An optimized live bacterial delivery vehicle safely and efficaciously delivers bacterially transcribed therapeutic nucleic acids

There is an unmet need for delivery platforms that realize the full potential of next-generation nucleic acid therapeutics. The in vivo usefulness of current delivery systems is limited by numerous weaknesses, including poor targeting specificity, inefficient access to target cell cytoplasm, immune activation, off-target effects, small therapeutic windows, limited genetic encoding and cargo capacity, and manufacturing challenges. Here we characterize the safety and efficacy of a delivery platform comprising engineered live, tissue-targeting, non-pathogenic bacteria (Escherichia coli SVC1) for intracellular cargo delivery. SVC1 bacteria are engineered to specifically bind to epithelial cells via a surface-expressed targeting ligand, to allow escape of their cargo from the phagosome, and to have minimal immunogenicity. We describe SVC1's ability to deliver short hairpin RNA (shRNA), localized SVC1 administration to various tissues, and its minimal immunogenicity. To validate the therapeutic potential of SVC1, we used it to deliver influenza-targeting antiviral shRNAs to respiratory tissues in vivo. These data are the first to establish the safety and efficacy of this bacteria-based delivery platform for use in multiple tissue types and as an antiviral in the mammalian respiratory tract. We expect that this optimized delivery platform will enable a variety of advanced therapeutic approaches.     

Fumarate mitigates disruption induced by fenpropathrin in the silkworm Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera): A metabolomics study

The silkworm Bombyx mori L. is a model organism of the order Lepidoptera. Understanding the mechanism of pesticide resistance in silkworms is valuable for Lepidopteran pest control. In this study, comparative metabolomics was used to analyze the metabolites of 2 silkworm strains with different pesticide resistance levels at 6, 12, and 24 h after feeding with fenpropathrin. Twenty-six of 27 metabolites showed significant differences after fenpropathrin treatment and were classified into 6 metabolic pathways: glycerophospholipid metabolism, sulfur metabolism, glycolysis, amino acid metabolism, the urea cycle, and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle. After analyzing the percentage changes in the metabolic pathways at the 3 time points, sulfur metabolism, glycolysis, and the TCA cycle showed significant responses to fenpropathrin. Confirmatory experiments were performed by feeding silkworms with key metabolites of the 3 pathways. The combination of iron(II) fumarate + folic acid (IF-FA) enhanced fenpropathrin resistance in silkworms 6.38 fold, indicating that the TCA cycle is the core pathway associated with resistance. Furthermore, the disruption of several energy-related metabolic pathways caused by fenpropathrin was shown to be recovered by IF-FA in vitro. Therefore, IF-FA may have a role in boosting silkworm pesticide resistance by modulating the equilibrium between the TCA cycle and its related metabolic pathways.     

多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后的危险因素分析

摘要 目的：探讨多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后的危险因素。方法：选取本院2019年5月至2022年5月收治的198例重症肺炎患者,根据患者在ICU住院期间是否死亡分为存活组（121例）和死亡组（77例）。对重症肺炎患者多药耐药菌感染情况,多药耐药G⁺耐药情况,多药耐药G^-耐药情况进行分析,对影响多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后危险因素的单因素分析,将单因素分析中差异有统计学意义的变量进行多因素Logistic回归分析,筛选影响多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后的危险因素。结果：198例重症肺炎患者中,多药耐药菌感染患者60例,占比30.30 %,共分离出病原菌290株,其中多药耐药菌65株,占比22.41 %,其中占比比较高的有鲍曼不动杆菌（23.08 %）、铜绿假单胞菌（20.00 %）、金黄色葡萄球菌（20.00 %）、肠炎克雷伯菌（10.77 %）;重症肺炎患者多药耐药G⁺对青霉素、克林霉素、红霉素等具有较高的耐药性,而对万古霉素、替考拉宁、替加环素较为敏感;重症肺炎患者多重耐药G^-对多种抗菌药物均表现出耐药性,其中对头孢他啶、头孢吡肟等具有较高的耐药性;单因素分析结果显示,死亡组患者中男性、年龄≥70岁、APACHEⅡ评分≥26分、有创通气的患者占比显著高于存活组,碳青霉烯类抗生素使用的患者占比显著低于存活组（均P<0.05）,两组患者肺部基础疾病、脑血管疾病、高血压、联合使用其他抗生素的占比,以及两组患者机械通气时间比较无差异（均P>0.05）;纳入多因素非条件Logistic回归模型分析显示,男性、年龄≥70岁、APACHEⅡ评分≥26分、有创通气为多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后的危险因素（OR=1.568、1.203、2.812、1.674,均P<0.05）,而碳青霉烯类抗生素使用是多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后的保护因素（OR=0.542,P<0.05）。结论：多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者的主要菌株为鲍曼不动杆菌,且男性、年龄≥70岁、APACHEⅡ评分≥26分、有创通气为多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后的危险因素,而碳青霉烯类抗生素使用是多药耐药菌感染重症肺炎患者预后的保护因素。     

Search for substrate-based inhibitors fitting the S2' space of malarial aspartic protease plasmepsin II.

Plasmepsin (Plm) has been identified as an important target for the development of new antimalarial drugs, since its inhibition leads to the starvation of Plasmodium falciparum. A series of substrate-based dipeptide-type Plm II inhibitors containing the hydroxymethylcarbonyl isostere as a transition-state mimic were synthesized. The general design principle was provision of a conformationally restrained hydroxyl group (corresponding to the set residue at the P2' position in native substrates) and a bulky unit to fit the S2' pocket.     

Environmental risk assessment of releases of transgenic plants containing virus-derived inserts

Sequences derived from the genomes of plant viruses are being used to provide virus resistance in transgenic crop plants. Although the environmental hazards associated with the release of such plants have been discussed widely, it has not been possible to reach generally acceptable conclusions about their safety. A case-by-case approach to the risk assessment of real examples is recommended as a means of building up confidence and of indicating areas of uncertainty. A logical framework for risk assessment is suggested, a key feature of which is identification of the viruses in the release environment that may infect the transgenic plants. Each of these is considered in relation to each of the three main classes of hazard (transcapsidation, recombination and synergism), and the risk associated with each event is analysed.     

Production of superoxide dismutases from Proteus mirabilis and Proteus vulgaris

Proteus mirabilis and Proteus vulgaris expressed a combination of superoxide dismutase (Sod) activities, which was assigned to FeSod1, FeSod2 and MnSod for P. mirabilis, and FeSod, MnSod and CuZnSod for P. vulgaris. Production of the Sod proteins was dependent on the availability of iron, whether cells were grown under anaerobiosis or aerobiosis and growth phase. Nalidixic acid and chloramphenicol inhibited cell growth and the iron- and dioxygen-dependent production of Sod. These results support the involvement of metal ions and redox status in the production of Proteus Sods.     

A virus-Drosophila association: the first steps towards co-evolution?

Drosophila melanogaster can be parasitized by a picornavirus, the Drosophila C virus (DCV). The virus is not hereditary, but it is horizontally transmitted (by ingestion or contact). When first larval instars come into contact with DCV unusual interactions are observed between host and microparasite. DCV acts differently depending on the stage in the host's life cycle. It boosts the reproductive capacity of adults, but it diminishes survival during the pre-reproductive period. In infected flies, the DCV target organs are principally the follicular cells and the fat body. The infected cells resemble DCV-free cells. According to the parameters of the Drosophila lifecycle, measured for different Drosophila strains, at different temperatures, and for different viral doses, DCV could be considered either as a parasite, because it increases pre-adult mortality, or as a mutualist, because it increases the reproductive capacity of the host and decreases its developmental time. Like many viruses, DCV is extremely pathogenic when injected into flies, which then die within a few days. Only one strain resists the disease longer. The resistant phenotype is dominant. Genes of chromosome 3 of the host are involved. Interactions are discussed in terms of an arms race and peaceful cohabitation. They are also considered in terms of biodiversity for the host and for the microparasite.     

Isolation and characterization ofPleurotus ostreatus mutant strains resistant to a carboxin-derived fungicide,flutolanil

To develop a dominant genetic marker inPleurotus ostreatus, mutant strains resistant to a carboxin-derived fungicide, flutolanil, were isolated. These mutants included strains which showed resistance to 50-fold higher concentration of fluotolanil than the wild-type strain, even after successive cultivations in the absence of the drug. Dominance of the phenotype was confirmed by back-crossing between the resistant and wild-type monokaryons. The flutolanilresistance was also shown to be stably inherited by the basidiospore-derived progenies of the mutant strains.     

An Arrayed Bacteriophage P1 Genomic Library of Pneumocystis carinii

We have constructed an arrayed, large insert, multiple coverage genomic library of Pneumocystis carinii DNA using the bacteriophage P1 cloning system. The library consists of ∽4800 independent clones with an average insert size of ∽55 kbp individually arrayed in 50 microtiter plates, and is readily screened on ten or fewer microtiter plate-sized filters using a high density colony replicating device. Screening of the library for unique P. carinii sequences detected an average of 4–5 positive clones for each, consistent with a several-fold coverage of the ∽10-mbp P. carinii genome. Restriction and hybridization analyses demonstrated that the P1 clones in this library are quite stable and contain few, if any, chimeric inserts. Thus, this arrayed, large insert library off. carinii genomic DNA will be a valuable tool in the future genetic dissection of this important pathogen.