Intestinal microbiota facilitates food breakdown for energy metabolism and influences the immune response, maintaining mucosal homeostasis. Overall, HIV infection is associated with intestinal ...dysbiosis and immune activation, which has been related to seroconversion in HIV-exposed individuals. However, it is unclear whether microbiota dysbiosis is the cause or the effect of immune alterations and disease progression or if it could modulate the risk of acquiring the HIV infection. We characterize the intestinal microbiota and determine its association with immune regulation in HIV-exposed seronegative individuals (HESN), HIV-infected progressors (HIV+), and healthy control (HC) subjects. For this, feces and blood were collected. The microbiota composition of HESN showed a significantly higher alpha (p = 0.040) and beta diversity (p = 0.006) compared to HC, but no differences were found compared to HIV+. A lower Treg percentage was observed in HESN (1.77%) than HC (2.98%) and HIV+ (4.02%), with enrichment of the genus Butyrivibrio (p = 0.029) being characteristic of this profile. Moreover, we found that Megasphaera (p = 0.017) and Victivallis (p = 0.0029) also are enriched in the microbiota composition in HESN compared to HC and HIV+ subjects. Interestingly, an increase in Succinivibrio and Prevotella, and a reduction in Bacteroides genus, which is typical of HIV-infected individuals, were observed in both HESN and HIV+, compared to HC. Thus, HESNs have a microbiota profile, similar to that observed in HIV+, most likely because HESN are cohabiting with their HIV+ partners.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this work, modified BET model was applied to obtain phase diagrams and to design new eutectic mixtures. As a result, the eutectic composition and the melting point of two mixtures based on salt ...hydrates: LiNO3·3H2O–NaNO3–Mn(NO3)2·6H2O and LiNO3·3H2O–Mn(NO3)2·6H2O–Mg(NO3)2·6H2O were predicted. Both mixtures present the same predicted melting temperature of 10.8 °C. Experimental verifications by T-history method showed satisfactory accordance of the predicted temperatures values with a difference of 0 °C and +2.3 °C for the mixtures, with sodium nitrate and magnesium nitrate, respectively. It is added that the thermal and physical properties such as density, the heat capacity for solid and liquid phases, as well as viscosity and volume change during the fusion of the new PCMs were evaluated. The results of the characterization, the energy storage density (about 300 MJ m−3) and material cost estimation show that both mixtures are promising candidates for use in low temperature energy storage systems.
•Two new eutectic mixtures based on Li/Mn/Na nitrate salt hydrates are obtained.•BET model predicts phase diagram, eutectic composition and melting point.•Experimental verifications with T-history and DSC showed good accordance.•Thermal and physical properties were evaluated.•New PCMs have potential for use in the solar-assisted air-conditioning system.
HIV-1 induces an uncontrolled inflammatory response of several immune components, such as inflammasomes. These molecular complexes, associated with Toll-like receptor (TLR) activity, induce the ...maturation and release of IL-1β and IL-18 and eventually induce pyroptosis. It has been previously demonstrated that HIV induces inflammasome activation, which is significantly lower in the gastrointestinal tissue and blood from people living with HIV-1 with spontaneous control of viral replication. Therefore, immunomodulatory agents could be useful in improving HIV prognosis.
To evaluate the potential inhibitory effect of sulfasalazine (SSZ) on inflammasomes and TLRs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from people living with HIV and healthy donors.
PBMCs were obtained from 15 people living with HIV and 15 healthy donors. Cells were stimulated with agonists of TLRs and inflammasomes and subsequently treated with SSZ. The concentration of IL-1β and the relative expression of NLRP3, NLRC4, NLRP1, AIM2, ASC, Caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18 were quantified.
Cells treated with SSZ exhibited a decreased IL-1β production after inflammasome and TLR stimulation, as well as regulation of inflammasome-related genes, in both people with HIV and healthy individuals. The concentration of IL-1β was positively correlated with the CD4+ T-cell count and negatively with the viral load.
Our results suggest that SSZ has an immunomodulatory effect on inflammasome and TLR activation that depends on the clinical HIV status.
