Search results for "toxin"
showing 10 items of 1434 documents
Editorial for Special Issue: The Insecticidal Bacterial Toxins in Modern Agriculture.
2017
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Evidence of increased circulation of Bordetella pertussis in the Italian adult population from seroprevalence data (2012–2013)
2016
Incidence data on pertussis cases in Italy do not show pertussis resurgence as recently described in other European countries. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of IgG antibodies to pertussis toxin (PT-IgG) in selected adult age groups, who can serve as a reservoir of Bordetella pertussis and be responsible for onward transmission to vulnerable infants. The seroprevalence of PT-IgG was studied in sera collected in 2012-2013 in three age groups: 20-29 years and 30-39 years (reproductive age), and ≥60 years. These data were compared to those from sera collected in similar age groups in 1996-1997. More than 80 % of the adult population analysed in the 2012-2013 group pr…
2018
Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae (Pdd) is an emerging pathogen of marine animals that sometimes causes serious infections in humans. Two related pore forming toxins, phobalysins P and C, and damselysin, a phospholipase D, confer strong virulence of Pdd in mice. Because infections by Pdd are typically caused following exposure of wounds to sea water we investigated how salinity impacts toxin activity, swimming, and association of Pdd with epithelial cells. These activities were low when bacteria were pre-cultured in media with 3.5% NaCl, the global average salinity of sea water. In contrast, lower salinity increased swimming of wild type Pdd peaking at 2% NaCl, hemolysis, and associat…
Comparison of Antibiotic Resistance Profile and Biofilm Production of Staphylococcus aureus Isolates Derived from Human Specimens and Animal-Derived …
2019
Background: The diffusion of antimicrobial resistance is a significant concern for public health worldwide. Staphylococcus aureus represents a paradigm microorganism for antibiotic resistance in that resistant strains appear within a decade after the introduction of new antibiotics. Methods: Fourteen S. aureus isolates from human specimens and twenty-one from samples of animal origin, were compared for their antimicrobial resistance and biofilm capability. In addition, they were characterized at the molecular level to detect the antimicrobial resistance mecA gene and genes related with enterotoxin, toxin, and biofilm production. Results: Both phenotypic and molecular analysis showed main di…
An Integrated Pharmacophore/Docking/3D-QSAR Approach to Screening a Large Library of Products in Search of Future Botulinum Neurotoxin A Inhibitors
2020
Botulinum toxins are neurotoxins produced by Clostridium botulinum. This toxin can be lethal for humans as a cause of botulism
Recombinant anthrax protective antigen: Observation of aggregation phenomena by TEM reveals specific effects of sterols.
2017
Abstract Negatively stained transmission electron microscope images are presented that depict the aggregation of recombinant anthrax protective antigen (rPA83 monomer and the PA63 prepore oligomer) under varying in vitro biochemical conditions. Heat treatment (50 °C) of rPA83 produced clumped fibrils, but following heating the PA63 prepore formed disordered aggregates. Freeze-thaw treatment of the PA63 prepore generated linear flexuous aggregates of the heptameric oligomers. Aqueous suspensions of cholesterol microcrystals were shown to bind small rPA83 aggregates at the edges of the planar bilayers. With PA63 a more discrete binding of the prepores to the crystalline cholesterol bilayer ed…
Allopregnanolone augments epileptiform activity of an in-vitro mouse hippocampal preparation in the first postnatal week.
2019
Abstract In the immature brain the neurotransmitter γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) mediates a membrane depolarization and can contribute to both, inhibition and excitation. Therefore the consequences of a positive modulation of GABA(A) receptors by neurosteroids on epileptiform activity are hard to predict. In order to analyze whether neurosteroids attenuate or exaggerate epileptiform activity in the immature brain, we investigated the effect of the neurosteroid allopregnanolone on epileptiform activity in an in-toto hippocampus preparation of early postnatal mice (postnatal days 4–7) using field potential recordings. These in-vitro experiments revealed that 0.5 μmol/L allopregnanolone had no …
The Anemonia viridis Venom: Coupling Biochemical Purification and RNA-Seq for Translational Research
2018
Blue biotechnologies implement marine bio-resources for addressing practical concerns. The isolation of biologically active molecules from marine animals is one of the main ways this field develops. Strikingly, cnidaria are considered as sustainable resources for this purpose, as they possess unique cells for attack and protection, producing an articulated cocktail of bioactive substances. The Mediterranean sea anemone Anemonia viridis has been studied extensively for years. In this short review, we summarize advances in bioprospecting of the A. viridis toxin arsenal. A. viridis RNA datasets and toxin data mining approaches are briefly described. Analysis reveals the major pool of neurotoxi…
In silico and in vitro prediction of the toxicological effects of individual and combined mycotoxins.
2018
3-Acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-AcDON) and 15-acetyldeoxynivalenol (15-AcDON) are converted to deoxynivalenol (DON) in vivo and their simultaneous presence may increase DON intake. Mixtures of DON and its derivatives are a public health concern. In this study DON, 3-AcDON and 15-AcDON were evaluated in vitro and in silico. The in vitro cytotoxicity of DON and its derivatives individually and combined was determined by the Neutral Red (NR) assay in human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells. The concentrations tested were from 1.25 to 15 μM (DON) and from 0.937 to 7.5 μM (DON derivatives). The IC50 values were from >15 to 2.55 μM (DON), from 1.77 to 1.02 μM (3-AcDON), and from 4.05 to 1.68 μM (15-AcDON).…
Multiplex Detection of Aspergillus Species
2016
Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) provides a fast and accurate DNA-based tool for the simultaneous amplification of more than one target sequence in a single reaction. Here a duplex real-time PCR assay is described for the simultaneous detection of Aspergillus carbonarius and members of the Aspergillus niger aggregate, which are the main responsible species for ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination in grapes. This single tube reaction targets the beta-ketosynthase and the acyl transferase domains of the polyketide synthase of A. carbonarius and the A. niger aggregate, respectively.Besides, a rapid and efficient fungi DNA extraction procedure is described suitable to be applied …