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Microbiology and Molecular Biology... Dec 2021Accumulation of phosphorylated intermediates during cellular metabolism can have wide-ranging toxic effects on many organisms, including humans and the pathogens that...
Accumulation of phosphorylated intermediates during cellular metabolism can have wide-ranging toxic effects on many organisms, including humans and the pathogens that infect them. These toxicities can be induced by feeding an upstream metabolite (a sugar, for instance) while simultaneously blocking the appropriate metabolic pathway with either a mutation or an enzyme inhibitor. Here, we survey the toxicities that can arise in the metabolism of glucose, galactose, fructose, fructose-asparagine, glycerol, trehalose, maltose, mannose, mannitol, arabinose, and rhamnose. Select enzymes in these metabolic pathways may serve as novel therapeutic targets. Some are conserved broadly among prokaryotes and eukaryotes (e.g., glucose and galactose) and are therefore unlikely to be viable drug targets. However, others are found only in bacteria (e.g., fructose-asparagine, rhamnose, and arabinose), and one is found in fungi but not in humans (trehalose). We discuss what is known about the mechanisms of toxicity and how resistance is achieved in order to identify the prospects and challenges associated with targeted exploitation of these pervasive metabolic vulnerabilities.
Topics: Arabinose; Galactose; Humans; Lactose; Phosphates; Xylose
PubMed: 34585982
DOI: 10.1128/MMBR.00123-21 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jun 2019A substantial and increasing number of human diseases are associated with changes in the gut microbiota, and discovering the molecules and mechanisms underlying these...
A substantial and increasing number of human diseases are associated with changes in the gut microbiota, and discovering the molecules and mechanisms underlying these associations represents a major research goal. Multiple studies associate , a prevalent gut microbe, with Crohn's disease, a major type of inflammatory bowel disease. We have found that synthesizes and secretes a complex glucorhamnan polysaccharide with a rhamnose backbone and glucose sidechains. Chemical and spectroscopic studies indicated that the glucorhamnan was largely a repeating unit of five sugars with a linear backbone formed from three rhamnose units and a short sidechain composed of two glucose units. The rhamnose backbone is made from 1,2- and 1,3-linked rhamnose units, and the sidechain has a terminal glucose linked to a 1,6-glucose. This glucorhamnan potently induces inflammatory cytokine (TNFα) secretion by dendritic cells, and TNFα secretion is dependent on toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). We also identify a putative biosynthetic gene cluster for this molecule, which has the four biosynthetic genes needed to convert glucose to rhamnose and the five glycosyl transferases needed to build the repeating pentasaccharide unit of the inflammatory glucorhamnan.
Topics: Animals; Cells, Cultured; Clostridiales; Crohn Disease; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Polysaccharides, Bacterial; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
PubMed: 31182571
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1904099116 -
Reproductive Health Jun 2022Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common vaginal infectious diseases in female reproductive period. Although the existing view is that probiotic treatment may... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
BACKGROUND
Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common vaginal infectious diseases in female reproductive period. Although the existing view is that probiotic treatment may be one of the feasible methods for the treatment of BV, different intervention methods lead to different treatment results. Therefore, up-to-date and comprehensive evidence in this regard is essential for the development of intervention strategies.
OBJECTIVE
This meta-analysis aims to systematically evaluate the role of probiotics in the treatment of BV in adult women.
METHODS
We searched the databases of Embase, Cochrane Library, PubMed, Web of Science and ClinicalTrials.gov for Randomized Controlled Trials published until November 7, 2021. Meta-analysis was performed by Revman5.3 software to systematically evaluate the clinical efficacy of probiotics adjunctive therapy in the treatment of BV. The literatures were screened and evaluated according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Chi-square test was used to test the heterogeneity between trials. Random or Fixed effect models were used to analyze the cure rate of BV.
