Chitooligosaccharide (COS), which is acknowledged for possessing multiple functions, is a kind of low-molecular-weight polymer prepared by degrading chitosan via enzymatic, chemical methods, etc. COS ...has comprehensive applications in various fields including food, agriculture, pharmacy, clinical therapy, and environmental industries. Besides having excellent properties such as biodegradability, biocompatibility, adsorptive abilities and non-toxicity like chitin and chitosan, COS has better solubility. In addition, COS has strong biological functions including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, immunomodulatory, neuroprotective effects, etc. The present paper has summarized the preparation methods, analytical techniques and biological functions to provide an overall understanding of the application of COS.
Probiotics, recognized as beneficial and active microorganisms, often face challenges in maintaining their functionality under harsh conditions such as exposure to stomach acid and bile salts. In ...this investigation, we developed probiotic microcapsules and assessed their protective effects and underlying mechanisms in a murine model of dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis using male C57BL/6J mice. The administration of the probiotic microcapsules significantly mitigated body weight loss, prevented colon length shortening, decreased the disease activity index scores, and reduced histopathological scores in mice with DSS-induced colitis. Concurrently, the microencapsulated probiotics preserved intestinal barrier integrity by upregulating the expressions of tight junction proteins ZO-1 and occludin, as well as the mucus layer component MUC-2. Moreover, the treatment with probiotic microcapsules suppressed the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome signaling pathway in the context of DSS-induced colitis. In conclusion, these findings support the utilization of probiotic microcapsules as a potential functional food ingredient to maintain the permeability of the intestinal barrier and alleviate colonic inflammation in UC.
•ASA reduced fusarium rot severity and NEO distribution in muskmelon fruits inoculated with F. sulphureum.•ASA increased the generation of O2.− and H2O2 by activating plant membrane NOX.•ASA enhanced ...antioxidant enzymes’ activity of POD, CAT and SOD and ascorbate-glutathione cycle.•ASA improved gene expressions involved in ROS metabolism.
Major losses in the harvested muskmelon fruit can be attributed to decay fungi. Fusarium sulphureum is the major causal agent of fusarium rot in muskmelon, which in turn, not only causes quality deterioration but also leads to neosolaniol (NEO) contamination. Therefore, new strategies to manage muskmelon postharvest decay and decrease NEO production are of paramount importance. Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), a derivative of salicylic acid (SA), is a putative endogenous signal molecular and can induce resistance against decay fungi in postharvest fruit and vegetable. To investigate the mechanism of induced resistance by ASA treatment against fusarium rot of muskmelon, the fruit was treated with ASA, followed by the inoculation with F. sulphureum. Results showed that the reduction of fusarium rot severity and the suppression of NEO accumulation were linked with the elevation of ROS metabolism. ASA treatment enhanced ROS accumulation and induced the enzymatic activities and up-regulated gene expressions involved in ROS metabolism. Taken together, the present study provides substantial evidence which ASA induced resistance against F. sulphureum in muskmelon fruit to control the fusarium rot development.
There have been inconsistent results regarding the use of carotid artery endarterectomy (CEA) versus carotid artery stenting (CAS) for contralateral carotid occlusion (CCO). This study aimed to ...determine the optimal revascularization technique for patients with CCO.
We systematically searched the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases to identify eligible studies published from inception to January 2, 2021. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to calculate pooled effect estimates using a random-effects model. Sensitivity, subgroup, and publication bias analyses were also performed.
Six studies involving 6,953 patients were selected for inclusion in this meta-analysis. Our results showed that while CEA was not associated with an increased risk of stroke compared to CAS (OR: 1.07; 95% CI: 0.75-1.51; P = 0.713), CEA was associated with a reduced risk of death compared to CAS (OR: 0.45; 95% CI: 0.29-0.70; P < 0.001). Furthermore, there were no significant differences between CEA and CAS for the risks of myocardial infarction (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 0.73-2.62; P = 0.319) or major adverse cardiovascular events (OR: 1.03; 95% CI: 0.56-1.88; P = 0.926). Finally, the risk of myocardial infarction for CEA versus CAS was affected by disease status, while the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events was affected by the proportions of patients with male gender, coronary artery disease, and current or prior smoking.
This study found that CEA and CAS resulted in similar outcomes for patients with CCO, while the risk of death was reduced in patients treated with CEA. Further high-level evidence should be collected to verify the results of this study.
Iron deficiency is a major global agricultural problem. Siderophores can help organisms to uptake iron in form of siderophore-Fe
3+
complexes and then in the cell cytosol, iron is reducted and ...released in ferrous form. This research aimed to obtain some efficient siderophore-producing bacterial strains and evaluate their plant growth-promoting effects in the iron-deficit environment. Two strains,
Brucella
sp. E7 and
Pseudomonas brassicae
W7, were isolated from rhizosphere soil. Both strains could produce maximum siderophores under the optimal conditions. Plant promoting experiment showed that many indicators of
Vigna radiata
seedling were all increased significantly by strain E7/W7 or the consortium of E7 + W7. Under no-iron and high iron stress, the inoculation treatment also showed growth promotion effects on both
Vigna radiata
and
Lolium multiflorum
. These results indicated that the potential ability of strain E7 and W7 in increasing agricultural production as a growth-promoting agent in iron-deficit soil.
