Accessing the In Vivo Efficiency of Clinically Isolated Phages against Uropathogenic and Invasive Biofilm-Forming Strains for Phage Therapy.

is one of the most common members of the intestinal microbiota. Many of its strains are associated with various inflammatory infections, including urinary or gut infections, especially when displaying antibiotic resistance or in patients with suppressed immune systems. According to recent reports, the biofilm-forming potential of is a crucial factor for its increased resistance against antibiotics.

Development of a ternary cyclodextrin-arginine-ciprofloxacin antimicrobial complex with enhanced stability.

Designing useful functionalities in clinically validated, old antibiotics holds promise to provide the most economical solution for the global lack of effective antibiotics, as undoubtedly a serious health threat. Here we show that using the surface chemistry of the cyclodextrin (βCD) cycle and arginine (arg) as a linker, provides more stable ternary antibiotic complex (βCD-arg-cpx). In contrast to classical less stable inclusion complexes, which only modify antibiotic solubility, here-presented ternary complex is more stable and controls drug release.

Utility of Galleria mellonella larvae for evaluating nanoparticle toxicology.

The use of nanoparticles in consumer products is currently on the rise, so it is important to have reliable methods to predict any associated toxicity effects. Traditional in vitro assays fail to mimic true physiological responses of living organisms against nanoparticles whereas murine in vivo models are costly and ethically controversial. For these reasons, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Galleria mellonella as an alternative, non-rodent in vivo model for examining nanoparticle toxicity.

Monitoring Gene Expression during a Bacterial Infection.

larvae are an alternative in vivo model that has been extensively used to study the virulence and pathogenicity of different bacteria due to its practicality and lack of ethical constraints. However, the larvae possess intrinsic autofluorescence that obstructs the use of fluorescent proteins to study bacterial infections, hence better methodologies are needed. Here, we report the construction of a promoter probe vector with bioluminescence expression as well as the optimization of a total bacterial RNA extraction protocol to enhance the monitoring of in vivo infections.

A clearing protocol for Galleria mellonella larvae: Visualization of internalized fluorescent nanoparticles.

Light scattering is a challenge for imaging three-dimensional organisms. A number of new tissue clearing methodologies have been described in recent years, increasing the utilities of clearing techniques to obtain transparent samples. Here, we describe the optimization of a suitable and novel protocol for clearing Galleria mellonella larvae, an alternative infection animal model with a promising potential for the toxicological evaluation of different molecules and materials.

Is a Safe and Non-Toxic Immunomodulatory Agent for Cancer Treatment.

Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) immunotherapy remains the gold-standard treatment for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer patients, even though half of the patients develop adverse events to this therapy. On exploring BCG-alternative therapies, , a nontuberculous mycobacterium, has shown outstanding anti-tumor and immunomodulatory capabilities. As no infections due to in humans, animals, or plants have been described, the safety and/or toxicity of this mycobacterium have not been previously addressed.

Novel Oleanolic and Maslinic Acid Derivatives as a Promising Treatment against Bacterial Biofilm in Nosocomial Infections: An in Vitro and in Vivo Study.

Oleanolic acid (OA) and maslinic acid (MA) are pentacyclic triterpenic compounds that abound in industrial olive oil waste. These compounds have renowned antimicrobial properties and lack cytotoxicity in eukaryotic cells as well as resistance mechanisms in bacteria. Despite these advantages, their antimicrobial activity has only been tested in vitro, and derivatives improving this activity have not been reported.