scholarly journals Genetic diversity confers colony-level benefits due to individual immunity

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 20151007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Simone-Finstrom ◽  
Megan Walz ◽  
David R. Tarpy
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Social Immunity ◽  
Direct Function ◽  
Pathogen Challenge ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Individual Immunity ◽  
Colony Level

Several costs and benefits arise as a consequence of eusociality and group-living. With increasing group size, spread of disease among nest-mates poses selective pressure on both individual immunity and group-level mechanisms of disease resistance (social immunity). Another factor known to influence colony-level expression of disease is intracolony genetic diversity, which in honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) is a direct function of the number of mates of the queen. Colonies headed by queens with higher mating numbers have less variable infections of decreased intensity, though the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. By pathogen-challenging larvae in vitro , we decoupled larval immune response from mechanisms of social immunity. Our results show that baseline immunity and degree of immune response do not vary with genetic diversity. However, intracolony variance in antimicrobial peptide production after pathogen challenge decreases with increasing genetic diversity. This reduction in variability of the larval immune response could drive the mitigation of disease observed in genetically diverse colonies.

scholarly journals RBM15-mediated N6-methyladenosine modification affects COVID-19 severity by regulating the expression of multitarget genes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuting Meng ◽  
Qiong Zhang ◽  
Kaihang Wang ◽  
Xujun Zhang ◽  
Rongwei Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Cell Death ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Programmed Cell Death ◽  
Inflammatory Response ◽  
Disease Severity ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Microarray Analyses

AbstractSevere coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by symptoms of lymphopenia and multiorgan damage, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To explore the function of N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modifications in COVID-19, we performed microarray analyses to comprehensively characterize the m6A epitranscriptome. The results revealed distinct global m6A profiles in severe and mild COVID-19 patients. Programmed cell death and inflammatory response were the major biological processes modulated by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Further, RBM15, a major m6A methyltransferase, was significantly elevated and positively correlated with disease severity. Silencing RBM15 drastically reduced lymphocyte death in vitro. Knockdown of RBM15 remarkably suppressed the expression levels of multitarget genes related to programmed cell death and inflammatory response. This study shows that SARS-CoV-2 infection alters the m6A epitranscriptome of lymphocytes, particularly in the case of severe patients. RBM15 regulated host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 by elevating m6A modifications of multitarget genes. These findings indicate that RBM15 can serve as a target for the treatment of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Inducible versus constitutive social immunity: examining effects of colony infection on glucose oxidase and defensin-1 production in honeybees

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 170224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita M. López-Uribe ◽  
Andrea Fitzgerald ◽  
Michael Simone-Finstrom
Keyword(s):  
Glucose Oxidase ◽  
Social Immunity ◽  
Hypopharyngeal Gland ◽  
Larval Food ◽  
Collective Effort ◽  
Pathogen Challenge ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Pathogen Exposure ◽  
Colony Level

Honeybees use a variety of defence mechanisms to reduce disease infection and spread throughout the colony. Many of these defences rely on the collective action of multiple individuals to prevent, reduce or eradicate pathogens—often referred to as ‘social immunity’. Glucose oxidase (GOX) and some antimicrobial peptides (e.g. defensin-1 or Def1) are secreted by the hypopharyngeal gland of adult bees on larval food for their antiseptic properties. Because workers secrete these compounds to protect larvae, they have been used as ‘biomarkers’ for social immunity. The aim of this study was to investigate if GOX and Def1 are induced after pathogen exposure to determine whether its production by workers is the result of a collective effort to protect the brood and colony in response to a pathogen challenge. Specifically, we quantified GOX and Def1 in honeybee adults before and after colony-level bacterial infection by American foulbrood ((AFB), Paenibacillus larvae ). Overall, our results indicate that levels of GOX and Def1 are not induced in response to pathogenic infections. We therefore conclude that GOX and Def1 are highly constitutive and co-opted as mechanisms of social immunity, and these factors should be considered when investigating immunity at the individual and colony level in social insects.

Worker heterozygosity and immune response in feral and managed honeybees (Apis mellifera)

2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 73 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. C. Lowe ◽  
L. W. Simmons ◽  
B. Baer
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Immune Response ◽  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Enzymatic Activity ◽  
Antimicrobial Peptide ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Substantial Variation ◽  
Eusocial Insects ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Colony Level

Genetic diversity in workers influences colony immunity in several species of eusocial insects. Much less work has been conducted to test for comparable effects of worker heterozygosity, a measure of genetic diversity within an individual. Here we present a field study using the honeybee (Apis mellifera) and sampled foraging workers throughout Western Australia. Samples were taken from feral and managed colonies, aiming to maximise the variation in worker and colony heterozygosity. We quantified worker heterozygosity using microsatellites, and tested the idea that individual worker heterozygosity predicts immune response, measured as the enzymatic activity of an antimicrobial peptide phenoloxidase (PO) and encapsulation response. We found substantial variation in worker heterozygosity, but no significant effects of heterozygosity on PO activity or encapsulation response, either on the individual or colony level. Heterozygosity was found to be higher in workers of feral colonies compared with managed colonies. Colonies kept in husbandry, as compared with colonies from the field, had significantly higher levels of PO activity and encapsulation response, providing evidence for substantial environmental effects on individual and colony immunity.