The intestinal microbiota is increasingly linked to the pathogenesis of chronic enteropathies (CE) in dogs. While imbalances in duodenal and fecal microbial communities have been associated with ...mucosal inflammation, relatively little is known about alterations in mucosal bacteria seen with CE involving the ileum and colon.
To investigate the composition and spatial organization of mucosal microbiota in dogs with CE and controls.
Tissue sections from endoscopic biopsies of the ileum and colon from 19 dogs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), 6 dogs with granulomatous colitis (GC), 12 dogs with intestinal neoplasia, and 15 controls were studied by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) on a quantifiable basis.
The ileal and colonic mucosa of healthy dogs and dogs with CE is predominantly colonized by bacteria localized to free and adherent mucus compartments. CE dogs harbored more (P < 0.05) mucosal bacteria belonging to the Clostridium-coccoides/Eubacterium rectale group, Bacteroides, Enterobacteriaceae, and Escherichia coli versus controls. Within the CE group, IBD dogs had increased (P < 0.05) Enterobacteriaceae and E. coli bacteria attached onto surface epithelia or invading within the intestinal mucosa. Bacterial invasion with E. coli was observed in the ileal and colonic mucosa of dogs with GC (P < 0.05). Dogs with intestinal neoplasia had increased (P < 0.05) adherent (total bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli) and invasive (Enterobacteriaceae, E. coli, and Bacteroides) bacteria in biopsy specimens. Increased numbers of total bacteria adherent to the colonic mucosa were associated with clinical disease severity in IBD dogs (P < 0.05).
Pathogenic events in canine CE are associated with different populations of the ileal and colonic mucosal microbiota.
In the absence of effective vaccine(s), control of African swine fever caused by African swine fever virus (ASFV) must be based on early, efficient, cost-effective detection and strict control and ...elimination strategies. For this purpose, we developed an indirect ELISA capable of detecting ASFV antibodies in either serum or oral fluid specimens. The recombinant protein used in the ELISA was selected by comparing the early serum antibody response of ASFV-infected pigs (NHV-p68 isolate) to three major recombinant polypeptides (p30, p54, p72) using a multiplex fluorescent microbead-based immunoassay (FMIA). Non-hazardous (non-infectious) antibody-positive serum for use as plate positive controls and for the calculation of sample-to-positive (S:P) ratios was produced by inoculating pigs with a replicon particle (RP) vaccine expressing the ASFV p30 gene. The optimized ELISA detected anti-p30 antibodies in serum and/or oral fluid samples from pigs inoculated with ASFV under experimental conditions beginning 8 to 12 days post inoculation. Tests on serum (n = 200) and oral fluid (n = 200) field samples from an ASFV-free population demonstrated that the assay was highly diagnostically specific. The convenience and diagnostic utility of oral fluid sampling combined with the flexibility to test either serum or oral fluid on the same platform suggests that this assay will be highly useful under the conditions for which OIE recommends ASFV antibody surveillance, i.e., in ASFV-endemic areas and for the detection of infections with ASFV isolates of low virulence.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system characterized by the progressive impairment of neural activity. Studies have shown that 3,6'-disinapoyl sucrose (DISS) ...can alleviate the pathological symptoms of AD through the activation of the cAMP/CREB/BDNF signaling pathway. However, the exact biochemical mechanisms of action of DISS are not clear. This study explores metabolism of DISS in an AD mouse model, induced by the microinjection of a lentiviral expression plasmid of the APPswe
gene into CA1 of the hippocampus. After gavage administration of DISS (200 mg/kg), the kidneys, livers, brains, plasma, urine, and feces were collected for UHPLC-Orbitrap mass spectrometry analysis. Twenty metabolites, including the prototype drug of DISS, were positively or tentatively identified based on accurate mass measurements, characteristic fragmentation behaviors, and retention times. Thus, the metabolic pathways of DISS in AD mice were preliminarily elucidated through the identification of metabolites, such as ester bond cleavage, demethoxylation, demethylation, and sinapic acid-related products. Furthermore, differences in the in vivo distribution of several metabolites were observed between the model and sham control groups. These findings can provide a valuable reference for the pharmacological mechanisms and biosafety of DISS.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a large number of amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits in the brain. Therefore, inhibiting Aβ aggregation or destabilizing preformed aggregates could be a promising ...therapeutic target for halting/slowing the progression of AD. Chitosan oligosaccharides (COS) have previously been reported to exhibit antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. Recent study shows that COS could markedly decrease oligomeric Aβ-induced neurotoxicity and oxidative stress in rat hippocampal neurons. However, the potential mechanism that COS reduce Aβ-mediated neurotoxicity remains unclear. In the present study, our findings from circular dichroism spectroscopy, transmission electron microscope and thioflavin T fluorescence assay suggested that COS act as an inhibitor of Aβ aggregation and this effect shows dose-dependency. Moreover, data from thioflavin T assay indicated that COS could significantly inhibit fibrils formation and disrupt preformed fibrils in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, the addition of COS attenuated Aβ1-42-induced neurotoxicity in rat cortical neurons. Taken together, our results demonstrated for the first time that COS could inhibit Aβ1-42 fibrils formation and disaggregate preformed fibrils, suggesting that COS may have anti-Aβ fibrillogenesis and fibril-destabilizing properties. These findings highlight the potential role of COS as novel therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of AD.
PDF
