Patients who survive sepsis can develop long-term immune dysfunction, with expansion of the regulatory T (Treg) cell population. However, how Treg cells proliferate in these patients is not clear. ...Here we show that IL-33 has a major function in the induction of this immunosuppression. Mice deficient in ST2 (IL-33R) develop attenuated immunosuppression in cases that survive sepsis, whereas treatment of naive wild-type mice with IL-33 induces immunosuppression. IL-33, released during tissue injury in sepsis, activates type 2 innate lymphoid cells, which promote polarization of M2 macrophages, thereby enhancing expansion of the Treg cell population via IL-10. Moreover, sepsis-surviving patients have more Treg cells, IL-33 and IL-10 in their peripheral blood. Our study suggests that targeting IL-33 may be an effective treatment for sepsis-induced immunosuppression.
We introduce a simple method to characterize the topological charge associated with the orbital angular momentum of a m-order elliptic light beam. This method consists in the observation of the far ...field pattern of the beam carrying orbital angular momentum, diffracted from a triangular aperture. We show numerically and experimentally, for Mathieu, Ince-Gaussian, and vortex Hermite-Gaussian beams, that only isosceles triangular apertures allow us to determine in a precise and direct way, the magnitude m of the order and the number and sign of unitary topological charges of isolated vortices inside the core of these beams.
In the myrmecophytic mutualistic relationship between
a ants and
plants both species receive protection and exchange nutrients. The presence of microorganisms in this symbiotic system has been ...reported, and the symbiotic role of some fungi involved in the myrmecophytic interactions has been described. In this work we focus on bacteria within this mutualism, conducting isolations and screening for antimicrobial activities, genome sequencing, and biochemical characterization. We show that
,
,
,
and
are the most common cultivable genera of bacteria. Interestingly,
spp. isolates showed potent activity against 83% of the pathogens tested in our antimicrobial activity assays, including a phytopathogenic fungus isolated from
samples. Given the predicted nitrogen limitations associated with the fungal patches within this myrmecophyte, we performed nitrogen fixation analyses on the bacterial isolates within the Proteobacteria and show the potential for nitrogen fixation in
strains. The genome of one
strain was sequenced and analyzed. The gene cluster involved in the biosynthesis of cyclic lipodepsipeptides (CLPs) was identified, and we found mutations that may be related to the loss of function in the dual epimerization/condensation domains. The compound was isolated, and its structure was determined, corresponding to the antifungal viscosinamide. Our findings of diazotrophy and production of viscosinamide in multiple
isolates suggests that this bacterial genus may play an important role in the
symbiosis.
The effects of deactivation by coke deposition after the
n
-heptane cracking reaction were evaluated on crystallinity, acidity and activation energies for the coke thermal oxidation process in ...microporous and hierarchical ZSM-23 zeolites. The fresh and coked catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, temperature-programmed desorption of ammonia and thermogravimetric analysis. The Flynn–Wall–Ozawa and Vyazovkin kinetic models were used to determine the activation energy of the catalyst regeneration process, using integral dynamic curves from thermogravimetric analysis data obtained with different heating rates. The generation of micro-/mesoporous structures provided a beneficial effect by inhibiting the loss of crystallinity and preserving a certain degree of acidity after catalyst deactivation. The hierarchical ZSM-23 zeolites showed lower deposited coke amounts and activation energy values for the coke thermal oxidation process, providing greater stability, activity and lower energy level required for regeneration in comparison with the microporous zeolites.
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) affect the gastrointestinal tract, and the imbalance of intestinal immune homeostasis can trigger them. Pequi oil (PO), a monounsaturated (MUFA) and carotenoid‐rich ...food with nutraceutical potential, could help reshape the intestinal immune response, ameliorating IBD outcomes. This study investigates the effects of a 28 days intake of PO on elements of the intestinal immune response of mice with DSS‐induced ulcerative colitis (disease activity index, colonic damage, inflammatory cells and markers). PO reduces body weight, colonic crypt and goblet cell losses and ameliorates diarrhea. In the colon, it increases γδT cells and secretory‐IgA and decreases CD8+T cells. In lymphoid organs, it reduces CD8+T cells. Moreover, it also reduces the IL‐17 and CRP in plasma. PO oil promotes a less cytotoxic response that may protect mice from immunological injuries caused by an IBD in the intestinal mucosa, improving the disease prognosis.
Practical applications: This study demonstrates that the intake of pequi oil contributes to the regulation of immune response and improves clinical and histological signs of DSS‐induced ulcerative colitis in mice. Its effects in cytotoxic cell reduction and other inflammatory markers and stimulation of regulatory cells, and preservation of mucus‐producing cells, provide news insights about the importance of the regular intake of this food to better prognosis of ulcerative colitis acute episodes. In addition, these findings encourage further studies with foods with a protective potential for the intestinal mucosa.
This study represents immunological changes of the pequi oil intake after a disruption of the epithelial barrier integrity. Pequi oil increases γδ T cells and secretory‐immunoglobulin A, inhibits the loss of goblet cells and crypts, and decreases CD8 T cells on the surface of the colonic mucosa. Systemically, pequi oil reduced the C‐reactive protein and interleukin‐17 concentrations. The golden drop represents pequi oil, the red arrows indicate the reducing effects of pequi oil in the inflammatory mediators, and the black arrows indicate stimulation or increase of the mediator shown.
