Search results for "stance"
showing 10 items of 7708 documents
Pyomelanin-producingPseudomonas aeruginosaselected during chronic infections have a large chromosomal deletion which confers resistance to pyocins
2016
When bacterial lineages make the transition from free-living to permanent association with hosts, they can undergo massive gene losses, for which the selective forces within host tissues are unknown. We identified here melanogenic clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa with large chromosomal deletions (66 to 270 kbp) and characterized them to investigate how they were selected. When compared with their wild-type parents, melanogenic mutants (i) exhibited a lower fitness in growth conditions found in human tissues, such as hyperosmolarity and presence of aminoglycoside antibiotics, (ii) narrowed their metabolic spectrum with a growth disadvantage with particular carbon sources, includin…
Exome-Wide Association Study on Alanine Aminotransferase Identifies Sequence Variants in the GPAM and APOE Associated With Fatty Liver Disease.
2021
BACKGROUND & AIMS: Fatty liver disease (FLD) is a growing epidemic that is expected to be the leading cause of end-stage liver disease within the next decade. Both environmental and genetic factors contribute to the susceptibility of FLD. Several genetic variants contributing to FLD have been identified in exome-wide association studies. However, there is still a missing hereditability indicating that other genetic variants are yet to be discovered. METHODS: To find genes involved in FLD, we first examined the association of missense and nonsense variants with alanine amino transferase at an exome-wide level in 425,671 participants from the UK Biobank. We then validated genetic variants wit…
High prevalence and moderate diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in the U-bends of high-risk units in hospital
2017
The presence of P. aeruginosa in water supply is clearly identified as a risk factor for P. aeruginosa infection in critical care units, even if routes of transmission are often unclear and remain a matter of debate. We determined here the frequency of U-bends contaminated with P. aeruginosa in high-risk units and described the population structure of this opportunistic pathogen in a non-outbreak situation. Eighty-seven U-bends from sinks of rooms in five wards were sampled 3 times and P. aeruginosa was detected in 121 of the 261 (46.4%) U-bend samples. We genotyped 123 P. aeruginosa isolates with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing and found 41 pulsotypes distri…
Viral resistance in HCV infection.
2018
The introduction of new multi-genotypic direct acting antivirals (DAA) in clinical practice has revolutionized HCV treatment, permitting the achievement of >95% rates of sustained virological response in many patients. However, virological failures can occur particularly if the treatments are sub optimal and/or with too short duration. Failure is often associated with development of resistance. The wide genetic variability in terms of different genotypes and subtypes, together with the natural presence and/or easy development of resistance during treatment, are intrinsic characteristics of HCV that may affect the treatment outcome and the chances of achieving a virological cure. This review…
Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Cardiovascular Health
2018
Abstract Significance: Social and demographic changes have led to an increased prevalence of loneliness and social isolation in modern society. Recent Advances: Population-based studies have demonstrated that both objective social isolation and the perception of social isolation (loneliness) are correlated with a higher risk of mortality and that both are clearly risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Lonely individuals have increased peripheral vascular resistance and elevated blood pressure. Socially isolated animals develop more atherosclerosis than those housed in groups. Critical Issues: Molecular mechanisms responsible for the increased cardiovascular risk are poorly understoo…
BDE-47 exposure modulates cellular responses, oxidative stress and biotransformation related-genes in Mytilus galloprovincialis.
2020
Abstract Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are flame retardants, characterized by elevated stability in the marine environment, where are accumulated by organisms, inducing a wide panel of negative effects. In this study, some biochemical patterns related to toxicity, biotransformation and oxidative stress, were studied in the marine model system, Mytilus galloprovincialis, exposed to BDE-47. Mussels were fed with microalgae, previously treated with increasing concentrations of PBDEs (maximum dose 100 ng L-1 of BDE-47 per day). After 15 days of treatment, mussels were fed with the same diet without BDE-47, for additional 15 days. Gills and digestive glands were analyzed at T 0, at 15 a…
Adipocytes as a Link Between Gut Microbiota-Derived Flagellin and Hepatocyte Fat Accumulation
2016
While the role of both elevated levels of circulating bacterial cell wall components and adipose tissue in hepatic fat accumulation has been recognized, it has not been considered that the bacterial components-recognizing adipose tissue receptors contribute to the hepatic fat content. In this study we found that the expression of adipose tissue bacterial flagellin (FLG)-recognizing Toll-like receptor (TLR) 5 associated with liver fat content (r = 0.699, p = 0.003) and insulin sensitivity (r = -0.529, p = 0.016) in humans (n = 23). No such associations were found for lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-recognizing TLR4. To study the underlying molecular mechanisms of these associations, human HepG2 he…
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…
MicroRNA-33b Suppresses Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Repressing the MYC-EZH2 Pathway in HER2+ Breast Carcinoma
2020
Downregulation of miR-33b has been documented in many types of cancers and is being involved in proliferation, migration, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, the enhancer of zeste homolog 2-gene (EZH2) is a master regulator of controlling the stem cell differentiation and the cell proliferation processes. We aim to evaluate the implication of miR-33b in the EMT pathway in HER2+ breast cancer (BC) and to analyze the role of EZH2 in this process as well as the interaction between them. miR-33b is downregulated in HER2+ BC cells vs healthy controls, where EZH2 has an opposite expression in vitro and in patients' samples. The upregulation of miR-33b suppressed proliferatio…
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…