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Current Cardiovascular Imaging Reports 2015Novel imaging techniques using biomarkers have clarified the mechanisms of hitherto unanswered or misunderstood phenomena of coronary artery disease and enabled... (Review)
Review
Novel imaging techniques using biomarkers have clarified the mechanisms of hitherto unanswered or misunderstood phenomena of coronary artery disease and enabled evaluation of myocardial blood and tissue fluid flows in vivo. Dye-staining coronary angioscopy using Evans blue (EB) as the biomarker can visualize fibrin and damaged endothelial cells, revealing that the so-called platelet thrombus is frequently a fibrin-rich thrombus; occlusive transparent fibrin thrombus, but not platelet thrombus, is not infrequently a cause of acute coronary syndrome; "fluffy" coronary luminal surface is caused by fibrin threads arising from damaged endothelial cells and is a residue of an occlusive thrombus after autolysis in patients with acute coronary syndrome without angiographically demonstrable coronary stenosis; and web or membrane-like fibrin thrombus is a cause of stent edge restenosis. Fluorescent angioscopy using visual or near-infrared light wavelengths is now used clinically for molecular imaging of the substances such as lipoproteins and cholesterol that constitute coronary plaques. Dye-staining cardioscopy using EB or fluorescein enables direct and real-time visualization of subendocardial microcirculation.
PubMed: 25750692
DOI: 10.1007/s12410-015-9327-z -
Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic... Sep 2022Two separate late-term abortion outbreaks in Jersey heifers in July 2020 and December 2020 were investigated by the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic...
Two separate late-term abortion outbreaks in Jersey heifers in July 2020 and December 2020 were investigated by the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. We evaluated 3 whole fetuses and 11 sets of fresh and formalin-fixed fetal tissues during the course of the outbreaks. The late-term abortions were first identified at a heifer development site and subsequently observed at the dairy farm. Aborted fetuses had moderate-to-marked postmortem autolysis with no gross lesions identified. Observed clinical signs in cows at the dairy farm ranged from intermittent loose stools to acute post-abortion pyrexia and reduced feed intake. Routine histopathology and reproductive bacterial culture revealed acute, suppurative placentitis with moderate-to-heavy growth of spp. group B from stomach contents, liver, placenta, and heifer fecal contents. Serotyping identified subsp. serovar Brandenburg in all 14 fresh tissue cases, as well as individual and pooled heifer feces. Whole-genome sequencing analysis revealed that all isolates belonged to ST type 873 and possessed typhoid toxin genes, several fimbrial gene clusters, type III secretion system genes, and several pathogenicity islands. Abortions caused by Brandenburg have not been reported previously in dairy cattle in the United States, to our knowledge.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Female; Humans; Pregnancy; Salmonella; Salmonella Infections, Animal; Salmonella enterica; Serogroup
PubMed: 35762117
DOI: 10.1177/10406387221105890 -
Frontiers in Bioengineering and... 2020
PubMed: 33425880
DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.618383 -
Free Neuropathology Jan 2023Brain cell structure is a key determinant of neural function that is frequently altered in neurobiological disorders. Following the global loss of blood flow to the...
Brain cell structure is a key determinant of neural function that is frequently altered in neurobiological disorders. Following the global loss of blood flow to the brain that initiates the postmortem interval (PMI), cells rapidly become depleted of energy and begin to decompose. To ensure that our methods for studying the brain using autopsy tissue are robust and reproducible, there is a critical need to delineate the expected changes in brain cell morphometry during the PMI. We searched multiple databases to identify studies measuring the effects of PMI on the morphometry (i.e. external dimensions) of brain cells. We screened 2119 abstracts, 361 full texts, and included 172 studies. Mechanistically, fluid shifts causing cell volume alterations and vacuolization are an early event in the PMI, while the loss of the ability to visualize cell membranes altogether is a later event. Decomposition rates are highly heterogenous and depend on the methods for visualization, the structural feature of interest, and modifying variables such as the storage temperature or the species. Geometrically, deformations of cell membranes are common early events that initiate within minutes. On the other hand, topological relationships between cellular features appear to remain intact for more extended periods. Taken together, there is an uncertain period of time, usually ranging from several hours to several days, over which cell membrane structure is progressively lost. This review may be helpful for investigators studying human postmortem brain tissue, wherein the PMI is an unavoidable aspect of the research.
PubMed: 37384330
DOI: 10.17879/freeneuropathology-2023-4790 -
RSC Advances Jan 2022Nanostructures exhibit a bactericidal effect owing to physical interaction with the bacterial cell envelope. Here, we aimed to identify the mechanism underlying the...
Nanostructures exhibit a bactericidal effect owing to physical interaction with the bacterial cell envelope. Here, we aimed to identify the mechanism underlying the bactericidal effect of nanostructures based on bacterial autolysis, in contrast to previous reports focusing on structural characteristics. The time profiles of active cell ratios of the strains (WT, Δ, Δ, Δ70), incubation time of the wild-type (WT) strains, and autolysis inhibition of WT strains were evaluated with respect to the bactericidal effect of the applied nanostructures. Addition of Mg, an autolysis inhibitor, was not found to cause significant cell damage. The incubation phase was significantly associated with envelope damage. The lytic transglycosylase-lacking strain of Slt70 (Δ70) also showed only minimal envelope damage. Our results indicate that nanostructures may act by triggering bacterial autolysis.
PubMed: 35425160
DOI: 10.1039/d1ra07623j -
Journal of Biomolecular Structure &... Nov 2017Thrombin is an attractive target for antithrombotic therapy due to its central role in thrombosis and hemostasis as well as its role in inducing tumor growth,...
Thrombin is an attractive target for antithrombotic therapy due to its central role in thrombosis and hemostasis as well as its role in inducing tumor growth, metastasis, and tumor invasion. The thrombin-binding DNA aptamer (TBA), is under investigation for anticoagulant drugs. Although aptamer binding experiments have been revealed various effects on thrombin's enzymatic activities, the detailed picture of the thrombin's allostery from TBA binding is still unclear. To investigate thrombin's response to the aptamer-binding at the molecular level, we compare the mechanical properties and free energy landscapes of the free and aptamer-bound thrombin using microsecond-scale all-atom GPU-based molecular dynamics simulations. Our calculations on residue fluctuations and coupling illustrate the allosteric effects of aptamer-binding at the atomic level, highlighting the exosite II, 60s, γ and the sodium loops, and the alpha helix region in the light chains involved in the allosteric changes. This level of details clarifies the mechanisms of previous experimentally demonstrated phenomena, and provides a prediction of the reduced autolysis rate after aptamer-binding. The shifts in thrombin's ensemble of conformations and free energy surfaces after aptamer-binding demonstrate that the presence of bound-aptamer restricts the conformational freedom of thrombin suggesting that conformational selection, i.e. generalized allostery, is the dominant mechanism of thrombin-aptamer binding. The profound perturbation on thrombin's mechanical and thermodynamic properties due to the aptamer-binding, which was revealed comprehensively as a generalized allostery in this work, may be exploited in further drug discovery and development.
Topics: Allosteric Regulation; Amino Acid Sequence; Aptamers, Nucleotide; Humans; Molecular Dynamics Simulation; Protein Binding; Thermodynamics; Thrombin
PubMed: 27794633
DOI: 10.1080/07391102.2016.1254682 -
RSC Advances Aug 2020Self-cleavage of proteins is an important natural process that is difficult to control externally. Recently a new mechanism for the accelerated autolysis of trypsin was...
Self-cleavage of proteins is an important natural process that is difficult to control externally. Recently a new mechanism for the accelerated autolysis of trypsin was discovered involving polyanionic template polymers; however it relies on unspecific interactions and is inactive at elevated salt loads. We have now developed affinity copolymers that bind to the surface of proteases by specific recognition of selected amino acid residues. These are highly efficient trypsin inhibitors with low nanomolar IC levels and operate at physiological conditions. In this manuscript we show how these affinity copolymers employ the new mechanism of polymer-assisted self-digest (PAS) and act as a template for multiple protease molecules. Their elevated local concentration leads to accelerated autolysis on the accessible surface area and shields complexed areas. The resulting extremely efficient trypsin inhibition was studied by SDS-PAGE, gel filtration, CD, CZE and ESI-MS. We also present a simple theoretical model that simulates most experimental findings and confirms them as a result of multivalency and efficient reversible templating. For the first time, mass spectrometric kinetic analysis of the released peptide fragments gives deeper insight into the underlying mechanism and reveals that polymer-bound trypsin cleaves much more rapidly with low specificity at predominantly uncomplexed surface areas.
PubMed: 35520047
DOI: 10.1039/d0ra05827k -
Sheng Wu Gong Cheng Xue Bao = Chinese... Aug 2023Yeast autolysis affects the flavor and quality of beer. The regulation of yeast autolysis is a need for industrial beer production. Previous studies on brewer's yeast...