Investigation of the contents of the scent glands of the heliconiine butterfly Heliconius erato phyllis via gas chromatography/electroantennography revealed an unprecedented active compound. The ...males transfer this compound to females during mating. The structure of (2R,6E,10R)-2,6-dimethyl-6-undecen-10-olide, a derivative of geranylacetone, was proposed on the basis of infrared and mass spectrometry spectra and microderivatization and confirmed by racemic and stereoselective syntheses. Bioassays with the synthetic macrolide showed the repellency of this compound, termed phyllisolide, when applied to scent glands of females, identifying it as an anti-aphrodisiac pheromone.
1. Non‐trophic interactions between plants and animals can affect community structure and species trait composition. However, it is unclear how changes in intra‐ and interspecific morphological ...traits of plant species affect non‐trophic interactions at a metacommunity scale. Additionally, whether plant evolutionary history determines taxonomic and functional diversity of plant‐dwelling predators is an open question.
2. To address these gaps, this study used a published dataset with spiders dwelling exclusively on bromeliads to investigate if: (i) intra‐ and interspecific variability in host plant morphological traits affects spider taxonomic and functional diversity; and (ii) bromeliad trait evolution determines present‐day patterns of spider trait diversity.
3. Spider and bromeliad traits were measured, and a new statistical framework was used to quantify the response of spider beta diversity to intra‐ and interspecific variation in bromeliad traits. In addition, bromeliad traits were decomposed across its phylogenetic tree to check whether the current variation in morphological traits of bromeliads is a result of either ancestral or recent diversification.
4. Bromeliad intraspecific variation did not affect spiders, but leaf length variation between bromeliad species had a positive effect on spider functional beta diversity. Interestingly, the most ancestral split between two subfamilies explained most of the variation in bromeliad species, which suggests that spider functional diversity could represent an outcome of bromeliad evolutionary history.
5. Overall, the results of this study suggest that interactions between plants and organisms that do not feed directly on their tissues could be shaped by plant evolutionary history, which in turn suggests that non‐trophic interactions can be maintained over time.
Whether plant functional trait variation and its evolutionary history determine taxonomic and functional diversity of plant‐dwelling predators is an open question.
This study found that interspecific variation in bromeliad leaf length has a positive effect on spider functional beta diversity.
The results suggest that interactions between plants and organisms that do not feed directly on their tissues, such as spiders, could be shaped by plant evolutionary history.
Viscum album L., popularly known as mistletoe, is well known for its anti-cancer properties, and the pharmaceutical application of hydroalcoholic dry extracts is still limited due to its low ...solubility in aqueous media, and physicochemical instability. The Pluronic® F127 is an amphiphilic polymer, which permits the solubilization of lipophilic and hydrophilic compounds. In this investigation, physicochemical features of hydrogel containing V. album dry extract (VADE-loaded-hydrogel) were performed by: dynamic light scattering (DLS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). VADE-loaded-hydrogel presented nanometer-size micelles with volume distribution ranging from 10.58 nm to 246.7 nm, and a polydispersity index of 0.441. The sample thermal analyses (TG and DSC) showed similar decomposition curves; however, the thermal events indicated an increase in thermal stability in relation to the presence of the extract. In addition to these interesting pharmaceutical features, IC50 values of 333.40 µg/mL and >1000 µg/mL were obtained when tumor (SCC-25) and non-tumor (L929) cells were incubated with VADE-loaded-hydrogel, respectively. The optical and ultrastructural cellular analysis confirmed the tumor selectivity since the following alterations were detected only in SCC-25 cells: disorganization of plasmatic membrane; an increase of cytoplasmatic vacuole size; alteration in the cristae mitochondrial shape; and generation of amorphous cellular material. These results emphasize the promising antitumoral potential of VADE-loaded-hydrogel as an herbal drug delivery system via in vitro assays.
The males‐produced pheromone blend of the Mormidea v‐luteum (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae) consists in two isomers of zingiberenol (1) and three of murgantiol (2). While the absolute configuration of the ...zingiberenol isomers has been described, the configurations of the murgantiol isomers remained unexplored. So, our objective was to identify the absolute configuration of the murgantiol isomers (2 a–c) in the pheromone blend. To achieve this, we initially performed dehydration of the natural extract followed by enantiomeric resolution and, as a result, the three isomers was identified as (4R,1′S)‐murgantiol. By leveraging the fixed cis and trans relationships among all pheromone components, we established the configuration at C‐1 for isomers 2 a and 2 b is S, while that of 2 c is R. Finally, employing microchemical Sharples asymmetric dihydroxylation and epoxide ring closure, we determined the absolute configuration of the epoxide ring. Consequently, the natural isomers 2 a, 2 b, and 2 c were identified as (1S,4R,1′S,4′R)‐, (1S,4R,1′S,4′S)‐, and (1R,4R,1′S,4′S)‐murgantiol, respectively.
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