Search results for "Micro"

Relevance of NADH Dehydrogenase and Alternative Two-Enzyme Systems for Growth of Corynebacterium glutamicum With Glucose, Lactate, and Acetate

2021

The oxidation of NADH with the concomitant reduction of a quinone is a crucial step in the metabolism of respiring cells. In this study, we analyzed the relevance of three different NADH oxidation systems in the actinobacterial model organism Corynebacterium glutamicum by characterizing defined mutants lacking the non-proton-pumping NADH dehydrogenase Ndh (Δndh) and/or one of the alternative NADH-oxidizing enzymes, L-lactate dehydrogenase LdhA (ΔldhA) and malate dehydrogenase Mdh (Δmdh). Together with the menaquinone-dependent L-lactate dehydrogenase LldD and malate:quinone oxidoreductase Mqo, the LdhA-LldD and Mdh-Mqo couples can functionally replace Ndh activity. In glucose minimal medium…

The grain market, short-term credit, and economic inequality in the Kingdom of Valencia. The towns of Cocentaina, and Castellón in the Fifteenth-Cent…

2018

Despite the predominance of small peasant farms in the Valencian countryside in the Late Middle Ages, large sections of the peasantry were forced to turn to the market to obtain cereals for consumption and sowing. Insufficient land and lack of liquidity caused by the seasonal cycle of crops made it necessary to use short-term credit, which was recorded in the court of local justice in the legal form of “obligacions”. The aim of this paper is to analyse the economic role of this credit market, identifying varieties of commercialised cereals, seasonality of purchases and payments, price trends and the socio-professional background of buyers (debtors) and sellers (creditors). Thus, we study ho…

Let-7d miRNA Shows Both Antioncogenic and Oncogenic Functions in Osteosarcoma-Derived 3AB-OS Cancer Stem Cells

2016

Osteosarcoma (OS), an aggressive highly invasive and metastatic bone-malignancy, shows therapy resistance and recurrence, two features that likely depend on cancer stem cells (CSCs), which hold both self-renewing and malignant potential. So, effective anticancer therapies against OS should specifically target and destroy CSCs. We previously found that the let-7d microRNA was downregulated in the 3AB-OS-CSCs, derived from the human OS-MG63 cells. Here, we aimed to assess whether let-7d modulation affected tumorigenic and stemness properties of these OS-CSCs. We found that let-7d-overexpression reduced cell proliferation by decreasing CCND2 and E2F2 cell-cycle-activators and increasing p21 an…

Modulating endothelial adhesion and migration impacts stem cell therapies efficacy

2020

Abstract Background Limited knowledge of stem cell therapies` mechanisms of action hampers their sustainable implementation into the clinic. Specifically, the interactions of transplanted stem cells with the host vasculature and its implications for their therapeutic efficacy are not elucidated. We tested whether adhesion receptors and chemokine receptors on stem cells can be functionally modulated, and consequently if such modulation may substantially affect therapeutically relevant stem cell interactions with the host endothelium. Methods We investigated the effects of cationic molecule polyethylenimine (PEI) treatment with or without nanoparticles on the functions of adhesion receptors a…

ICTV Virus Taxonomy Profile: Iflaviridae

2017

Iflaviridae is a family of small non-enveloped viruses with monopartite, positive-stranded RNA genomes of approximately 9–11 kilobases. Viruses of all classified species infect arthropod hosts, with the majority infecting insects. Both beneficial and pest insects serve as hosts, and infections can be symptomless (Nilaparvatalugens honeydew virus 1) or cause developmental abnormalities (deformed wing virus), behavioural changes (sacbrood virus) and premature mortality (infectious flacherie virus). The host range has not been examined for most members. The most common route of infection for iflaviruses is the ingestion of virus-contaminated food sources. This is a summary of the Internation…

Where do we go from here? Membrane protein research beyond the structure-function horizon.

2018

Effect of Food Thermal Processing on the Composition of the Gut Microbiota.

2018

Cooking modifies food composition due to chemical reactions. Additionally, food composition shapes the human gut microbiota. Thus, the objective of this research was to unravel the effect of different food cooking methods on the structure and functionality of the gut microbiota. Common culinary techniques were applied to five foods, which were submitted to in vitro digestion-fermentation. Furosine, 5-(hydroxymethyl)furfural, and furfural were used as Maillard reaction indicators to control the heat treatment. Short-chain fatty acids production was quantified as indicator of healthy metabolic output. Gut microbial community structure was analyzed through 16S rRNA. Both food composition and c…

Phage Biodiversity in Artisanal Cheese Wheys Reflects the Complexity of the Fermentation Process

2017

Dairy fermentations constitute a perfect “breeding ground” for bacteriophages infecting starter cultures, particularly strains of Lactococcus lactis. In modern fermentations, these phages typically belong to one of three groups, i.e., the 936, P335, and c2 phage groups. Traditional production methods present fewer chemical and physical barriers to phage proliferation compared to modern production systems, while the starter cultures used are typically complex, variable, and undefined. In the current study, a variety of cheese whey, animal-derived rennet, and vat swab samples from artisanal cheeses produced in Sicily were analysed for the presence of lactococcal phages to assess phage div…

Production Strategies for Pentamer-Positive Subviral Dense Bodies as a Safe Human Cytomegalovirus Vaccine

2019

Infections with the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) are associated with severe clinical manifestations in children following prenatal transmission and after viral reactivation in immunosuppressed individuals. The development of an HCMV vaccine has long been requested but there is still no licensed product available. Subviral dense bodies (DB) are immunogenic in pre-clinical models and are thus a promising HCMV vaccine candidate. Recently, we established a virus based on the laboratory strain Towne that synthesizes large numbers of DB containing the pentameric protein complex gH/gL/UL128-131 (Towne-UL130repΔGFP). The work presented here focuses on providing strategies for the production of a sa…

2016

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replicates to high titers in primary human fibroblast cell cultures. A variety of primary human cells and some tumor-derived cell lines do also support permissive HCMV replication, yet at low levels. Cell lines established by transfection of the transforming functions of adenoviruses have been notoriously resistant to HCMV replication and progeny production. Here, we provide first-time evidence that a permanent cell line immortalized by adenovirus type 5 E1A and E1B (CAP) is supporting the full HCMV replication cycle and is releasing infectious progeny. The CAP cell line had previously been established from amniotic fluid cells which were likely derived from…