Search results for "Tandem"

A Snapshot on MRSA Epidemiology in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Network, Palermo, Italy

2016

Objectives. We performed a one-year prospective surveillance study on MRSA colonization within the five NICUs of the metropolitan area of Palermo, Italy. The purpose of the study was to assess epidemiology of MRSA in NICU from a network perspective. Methods. Transfer of patients between NICUs during 2014 was traced based on the annual hospital discharge records. In the period February 2014 – January 2015, in the NICU B, at the University teaching hospital, nasal swabs from all infants were collected weekly, whereas in the other four NICUs (A, C, D, E) at four week-intervals of time. MRSA isolates were submitted to antibiotic susceptibility testing, SCCmec typing, PCR to detect lukS-PV and l…

2016

AbstractDespite the high global prevalence of dry eye syndrome (DES), the fundamental processes underlying this pathology remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this study endeavoured to investigate in-depth the tear proteome of DES patients employing the mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic strategies. Eighty patients were recruited and subdivided into three major DES subgroups, which are the aqueous-deficient (DRYaq), evaporative (DRYlip) and a combination of the two (DRYaqlip), as well as healthy subjects (CTRL). Discovery proteomics strategy was employed to identify large number of significantly differentially expressed tear proteins in DRYlip vs. CTRL, DRYaq vs. CTRL and DRYaqlip vs. …

Discovery of a Pederin Family Compound in a Nonsymbiotic Bloom-Forming Cyanobacterium

2018

The pederin family includes a number of bioactive compounds isolated from symbiotic organisms of diverse evolutionary origin. Pederin is linked to beetle-induced dermatitis in humans, and pederin family members possess potent antitumor activity caused by selective inhibition of the eukaryotic ribosome. Their biosynthesis is accomplished by a polyketide/nonribosomal peptide synthetase machinery employing an unusual trans-acyltransferase mechanism. Here, we report a novel pederin type compound, cusperin, from the free-living cyanobacterium Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi (earlier Aphanizomenon). The chemical structure of cusperin is similar to that of nosperin recently isolated from the lichen cya…

Standardized measurement of circulating vitamin D [25(OH)D] and its putative role as a serum biomarker in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease

2019

The current review provides an overview on the development of 25(OH)D measurement standardization tools over the last three decades and clarifies whether there is a role as a serum biomarker for vitamin D in neurological diseases. In the past, a lack of internationally recognized 25(OH)D reference measurement procedures and reference standard materials led to unstandardized serum total 25(OH)D results among research and clinical care laboratories. The vitamin D Standardization Program (VDSP) has been introduced in 2010 to address this problem, however, vitamin D External Quality Assessment Scheme (DEQAS) reports still show substantial sample- to- sample variability. Further, immunoassays, w…

Cestode parasites release extracellular vesicles with microRNAs and immunodiagnostic protein cargo.

2017

Intercellular communication is crucial in multiple aspects of cell biology. This interaction can be mediated by several mechanisms including extracellular vesicle (EV) transfer. EV secretion by parasites has been reported in protozoans, trematodes and nematodes. Here we report that this mechanism is present in three different species of cestodes, Taenia crassiceps, Mesocestoides corti and Echinococcus multilocularis. To confirm this we determined, in vitro, the presence of EVs in culture supernatants by transmission electron microscopy. Interestingly, while T. crassiceps and M. corti metacestodes secrete membranous structures into the culture media, similar vesicles were observed in the int…

Intracellular fluoride influences TASK mediated currents in human T cells.

2019

The expression of Kv1.3 and KCa channels in human T cells is essential for maintaining cell activation, proliferation and migration during an inflammatory response. Recently, an additional residual current, sensitive to anandamide and A293, compounds specifically inhibiting currents mediated by TASK channels, was observed after complete pharmacological blockade of Kv1.3 and KCa channels. This finding was not consistently observed throughout different studies and, an in-depth review of the different recording conditions used for the electrophysiological analysis of K+ currents in T cells revealed fluoride as major anionic component of the pipette intracellular solutions in the initial studie…

Determination of melatonin in Acyrthosiphon pisum aphids by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

2015

Melatonin is a hormone mainly involved in the regulation of circadian and seasonal rhythms in both invertebrates and vertebrates. Despite the identification of melatonin in many insects, its involvement in the insect seasonal response remains unclear. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method has been developed for melatonin analysis in aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) for the first time. After comparing two different procedures and five extraction solvents, a sample preparation procedure with a mixture of methanol/water (50:50) was selected for melatonin extraction. The method was validated by analyzing melatonin recovery at three spiked concentrations (5, 50 and 100 p…

MetProc: Separating Measurement Artifacts from True Metabolites in an Untargeted Metabolomics Experiment

2019

High-throughput metabolomics using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry (LC/MS) provides a useful method to identify biomarkers of disease and explore biological systems. However, the majority of metabolic features detected from untargeted metabolomics experiments have unknown ion signatures, making it critical that data should be thoroughly quality controlled to avoid analyzing false signals. Here, we present a postalignment method relying on intermittent pooled study samples to separate genuine metabolic features from potential measurement artifacts. We apply the method to lipid metabolite data from the PREDIMED (PREvención con DIeta MEDi-terránea) study to demonstrate clear remova…

Dynamic evolution of mitochondrial genomes in Trebouxiophyceae, including the first completely assembled mtDNA from a lichen-symbiont microalga (Treb…

2019

AbstractTrebouxiophyceae (Chlorophyta) is a species-rich class of green algae with a remarkable morphological and ecological diversity. Currently, there are a few completely sequenced mitochondrial genomes (mtDNA) from diverse Trebouxiophyceae but none from lichen symbionts. Here, we report the mitochondrial genome sequence of Trebouxia sp. TR9 as the first complete mtDNA sequence available for a lichen-symbiont microalga. A comparative study of the mitochondrial genome of Trebouxia sp. TR9 with other chlorophytes showed important organizational changes, even between closely related taxa. The most remarkable change is the enlargement of the genome in certain Trebouxiophyceae, which is princ…

Cell Type-Specific Tandem Affinity Purification of the Mouse Hippocampal CB1 Receptor-Associated Proteome

2016

G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) exert their effects through multiprotein signaling complexes. The cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) is among the most abundant GPCRs in the mammalian brain and involved in a plethora of physiological functions. We used a combination of viral-mediated cell type-specific expression of a tagged CB1 fusion protein (CB1-SF), tandem affinity purification (TAP) and proteomics on hippocampal mouse tissue to analyze the composition and differences of CB1 protein complexes in glutamatergic neurons and in GABAergic interneurons. Purified proteins underwent tryptic digestion and were identified using deep-coverage data-independent acquisition with ion mobility separa…