scholarly journals Marine Transcriptomics Analysis for the Identification of New Antimicrobial Peptides

Marine Drugs ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 490
Author(s):  
Baptiste Houyvet ◽  
Yolande Bouchon-Navaro ◽  
Claude Bouchon ◽  
Erwan Corre ◽  
Céline Zatylny-Gaudin

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) participate in the immune system to avoid infection, are present in all living organisms and can be used as drugs. Fish express numerous AMP families including defensins, cathelicidins, liver-expressed antimicrobial peptides (LEAPs), histone-derived peptides, and piscidins (a fish-specific AMP family). The present study demonstrates for the first time the occurrence of several AMPs in lionfish (Pterois volitans). Using the lionfish transcriptome, we identified four transcript sequences encoding cysteine-rich AMPs and two new transcripts encoding piscidin-like peptides. These AMPs are described for the first time in a species of the Scorpaenidae family. A functional approach on new pteroicidins was carried out to determine antimicrobial sequences and potential uses, with a view to using some of these AMPs for human health or in aquaculture.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Ragusa ◽  
Alessandro Svelato ◽  
Criselda Santacroce ◽  
Piera Catalano ◽  
Valentina Notarstefano ◽  
...  

Summary paragraphMicroplastics are particles smaller than five millimetres obtained from the degradation of plastic objects abandoned in the environment. Microplastics can move from the environment to living organisms and, in fact, they have been found in fishes and mammals.Six human placentas, prospectively collected from consenting women with uneventful pregnancies, were analyzed by Raman Microspectroscopy to evaluate the presence of microparticles. Detected microparticles were characterized in terms of morphology and chemical composition.12 microparticles, ranging from 5 to 10 μm in size, were found in 4 out of 6 placentas: 5 in the foetal side, 4 in the maternal side and 3 in the chorioamniotic membranes. All the analyzed microparticles were pigmented: three of them were identified as stained polypropylene, while for the other nine it was possible to identify only the pigments, which are all used for man-made coatings, paints and dyes.Here we show, for the first time, the presence of microparticles and microplastics in human placenta. This sheds new light on the impact of plastic on human health. Microparticles and microplastics in the placenta, together with the endocrine disruptors transported by them, could have long-term effects on human health.


2021 ◽  
pp. 203195252199115
Author(s):  
Matthijs van Schadewijk

The growth in multilateral working relationships (e.g. agency work, chains of sub-contracting and corporate groups) is causing Member States to increasingly scrutinise their traditional, contractual approach to the notion of ‘employer’. So far, little attention has been paid to the boundaries and limits that EU law sets when defining the employer. The lack of attention may have come to an end with the recent AFMB judgment, in which the Court ruled, for the first time, that the concept of employer in a provision of EU law had to be given an autonomous and uniform interpretation throughout the EU. Starting from the AFMB judgment, the author analyses the concept of employer in EU law. The author finds that the concept of employer in EU law can be described as ‘uniform in its functionality’: in EU law, the national concept of the employer is never absolute, but the circumstances and the way in which the national concept must be set aside depend on the context and the objective of the European legislation in question. Through this functional approach, EU law partly harmonises the various national approaches to the concept of the employer. Nevertheless, a lack of specific reasoning on the part of the Court may grant the Member States considerable leeway to uphold their own views on the concept.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (8) ◽  
pp. 4931-4934 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nita R. Shah ◽  
Robert E. W. Hancock ◽  
Rachel C. Fernandez

ABSTRACTBordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, has many strategies for evading the human immune system. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is an important Gram-negative bacterial surface structure that activates the immune system via Toll-like receptor 4 and enables susceptibility to cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs). We show modification of the lipid A region of LPS with glucosamine increased resistance to numerous CAMPs, including LL-37. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this glucosamine modification increased resistance to outer membrane perturbation.


Virulence ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 440-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Wiesner ◽  
Andreas Vilcinskas

Endocrinology ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 147 (2) ◽  
pp. 891-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Damian G. Romero ◽  
Gaston R. Vergara ◽  
Zheng Zhu ◽  
Gina S. Covington ◽  
Maria W. Plonczynski ◽  
...  

