Search results for "Ficus"
showing 10 items of 211 documents
Study of the natural cactus extracts protective effects on oxidative stress and inflammation related to peroxisomal β-oxidation deficiencies
2023
The objective of my thesis work was to better understand the role of microglial cells in neuroinflammation initiated in several neurovegetative peroxisomal leukodystrophies and to explore the protective effects of substances from the cactus Opuntia ficus indica. To this end, we used as an in vitro model microglial cells deficient in ATP Binding Cassette D transporters (ABCD 1 and ABCD 2) or acyl-CoA oxidase 1 (ACOX1). These are two BV-2 murine cell lines, deficient in Abcd1/Abcd2-/- or deficient in Acox1-/-, obtained elsewhere by gene editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 methodology. Our results made it possible to: (i) characterize, by differential centrifugation and isopycnic ultracentrifugation…
Evaluation of antitumor and immunomodulatory properties of Indicaxanthin from Opuntia Ficus Indica (L. Mill) fruit
2020
Cancer is a growing health problem around the world and according to estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer deaths worldwide have been reported in 2012 (Ferlay et al., 2015). By 2030, the global burden is expected to grow to 21.7 million new cancer cases and 13 million cancer deaths simply due to the growth and aging of the population. Indicaxanthin ((2S)-2,3-dihydro-4-[2-[(2S)-2a-carboxypyrrolidin-1- yl]ethenyl]pyridine-2a,6-dicarboxylic acid), a betalain pigment from cactus pear fruit, has been the object of sound experimental work over the latest years. As many phytochemicals, indicaxanthin is a redox-ac…
Utilization of hemin and hemoglobin by Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2
1996
The eel pathogen Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 is able to use hemoglobin (Hb) and hemin (Hm) to reverse iron limitation. In this stud, the adjuvant effect of both compounds on eel pathogenicity has been evaluated and confirmed. Further, we have studied the heme-iron acquisition mechanism displayed by this bacterium. Whole cells were capable of binding Hb and Hm, independently of (i) iron levels in growth medium and (ii) the presence of polysaccharide capsules on bacterial surface. The Hb- and Hm-binding capacity was retained by the outer membrane protein (OMP) fraction and was abolished after proteolytic digestion of OMP samples. Western blotting (immunoblotting) of denatured OMPs revealed th…
A theoretical insight into the photophysics of psoralen
2006
Psoralen photophysics has been studied on quantum chemistry grounds using the multiconfigurational second-order perturbation method CASPT2. Absorption and emission spectra of the system have been rationalized by computing the energies and properties of the low-lying singlet and triplet excited states. The S1 ππ* state has been determined to be responsible of the lowest absorption and fluorescence bands and to initially carry the population in the photophysical processes related to the phototherapeutic properties of psoralen derivatives. The low-lying T1 ππ* state is, on the other hand, protagonist of the phosphorescence, and its prevalent role in the reactivity of psoralen is suggested to b…
Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 serovar E gne but not galE is essential for lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and virulence
2008
ABSTRACT This work aimed to establish the role of gne (encoding UDP-GalNAc 4-epimerase activity) and galE (encoding UDP-Gal-4-epimerase activity) in the biosynthesis of surface polysaccharides, as well as in the virulence for eels and humans of the zoonotic serovar of Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2, serovar E. DNA sequence data revealed that gne and galE are quite homologous within this species (≥90% homology). Mutation in gne of strain CECT4999 increased the surface hydrophobicity, produced deep alterations in the outer membrane architecture, and resulted in noticeable increases in the sensitivity to microcidal peptides (MP), to eel and human sera, and to phagocytosis/opsonophagocytosis. Furt…
Serum antibodies to Vibrio vulnificus biotype 3 lipopolysaccharide and susceptibility to disease caused by the homologous V. vulnificus biotype
2011
SUMMARYIn 1996 an outbreak of severe soft tissue infections caused byVibrio vulnificusunexpectedly erupted in fish consumers in Israel with relatively little morbidity in fish farmers. To test the hypothesis that recurrent exposure of fishermen to the virulent strain may have provided protection against severe or symptomatic disease, we investigated the association between the immune response toV. vulnificusbiotype 3 lipopolysaccharide (BT3 LPS) and disease susceptibility in fish farmers and fish consumers. Serum samples were tested for IgA and IgG of anti-BT3 LPS in fishermen and fish consumers who suffered fromV. vulnificusBT3 infections and their matched controls. Pre-existing levels of …
Structure of a polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharides of Vibrio vulnificus strains CECT 5198 and S3-I2-36, which is remarkably similar to the O-…
2009
High-molecular-mass polysaccharides were released by mild acid degradation of the lipopolysaccharides of two wild-type Vibrio vulnificus strain, a flagellated motile strain CECT 5198 and a non-flagellated non-motile strain S3-I2-36. Studies by sugar analysis and partial acid hydrolysis along with (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopies showed that the polysaccharides from both strains have the same trisaccharide repeating unit of the following structure: --4)-beta-d-GlcpNAc3NAcylAN-(1--4)-alpha-l-GalpNAmA-(1--3)-alpha-d-QuipNAc-(1--where QuiNAc stands for 2-acetamido-2,6-dideoxyglucose, GalNAmA for 2-acetimidoylamino-2-deoxygalacturonic acid, GlcNAc3NAcylAN for 2-acetamido-3-acylamino-2,3-dideoxy…
Structure of a polysaccharide from the lipopolysaccharide of Vibrio vulnificus CECT4602 containing 2-acetamido-2,3,6-trideoxy-3-[(S)- and (R)-3-hydro…
2008
A polysaccharide was isolated by GPC after mild acid treatment of the lipopolysaccharide of Vibrio vulnificus CECT4602 and found to contain L-Rha, D-GlcpNAc and 2-acetamido-2,3,6-trideoxy-3-(3-hydroxybutanoylamino)-L-mannose (L-RhaNAc3NHb). GLC analysis of the trifluoroacetylated (S)-2-octyl esters derived by full acid hydrolysis of the polysaccharide showed that approximately 80% of the 3-hydroxybutanoic acid has the S configuration and approximately 20% the R configuration. The following structure of the polysaccharide was established by (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopies, including 2D ROESY and (1)H/(13)C HMBC experiments: [carbohydrate sequence see in text].
The lipopolysaccharide O side chain of Vibrio vulnificus serogroup E is a virulence determinant for eels
1997
Vibrio vulnificus is a gram-negative bacterium capable of producing septicemic infections in eels and immunocompromised humans. Two biotypes are classically recognized, with the virulence for eels being specific to strains belonging to biotype 2, which constitutes a homogeneous lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-based O serogroup (which we have designated serogroup E). In the present study we demonstrated that the O side chain of this LPS determines the selective virulence of biotype 2 for eels: (i) biotype 1 strains (which do not belong to serogroup E) are destroyed by the bactericidal action of nonimmune eel serum (NIS) through activation of the alternative pathway of complement, (ii) biotype 2 str…
Chilocoris capensis n. sp., the first species of the genus Chilocoris Mayr, 1865 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cydnidae) recorded in the Republic of South…
2016
Chilocoris capensis n. sp. collected from fallen ripe figs of broom cluster fig Ficus sur Forsskal, 1775, the first burrower bug species of the genus Chilocoris Mayr, 1865 recorded in the Republic of South Africa, is described and compared with Chilocoris laevicollis Horvath, 1919, the morphologically most closely allied Afrotropical species. Additionally, an annotated checklist of burrower bug species recorded in the Republic of South Africa is provided. The known biology of Afrotropical Chilocoris species is briefly summarized.