A small molecule that disrupts S. Typhimurium membrane voltage without cell lysis reduces bacterial colonization of mice

As pathogenic bacteria become increasingly resistant to antibiotics, antimicrobials with mechanisms of action distinct from current clinical antibiotics are needed. Gram-negative bacteria pose a particular problem because they defend themselves against chemicals with a minimally permeable outer membrane and with efflux pumps. During infection, innate immune defense molecules increase bacterial vulnerability to chemicals by permeabilizing the outer membrane and occupying efflux pumps. Therefore, screens for compounds that reduce bacterial colonization of mammalian cells have the potential to reveal unexplored therapeutic avenues. Here we describe a new small molecule, D66, that prevents the survival of a human Gram-negative pathogen in macrophages. D66 inhibits bacterial growth under conditions wherein the bacterial outer membrane or efflux pumps are compromised, but not in standard microbiological media. The compound disrupts voltage across the bacterial inner membrane at concentrations that do not permeabilize the inner membrane or lyse cells. Selection for bacterial clones resistant to D66 activity suggested that outer membrane integrity and efflux are the two major bacterial defense mechanisms against this compound. Treatment of mammalian cells with D66 does not permeabilize the mammalian cell membrane but does cause stress, as revealed by hyperpolarization of mitochondrial membranes. Nevertheless, the compound is tolerated in mice and reduces bacterial tissue load. These data suggest that the inner membrane could be a viable target for anti-Gram-negative antimicrobials, and that disruption of bacterial membrane voltage without lysis is sufficient to enable clearance from the host.     

苎麻疫霉激发蛋白基因断裂现象初探

苎麻疫霉（PhytophthoraboehmeriaeSaw．）可分泌具有诱抗作用的激发蛋白（α－elicihn）,根据α－elicitin第24～30和56～63位保守区氨基酸推导的寡核苷酸引物序列,对苎麻疫霉基因组DNA进行特异PCR扩增反应,发现其扩增的DNA片段大于预计的片段。回收纯化的特异扩增DNA,并进行克隆和测序分析,结果表明特异扩增的elicihn基因亚克隆DNA为570hp,大于预计的117bp。在特异片段中,存在3个内含子将基因断裂成4个阅读框架,即ORF1、ORF2、ORF3和ORF4,其中ORF1和ORF4含有与引物相同的序列,但与其它序列与已克隆的elicihn基因无同源性。因此,芒麻疫霉基因组中的elicitin基因可能存在断裂现象。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudomonas aeruginosa</Emphasis> inhibits <Emphasis Type="Italic">in-vitro Candida</Emphasis> biofilm development

Background  

Elucidation of the communal behavior of microbes in mixed species biofilms may have a major impact on understanding infectious diseases and for the therapeutics. Although, the structure and the properties of monospecies biofilms and their role in disease have been extensively studied during the last decade, the interactions within mixed biofilms consisting of bacteria and fungi such as Candida spp. have not been illustrated in depth. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate the interspecies interactions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and six different species of Candida comprising C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, and C. dubliniensis in dual species biofilm development.     

Mitochondrial DNA structure and colony expansion dynamics of New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) around Banks Peninsula

New Zealand fur seals are one of many pinniped species that survived the commercial sealing of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in dangerously low numbers. After the enforcement of a series of protection measures in the early twentieth century, New Zealand fur seals began to recover from the brink of extinction. We examined the New Zealand fur seal populations of Banks Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand using the mitochondrial DNA control region. We identified a panmictic population structure around Banks Peninsula. The most abundant haplotype in the area showed a slight significant aggregated structure. The Horseshoe Bay colony showed the least number of shared haplotypes with other colonies, suggesting a different origin of re-colonisation of this specific colony. The effective population size of the New Zealand fur seal population at Banks Peninsula was estimated at approximately 2500 individuals. The exponential population growth rate parameter for the area was 35, which corresponds to an expanding population. In general, samples from adjacent colonies shared 4.4 haplotypes while samples collected from colonies separated by between five and eight bays shared 1.9 haplotypes. The genetic data support the spill-over dynamics of colony expansion already suggested for this species. Approximate Bayesian computations analysis suggests re-colonisation of the area from two main clades identified across New Zealand with a most likely admixture coefficient of 0.41 to form the Banks Peninsula population. Approximate Bayesian computations analysis estimated a founder population size of approximately 372 breeding individuals for the area, which then rapidly increased in size with successive waves of external recruitment. The population of fur seals in the area is probably in the late phase of maturity in the colony expansion dynamic.     

Compartmentation of glutamate metabolism in brain. Evidence for the existence of two different tricarboxylic acid cycles in brain

1. (14)C from [1-(14)C]glucose injected intraperitoneally into mice is incorporated into glutamate, aspartate and glutamine in the brain to a much greater extent than (14)C from [2-(14)C]glucose. This difference for [1-(14)C]glucose and [2-(14)C]glucose increases with time. The amount of (14)C in C-1 of glutamate increases steadily with time with both precursors. It is suggested that a large part of the glutamate and aspartate pools in brain are in close contact with intermediates of a fast-turning tricarboxylic acid cycle. 2. (14)C from [1-(14)C]acetate and [2-(14)C]acetate is incorporated to a much larger extent into glutamine than into glutamate. An examination of the time-course of (14)C incorporated into glutamine and glutamate reveals that glutamine is not formed from the glutamate pool, labelled extensively by glucose, but from a small glutamate pool. This small glutamate pool is not derived from an intermediate of a fast-turning tricarboxylic acid cycle. 3. It is proposed that two different tricarboxylic acid cycles exist in brain.     

Role of Sonic hedgehog signaling in cell cycle,oxidative stress,and autophagy of temozolomide resistant glioblastoma

The first-line chemotherapy treatment for Glioblastoma (GBM) - the most aggressive and frequent brain tumor - is temozolomide (TMZ). The Sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway is involved with GBM tumorigenesis and TMZ chemoresistance. The role of SHH pathway inhibition in the potentiation of TMZ's effects using T98G, U251, and GBM11 cell lines is investigated herein. The combination of GANT-61 and TMZ over 72 hr suggested a synergistic effect. All TMZ-resistant cell lines displayed a significant decrease in cell viability, increased DNA fragmentation and loss of membrane integrity. For T98G cells, G₂/M arrest was observed, while U251 cells presented a significant increase in reactive oxygen species production and catalase activity. All the cell lines presented acidic vesicles formation correlated to Beclin-1 overexpression. The combined treatment also enhanced GLI1 expression, indicating the presence of select resistant cells. The selective inhibition of the SHH pathway potentiated the cytotoxic effect of TMZ, thus becoming a promising in vitro strategy for GBM treatment.     

Functional knock down of VCAM1 in mice mediated by endoplasmatic reticulum retained intrabodies

Functional knockdowns mediated by endoplasmatic reticulum-retained antibodies (ER intrabodies) are a promising tool for research because they allow functional interference on the protein level. We demonstrate for the first time that ER intrabodies can induce a knock-down phenotype in mice. Surface VCAM1 was suppressed in bone marrow of heterozygous and homozygous ER intrabody mice (iER-VCAM1 mice). iER-VCAM1 mice did not have a lethal phenotype, in contrast to the constitutive knockout of VCAM1, but adult mice exhibited physiological effects in the form of aberrant distribution of immature B-cells in blood and bone marrow. The capability to regulate knock-down strength may spark a new approach for the functional study of membrane and plasma proteins, which may especially be valuable for generating mouse models that more closely resemble disease states than classic knockouts do.