Ιατρικά Άρθρα Αλέξανδρος Γ. Σφακιανάκης

Τρίτη 12 Δεκεμβρίου 2017

Antibiotics, Vol. 6, Pages 35: Nisin in Combination with Cinnamaldehyde and EDTA to Control Growth of Escherichia coli Strains of Swine Origin

Antibiotics, Vol. 6, Pages 35: Nisin in Combination with Cinnamaldehyde and EDTA to Control Growth of Escherichia coli Strains of Swine Origin

Antibiotics doi: 10.3390/antibiotics6040035

Authors: Des Field Inès Baghou Mary Rea Gillian Gardiner R. Ross Colin Hill

Post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) due to enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an economically important disease in pig production worldwide. Although antibiotics have contributed significantly to mitigate the economic losses caused by PWD, there is major concern over the increased incidence of antimicrobial resistance among bacteria isolated from pigs. Consequently, suitable alternatives that are safe and effective are urgently required. Many naturally occurring compounds, including the antimicrobial peptide nisin and a number of plant essential oils, have been widely studied and are reported to be effective as antimicrobial agents against pathogenic microorganisms. Here, we evaluate the potential of nisin in combination with the essential oil cinnamaldehyde and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) to control the growth of E. coli strains of swine origin including two characterized as ETEC. The results reveal that the use of nisin (10 μM) with low concentrations of trans-cinnamaldehyde (125 μg/mL) and EDTA (0.25–2%) resulted in extended lag phases of growth compared to when either antimicrobial is used alone. Further analysis through kill curves revealed that an approximate 1-log reduction in E. coli cell counts was observed against the majority of targets tested following 3 h incubation. These results highlight the potential benefits of combining the natural antimicrobial nisin with trans-cinnamaldehyde and EDTA as a new approach for the inhibition of E. coli strains of swine origin.

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Bacteriophage application for biocontrolling Shigella flexneri in contaminated foods

Abstract

Shigellosis (bacillary dysentery) is an acute enteric infection caused by members of Shigella genus. It causes annual deaths of approximately five million children in developing countries. Among Shigella spp., S. flexneri causes more serious forms of dysentery than other Shigella species. Due to the appearance of multidrug-resistant strains of Shigella spp., it is necessary to find alternative antimicrobial agents. The aims of this study were the isolation of a novel species-specific phage against S. flexneri and to evaluate its potential and efficacy for biocontrolling of S. flexneri in foods. Shigella flexneri PTCC 1234 was used as the host strain for bacteriophage isolation from waste water. A lytic phage of the Siphoviridae family was isolated and designated as vB_SflS-ISF001. The phage activity remained at high levels after 1 h of incubation at − 20 to 50 °C and was fairly stable for 1 h at pH values ranging from 7 to 9. The latent period and burst size were approximately 20 min and 53 ± 4 phages per host cell, respectively. Raw and cooked chicken breast were inoculated with a predetermined amount of S. flexneri and subjected to biocontrol test. The results showed that using vB_SflS-ISF001 phage led to more than two logs reduction in the count of viable S. flexneri. It was demonstrated that using vB_SflS-ISF001 phage is of high potential for developing an alternative strategy against S. flexneri contamination in foodstuffs.

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JDB, Vol. 5, Pages 17: The Role of Hedgehog Signalling in the Formation of the Ventricular Septum

JDB, Vol. 5, Pages 17: The Role of Hedgehog Signalling in the Formation of the Ventricular Septum

Journal of Developmental Biology doi: 10.3390/jdb5040017

Authors: Antonia Wiegering Ulrich Rüther Christoph Gerhardt

An incomplete septation of the ventricles in the vertebrate heart that disturbes the strict separation between the contents of the two ventricles is termed a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Together with bicuspid aortic valves, it is the most frequent congenital heart disease in humans. Until now, life-threatening VSDs are usually treated surgically. To avoid surgery and to develop an alternative therapy (e.g., a small molecule therapy), it is necessary to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying ventricular septum (VS) development. Consequently, various studies focus on the investigation of signalling pathways, which play essential roles in the formation of the VS. In the past decade, several reports found evidence for an involvement of Hedgehog (HH) signalling in VS development. In this review article, we will summarise the current knowledge about the association between HH signalling and VS formation and discuss the use of such knowledge to design treatment strategies against the development of VSDs.

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Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Exerts Selection Pressure Towards Luminal Phenotype Breast Cancer

Breast Care

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Genes, Vol. 8, Pages 382: Evolution of Karyotypes in Chameleons

Genes, Vol. 8, Pages 382: Evolution of Karyotypes in Chameleons

Genes doi: 10.3390/genes8120382

Authors: Michail Rovatsos Marie Altmanová Martina Johnson Pokorná Petr Velenský Antonio Sánchez Baca Lukáš Kratochvíl

The reconstruction of the evolutionary dynamics of karyotypes and sex determining systems in squamate reptiles is precluded by the lack of data in many groups including most chameleons (Squamata: Acrodonta: Chamaeleonidae). We performed cytogenetic analysis in 16 species of chameleons from 8 genera covering the phylogenetic diversity of the family and also phylogenetic reconstruction of karyotype evolution in this group. In comparison to other squamates, chameleons demonstrate rather variable karyotypes, differing in chromosome number, morphology and presence of interstitial telomeric signal (ITS). On the other hand, the location of rDNA is quite conserved among chameleon species. Phylogenetic analysis combining our new results and previously published data tentatively suggests that the ancestral chromosome number for chameleons is 2n = 36, which is the same as assumed for other lineages of the clade Iguania, i.e., agamids and iguanas. In general, we observed a tendency for the reduction of chromosome number during the evolution of chameleons, however, in Rieppeleon brevicaudatus, we uncovered a chromosome number of 2n = 62, very unusual among squamates, originating from a number of chromosome splits. Despite the presence of the highly differentiated ZZ/ZW sex chromosomes in the genus Furcifer, we did not detect any unequivocal sexual differences in the karyotypes of any other studied species of chameleons tested using differential staining and comparative genomic hybridization, suggesting that sex chromosomes in most chameleons are only poorly differentiated.

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Ιατρικά Άρθρα Αλέξανδρος Γ. Σφακιανάκης

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