Publications by authors named "Kelly Hines"

Staphylococcus aureus readily adapts to various environments and quickly develops antibiotic resistance, which has led to an increase in multidrug-resistant infections. Hence, S. aureus presents a significant global health issue and its adaptations to the host environment are crucial for understanding pathogenesis and antibiotic susceptibility.

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Background: Mesenchymal stromal cell derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) are a promising therapeutic for neuroinflammation. MSC-EVs can interact with microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, to exert their immunomodulatory effects. In response to inflammatory cues, such as cytokines, microglia undergo phenotypic changes indicative of their function e.

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  • Commensal anaerobic bacteria can have similar levels to harmful pathogens in chronic respiratory infections, influencing how pathogens behave by competing for resources and producing toxic byproducts.
  • The study highlights how short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like propionate and butyrate disrupt important fatty acid metabolism, leading to reduced bacterial growth and higher sensitivity to antibiotics.
  • These metabolic changes suggest that the composition of the airway microbiome, along with the metabolites they generate, can directly affect which pathogens thrive, indicating that combining SCFAs with traditional antibiotics could enhance treatment effectiveness.
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Background: Mesenchymal stromal cell derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) are a promising therapeutic for neuroinflammation. MSC-EVs can interact with microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, to exert their immunomodulatory effects. In response to inflammatory cues, such as cytokines, microglia undergo phenotypic changes indicative of their function e.

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Unlabelled: It is well established that can incorporate exogenous straight-chain unsaturated fatty acids (SCUFAs) into membrane phospho- and glyco-lipids from various sources in supplemented culture media and when growing during infection. Given the enhancement of membrane fluidity when oleic acid (C18:1Δ9) is incorporated into lipids, we were prompted to examine the effect of medium supplementation with C18:1Δ9 on growth at low temperatures. C18:1Δ9 supported the growth of a cold-sensitive, branched-chain fatty acid (BCFA)-deficient mutant at 12°C.

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Unlabelled: Daptomycin is a membrane-targeting last-resort antimicrobial therapeutic for the treatment of infections caused by methicillin- and/or vancomycin-resistant . In the rare event of failed daptomycin therapy, the source of resistance is often attributable to mutations directly within the membrane phospholipid biosynthetic pathway of or in the regulatory systems that control cell envelope response and membrane homeostasis. Here we describe the structural changes to the cell envelope in a daptomycin-resistant isolate of strain N315 that has acquired mutations in the genes most commonly reported associated with daptomycin resistance: , , and .

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readily adapts to various environments and quickly develops antibiotic resistance, which has led to an increase in multidrug-resistant infections. Hence, presents a significant global health issue and its adaptations to the host environment are crucial for understanding pathogenesis and antibiotic susceptibility. When is grown conventionally, its membrane lipids contain a mix of branched-chain and straight-chain saturated fatty acids.

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Due to their immunomodulatory function, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a promising therapeutic with the potential to treat neuroinflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases. This function is mediated by secreted extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs). Despite established safety, MSC clinical translation has been unsuccessful due to inconsistent clinical outcomes resulting from functional heterogeneity.

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Although MALDI-ToF platforms for microbial identifications have found great success in clinical microbiology, the sole use of protein fingerprints for the discrimination of closely related species, strain-level identifications, and detection of antimicrobial resistance remains a challenge for the technology. Several alternative mass spectrometry-based methods have been proposed to address the shortcomings of the protein-centric approach, including MALDI-ToF methods for fatty acid/lipid profiling and LC-MS profiling of metabolites. However, the molecular diversity of microbial pathogens suggests that no single "ome" will be sufficient for the accurate and sensitive identification of strain- and susceptibility-level profiling of bacteria.

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It is well established that can incorporate exogenous straight-chain unsaturated fatty acids (SCUFAs) into membrane phospho- and glyco-lipids from various sources in supplemented culture media, and when growing in an infection. Given the enhancement of membrane fluidity when oleic acid (C18:1Δ9) is incorporated into lipids, we were prompted to examine the effect of medium supplementation with C18:1Δ9 on growth at low temperatures. C18:1Δ9 supported the growth of a cold-sensitive, branched-chain fatty acid (BCFA)-deficient mutant at 12°C.

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Ion mobility mass spectrometry (IM-MS) is a rapid, gas-phase separation technology that can resolve ions on the basis of their and ratios. Since each class of biomolecule has a unique relationship between size and mass, IM-MS spectra of complex biological samples are organized into trendlines that each contain one type of biomolecule (i.e.

