Microbiome-Derived Trimethylamine N-Oxide (TMAO) as a Multifaceted Biomarker in Cardiovascular Disease: Challenges and Opportunities.

Biomarkers play a crucial role in various stages of disease management, including screening, diagnosis, prediction, prognosis, treatment, and safety monitoring. Although they are powerful tools in disease diagnosis, management, and drug development, identifying and validating reliable biomarkers remains a significant challenge. Among potential microbiome-derived biomarkers, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) has gained notable attention for its link to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk.

The effect of elevating extracellular CaCl: Important considerations for tissue engineering applications.

Polysaccharides such as sodium alginate, pectin and gellan gum are widely used biomaterials, for their ability to easily form hydrogels in the presence of divalent metal ions, such as calcium - a process often cited as a mild crosslinking mechanism. However, when using these materials as substrates for tissue engineering, there is a lack of extensive studies that investigate the impact of elevated calcium concentrations on cell health and behaviour. In this study, we performed an in-depth exploration to understand the potential effects of raising extracellular CaCl on cell viability, proliferation, morphology and migration.

Inactivation of () induces the SOS response and MGEs mobilization and silences the general stress response and virulence program in .

Bacteria have evolved numerous regulatory pathways to survive in changing environments. The SOS response is an inducible DNA damage repair system that plays an indispensable role in bacterial adaptation and pathogenesis. Here we report a discovery of the previously uncharacterized protein Lmo0946 as an SOS response interfering factor (Sif) in the human pathogen Functional genetic studies demonstrated that is indispensable for normal growth of in stress-free as well as multi-stress conditions, and contributes to susceptibility to β-lactam antibiotics, biofilm formation and virulence.

Hypertensive rats show increased renal excretion and decreased tissue concentrations of glycine betaine, a protective osmolyte with diuretic properties.

Hypertension leads to water-electrolyte disturbances and end-organ damage. Betaine is an osmolyte protecting cells against electrolyte imbalance and osmotic stress, particularly in the kidneys. This study aimed to evaluate tissue levels and hemodynamic and renal effects of betaine in normotensive and hypertensive rats.

Interplay between the RNA Chaperone Hfq, Small RNAs and Transcriptional Regulator OmpR Modulates Iron Homeostasis in the Enteropathogen .

Iron is both essential for and potentially toxic to bacteria, so the precise maintenance of iron homeostasis is necessary for their survival. Our previous study indicated that in the human enteropathogen , the regulator OmpR directly controls the transcription of the , and genes, encoding the ferric uptake repressor and two transporters of ferric siderophores, respectively. This study was undertaken to determine the significance of the RNA chaperone Hfq and the small RNAs OmrA and RyhB1 in the post-transcriptional control of the expression of these OmpR targets.