Meta-omics analysis indicates the saliva microbiome and its proteins associated with the prognosis of oral cancer patients

Saliva is a biofluid that maintains the health of oral tissues and the homeostasis of oral microbiota. Studies have demonstrated that Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients have different salivary microbiota than healthy individuals. However, the relationship between these microbial differences and clinicopathological outcomes is still far from conclusive. Herein, we investigate the capability of using metagenomic and metaproteomic saliva profiles to distinguish between Control (C), OSCC without active lesion (L0), and OSCC with active lesion (L1) patients. The results show that there are significantly distinct taxonomies and functional changes in L1 patients compared to C and L0 patients, suggesting compositional modulation of the oral microbiome, as the relative abundances of Centipeda, Veillonella, and Gemella suggested by metagenomics are correlated with tumor size, clinical stage, and active lesion. Metagenomics results also demonstrated that poor overall patient survival is associated with a higher relative abundance of Stenophotromonas, Staphylococcus, Centipeda, Selenomonas, Alloscordovia, and Acitenobacter. Finally, compositional and functional differences in the saliva content by metaproteomics analysis can distinguish healthy individuals from OSCC patients. In summary, our study suggests that oral microbiota and their protein abundance have potential diagnosis and prognosis value for oral cancer patients. Further studies are necessary to understand the role of uniquely detected metaproteins in the microbiota of healthy and OSCC patients as well as the crosstalk between saliva host proteins and the oral microbiome present in OSCC.     

The Neotropical Genus Notodiaptomus Kiefer, 1936 (Calanoida: Diaptomidae): Redescription of the Type Species Notodiaptomus deitersi (Poppe, 1891) and Designation of a Neotype

Ribautia williamsi sp. nov., a new dwarf geophilomorph centipede from the Lower Urubamba Region, Peruvian Amazonia, is described and illustrated based on the holotype female. The new species is characterized by having the coxal organs grouped in clusters (three of these in each coxopleuron of the ultimate leg-bearing segment) and ventral pore-fields present along all the body; these two combined traits being shared by five other Neotropical species currently included in the genus Ribautia Brölemann, 1909, i.e. R. centralis (Silvestri, 1907) (from Colombia and Brazil), R. difficilis Pereira, Minelli &; Barbieri, 1995 (from Brazil), R. montana Kraus, 1954 (from Peru), R. peruana (Verhoeff, 1941) (from Peru), and R. titicacae (Turk, 1955) (from Peru). The new taxon is differentiated from the aforementioned species by the low number of leg-bearing segments and small body length; it is included in a key which will enable the identification of all known Neotropical members having coxal organs grouped in clusters. R. williamsi sp. nov. is the 14th species of Ribautia recorded from Peru.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D9FA5FAF-7652-4A5B-AC09-8783F05A694D     

Some observations on the effect of Daflon (micronized purified flavonoid fraction of Rutaceae aurantiae) in bancroftian filarial lymphoedema

BACKGROUND: Morbidity management is a core component of the global programme for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis. In a double-blind clinical trial, the tolerability and efficacy of Daflon (500 mg) + DEC (25 mg) or DEC (25 mg) alone, twice daily for 90 days, was studied in 26 patients with bancroftian filarial lymphoedema. RESULTS: None of the patients in either drug group reported any adverse reaction throughout the treatment period (90 days). Haematological and biochemical parameters were within normal limits and there was no significant difference between the pre-treatment (day 0) and post-treatment (day 90) values. The group receiving Daflon showed significant reduction in oedema volume from day 90 (140.6 PlusMinus; 18.8 ml) to day 360 (71.8 PlusMinus; 20.7 ml) compared to the pre-treatment (day 0, 198.4 PlusMinus; 16.5 ml) value. This accounted for a 63.8% reduction in oedema volume by day 360 (considering the pre-treatment (day 0) as 100%). In the DEC group, the changes in oedema volume (between day 1 and day 360) were not significant when compared to the pre-treatment (day 0) value. The percentage reduction at day 360 was only 9%, which was not significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study has shown that Daflon (500 mg, twice a day for 90 days) is both safe and efficacious in reducing oedema volume in bancroftian filarial lymphoedema. Further clinical trials are essential for strengthening the evidence base on the role of this drug in the morbidity management of lymphatic filariasis.     

Direct intracardiac injection of umbilical cord-derived stromal cells and umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial cells for the treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy

The development of new therapeutic strategies is necessary to reduce the worldwide social and economic impact of cardiovascular disease, which produces high rates of morbidity and mortality. A therapeutic option that has emerged in the last decade is cell therapy. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of transplanting human umbilical cord-derived stromal cells (UCSCs), human umbilical cord blood-derived endothelial cells (UCBECs) or a combination of these two cell types for the treatment of ischemic cardiomyopathy (IC) in a Wistar rat model. IC was induced by left coronary artery ligation, and baseline echocardiography was performed seven days later. Animals with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤40% were selected for the study. On the ninth day after IC was induced, the animals were randomized into the following experimental groups: UCSCs, UCBECs, UCSCs plus UCBECs, or vehicle (control). Thirty days after treatment, an echocardiographic analysis was performed, followed by euthanasia. The animals in all of the cell therapy groups, regardless of the cell type transplanted, had less collagen deposition in their heart tissue and demonstrated a significant improvement in myocardial function after IC. Furthermore, there was a trend of increasing numbers of blood vessels in the infarcted area. The median value of LVEF increased by 7.19% to 11.77%, whereas the control group decreased by 0.24%. These results suggest that UCSCs and UCBECs are promising cells for cellular cardiomyoplasty and can be an effective therapy for improving cardiac function following IC.     

