechanism involving not only polyamine biosynthesis but also by DAB oxidation products.     

菌群失调腹泻抗生素造模对小鼠肠黏膜的影响

目的研究抗生素造模对菌群失调腹泻小鼠肠黏膜的影响。方法正常组给予无菌生理盐水0.35m L/(只·次)灌胃,其余各组采用头孢拉定胶囊和硫酸庆大霉素注射液用无菌生理盐水配成浓度为62.5g/L抗生素混合液0.35 m L/(只·次)灌胃。每天2次,连续5 d。造模成功后,采集小鼠空肠、回肠和结肠,分别测量绒毛高度、隐窝深度、淋巴细胞数和肠黏膜厚度,观察肠黏膜情况。结果菌群失调腹泻抗生素造模后,空肠、回肠和结肠的隐窝深度及肠黏膜厚度与正常组相比,差异无统计学意义(P0.05);造模后的结肠淋巴细胞数与正常组相比较,高于正常组,差异有统计学意义(P0.05),造模后的空肠绒毛高度与正常组相比,明显低于正常组,差异有统计学意义(P0.01)。结论菌群失调腹泻抗生素造模使结肠淋巴细胞数增高,空肠绒毛高度降低。     

调整阴道菌群失调在预防妊娠晚期未足月胎膜早破中的价值

目的探讨调整阴道菌群失调在预防妊娠晚期未足月胎膜早破(PPROM)中的价值。方法选取产科门诊进行产前检查无症状单胎妊娠晚期孕妇450例。根据检查结果将其分为菌群失常组138例和菌群正常组312例。菌群失常组根据患者的自愿行乳酸菌阴道胶囊治疗112例(治疗组),未行乳酸菌阴道胶囊治疗26例(对照组)。观察并比较菌群正常组和菌群失常组、治疗组与对照组PPROM发生率。结果菌群失常组孕妇138例中发生PPROM 8例(5.80%),菌群正常组孕妇312例中发生PPROM 3例(0.96%),菌群失常组孕妇PPROM发生率明显高于菌群正常组(χ2=7.46,P0.05)。治疗组孕妇112例中发生PPROM 3例(2.68%),对照组孕妇26例中发生PPROM 5例(19.23%),治疗组孕妇PPROM发生率明显低于对照组(χ2=7.77,P0.05)。结论妊娠晚期孕妇阴道菌群失调与PPROM发生关系密切,予以乳酸菌阴道胶囊调整阴道菌群失调可有利于预防和治疗妊娠妇女发生生殖道感染,降低PPROM发生率,减少其对母婴造成的不良结局。