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Due to their immunomodulatory function, mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a promising therapeutic with the potential to treat neuroinflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases. This function can be mediated by secreted extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs). Despite established safety, MSC clinical translation has been unsuccessful due to inconsistent clinical outcomes resulting from functional heterogeneity.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hedgehog (Hh) signaling is crucial for development and regeneration, but its misactivation leads to tumors like medulloblastoma and basal cell carcinoma.
  • Researchers are exploring how Hh signaling influences gene expression and cell fate decisions using various methods, including RNA sequencing from human and animal samples.
  • The study identifies new target genes involved in lipid metabolism that respond to Hh signaling, offering potential targets for treating Hh-related cancers.
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The lipid membrane is gaining appreciation as a critical factor in the emergence of antibiotic resistance, both for antibiotics that target lipid synthesis or the membrane directly and for cell-wall-targeting antibiotics. The methods used to study the emergence of antibiotic resistance in vitro can generate a large number of samples that may be low in volume and in cell density. As in eukaryotic/mammalian lipidomics, two-phase liquid-liquid extractions are the most commonly used approach to recover lipids from bacteria.

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Daptomycin is a membrane-targeting last-resort antimicrobial therapeutic for the treatment of infections caused by methicillin- and/or vancomycin-resistant . In the rare event of failed daptomycin therapy, the source of resistance is often attributable to mutations directly within the membrane phospholipid biosynthetic pathway of or in the regulatory systems that control cell envelope response and membrane homeostasis. Here we describe the structural changes to the cell envelope in a daptomycin-resistant isolate of strain N315 that has acquired mutations in the genes most commonly reported associated with daptomycin-resistance: , , and .

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The Paternò-Büchi (PB) reaction is a cycloaddition reaction between a carbon-carbon double bond (C═C) and a photochemically excited carbonyl-containing compound. The constrained ring formed between the C═C bond and the PB reagent is more susceptible to fragmentation by collision-induced dissociation, which facilitates identification of the C═C position within the fatty acyl tails of lipids. Although the original PB reaction using acetone had a low yield of derivatized lipids and therefore a low yield of diagnostic ions, a new generation of PB reagents based on halogenated acetophenones has improved the reaction yield substantially.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study examines the effects of defective 3β-hydroxysterol-Δ-reductase (DHCR7) in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), leading to a cholesterol deficiency and accumulation of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC).
  • - Accumulation of a specific oxysterol, DHCEO, triggers premature neurogenesis and reduces the number of cortical neural precursors by hyperactivating the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and TrkB receptor pathways.
  • - Targeting the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) with specific inhibitors or reducing DHCEO levels using antioxidants shows potential to reverse neurogenesis issues related to SLOS,
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Neurodevelopment is an intricately orchestrated program of cellular events that occurs with tight temporal and spatial regulation. While it is known that the development and proper functioning of the brain, which is the second most lipid rich organ behind adipose tissue, greatly rely on lipid metabolism and signaling, the temporal lipidomic changes that occur throughout the course of neurodevelopment have not been investigated. Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome is a metabolic disorder caused by genetic mutations in the gene, leading to defective 3β-hydroxysterol-Δ-reductase (DHCR7), the enzyme that catalyzes the last step of the Kandutsch-Russell pathway of cholesterol synthesis.

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The viral lifecycle is critically dependent upon host lipids. Enveloped viral entry requires fusion between viral and cellular membranes. Once an infection has occurred, viruses may rely on host lipids for replication and egress.

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Methicillin-resistant (MRSA) are resistant to beta-lactams, but synergistic activity between beta-lactams and glycopeptides/lipopeptides is common. Many have attributed this synergy to the beta-lactam-glycopeptide seesaw effect; however, this association has not been rigorously tested. The objective of this study was to determine whether the seesaw effect is necessary for synergy and to measure the impact of beta-lactam exposure on lipid metabolism.

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It has been suggested that daptomycin can be inactivated by lipids released by and that this effect is antagonized by phenol soluble modulins (PSMs), which bind to the shed lipids. PSM production is regulated by the Agr system, and others have shown that loss of the Agr function enhances survival in the presence of daptomycin. Here we assessed the impact of Agr function on daptomycin activity and lipid metabolism under various conditions.

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Up to 80% of the fatty acids in membrane lipids are branched, rather than straight-chain, fatty acids. The branched fatty acids (BCFAs) may have either an even or odd number of carbons, and the branch position may be at the penultimate carbon () or the antepenultimate () carbon of the tail. This results in two sets of isomeric fatty acid species with the same number of carbons that cannot be resolved by mass spectrometry.

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Increasing antibiotic resistance, and a growing recognition of the importance of the human microbiome, demand that new therapeutic targets be identified. Characterization of metabolic pathways that are unique to enteric pathogens represents a promising approach. Iron is often the rate-limiting factor for growth, and , the causative agent of cholera, has been shown to contain numerous genes that function in the acquisition of iron from the environment.

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Comprehensive profiling of lipid species in a biological sample, or lipidomics, is a valuable approach to elucidating disease pathogenesis and identifying biomarkers. Currently, a typical lipidomics experiment may track hundreds to thousands of individual lipid species. However, drawing biological conclusions requires multiple steps of data processing to enrich significantly altered features and confident identification of these features.

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Objectives: Dalbavancin is a lipoglycopeptide active against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Its long half-life (8.5-16 days) allows for once-weekly or single-dose treatments but could prolong the mutant selection window, promoting resistance and cross-resistance to related antimicrobials such as vancomycin.

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