The adrenal gland secretes several cytokines, and cytokines modulate steroid secretion by this gland. In this study, a survey of cytokine production by H295R human adrenocortical cells demonstrated that these cells secreted IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IL-10, IL-13, and TNFα but not IL-5, IL-12, or interferon-γ. IL-8 was the IL secreted at higher concentration. IL-8 secretion, its regulation, and role in steroidogenesis were further studied. Secreted ILs and steroids were measured by ELISA in cell culture supernatant. IL-8 mRNA was quantified by real-time RT-PCR. H295R cells and human adrenal gland expressed IL-8 mRNA. Angiotensin II, potassium, endothelin-1, IL-1α, IL-1β, TNFα, and Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide dose-dependently increase IL-8 secretion by H295R cells after 24 h incubation. IL-6 had no effect on IL-8 secretion. Angiotensin II time-dependently increased IL-8 secretion by H295R cells up to 48 h. Angiotensin II caused a biphasic increase in IL-8 mRNA expression with a peak 6 h after stimulation. TNFα synergized angiotensin II, potassium, and IL-1α-mediated IL-8 secretion. IL-8 did not modify aldosterone or cortisol secretion by H295R cells under basal or stimulated (angiotensin II or potassium) conditions. In conclusion, it is demonstrated for the first time that human adrenal cells expressed and secreted IL-8 under the regulation of angiotensin II, potassium, endothelin-1, and immune peptides. Adrenal-secreted IL-8 is one point of convergence between the adrenal gland and the immune system and may have relevance in physiological and pathophysiological conditions associated with increased levels of aldosterone secretagogues and the immune system.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Tavakoli ◽  
Javad Salimi Sartakhti ◽  
Mohammad Hossein Manshaei ◽  
David Basanta

The role of the immune system in tumor development increasingly includes the idea of cancer immunoediting. It comprises three phases: elimination, equilibrium, and escape. In the first phase, elimination, transformed cells are recognized and destroyed by immune system. The rare tumor cells that are not destroyed in this phase may then enter the equilibrium phase, where their growth is prevented by immunity mechanisms. The escape phase represents the final phase of this process, where cancer cells begin to grow unconstrained by the immune system. In this study, we describe and analyze an evolutionary game theoretical model of proliferating, quiescent, and immune cells interactions for the first time. The proposed model is evaluated with constant and dynamic approaches. Population dynamics and interactions between the immune system and cancer cells are investigated. Stability of equilibria or critical points are analyzed by applying algebraic analysis. This model allows us to understand the process of cancer development and might help us design better treatment strategies to account for immunoediting.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzieh Sepahvand ◽  
Forough Ghasemi ◽  
Hossein Mirseyed Hosseini

The excessive presence of nitrite and nitrate in the environmental matrixes has raised concerns among the scientific communities due to their negative impacts on human health and living organisms. Considering...


Innova ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 55-57
Author(s):  
Андрей Сергеевич Руцкой ◽  
◽  
Вячеслав Александрович Липатов ◽  
Александр Анатольевич Панов ◽  
Илья Игоревич Шляпцев ◽  
...  

The article presents the results of research on the study of the effect of broadband electromagnetic fields on a macroorganism in an experiment. Electromagnetic fields with different characteristics can affect the systems of living organisms in different ways, including the immune system, which is sensitive to electromagnetic influences. Broadband electromagnetic fields have an immunostimulating effect, as evidenced by the increase in the enzymatic activity of peritoneal macrophages in reaction with nitro blue tetrazolium.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek Lin ◽  
Henry C. Lin

The gut virome consists of a large population of eukaryotic and prokaryotic viruses that have an emerging role in human health and disease. Growing evidence for the importance of the virome includes recent findings on fecal virome transplantation (FVT) that suggest FVT may have therapeutic potential for the resolution of dysbiosis and treatment of dysbiosis-related disorders. Most viruses in the gut virome are bacteriophages (phages), which have a well-established role in regulating bacterial communities across environments. Phages also influence health and disease by interacting directly with the host immune system. The full extent to which gut phages should be considered as both a target and a tool for microbiome modulation remains to be seen. This chapter will explore the current understanding of the gut virome and the therapeutic potential for FVT.


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