Search results for "Lula"

Analysis of DNA Polymerases Reveals Specific Genes Expansion in Leishmania and Trypanosoma spp.

2020

Leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis are largely neglected diseases prevailing in tropical and subtropical conditions. These are an arthropod-borne zoonosis that affects humans and some animals and is caused by infection with protozoan of the genera Leishmania and Trypanosoma, respectively. These parasites present high genomic plasticity and are able to adapt themselves to adverse conditions like the attack of host cells or toxicity induced by drug exposure. Different mechanisms allow these adapting responses induced by stress, such as mutation, chromosomal rearrangements, establishment of mosaic ploidies, and gene expansion. Here we describe how a subset of genes encoding for DNA polymerases …

Genotyping Reveals High Clonal Diversity and Widespread Genotypes of Candida Causing Candidemia at Distant Geographical Areas

2020

The objectives of this study were to gain further insight on Candida genotype distribution and percentage of clustered isolates between hospitals and to identify potential clusters involving different hospitals and cities. We aim to genotype Candida spp. isolates causing candidemia in patients admitted to 16 hospitals in Spain, Italy, Denmark, and Brazil. Eight hundred and eighty-four isolates (Candida albicans, n = 534; C. parapsilosis, n = 282; and C. tropicalis, n = 68) were genotyped using species-specific microsatellite markers. CDC3, EF3, HIS3, CAI, CAIII, and CAVI were used for C. albicans, Ctrm1, Ctrm10, Ctrm12, Ctrm21, Ctrm24, and Ctrm28 for C. tropicalis, and CP1, CP4a, CP6, and B…

Physical–chemical properties of biogenic selenium nanostructures produced by stenotrophomonas maltophilia SeITE02 and ochrobactrum sp. MPV1

2018

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia SeITE02 and Ochrobactrum sp. MPV1 were isolated from the rhizosphere soil of the selenium-hyperaccumulator legume Astragalus bisulcatus and waste material from a dumping site for roasted pyrites, respectively. Here, these bacterial strains were studied as cell factories to generate selenium-nanostructures (SeNS) under metabolically controlled growth conditions. Thus, a defined medium (DM) containing either glucose or pyruvate as carbon and energy source along with selenite (SeO23−) was tested to evaluate bacterial growth, oxyanion bioconversion and changes occurring in SeNS features with respect to those generated by these strains grown on rich media. Transmissi…

Bacterial symbionts in Lepidoptera: Their diversity, transmission, and impact on the host

2018

The insect's microbiota is well acknowledged as a “hidden” player influencing essential insect traits. The gut microbiome of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) has been shown to be highly variable between and within species, resulting in a controversy on the functional relevance of gut microbes in this insect order. Here, we aim to (i) review current knowledge on the composition of gut microbial communities across Lepidoptera and (ii) elucidate the drivers of the variability in the lepidopteran gut microbiome and provide an overview on (iii) routes of transfer and (iv) the putative functions of microbes in Lepidoptera. To find out whether Lepidopterans possess a core gut microbiome, we com…

Extracellular Vesicles From the Helminth Fasciola hepatica Prevent DSS-Induced Acute Ulcerative Colitis in a T-Lymphocyte Independent Mode

2018

The complexity of the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) has led to the quest of empirically drug therapies, combining immunosuppressant agents, biological therapy and modulators of the microbiota. Helminth parasites have been proposed as an alternative treatment of these diseases based on the hygiene hypothesis, but ethical and medical problems arise. Recent reports have proved the utility of parasite materials, mainly excretory/secretory products as therapeutic agents. The identification of extracellular vesicles on those secreted products opens a new field of investigation, since they exert potent immunomodulating effects. To assess the ef…

Perils and Promises of Pathogenic Protozoan Extracellular Vesicles

2020

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are membranous structures formed during biological processes in living organisms. For protozoan parasites, secretion of EVs can occur directly from the parasite organellar compartments and through parasite-infected or antigen-stimulated host cells in response to in vitro and in vivo physiological stressors. These secreted EVs characteristically reflect the biochemical features of their parasitic origin and activating stimuli. Here, we review the species-specific morphology and integrity of parasitic protozoan EVs in concurrence with the origin, functions, and internalization process by recipient cells. The activating stimuli for the secretion of EVs in pathogeni…

Topic Application of the Probiotic Streptococcus dentisani Improves Clinical and Microbiological Parameters Associated With Oral Health

2020

Streptococcus dentisani 7746, isolated from dental plaque of caries-free individuals, has been shown to have several beneficial effects in vitro which could contribute to promote oral health, including an antimicrobial activity against oral pathogens by the production of bacteriocins and a pH buffering capacity through ammonia production. Previous work has shown that S. dentisani was able to colonize the oral cavity for 2–4 weeks after application. The aim of the present work was to evaluate its clinical efficacy by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group study. Fifty nine volunteers were enrolled in the study and randomly assigned to a treatment or placebo group. The …

Enhancement of Antigen Presentation by Deletion of Viral Immune Evasion Genes Prevents Lethal Cytomegalovirus Disease in Minor Histocompatibility Ant…

2020

Hematoablative treatment followed by hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) for reconstituting the co-ablated immune system is a therapeutic option to cure aggressive forms of hematopoietic malignancies. In cases of family donors or unrelated donors, immunogenetic mismatches in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and/or minor histocompatibility (minor-H) loci are unavoidable and bear a risk of graft-vs.-host reaction and disease (GvHR/D). Transient immunodeficiency inherent to the HCT protocol favors a productive reactivation of latent cytomegalovirus (CMV) that can result in multiple-organ CMV disease. In addition, there exists evidence from a mouse model of MHC class-I-mismatched GvH…

Insufficient Antigen Presentation Due to Viral Immune Evasion Explains Lethal Cytomegalovirus Organ Disease After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Trans…

2020

Reactivation of latent cytomegalovirus (CMV) poses a clinical problem in transiently immunocompromised recipients of hematopoietic cell (HC) transplantation (HCT) by viral histopathology that results in multiple organ manifestations. Compared to autologous HCT and to syngeneic HCT performed with identical twins as HC donor and recipient, lethal outcome of CMV infection is more frequent in allogeneic HCT with MHC/HLA or minor histocompatibility loci mismatch between donor and recipient. It is an open question if a graft-versus-host (GvH) reaction exacerbates CMV disease, or if CMV exacerbates GvH disease (GvHD), or if interference is mutual. Here we have used a mouse model of experimental HC…

2018

In mammalian species, including humans, the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) is a primary region of adult neurogenesis. Aberrant adult hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with neurological pathologies. Understanding the cellular mechanisms controlling adult hippocampal neurogenesis is expected to open new therapeutic strategies for mental disorders. Microglia is intimately associated with neural progenitor cells in the hippocampal DG and has been implicated, under varying experimental conditions, in the control of the proliferation, differentiation and survival of neural precursor cells. But the underlying mechanisms remain poorly defined. Using fluorescent in situ hybridization we show th…