Curcumin, a phytochemical derived from the rhizome of turmeric (Curcuma longa L.), has a broad group of substances with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anticancer activities. The ...anticancer activity of curcumin and its derivatives are mainly related to its regulation of signal transduction pathways. However, due to the low oral availability of curcumin, fast metabolism and other pharmacokinetic properties limit the application of curcumin in the treatment of cancer. Evidence suggests that curcumin combined with photodynamic therapy can overcome the limitation of curcumin's low bioavailability by acting on apoptosis pathways, such as B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and caspase family, and affecting cell cycle. This paper reviews the structure and pharmacokinetics of curcumin, focusing on the anticancer activity of curcumin combined with photodynamic therapy and the effects on cancer-related signal pathways.
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•Photodynamic therapy can greatly enhance curcumin’s anticancer activity.•Curcumin combined with photodynamic therapy have been confirmed in many different types of cancer cells in vitro and animal models.•This review focuses on the anticancer activity and the mechanism of curcumin combined with photodynamic therapy.
Large-scale intensive cultivation has made continuous cropping soil sickness more serious for
in Yunnan. Autotoxic substances can promote the occurrence of continuous cropping soil sickness. Phenolic ...acids exert a strong autotoxic effect on
. Based on UPLC-MS/MS, the levels of six phenolic acids with the strongest autotoxicity of
rhizospheric soil were tested. Based on Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology, the variation in the microbial diversity in the rhizospheric soil was used as an index to explore the interactions between phenolic acids and the soil microorganisms of the
rhizosphere. (1) Continuous
cropping significantly changed the microbial community structure. Continuous cropping increased bacterial Chao1 index and Shannon index and decreased fungal Shannon index. After
disease, bacterial Shannon index reduced and fungal Chao1 index decreased. (2) Phenolic acid significantly changed the bacterial community structure. VA significantly reduced the bacterial Shannon index. Exogenous
-HA, FA, SA, and VA significantly increased the fungal Chao1 index and
-HA showed the most significant effect. Para-HA affected bacterial specificity, and VA affected fungal specificity. (3) VA was positively correlated with most fungi and bacteria. Para-HA was positively correlated with
and
. Para-HA was also positively correlated with plant pathogens (
and
). Para-HA and VA were able to promote the growth of primary pathogenic bacteria. Thus,
-HA and VA are the main phenolic acid-autotoxin substances in
under continuous cropping. (4) A correlation analysis of soil environmental factors associated with fungal and bacterial communities showed that AK, TN, OM, and HN were most strongly correlated with soil microorganisms. (5) The microorganisms in the rhizosphere of 3-year-old soil planted with
exhibited obvious effects on the degradation of the four phenolic acids. The effect of soil microorganisms on phenolic acids was first-order kinetic degradation with a high degradation rate and a half-life of less than 4.5 h. The results showed that phenolic acids could promote the growth of pathogenic bacteria. And the interaction between rhizospheric soil microorganisms and phenolic acids was the main cause of the disturbance of
rhizosphere microflora.
Abstract
Microbial communities of wetlands play key roles in the earth’s ecology and stability. To elucidate the cold adaptation mechanisms of bacteria in plateau wetlands, we conducted comparative ...genomic analyses of
Pseudomonas sivasensis
and closely related lineages. The genome of
P. sivasensis
W-6, a cold-adapted bacterium isolated from the Napahai plateau wetland, was sequenced and analyzed. The genome length was 6,109,123 bp with a G+C content of 59.5%. Gene prediction yielded 5360 protein-coding sequences, 70 tRNAs, 24 gene islands, and 2 CRISPR sequences. The isolate contained evidence of horizontal gene transfer events during its evolution. Two prophages were predicted and indicated that W-6 was a lysogen. The cold adaptation of the W-6 strain showed psychrophilic rather than psychrotrophic characteristics. Cold-adapted bacterium W-6 can utilize glycogen and trehalose as resources, associated with carbohydrate-active enzymes, and survive in a low-temperature environment. In addition, the cold-adapted mechanisms of the W-6 included membrane fluidity by changing the unsaturated fatty acid profile, the two-component regulatory systems, anti-sense transcription, the role played by
rpsU
genes in the translation process, etc. The genome-wide analysis of W-6 provided a deeper understanding of cold-adapted strategies of bacteria in environments. We elucidated the adaptive mechanism of the psychrophilic W-6 strain for survival in a cold environment, which provided a basis for further study on host-phage coevolution.