During HIV infection, massive destruction of CD4+ T cells ensues, preferentially depleting the Th17 subset at the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT), leading to a loss of mucosal integrity and an ...increase in cell permeability. This process favors microbial translocation between the intestinal lumen and the circulatory system, contributing to persistent immune activation and chronic inflammation characteristic of HIV infection. Thus, the gut microbiota plays an integral role in maintaining the structure and function of the mucosal barrier, a critical factor for immune homeostasis. However, in the context of HIV infection, changes in the gut microbiota have been reported and have been linked to disease progression. Here, we review evidence for the role of the gut microbiota in intestinal homeostasis, its contribution to HIV pathogenesis, as well as its use in the development of therapeutic strategies.
Microbial food alterations lead to unfit products for consumption, and their discarding, to significant economic losses for the food industry. During storage, fresh foods offer available niches for ...the survival and growth of undesirable microorganisms. In dairy products, data regarding spoilage and/or pathogenic bacteria is better documented than those for molds and yeasts. Dairy products are less susceptible to mold's contamination than products such as fruits and vegetables, due to their refrigerated storage; their elaboration from heat-treated milk and, for fermented ones, the dominant microbiota that acidifies the medium. However, even cheeses and yogurts may be susceptible to mold contamination. Atypical cases of yogurt samples containing spoilage microorganisms not previously reported (molds producing gas and bacteria of the genus Gluconobacter) in Argentinean fermented milks are presented here. For yogurt, in particular, the "classic" altering organisms were always being yeasts, and in other countries, molds belonging to the genus Aspergillus.
Introducción: La prueba genómica de recurrencia de 21 genes (PGR21) permite determinar la utilidad de la quimioterapia adyuvante en pacientes con cáncer de mama temprano luminal (CMTL). Se han ...desarrollado modelos predictivos adicionales, como las ecuaciones de Magee (EM), el modelo Predict (MP) y la puntuación del nomograma de la Universidad de Tennessee (NT). Objetivo: Evaluar la concordancia entre PGR21, EM, MP y NT. Métodos: Se incluyeron pacientes con CMTL unifocal y con resultados de PGR21, EM, MP y NT. Se efectuó subanálisis de mujeres mayores de 50 años. La concordancia se evaluó mediante índice kappa de Cohen (IK). Resultados: Se incluyeron 122 mujeres. La concordancia entre PGR21 y EM (IK = 0.35) y MP (IK = 0.24) fue aceptable (p < 0.001); entre PGR21 y NT fue inferior (IK = 0.16, p = 0.04). Se incluyeron 80 pacientes mayores de 50 años con datos suficientes para calcular los tres modelos. Se encontró concordancia entre la clasificación de bajo riesgo mediante PGR21 y los tres modelos combinados en 36/37 pacientes (valor predictivo negativo de 97.3 %). Conclusión: Se puede omitir la PGR21 en las mujeres mayores de 50 años con CMTL que se clasifica de bajo riesgo en los tres modelos predictivos.
La infección por el VIH-1 se caracteriza por la eliminación de linfocitos T CD4+, particularmente en la mucosa gastrointestinal, favoreciendo la translocación microbiana y la hiperactivación inmune, ...principal mecanismo patogénico en esta infección. No obstante, el grado de hiperactivación inmunológica puede variar entre individuos infectados, lo cual depende de múltiples factores, incluyendo el perfil de la microbiota. Esta última juega un papel esencial en el mantenimiento de la homeóstasis de este tejido, favoreciendo la integridad de la barrera epitelial y modulando la respuesta inmune. Sin embargo, durante la infección por VIH-1 se presenta un incremento en el número de bacterias patógenas, lo cual se asociada con mayor activación inmune. A pesar de estas evidencias, aun no es claro si realmente existe una asociación entre la microbiota y el patrón de progresión y su influencia en la restauración inmune inducida por HAART. Por lo tanto, este proyecto busca evaluar el impacto de la microbiota intestinal en el control de la replicación viral, natural e inducido por HAART, y su asociación con el perfil de activación y regulación inmune.
Bacteriophages can cause great economic losses due to fermentation failure in dairy plants. Hence, physical and chemical treatments of raw material and/or equipment are mandatory to maintain phage ...levels as low as possible. Regarding thermal treatments used to kill pathogenic bacteria or achieve longer shelf-life of dairy products, neither low temperature long time nor high temperature short time pasteurization were able to inactivate most lactic acid bacteria (LAB) phages. Even though most phages did not survive 90°C for 2 min, there were some that resisted 90°C for more than 15 min (conditions suggested by the International Dairy Federation, for complete phage destruction). Among biocides tested, ethanol showed variable effectiveness in phage inactivation, since only phages infecting dairy cocci and Lactobacillus helveticus were reasonably inactivated by this alcohol, whereas isopropanol was in all cases highly ineffective. In turn, peracetic acid has consistently proved to be very fast and efficient to inactivate dairy phages, whereas efficiency of sodium hypochlorite was variable, even among different phages infecting the same LAB species. Both alkaline chloride foam and ethoxylated non-ylphenol with phosphoric acid were remarkably efficient, trait probably related to their highly alkaline or acidic pH values in solution, respectively. Photocatalysis using UV light and TiO(2) has been recently reported as a feasible option to industrially inactivate phages infecting diverse LAB species. Processes involving high pressure were barely used for phage inactivation, but until now most studied phages revealed high resistance to these treatments. To conclude, and given the great phage diversity found on dairies, it is always advisable to combine different anti-phage treatments (biocides, heat, high pressure, photocatalysis), rather than using them separately at extreme conditions.
Bacteriophage infections of starter lactic acid bacteria (LAB) pose a serious risk to the dairy industry. Nowadays, the expanding use of valuable
Lactobacillus strains as probiotic starters ...determines an increase in the frequency of specific bacteriophage infections in dairy plants.
This work describes a simple and rapid Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method that detects and identifies bacteriophages infecting
Lactobacillus casei/
paracasei, the main bacterial species used as probiotic. Based on a highly conserved region of the NTP-binding genes belonging to the replication module of
L. casei phages φA2 and φAT3 (the only two whose genomes are completely sequenced), a pair of primers was designed to generate a specific fragment. Furthermore, this PCR detection method proved to be a useful tool for monitoring and identifying
L. casei/
paracasei phages in industrial samples since specific PCR signals were obtained from phage contaminated milk (detection limit: 10
4 PFU/mL milk) and other commercial samples (fermented milks and cheese whey) that include
L. casei/
paracasei as probiotic starter (detection limit: 10
6 PFU/mL fermented milk). Since this method can detect the above phages in industrial samples and can be easily incorporated into dairy industry routines, it might be readily used to earmark contaminated milk for use in processes that do not involve susceptible starter organisms, or processes which involve phage-deactivating conditions.
Excess iron (Fe) intake in subjects carrying certain mutations in the HFE gene may result in Fe overload. To estimate risk of Fe overload, 166 male blood donors (19-65 years) from Buenos Aires city ...were investigated. Daily Fe intake (FeI), hem Fe intake, and Fe intake from SO4Fe enriched flours were estimated (SARA Computer Program and Food Composition Table, USDA). Serum ferritin and transferrin saturation were determined; criteria for Fe overload was serum ferritin > 300 ng/ml and transferrin saturation = 50%. HFE genotypes C282Y, H63D and S65C were analyzed by PCR-RFLP in blood samples. No participant presented FeI lower than the estimated average requirement (6 mg Fe/day) and 3.0% was over the upper level (45 mg Fe/day). Hem Fe and Fe from flour enrichment were 9.4% and 47.7% of daily Fe intake, respectively. A significant association was observed between the increase in serum ferritin (ng/ml) and the increase in FeI (p = 0.0472); 2.3% of the donors presented serum ferritin > 300 ng/ml and transferrin saturation = 50%. Genotypes associated with hereditary hemochromatosis (H63D, S65C and C282Y) were found in 29.3% of the donors. The percentage of transferrin saturation was higher in subjects carrying mutation than in wild type subjects (p = 0.0167). Although penetrance of hereditary hemochromatosis in the studied group was only 1.2%, an excessive Fe intake could enhance adverse effects in individuals unaware of any family history of Fe overload.
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