From the oracle of Delphi to magnetic resonance imaging, the anatomist's dissecting gaze has always been accompanied by a connective reading, nourishing subjectivity. The face offered to view has thus been the subject since Aristotle (and probably before without any written record of it being kept) of multiple interpretations, becoming a standard throughout the ages. A whole vocabulary emanates from it: metoposcopy, prosopology, physiognomony, phrenology, organology, morphopsychology, amphibology… which punctuated the beyond of the gaze.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCopper is an essential metal for virtually all organisms, yet little is known about the extracellular sources of this micronutrient. In serum, the most abundant extracellular Cu-binding molecule is the multi‑copper oxidase ceruloplasmin (Cp). Cp levels increase during infection and inflammation, and pathogens can be exposed to high Cp at sites of infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCalprotectin is a potent antimicrobial that inhibits the growth of pathogens by tightly binding transition metals such as Mn and Zn, thereby preventing their uptake and utilization by invading microbes. At sites of infection, calprotectin is abundantly released from neutrophils, but calprotectin is also present in non-neutrophil cell types that may be relevant to infections. We show here that in patients infected with the Lyme disease pathogen Borreliella (Borrelia) burgdorferi, calprotectin is produced in neutrophil-free regions of the skin, in both epidermal keratinocytes and in immune cells infiltrating the dermis, including CD68 positive macrophages.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhosphate is an essential macronutrient required for cell growth and division. Pho84 is the major high-affinity cell-surface phosphate importer of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and a crucial element in the phosphate homeostatic system of this model yeast. We found that loss of Candida albicans Pho84 attenuated virulence in Drosophila and murine oropharyngeal and disseminated models of invasive infection, and conferred hypersensitivity to neutrophil killing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF