Research Publications (Food Safety)

Soybean isoflavones (SIs) are widely found in food and herbal medicines. Although the pharmacological activities of SIs have been widely reported, their effects on the intestinal microecology of normal hosts have received little attention. Five-week-old Kunming (KM) mice were administered SIs (10 mg/kg/day) for 15 days. Food intake, body weight, and digestive enzyme activity were measured.

Dyslipidemia (DL) is one of the most common lifestyle-related diseases. There are few reports showing the causal relationship between gut microbiota (GM) and DL. In the present study, we used a linear non-Gaussian acyclic model (LiNGAM) to evaluate the causal relationship between GM and DL. A total of 79 men and 82 women aged 40 years or older living in Shika-machi, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan were included in the analysis, and their clinical information was investigated.

Two-component regulatory systems (TCRS) are ubiquitous signal transduction mechanisms evolved by bacteria for sensing and adapting to the constant changes that occur in their environment.

Giardia lamblia, a protozoan parasite, is a major cause of waterborne infection, worldwide. While the trophozoite form of this parasite induces pathological symptoms in the gut, the cyst form transmits the infection. Since Giardia is a noninvasive parasite, the actual mechanism by which it causes disease remains elusive. We have previously reported that Giardia assembles cholesterol and GM1 glycosphingolipid-enriched lipid rafts (LRs) that participate in encystation and cyst production.

Salmonella enterica is one of the most common human pathogens associated with fresh produce outbreaks. The present study suggests that expression of BcsZ, one of the proteins in the bcs complex, enhances the survival of Salmonella Typhimurium on parsley. BcsZ demonstrated glucanase activity with the substrates carboxymethylcellulose and crystalline cellulose, and was responsible for a major part of the S. Typhimurium CMCase activity.

Cryptosporidium spp. are common parasitic pathogens causing diarrhea in humans and various animals. Fur animals are widely farmed in Shandong Province, China, but the prevalence and genetic identity of Cryptosporidium spp. in them are unclear. In this study, 1,211 fecal samples were collected from 602 minks, 310 raccoon dogs and 299 foxes on two farms in Shandong and analyzed for Cryptosporidium spp. by nested PCR and sequence analyses of the small subunit rRNA gene.

Salmonella enterica is capable of invading different host cell types including epithelial cells and M cells during local infection, and immune cells and fibroblasts during the subsequent systemic spread. The intracellular lifestyles of Salmonella inside different cell types are remarkable for their distinct residential niches, and their varying replication rates. To study this, researchers have employed different cell models, such as various epithelial cells, immune cells, and fibroblasts.

Toxoplasmosis caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii is one of the most common parasitic diseases in humans and almost all warm-blooded animals. Lys, Glu, and Gln-specific tRNAs contain a super-modified 2-thiourea (s2U) derivatives at the position 34, which is essential for all living organisms by maintaining the structural stability and aminoacylation of tRNA, and the precision and efficiency of codon recognition during protein translation.

Gastrointestinal nematodes are a diverse class of pathogens that colonise a quarter of the world’s human population and nearly all grazing livestock. These macroparasites establish, and some migrate, within host gastrointestinal niches during their life cycles and release molecules that condition the host mucosa to enable chronic infections.

The human colonic mucus is mainly composed of mucins, which are highly glycosylated proteins. The normal commensal colonic microbiota has mucolytic activity and is capable of releasing the monosaccharides contained in mucins, which can then be used as carbon sources by pathogens such as Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC).

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-13 (NDM-13) is an NDM variant that was first identified in 2015 and has not been detected in Salmonella species prior to this study. Here we describe the first identification of a Salmonella Rissen strain SR33 carrying blaNDM-13. The aim of this study was to molecularly characterize SR33’s antimicrobial resistance and virulence features as well as investigate the genetic environment of blaNDM-13.

Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization is a risk factor for infection. A large proportion of the population are identified as potential S. aureus carriers yet we only partially understand the repertoire of genetic factors that promote long-term nasal colonization. Here we present a murine model of nasopharyngeal colonization that requires a low S. aureus inoculum and is amenable to experimental evolution approaches. We used this model to experimentally evolve S.