RESULTS
Fourteen randomized controlled trials compared the efficacy of probiotics with antibiotic therapy (probiotics + antibiotics group) versus antibiotics alone or plus placebo (antibiotics (+ placebo) group) for BV [Risk Ratios (RR) = 1.23, 95% CI (1.05, 1.43), P = 0.009]. Three compared the efficacy of probiotics regimen (probiotics group) and antibiotics (antibiotics group) in the treatment of BV [RR = 1.12, 95% CI (0.60, 2.07), P = 0.72]. Another Three compared the efficacy of probiotics regimen (probiotics group) with placebo (placebo group) [RR = 15.20, 95% CI (3.87, 59.64), P < 0.0001].
CONCLUSION
Our meta-analysis suggests probiotics may play a positive role in the treatment of BV, but more strong evidence is needed.
Topics: Administration, Intravaginal; Adult; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Female; Humans; Probiotics; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Vagina; Vaginosis, Bacterial
PubMed: 35698149
DOI: 10.1186/s12978-022-01449-z -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Aug 2022Rhamnose-associated molecules are attracting attention because they are present in bacteria but not mammals, making them potentially useful as antibacterial agents.... (Review)
Review
Rhamnose-associated molecules are attracting attention because they are present in bacteria but not mammals, making them potentially useful as antibacterial agents. Additionally, they are also valuable for tumor immunotherapy. Thus, studies on the functions and biosynthetic pathways of rhamnose-containing compounds are in progress. In this paper, studies on the biosynthetic pathways of three rhamnose donors, i.e., deoxythymidinediphosphate-L-rhamnose (dTDP-Rha), uridine diphosphate-rhamnose (UDP-Rha), and guanosine diphosphate rhamnose (GDP-Rha), are firstly reviewed, together with the functions and crystal structures of those associated enzymes. Among them, dTDP-Rha is the most common rhamnose donor, and four enzymes, including glucose-1-phosphate thymidylyltransferase RmlA, dTDP-Glc-4,6-dehydratase RmlB, dTDP-4-keto-6-deoxy-Glc-3,5-epimerase RmlC, and dTDP-4-keto-Rha reductase RmlD, are involved in its biosynthesis. Secondly, several known rhamnosyltransferases from , , , , and are discussed. In these studies, however, the functions of rhamnosyltransferases were verified by employing gene knockout and radiolabeled substrates, which were almost impossible to obtain and characterize the products of enzymatic reactions. Finally, the application of rhamnose-containing compounds in disease treatments is briefly described.
Topics: Biosynthetic Pathways; Racemases and Epimerases; Rhamnose; Thymine Nucleotides; Uridine Diphosphate
PubMed: 36014553
DOI: 10.3390/molecules27165315 -
Microbial Cell Factories Sep 2021Escherichia coli is the most widely used bacterium in prokaryotic expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. In BL21 (DE3), the gene encoding the T7...
Escherichia coli is the most widely used bacterium in prokaryotic expression system for the production of recombinant proteins. In BL21 (DE3), the gene encoding the T7 RNA polymerase (T7 RNAP) is under control of the strong lacUV5 promoter (P), which is leakier and more active than wild-type lac promoter (P) under certain growth conditions. These characteristics are not advantageous for the production of those recombinant proteins with toxic or growth-burdened. On the one hand, leakage expression of T7 RNAP leads to rapid production of target proteins under non-inducing period, which sucks resources away from cellular growth. Moreover, in non-inducing or inducing period, high expression of T7 RNAP production leads to the high-production of hard-to-express proteins, which may all lead to loss of the expression plasmid or the occurrence of mutations in the expressed gene. Therefore, more BL21 (DE3)-derived variant strains with rigorous expression and different expression level of T7 RNAP should be developed. Hence, we replaced P with other inducible promoters respectively, including arabinose promoter (P), rhamnose promoter (P), tetracycline promoter (P), in order to optimize the production of recombinant protein by regulating the transcription level and the leakage level of T7 RNAP. Compared with BL21 (DE3), the constructed engineered strains had higher sensitivity to inducers, among which rhamnose and tetracycline promoters had the lowest leakage ability. In the production of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), a protein that causes host autolysis, the engineered strain BL21 (DE3::ara) exhibited higher biomass, cell survival rate and foreign protein expression level than that of BL21 (DE3). In addition, these engineered strains had been successfully applied to improve the production of membrane proteins, including E. coli cytosine transporter protein (CodB), the E. coli membrane protein insertase/foldase (YidC), and the E. coli F-ATPase subunit b (Ecb). The engineered strains constructed in this paper provided more host choices for the production of recombinant proteins.