Crystal structure of the 16 heme cytochrome from Desulfovibrio gigas: a glycosylated protein in a sulphate-reducing bacterium

Sulphate-reducing bacteria have a wide variety of periplasmic cytochromes involved in electron transfer from the periplasm to the cytoplasm. HmcA is a high molecular mass cytochrome of 550 amino acid residues that harbours 16 c-type heme groups. We report the crystal structure of HmcA isolated from the periplasm of Desulfovibrio gigas. Crystals were grown using polyethylene glycol 8K and zinc acetate, and diffracted beyond 2.1 A resolution. A multiple-wavelength anomalous dispersion experiment at the iron absorption edge enabled us to obtain good-quality phases for structure solution and model building. DgHmcA has a V-shape architecture, already observed in HmcA isolated from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough. The presence of an oligosaccharide molecule covalently bound to an Asn residue was observed in the electron density maps of DgHmcA and confirmed by mass spectrometry. Three modified monosaccharides appear at the highly hydrophobic vertex, possibly acting as an anchor of the protein to the cytoplasmic membrane.     

Two new species of Stenandra Lameere, 1912 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Parandrinae) from the Oriental Region

Two new species of the genus Stenandra Lameere, 1912 are described: Stenandra saitoae from Sulawesi of Indonesia and Stenandra asiatica from Vietnam. A key to the species of the Stenandra is given.     

The first crystal structure of class III superoxide reductase from Treponema pallidum

Superoxide reductase (SOR) is a metalloprotein containing a non-heme iron centre, responsible for the scavenging of superoxide radicals in the cell. The crystal structure of Treponema pallidum (Tp) SOR was determined using soft X-rays and synchrotron radiation. Crystals of the oxidized form were obtained using poly(ethylene glycol) and MgCl₂ and diffracted beyond 1.55 Å resolution. The overall architecture is very similar to that of other known SORs but TpSOR contains an N-terminal domain in which the desulforedoxin-type Fe centre, found in other SORs, is absent. This domain conserves the β-barrel topology with an overall arrangement very similar to that of other SOR proteins where the centre is present. The absence of the iron ion and its ligands, however, causes a decrease in the cohesion of the domain and some disorder is observed, particularly in the region where the metal would be harboured. The C-terminal domain exhibits the characteristic immunoglobulin-like fold and harbours the Fe(His)₄(Cys) active site. The five ligands of the iron centre are well conserved despite some disorder observed for one of the four molecules in the asymmetric unit. The participation of a glutamate as the sixth ligand of some of the iron centres in Pyrococcus furiosus SOR was not observed in TpSOR. A possible explanation is that either X-ray photoreduction occurred or there was a mixture of redox states at the start of data collection. In agreement with earlier proposals, details in the TpSOR structure also suggest that Lys49 might be involved in attraction of superoxide to the active site.This work is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Frank Rusnak.Coordinates and observed structure factor amplitudes have been deposited in the Protein Data Bank under the accession code 1Y07.     

Cell-to-cell contact dependence and junctional protein content are correlated with in vivo maturation of pancreatic beta cells

In this study, we investigated the cellular distribution of junctional proteins and the dependence on cell-cell contacts of pancreatic beta cells during animal development. Fetus and newborn rat islets, which display a relatively poor insulin secretory response to glucose, present an immature morphology and cytoarchitecture when compared with young and adult islets that are responsive to glucose. At the perinatal stage, beta cells display a low junctional content of neural cell adhesion molecule (N-CAM), α- and β-catenins, ZO-1, and F-actin, while a differential distribution of N-CAM and Pan-cadherin was seen in beta cells and nonbeta cells only from young and adult islets. In the absence of intercellular contacts, the glucose-stimulated insulin secretion was completely blocked in adult beta cells, but after reaggregation they partially reestablished the secretory response to glucose. By contrast, neonatal beta cells were poorly responsive to sugar, regardless of whether they were arranged as intact islets or as isolated cells. Interestingly, after 10 days of culturing, neonatal beta cells, known to display increased junctional protein content in vitro, became responsive to glucose and concomitantly dependent on cell-cell contacts. Therefore, our data suggest that the developmental acquisition of an adult-like insulin secretory pattern is paralleled by a dependence on direct cell-cell interactions.     

Maternal tobacco smoke exposure during lactation inhibits catecholamine production by adrenal medullae in adult rat offspring

Previously, we have shown that maternal smoke exposure during lactation, even when pups are not exposed, affects biochemical profiles in the offspring at weaning, eliciting lower body adiposity, hyperinsulinemia, hypocorticosteronemia and lower adrenal catecholamine content. However, the future impact of tobacco exposure is still unknown. As postnatal nicotine exposure causes short- and long-term effects on pups' biochemistry and endocrine profiles, we have now evaluated some endocrine and metabolic parameters of the adult offspring whose mothers were tobacco exposed during lactation. For this, from day 3 to 21 of lactation, rat dams were divided in: 1) SE group, cigarette smoke-exposed (1.7 mg nicotine/cigarettes for 1 h, 4 times/day, daily), without their pups, and 2) C group, exposed to air, in the same conditions. Offspring were killed at 180-days-old. Body weight and food intake were evaluated. Blood, white adipose tissue, adrenal, and liver were collected. All significant data were p<0.05. The adult SE offspring showed no change in body weight, cumulative food intake, serum hormone profile, serum lipid profile, or triglycerides content in liver. However, in adrenal gland, adult SE offspring showed lower catecholamine content ( - 50%) and lower tyrosine hydroxylase protein expression ( - 56%). Despite the hormonal alterations during lactation, tobacco smoke exposure through breast milk only programmed the adrenal medullary function at adulthood and this dysfunction can have consequence on stress response. Thus, an environment free of smoke during lactation period is essential to improve health outcomes in adult offspring.