Contamination of waters, soils, sediments and other environmental media by steroid estrogens is an emerging health issue because estrogens exhibit toxic effects on fishes and animals. Levels of ...steroid estrogens vary widely, ranging from below the detection limit to hundreds of nanograms per liter. Estrogens alter hormone levels and the homeostasis system of living organisms, they increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases, prostate cancer and breast cancer in humans and they may induce reproductive disorders, fetal malformations and feminization of males. Here, we review detection methods of steroid estrogens in water samples. Methods mainly include chemical analysis, immunoassays and bioassays. Advanced sensors increase the selectivity and sensitivity of electrochemical assays. For instance, graphene-based sensors can decrease the detection limit to 50 fM, though estrogen analogues may interfere. Immunoassays such as ELISA have the advantages of high sensitivity, fast analysis speed and wide applicability from 2 to 4000 ng/L, though it is susceptible to cross-reactivity.
A phage PEf771 that specifically infects and lyses pathogenic
Enterococcus faecalis
YN771 in patients with refractory periapical periodontitis was used to investigate resistance against
E. faecalis
...infection in vitro and in vivo. PEf771 completely lysed YN771 within 3 h, with a multiplicity of infection of 1. Compared with ten routinely used clinical antibiotics, PEf771 demonstrated the highest bacteriostatic effect within 72 h. The antibacterial effect of PEf771 on extracted teeth within 72 h was better than that of conventional root canal disinfectants such as camphorated phenol, formaldehyde cresol solution, and Ca(OH)
2
(
P
< 0.05) within 72 h. Using
E. faecalis
, intraperitoneal and periapical infection models were established using Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. The results showed that all SD rats inoculated with 9.6 × 10
11
CFU/mL
E. faecalis
YN771 or 2.9 × 10
11
CFU/mL
E. faecalis
RYN771 died within 8 h. Additionally, all SD rats inoculated with YN771 and treated with antibiotics died within 72 h. Although SD rats inoculated with RYN771 and treated with antibiotics survived for 72 h, the pathological anatomy of these rats showed purulent discharge, numerous pus and blood-filled ascites, and extensive liver abscesses. Notably, YN771 rats treated with PEf771 and RYN771 rats treated with RPEf771 survived for 72 h, and their pathological anatomy showed that the liver, kidneys, intestine, and mesenteries were normal. Computed tomography analysis of SD rats infected with periapical periodontitis showed pathological changes in experimental teeth inoculated with YN771, despite undergoing a normal root canal treatment. Contrastingly, none of the experimental teeth exhibited root periapical inflammation following PEf771 treatment. Hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed a gap between the periodontal ligament and the cementum of experimental teeth, whereas PEf771-treated teeth exhibited normal results. These findings suggested that phage therapy using PEf771 might effectively prevent
E. faecalis
infection after root canal treatment.
Key points
•
Compared with common clinical antibiotics, PEf771 showed the highest antibacterial.
•
The liver, kidney, intestine, and mesentery of SD rats treated with PEf771 were normal.
•
Phage therapy can effectively prevent E. faecalis YN771 and RYN771 infection.
Viruses play important roles in ecosystems by interfering with the central metabolic pathways of the host during infection via the expression of auxiliary metabolic genes (AMGs), altering the ...productivity of ecosystems and thus affecting geochemical cycling. In this study, the genetic diversity of phosphorus metabolism AMGs phoH, phoU and pstS was investigated by phylogenetic analysis, PCoA analysis, and alpha diversity analysis based on metagenomic data. It was found that the majority of the sequences were unique to Napahai plateau wetland. It was shown that the genetic diversity of phoH, phoU and pstS genes was independent of both habitats and host origins. In addition, the metabolic pathway of AMGs associated with the phosphorus cycling was identified based on metagenomic data. When phosphorus is deficient, virus utilizes AMGs to affect the metabolic pathway, contributing to higher phosphorus levels in the host and facilitating virus survival, replication, and propagation in the host cell.
