Search results for " metabolism"
showing 10 items of 4843 documents
Rapid detection of carbapenem resistance: Targeting a zero level of inadequate empiric antibiotic exposure
2016
Resistance to carbapenems is an increasingly encountered phenomenon in the ICU, complicating empiric and targeted antimicrobial therapy. Infections due to carbapenem-resistant microorganisms are characterized by high morbidity and mortality [1, 2]. Recently, there has been an increasing interest in rapid detection techniques, based on real time on-demand easy-to-use PCR, to detect genes responsible for carbapenem resistance. One of these techniques is the Cepheid Xpert Carba-R assay, which is able to detect and differentiate five of the most frequent genes associated with non-susceptibility to carbapenems in Gram-negative bacteria (bla KPC, bla VIM, bla OXA-48, bla IMP-1, bla NDM). The diag…
Honey and obesity-related dysfunctions: a summary on health benefits
2020
Honey is a natural product, containing flavonoids and phenolic acids, appreciated for its therapeutic abilities since ancient times. Although the bioactive potential is linked to the composition, that is variable depending on mainly the botanical origin, honey has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, honey, administered alone or in combination with conventional therapy, might result useful in the management of chronic diseases that are commonly associated with oxidative stress and inflammation state. Obesity is a metabolic disorder characterized by visceral adiposity. The adipose tissue becomes hypertrophic and undergoes hyperplasia, resulting in a hypoxic environment, o…
The relative abundance of hemocyte types in a polyphagous moth larva depends on diet.
2016
7 pages; International audience; Hemocytes are crucial cells of the insect immune system because of their involvement in multiple immune responses including coagulation, phagocytosis and encapsulation. There are various types of hemocytes, each having a particular role in immunity, such that variation in their relative abundance affects the outcome of the immune response. This study aims to characterize these various types of hemocytes in larvae of the grapevine pest insect Eupoecilia ambiguella, and to assess variation in their concentration as a function of larval diet and immune challenge. Four types of hemocytes were found in the hemolymph of 5th instar larvae: granulocytes, oenocytoids…
APOBEC3-mediated restriction of RNA virus replication
2018
AbstractAPOBEC3 family members are cytidine deaminases with roles in intrinsic responses to infection by retroviruses and retrotransposons, and in the control of other DNA viruses, such as herpesviruses, parvoviruses and hepatitis B virus. Although effects of APOBEC3 members on viral DNA have been demonstrated, it is not known whether they edit RNA genomes through cytidine deamination. Here, we investigated APOBEC3-mediated restriction of Coronaviridae. In experiments in vitro, three human APOBEC3 proteins (A3C, A3F and A3H) inhibited HCoV-NL63 infection and limited production of progeny virus, but did not cause hypermutation of the coronaviral genome. APOBEC3-mediated restriction was parti…
Clinical and hormonal characteristics in heterozygote carriers of congenital adrenal hyperplasia
2020
Abstract Non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NC-CAH) includes a group of genetic disorders due to a broad class of CYP21A2 variants identifying a disease-causing ‘C’ genotype. The heterozygous carriers of CYP21 mutations are at increased risk of developing clinically evident hyperandrogenism, even though clinical and laboratory characteristics are still underestimated. With the aim of obtaining a more accurate delineation of the phenotype of heterozygous carrier of CAH, we analyzed clinical, biochemical and molecular characteristics in a cohort of Sicilian subjects. Fifty-seven females with biallelic and monoallelic CYP21A2 variants classifying NC-CAH (24) and heterozygous carrier…
From genetics to epigenetics to unravel the etiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
2020
Scoliosis is defined as the three-dimensional (3D) structural deformity of the spine with a radiological lateral Cobb angle (a measure of spinal curvature) of ≥10° that can be caused by congenital, developmental or degenerative problems. However, those cases whose etiology is still unknown, and affect healthy children and adolescents during growth, are the commonest form of spinal deformity, known as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). In AIS management, early diagnosis and the accurate prediction of curve progression are most important because they can decrease negative long-term effects of AIS treatment, such as unnecessary bracing, frequent exposure to radiation, as well as saving the…
The Expression of NOX From Synthetic Promoters Reveals an Important Role of the Redox Status in Regulating Secondary Metabolism of
2020
Redox cofactors play a pivotal role in primary cellular metabolism, whereas the clear link between redox status and secondary metabolism is still vague. In this study we investigated effects of redox perturbation on the production of erythromycin in Saccharopolyspora erythraea by expressing the water-forming NADH oxidase (NOX) from Streptococcus pneumonia at different levels with synthetic promoters. The expression of NOX reduced the intracellular [NADH]/[NAD+] ratio significantly in S. erythraea which resulted in an increased production of erythromycin by 19∼29% and this increment rose to 60% as more oxygen was supplied. In contrast, the lower redox ratio resulted in a decreased production…
Autophagy interferes with human cytomegalovirus genome replication, morphogenesis, and progeny release.
2020
Viral infections are often accompanied by the induction of autophagy as an intrinsic cellular defense mechanism. Herpesviruses have developed strategies to evade autophagic degradation and to manipulate autophagy of the host cells to their benefit. Here we addressed the role of macroautophagy/autophagy in human cytomegalovirus replication and for particle morphogenesis. We found that proteins of the autophagy machinery localize to cytoplasmic viral assembly compartments and enveloped virions in the cytoplasm. Surprisingly, the autophagy receptor SQSTM1/p62 was also found to colocalize with HCMV capsids in the nucleus of infected cells. This finding indicates that the autophagy machinery int…
Dynamic regulatory interaction between cytomegalovirus major tegument protein pp65 and protein kinase pUL97 in intracellular compartments, dense bodi…
2017
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous pathogen of considerable clinical importance. Understanding the processes that are important for viral replication is essential for the development of therapeutic strategies against HCMV infection. The HCMV-encoded protein kinase pUL97 is an important multifunctional regulator of viral replication. Several viral and cellular proteins are phosphorylated by pUL97. The phosphoprotein pp65 is one important substrate of pUL97. It is the most abundant tegument protein of HCMV virions, mediating the upload of other virion constituents and contributing to particle integrity. Further to that, it interferes with host innate immune defences, thereby enablin…
Enhanced Antibacterial Activity of Repurposed Mitomycin C and Imipenem in Combination with the Lytic Phage vB_KpnM-VAC13 against Clinical Isolates of…
2021
Study Group on Mechanisms of Action and Resistance to Antimicrobials (GEMARA) on behalf of the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC).