The essential oils from the Centaurea genus are well known for their pharmacological properties. The most abundant and dominant chemical components in Centaurea essential oils are ß-caryophyllene, ...hexadecanoic acid, spathulenol, pentacosane, caryophyllene oxide, and phytol. However, whether these dominant components are the key drivers for observed antimicrobial activity remains unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was dual. Here we provide comprehensive, literature-based data to correlate the chemical compounds in Centaurea essential oils with the tested antimicrobial activity. Secondly, we characterized the essential oil of Centaurea triumfettii All. squarrose knapweed using coupled system gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and tested its phytochemicals for antimicrobial activity against E. coli and S. epidermis using disc diffusion assay and monitoring their growth in Muller Hinton broth. The most abundant compounds in C. triumfettii essential oil were hexadecanoic acid (11.1%), spathulenol (10.8%), longifolene (8.8%), germacrene D (8.4%), aromadendrene oxide (6.0%) and linoleic acid (5.3%). Based on our analysis of literature data from other Centaurea essential oils, they were positively correlated with antimicrobial activity. Using an agar disk diffusion method, tested chemical constituents did not show experimental evidence to support this positive correlation to antimicrobial activity when we tested them as pure components. The antibacterial effect of essential oil constituents may be related to a complex synergistic, rather than a single component as suggested by performed network pharmacology analysis, underlying the theoretical interactions between the essential oil phytochemicals listed as potentially responsible for antimicrobial activity and should be confirmed in further in-depth studies. This is the first report on the comparative analysis of Centaurea essential oils with good antimicrobial activity, as well as the first analysis of chemical components of the essential oil from C. triumfettii and the first report of antimicrobial activity of the representative, pure components: aromadendrene, germacrene D, spathulenol, longifolene, and the mixture of selected chemical compounds. This work contributes to the body of knowledge on the genus Centaurea and C. triumfettii species.
Infectious diseases still threaten global human health, and host genetic factors have been indicated as determining risk factors for observed variations in disease susceptibility, severity, and ...outcome. We performed a genome-wide meta-analysis on 4624 subjects from the 10,001 Dalmatians cohort, with 14 infection-related traits. Despite a rather small number of cases in some instances, we detected 29 infection-related genetic associations, mostly belonging to rare variants. Notably, the list included the genes CD28, INPP5D, ITPKB, MACROD2, and RSF1, all of which have known roles in the immune response. Expanding our knowledge on rare variants could contribute to the development of genetic panels that could assist in predicting an individual's life-long susceptibility to major infectious diseases. In addition, longitudinal biobanks are an interesting source of information for identifying the host genetic variants involved in infectious disease susceptibility and severity. Since infectious diseases continue to act as a selective pressure on our genomes, there is a constant need for a large consortium of biobanks with access to genetic and environmental data to further elucidate the complex mechanisms behind host-pathogen interactions and infectious disease susceptibility.
Abstract
DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs), formed by the covalent conjugation of proteins to DNA, are toxic lesions that interfere with DNA metabolic processing and transcription. The development of an ...accurate biochemical assay for DPC isolation is a priority for the mechanistic understanding of their repair. Here, we propose the STAR assay for the direct quantification of DPCs, sensitive to physiologically relevant treatment conditions. Implementing the STAR assay revealed the formation of small cross-linked peptides on DNA, created by the proteolytic degradation of DPCs by SPRTN. The initial proteolytic degradation of DPCs is required for the downstream activation of DNA repair, which is mediated through the phosphorylation of H2Ax. This leads to the accumulation of DNA repair factors on chromatin and the subsequent complete removal of the cross-linked peptides. These results confirmed that the repair of DPCs is a two-step process, starting with proteolytic resection by SPRTN, followed by the repair of the underlying damage to the DNA.
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
The first step in DPC repair is SPRTN-mediated proteolysis. The remaining cross-linked peptides are finally resolved by the activation of DNA damage repair.