Antiviral drug development is important for human health, and the emergence of novel COVID-19 variants has seriously affected human lives and safety. A bacteriophage—a bacterial virus with a small ...and simple structure—is an ideal experimental candidate for studying the interactions between viruses and their hosts. In this study, the effects and mechanisms of catecholamines on phages were explored, and dopamine (DA) was found to have general and efficient anti-infection effects. A clear dose-dependent effect was observed when different phages were treated with DA, with higher DA concentrations exhibiting stronger anti-phage activity. The half maximal inhibitory concentration values of DA for vB-EcoS-IME167, T4 Phage, and VMY22 were determined as 0.26, 0.12, and 0.73 mg mL
−1
, respectively. The anti-phage effect of DA increased with treatment duration. In addition, the anti-infection activities of DA against vB-EcoS-IME167, T4 Phage, and VMY22 were increased by 10
5
, 10
4
, and 10
4
folds compared to that of the control. This ability of DA was observed only in phages and not in the host bacteria. Morphological changes of phages were observed under transmission electron microscopy following their treatment with DA, and considerable changes in adsorption were confirmed
via
quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. These results suggest that the anti-phage effect of DA is primarily due to the destruction of the external structure of the phage. This study, to the best of our knowledge, is the first to report the universal anti-phage infection effect of dopamine, which provides novel information regarding DA and forms a basis for further research and development of antiviral drugs. Moreover, it provides a new perspective for the research about the defense and counter-defense of bacteria and bacteriophages.
Although bacteriophages are more numerous and have smaller genomes than their bacterial hosts, relatively few have their genomes sequenced. Here, we isolated the
Pseudomonas fluorescens
bacteriophage ...from Napahai plateau wetland and performed de novo genome sequencing. Based on the previous biological characteristics and bioinformatics analysis, it was determined that VW-6B was a linear double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) phage with 35,306 bp, with 56.76% G+C content and 197 bp tandem repeats. The VW-6B genome contained 46 open-reading frames (ORFs), and no tRNA genes were found. Based on phage genome structure, sequence comparison, and collinear analysis, VW-6B should be classified into the family
Siphoviridae
and be considered as a member of a new species in the Mu-like phage. The newly isolated bacteriophage can specifically infect
P. fluorescens
, which further enriches the diversity of known bacteriophages and provides a basis for the subsequent research and application of bacteriophages.
The discovery of the TRAIL protein and its death receptors DR4/5 changed the horizon of cancer research because TRAIL specifically kills cancer cells. However, the validity of TRAIL-based cancer ...therapies has yet to be established, as most cancer cells are TRAIL-resistant. In this report, we demonstrate that TRAIL-resistance of many cancer cell lines can be overcome after siRNA- or rocaglamide-mediated downregulation of c-FLIP expression and simultaneous inhibition of IAPs activity using AT406, a pan-antagonist of IAPs. Combined triple actions of the TRAIL, the IAPs inhibitor, AT406, and the c-FLIP expression inhibitor, rocaglamide (ART), markedly improve TRAIL-induced apoptotic effects in most solid cancer cell lines through the activation of an extrinsic apoptosis pathway. Furthermore, this ART combination does not harm normal cells. Among the 18 TRAIL-resistant cancer cell lines used, 15 cell lines become sensitive or highly sensitive to ART, and two out of three glioma cell lines exhibit high resistance to ART treatment due to very low levels of procaspase-8. This study provides a rationale for the development of TRAIL-induced apoptosis-based cancer therapies.
Chryseobacterium indologenes
is one of the primary causative agents of root rot of
Panax notoginseng
, which significantly affected plant growth and caused economic losses. With the increasing ...incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial phytopathogens, phage therapy has been garnered renewed attention in treating pathogenic bacteria. However, the therapeutic potential of phage therapy on root rot of
P. notoginseng
has not been evaluated. In this study, we isolated a novel lytic phage MA9V-1 infecting
C. indologenes
MA9 from sewage and monitored the formation of clear and round plaques with a diameter of approximately 0.5–1.5 mm. Phage MA9V-1 exhibited rapid absorption (>75% in 8 min), a latency period of 20 min, and a burst size of 10 particles per cell. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the phage MA9V-1 is a new myovirus hosting
C. indologenes
MA9. Sequencing of phage genomes revealed that phage MA9V-1 contained a linear double-stranded DNA genome of 213,507 bp with 263 predicted open reading frames, including phage structure, host lysing, and DNA polymerase/helicase but no genes of tRNA, virulence, and antibiotic resistance. Our proteomic tree and genomic analysis revealed that phage MA9V-1 shares identity with
Sphingomonas
phage PAU and
Tenacibaculum
phage PTm1; however, they also showed apparent differences. Further systemic evaluation using phage therapy experiments on
P. notoginseng
suggested that phage MA9V-1 can be a potential candidate for effectively controlling
C. indologenes
MA9 infection. Thus, we have presented a novel approach to solving root rot in
P. notoginseng
.
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