Phage therapy is a promising alternative treatment of bacterial infections in human and animals. Nevertheless, despite the appearance of many bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics, these drugs still remain important therapeutics used in human and veterinary medicine. Although experimental phage therapy of infections caused by Salmonella enterica was described previously by many groups, those studies focused solely on effects caused by bacteriophages.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) may be the most promising substitute for antibiotics due to their effective bactericidal activity and multiple antimicrobial modes against pathogenic bacteria. In this study, a new functional gene named Spgillcin was identified in Scylla paramamosain, which encoded 216 amino acids of mature peptide. In vivo, Spgillcin was dominantly expressed in gills of male and female crabs, offering the highest expression level among all tested organs or tissues.

Destructions in the intestinal ecosystem are implicated with changes in slow transit constipation (STC), which is a kind of intractable constipation characterized by colonic motility disorder. In order to deepen the understanding of the structure of the STC gut microbiota and the relationship between the gut microbiota and fecal metabolites, we first used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to evaluate the gut microbiota in 30 STC patients and 30 healthy subjects.

Lymphostatin is a virulence factor of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and non-O157 serogroup enterohaemorrhagic E. coli. Previous studies using whole-cell lysates of EPEC showed that lymphostatin inhibits the mitogen-activated proliferation of bulk human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and the production of cytokines IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, and IFN-γ.

Background

Efficient detection tools for determining staphylococcal pleural infection are critical for its eradication. The objective of this meta-analysis was to assess the diagnostic utility of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) in suspected empyema cases to identify staphylococcal strains and avoid unnecessary empiric methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) therapy.

Methods

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a major causative agent of prosthetic joint infections (PJI). The ability to form biofilms supports this highly selective pathogenic potential. In vitro studies essentially relying on phenotypic assays and genetic approaches have provided a detailed picture of the molecular events contributing to biofilm assembly. A major limitation in these studies is the use of synthetic growth media, which significantly differs from the environmental conditions S.

Gut microbes participate in pathogenesis by interacting with the host genome through epigenetic mechanisms, such as long non-coding RNAs. However, the mechanisms by which the microbiota induce expression alteration of long non-coding RNAs remains unclear. Here, we quantified the transcriptome alteration of human colon cell lines after being infected by a common enteric pathogen Salmonella typhimurium SL1344. We observed a widespread lncRNAs expression alteration.

Background Septic arthritis is considered one of the most dangerous joints diseases and is mainly caused by the Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Human skin commensals are known to augment S. aureus infections. The aim of this study was to investigate if human commensals could augment S. aureus-induced septic arthritis. Method NMRI mice were inoculated with S. aureus alone or with a mixture of S.

Global ocean warming results in an increase of infectious diseases including an elevated emergence of Vibrio spp. in Northern Europe. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reported annual periods of high to very high risks of infection with Vibrio spp. during summer months along the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. Based on those facts, the risk of Vibrio infections associated with recreational bathing in European coastal waters increases.

The formation of persister cells is associated with recalcitrance and infections. In this study, we examined the antimicrobial property of alpha mangostin, a natural xanthone molecule, against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) persisters and biofilm. The MIC of alpha mangostin against MRSA persisters was 2 µg/ml, and activity was mediated by causing membrane permeabilization within 30 min of exposure.

The inhibition/degradation potential of Carissa carandas proteinaceous leaf extract against mixed bacterial biofilm of Staphylococcus aureus MTCC 96, Escherichia coli MTCC 1304, Pseudomonas aeruginosa MTCC 741, and Klebsiella pneumoniae MTCC 109, responsible for nosocomial infections, was evaluated. Distinct inhibition/degradation of mixed bacterial biofilm by the proteinaceous leaf extract of C. carandas was observed under a microscope, and it was found to be 80%.

Calprotectin is a transition metal chelating protein of the innate immune response known to exert nutritional immunity upon microbial infection. It is abundantly released during inflammation and is therefore found at sites occupied by pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The metal limitation induced by this protein has previously been shown to mediate P. aeruginosa and S. aureus co-culture.

Vibrio parahaemolyticus biofilm poses a serious threat to food safety and human health. However, there is limited knowledge of transcriptional regulatory mechanism during the biofilm formation of this organism. Hence, the RNA sequencing technique was employed to compare the differences in transcriptome profiles between planktonic and biofilm state of V. parahaemolyticus ATCC33847 in this study.