Magnetotactic bacteria from diverse Pseudomonadota families biomineralize intracellular Ca-carbonate.

Intracellular calcium carbonate formation has long been associated with a single genus of giant Gammaproteobacteria, Achromatium. However, this biomineralization has recently received increasing attention after being observed in photosynthetic Cyanobacteriota and in two families of magnetotactic bacteria affiliated with the Alphaproteobacteria. In the latter group, bacteria form not only intracellular amorphous calcium carbonates into large inclusions that are refringent under the light microscope, but also intracellular ferrimagnetic crystals into organelles called magnetosomes.

Molecular engineering of a spheroid-penetrating phage nanovector for photodynamic treatment of colon cancer cells.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) represents an emerging strategy to treat various malignancies, including colorectal cancer (CC), the third most common cancer type. This work presents an engineered M13 phage retargeted towards CC cells through pentavalent display of a disulfide-constrained peptide nonamer. The M13 nanovector was conjugated with the photosensitizer Rose Bengal (RB), and the photodynamic anticancer effects of the resulting M13-RB bioconjugate were investigated on CC cells.

Late-onset and long-lasting neutropenias in the young: A new entity anticipating immune-dysregulation disorders.

This study identifies a new chronic form of immune neutropenia in the young with or without detectable indirect anti-neutrophil antibodies, characterized by mild/moderate neutropenia low risk of severe infection (14%), tendency to develop autoimmune phenomena over the course of the disease (cumulative incidence of 58.6% after 20 years of disease duration), leukopenia, progressive reduction of absolute lymphocyte count and a T- and B-cell profile similar to autoimmune disorders like Sjogren syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (increased HLADR+ and CD3 + TCRγδ cells, reduced T regulatory cells, increased double-negative B and a tendency to reduced B memory cells). In a minority of patients, P/LP variants related to primary immuno-regulatory disorders were found.

Ten Years of Research on Fucoidan and Cancer: Focus on Its Antiangiogenic and Antimetastatic Effects.

Angiogenesis and metastasis represent two challenging targets to combat cancer development in the later stages of its progression. Numerous studies have indicated the important role of natural products in blocking tumor angiogenesis signaling pathways in several advanced tumors. In recent years, the marine polysaccharides fucoidans emerged as promising anticancer compounds showing potent antitumor activity in both in vitro and in vivo models of different types of cancers.