Topics: Cloning, Molecular; DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; Escherichia coli; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genetic Vectors; Membrane Transport Proteins; Protein Transport; Recombinant Proteins; Viral Proteins
PubMed: 34565359
DOI: 10.1186/s12934-021-01680-6 -
Gastroenterology Aug 2021Oral monosaccharides and disaccharides are used to measure in vivo human gut permeability through urinary excretion. (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND
Oral monosaccharides and disaccharides are used to measure in vivo human gut permeability through urinary excretion.
AIMS
The aims were as follows: (1) to obtain normative data on small intestinal and colonic permeability; (2) to assess variance on standard 16 g fiber diet performed twice; (3) to determine whether dietary fiber influences gut permeability measurements; and (4) to present pilot data using 2 selected probes in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D).
METHODS
Sixty healthy female and male adults, age 18-70 years, participated in 3 randomized studies (2 studies on 16.25 g and 1 study on 32.5 g fiber) in otherwise standardized diets. At each test, the following sugars were ingested: C-mannitol, C-mannitol, rhamnose (monosaccharides), sucralose, and lactulose (disaccharides). Standardized meals were administered from 24 hours before and during 24 hours post-sugars with 3 urine collections: 0-2, 2-8, and 8-24 hours. Sugars were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Eighteen patients with IBS-D underwent 24-hour excretion studies after oral C-mannitol and lactulose.
RESULTS
Baseline sugars (>3-fold above lower limits of quantitation) were identified in the 3 studies: C-mannitol in all participants; sucralose in 4-8, and rhamnose in 1-3. Median excretions/24 h (percentage of administered dose) for C-mannitol, rhamnose, lactulose, and sucralose were ∼30%, ∼15%, 0.32%, and 2.3%, respectively. C-mannitol and rhamnose reflected mainly small intestinal permeability. Intraindividual saccharide excretions were consistent, with minor differences with 16.25 g vs 32.5 g fiber diets. Median interindividual coefficient of variation was 76.5% (10-90 percentile: 34.6-111.0). There were no significant effects of sex, age, or body mass index on permeability measurements in health. C-mannitol measurements are feasible in IBS-D.
CONCLUSIONS
Baseline C-mannitol excretion precludes its use; C-mannitol is the preferred probe for small intestinal permeability.
Topics: Administration, Oral; Adult; Aged; Biomarkers; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Colon; Cross-Over Studies; Diagnostic Techniques, Digestive System; Diarrhea; Dietary Fiber; Disaccharides; Female; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Intestinal Mucosa; Intestine, Small; Irritable Bowel Syndrome; Male; Middle Aged; Monosaccharides; Permeability; Pilot Projects; Predictive Value of Tests; Renal Elimination; Reproducibility of Results; Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Urinalysis
PubMed: 33865841
DOI: 10.1053/j.gastro.2021.04.020 -
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) Feb 2023Aging is a complex physiological process that can be accelerated by chemical (high blood glucose levels) or physical (solar exposure) factors. It is accompanied by the...
Aging is a complex physiological process that can be accelerated by chemical (high blood glucose levels) or physical (solar exposure) factors. It is accompanied by the accumulation of altered molecules in the human body. The accumulation of oxidatively modified and glycated proteins is associated with inflammation and the progression of chronic diseases (aging). The use of antiglycating agents is one of the recent approaches in the preventive strategy of aging and natural compounds seem to be promising candidates. Our study focused on the anti-aging effect of the flavonoid hesperetin, its glycoside hesperidin and its carbohydrate moieties rutinose and rhamnose on young and physiologically aged normal human dermal fibroblasts (NHDFs). The anti-aging activity of the test compounds was evaluated by measuring matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and inflammatory interleukins by ELISA. The modulation of elastase, hyaluronidase, and collagenase activity by the tested substances was evaluated spectrophotometrically by tube tests. Rutinose and rhamnose inhibited the activity of pure elastase, hyaluronidase, and collagenase. Hesperidin and hesperetin inhibited elastase and hyaluronidase activity. In skin aging models, MMP-1 and MMP-2 levels were reduced after application of all tested substances. Collagen I production was increased after the application of rhamnose and rutinose.
Topics: Humans; Collagenases; Hesperidin; Hyaluronoglucosaminidase; Pancreatic Elastase; Rhamnose; Skin Aging
PubMed: 36838716
DOI: 10.3390/molecules28041728 -
International Journal of Molecular... Sep 2022Biosurfactants are naturally occurring amphiphiles that are being actively pursued as alternatives to synthetic surfactants in cleaning, personal care, and cosmetic...
Biosurfactants are naturally occurring amphiphiles that are being actively pursued as alternatives to synthetic surfactants in cleaning, personal care, and cosmetic products. On the basis of their ability to mobilize and disperse hydrocarbons, biosurfactants are also involved in the bioremediation of oil spills. Rhamnolipids are low molecular weight glycolipid biosurfactants that consist of a mono- or di-rhamnose head group and a hydrocarbon fatty acid chain. We examine here the micellization of purified mono-rhamnolipids and di-rhamnolipids in aqueous solutions and their adsorption on model solid surfaces. Rhamnolipid micellization in water is endothermic; the CMC (critical micellization concentration) of di-rhamnolipid is lower than that of mono-rhamnolipid, and both CMCs decrease upon NaCl addition. Rhamnolipid adsorption on gold surface is mostly reversible and the adsorbed layer is rigid. A better understanding of biosurfactant self-assembly and adsorption properties is important for their utilization in consumer products and environmental applications.
Topics: Adsorption; Fatty Acids; Glycolipids; Gold; Hydrocarbons; Rhamnose; Sodium Chloride; Surface-Active Agents; Water
PubMed: 36232408
DOI: 10.3390/ijms231911090 -
NPJ Vaccines Mar 2023The Group A Carbohydrate (GAC) is a defining feature of Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) or Streptococcus pyogenes. It is a conserved and simple polysaccharide,... (Review)
Review
The Group A Carbohydrate (GAC) is a defining feature of Group A Streptococcus (Strep A) or Streptococcus pyogenes. It is a conserved and simple polysaccharide, comprising a rhamnose backbone and GlcNAc side chains, further decorated with glycerol phosphate on approximately 40% GlcNAc residues. Its conservation, surface exposure and antigenicity have made it an interesting focus on Strep A vaccine design. Glycoconjugates containing this conserved carbohydrate should be a key approach towards the successful mission to build a universal Strep A vaccine candidate. In this review, a brief introduction to GAC, the main carbohydrate component of Strep A bacteria, and a variety of published carrier proteins and conjugation technologies are discussed. Components and technologies should be chosen carefully for building affordable Strep A vaccine candidates, particularly for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Towards this, novel technologies are discussed, such as the prospective use of bioconjugation with PglB for rhamnose polymer conjugation and generalised modules for membrane antigens (GMMA), particularly as low-cost solutions to vaccine production. Rational design of "double-hit" conjugates encompassing species specific glycan and protein components would be beneficial and production of a conserved vaccine to target Strep A colonisation without invoking an autoimmune response would be ideal.
PubMed: 36977677
DOI: 10.1038/s41541-023-00639-5