Yeast autolysis affects the flavor and quality of beer. The regulation of yeast autolysis is a need for industrial beer production. Previous studies on brewer's yeast autolysis showed that the citric acid cycle-related genes had a great influence on yeast autolysis. To explore the contribution of isocitrate dehydrogenase genes in autolysis, the and genes were destroyed or overexpressed in typical lager yeast Pilsner. The destruction of gene improved the anti-autolytic ability of yeast, and the anti-autolytic index after 96 h autolysis was 8.40, 1.5 times higher than that of the original strain. The destruction of gene increased the supply of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) and the NADPH/NADP ratio was 1.94. After fermentation, intracellular ATP level was 1.8 times higher than that of the original strain, while reactive oxygen species (ROS) was reduced by 10%. The destruction of gene resulted in rapid autolysis and a decrease in the supply of NADPH. Anti-autolytic index after 96 h autolysis was 4.03 and the NADPH/NADP ratio was 0.89. After fermentation, intracellular ATP level was reduced by 8% compared with original strain, ROS was 1.3 times higher than that of the original strain. The results may help understand the regulation mechanism of citric acid cycle-related genes on yeast autolysis and provide a basis for the selection of excellent yeast with controllable anti-autolytic performance.
Topics: Humans; Isocitrate Dehydrogenase; NADP; Reactive Oxygen Species; Autolysis; Adenosine Triphosphate
PubMed: 37622372
DOI: 10.13345/j.cjb.220790 -
Animal Bioscience Sep 2022This research determined the chemical composition and the apparent and standardized ileal digestibility (AID and SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) in whole...
Chemical composition and standardized ileal digestibility of crude protein and amino acid in whole yeast and autolyzed yeast derived from sugarcane ethanol production fed to growing pigs.
OBJECTIVE
This research determined the chemical composition and the apparent and standardized ileal digestibility (AID and SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) in whole yeast and autolyzed yeast derived from sugarcane ethanol production fed to growing pigs.
METHODS
Six growing pigs were randomly allocated in a replicated 3×3 Latin square design with 3 diets and 3 periods of 7 days each, resulting in a total of 6 experimental replications. Three assay diets were formulated using whole yeast, autolyzed yeast, or soybean meal as the sole sources of dietary CP and AA. Pigs were allowed to adapt to the assay diets for 5 days. Thereafter, ileal digesta samples were collected continuously for 8 hours on days 6 and 7.
RESULTS
There was no difference in the chemical composition between whole yeast and autolyzed yeast, but whole yeast had low digestibility of CP and AA due to the presence of a rigid cell wall. As conducting autolysis can induce cell wall damage, the AID and SID of CP and AA were greater in autolyzed yeast than in whole yeast.
CONCLUSION
The information obtained on the SID of CP and AA in both yeast products can be used for the accurate estimation of the bioavailability of CP and AA in feed formulations. The yeast products derived from sugarcane ethanol production are an alternative protein source in pig diets.
PubMed: 35507855
DOI: 10.5713/ab.21.0540 -
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Apr 2021As a genus that has evolved for resistance against adverse environmental factors and that readily exchanges genetic elements, enterococci are well adapted to the cheese... (Review)
Review
As a genus that has evolved for resistance against adverse environmental factors and that readily exchanges genetic elements, enterococci are well adapted to the cheese environment and may reach high numbers in artisanal cheeses. Their metabolites impact cheese flavor, texture, and rheological properties, thus contributing to the development of its typical sensorial properties. Due to their antimicrobial activity, enterococci modulate the cheese microbiota, stimulate autolysis of other lactic acid bacteria (LAB), control pathogens and deterioration microorganisms, and may offer beneficial effects to the health of their hosts. They could in principle be employed as adjunct/protective/probiotic cultures; however, due to their propensity to acquire genetic determinants of virulence and antibiotic resistance, together with the opportunistic character of some of its members, this genus does not possess Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) status. It is, however, noteworthy that some putative virulence factors described in foodborne enterococci may simply reflect adaptation to the food environment and to the human host as commensal. Further research is needed to help distinguish friend from foe among enterococci, eventually enabling exploitation of the beneficial aspects of specific cheese-associated strains. This review aims at discussing both beneficial and deleterious roles played by enterococci in artisanal cheeses, while highlighting the need for further research on such a remarkably hardy genus.
PubMed: 33920106
DOI: 10.3390/foods10040821