Abstract
The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the associations between the Mediterranean diet (MeDi), nutritional status parameters, muscle strength, and periodontal status in ...Dalmatian kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). 89 KTRs were included in this analysis, 40 (45%) women, with a mean age of 61 years (IQR = 13) and a mean time since kidney transplantation of 5 years (IQR = 6.6). An OHIP-14 questionnaire and questionnaire-based periodontal history were obtained from all participants, a comprehensive periodontal examination was performed. Body composition data, anthropometric and clinical parameters were collected for each study participant. The Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (MDSS) was used to assess MeDi adherence, and handgrip strength was measured with a hand dynamometer. Our results showed low adherence to MeDi in KTRs (28%) and almost 50% of KTRs suffer from severe forms of periodontitis. We also found a low OHIP-14 score and poor oral hygiene habits. KTRs with a less severe form of periodontitis had higher muscle mass and handgrip strength. MDSS score was associated with a higher number of teeth, and everyday cereal intake was inversely associated with the periodontitis stage. Our results demonstrate the associations between nutritional status, muscle strength, dietary habits, and periodontal health in Dalmatian KTRs.
Depression has been addressed as a predictor of worse outcomes in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs). Nutritional status plays a great role in treatment of this population. The Mediterranean diet ...(MeDi) has been associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the rate of depression and its correlations to nutritional status and dietary habits according to the MeDi in Dalmatian KTRs. We included 115 KTRs, and data about body composition and anthropometric, laboratory and clinical parameters were obtained for each study participant. The Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) questionnaire was used to assess depressive symptoms and the Mediterranean Diet Serving Score (MDSS) was used to assess adherence to the MeDi. We found the presence of depressive symptoms in 21.73% of the Dalmatian KTRs. BDI-II score was reciprocally associated with fat mass, trunk visceral fat, anthropometric parameters of obesity, triglyceride levels and olive oil consumption. Inverse associations were found between BDI-II score and skeletal muscle mass, handgrip strength, MCV, hemoglobin levels and consumption of fish and white meat, as suggested by the MeDi. Our results showed the interconnections between nutritional status, dietary habits and depression in Dalmatian KTRs.
The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize current evidence regarding body composition (BC) in SSc in order to gain new insights and improve clinical care in the context of ...the nutritional status of SSc patients.
The databases Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane Library were searched on 4 January 2023. Studies were included if they provided data regarding BC obtained by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) or bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) in patients with SSc and healthy controls (HC). The study design criteria for inclusion were cohort and observational studies. The risk of bias assessment was performed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. For meta-analysis, mean difference with a 95% confidence interval was obtained and all results were depicted as forest plots.
The number of retrieved publications was 593, of which nine were included in a random-effects meta-analysis totalling 489 SSc patients and 404 HC. Overall, significantly lower body mass index, lean mass (LM), fat mass (FM) and phase angle values were found in SSc patients when compared with HC. Furthermore, FM and LM were significantly lower in SSc patients when the DXA method was applied, whereas the same parameters were comparable between two groups of participants when BIA was applied.
Altered BC is characteristic of SSc patients indicating the need for regular nutritional status assessment in order to improve the quality of life and clinical care of patients with SSc.
•According to the meta-analysis, studies exploring disease activity/PsA severity and vitamin D influence are lacking.•Most immune mediated diseases, like PsA, have lower levels of vitamin D, however ...further studies are needed to ascertain a specific dynamic of vitamin D in PsA.•Geographical location, sun exposure, body composition and dietary habits have an important role in vitamin D metabolism and should be considered in PsA related research.•Vitamin D reduces the production of IL-2, IFN-γ and TNF-α, main cytokines contributing to synovial inflammation in PsA, therefore vitamin D should be further explored as a potential treatment in PsA.
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to summarize current evidence on vitamin D status in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) with a particular focus on disease activity.
PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane Library databases were searched for studies that investigated vitamin D levels in PsA. The search was conducted on 12th October 2022. Included studies were cohorts, RCTs or observational studies, those assessing the level of 25(OH)D3 with control group consisting of healthy or psoriasis (Pso) patients. Nottingham-Ottawa Quality Scale was used to assess methodological quality. Random effects meta-analysis model was applied with inverse variance weighting and mean difference with 95% CI was calculated.
Of 356 retrieved studies, 76 duplicates and 270 studies were excluded according to the exclusion criteria with one study unavailable. Four studies including 264 PsA patients and 287 healthy controls and five studies including 225 PsA patients and 391 Pso patients assessing vitamin D levels were eligible for meta-analysis. Vitamin D levels were lower in PsA patients compared to the healthy group (MD = -6.42; 95 % CI -8.31, -4.53; P < 0.01), while higher compared to Pso patients (MD = 2.37; 95 % CI 0.97, 3.78; P < 0.01). Included studies had moderate to low risk of bias.
In conclusion, PsA patients have lower vitamin D levels than the general population. However, further studies are essential to understand the role of vitamin D in the development and treatment of PsA and the differences in vitamin D metabolism in PsA and Pso.
The aim of the present review was to summarize the current evidence about the impact of vitamin D deficiency on pathology and clinical manifestations of Sjögren's disease (SD).
Databases PubMed, Web ...of Science, Scopus, and Cochrane library were searched for studies assessing the levels of vitamin D in SD patients using the following keywords: (vitamin D OR calciferol OR cholecalciferol OR 25-hydroxyvitamin D OR 25-hydroxycholecalciferol OR calcidiol OR calcitriol OR 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol) AND (Sjögren's Syndrome OR Sjögren's disease) accessed on 20 September 2022. Out of 248 retrieved studies, following the systematic review methodology and defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9 clinical studies were eligible to be included in the present review: 4 of them case-control, 4 cross-sectional, and 1 cohort study.
Nine studies totaling 670 SD patients and 857 healthy controls were eligible for meta-analysis with moderate to high methodological quality as determined by the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Scale (NOS). According to the obtained results, a high prevalence of hypovitaminosis D was observed in SD patients when compared to healthy controls (95% CI -10.43, -2.39;
< 0.01).
Available evidence points to lower levels of vitamin D in patients with SD in comparison to healthy controls. However, further studies are necessary to understand the underlying mechanisms associated with the role of vitamin D in the development and disease severity of SD.
Herniation of the intervertebral disc (IVDH) is the most common cause of neurological and intervertebral disc degeneration-related diseases. Since the disc starts to degenerate before it can be ...observed by currently available diagnostic methods, there is an urgent need for novel diagnostic approaches. To identify molecular networks and pathways which may play important roles in intervertebral disc herniation, as well as to reveal the potential features which could be useful for monitoring disease progression and prognosis, multi-omics profiling, including high-resolution liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based metabolomics and tandem mass tag (TMT)-based proteomics was performed. Cerebrospinal fluid of nine dogs with IVDH and six healthy controls were used for the analyses, and an additional five IVDH samples were used for proteomic data validation. Furthermore, multi-omics data were integrated to decipher a complex interaction between individual omics layers, leading to an improved prediction model. Together with metabolic pathways related to amino acids and lipid metabolism and coagulation cascades, our integromics prediction model identified the key features in IVDH, namely the proteins follistatin Like 1 (FSTL1), secretogranin V (SCG5), nucleobindin 1 (NUCB1), calcitonin re-ceptor-stimulating peptide 2 precursor (CRSP2) and the metabolites N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and adenine, involved in neuropathic pain, myelination, and neurotransmission and inflammatory response, respectively. Their clinical application is to be further investigated. The utilization of a novel integrative interdisciplinary approach may provide new opportunities to apply innovative diagnostic and monitoring methods as well as improve treatment strategies and personalized care for patients with degenerative spinal disorders.
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