Regulation of TLR4, p38 MAPkinase, IκB and miRNAs by inactivated strains of lactobacilli in human dendritic cells

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Giahi ◽  
E. Aumueller ◽  
I. Elmadfa ◽  
A.G. Haslberger
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Dendritic Cells ◽  
Lactobacillus Rhamnosus ◽  
Human Monocyte ◽  
Lactobacillus Delbrueckii ◽  
Negative Regulator ◽  
Transcriptional Level ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

Strain specific properties of probiotics in providing supportive health effects in the immune system and the gastrointestinal tract have been widely investigated in vivo and in vitro. However, the underlying responsible mechanism is poorly described. By unravelling the probiotic-induced responses in a complex network of interacting signalling pathways, we investigated the effect of heat-inactivated Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) and Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus (L.del) on the expression of TLR4 and signalling factors such as p38 MAPK and I?B at transcription level in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs). Our findings demonstrated that even inactivated probiotic strains can affect TLR4 expression in a down-regulatory direction as with lipopolysaccharides after 12 hours. LGG significantly down-regulated expression of p38 while I?B expression was significantly reduced in L.del-treated DCs. Moreover, we found these Lactobacillus strains could even modify the immune response at post-transcriptional level by modifying miRNAs expression. Based on our results LGG induced a significant down-regulatory effect on miR-146a expression which is known as a novel fine negative regulator of immune response targeting NFκB. On the other hand, miR-155 was up-regulated by LGG which is consistent with down-regulation of p38 and in LGG-treated DCs. These findings provide genetic and epigenetic explanations for the responsible underlying mechanisms by which probiotics influence immune response by targeting DCs.

Phytosomal Curcumin Elicits Anti-tumor Properties Through Suppression of Angiogenesis, Cell Proliferation and Induction of Oxidative Stress in Colorectal Cancer

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (39) ◽  
pp. 4626-4638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reyhaneh Moradi-Marjaneh ◽  
Seyed M. Hassanian ◽  
Farzad Rahmani ◽  
Seyed H. Aghaee-Bakhtiari ◽  
Amir Avan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Vegf Signaling ◽  
Anticancer Effects ◽  
Inhibition Of Angiogenesis ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Apoptotic Activity

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common causes of cancer-associated mortality in the world. Anti-tumor effect of curcumin has been shown in different cancers; however, the therapeutic potential of novel phytosomal curcumin, as well as the underlying molecular mechanism in CRC, has not yet been explored. Methods: The anti-proliferative, anti-migratory and apoptotic activity of phytosomal curcumin in CT26 cells was assessed by MTT assay, wound healing assay and Flow cytometry, respectively. Phytosomal curcumin was also tested for its in-vivo activity in a xenograft mouse model of CRC. In addition, oxidant/antioxidant activity was examined by DCFH-DA assay in vitro, measurement of malondialdehyde (MDA), Thiol and superoxidedismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity and also evaluation of expression levels of Nrf2 and GCLM by qRT-PCR in tumor tissues. In addition, the effect of phytosomal curcumin on angiogenesis was assessed by the measurement of VEGF-A and VEGFR-1 and VEGF signaling regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) in tumor tissue. Results: Phytosomal curcumin exerts anti-proliferative, anti-migratory and apoptotic activity in-vitro. It also decreases tumor growth and augmented 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) anti-tumor effect in-vivo. In addition, our data showed that induction of oxidative stress and inhibition of angiogenesis through modulation of VEGF signaling regulatory miRNAs might be underlying mechanisms by which phytosomal curcumin exerted its antitumor effect. Conclusion: Our data confirmed this notion that phytosomal curcumin administrates anticancer effects and can be used as a complementary treatment in clinical settings.

Novel Findings of Anti-cancer Property of Propofol

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 156-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiaqiang Wang ◽  
Chien-shan Cheng ◽  
Yan Lu ◽  
Xiaowei Ding ◽  
Minmin Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Anesthesia ◽  
Cancer Progression ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Intravenous Anesthetic ◽  
The Past ◽  
Anti Cancer ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Recent Attention

Background: Propofol, a widely used intravenous anesthetic agent, is traditionally applied for sedation and general anesthesia. Explanation: Recent attention has been drawn to explore the effect and mechanisms of propofol against cancer progression in vitro and in vivo. Specifically, the proliferation-inhibiting and apoptosis-inducing properties of propofol in cancer have been studied. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Conclusion: This review focused on the findings within the past ten years and aimed to provide a general overview of propofol's malignance-modulating properties and the potential molecular mechanisms.

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