Optimization of the antifungal properties of the bacterial peptide EntV by variant analysis.

Unlabelled: Fungal resistance to commonly used medicines is a growing public health threat, and there is a dire need to develop new classes of antifungals. We previously described a peptide produced by , EntV, that restricts to a benign form rather than having direct fungicidal activity. Moreover, we showed that one 12-amino acid (aa) alpha helix of this peptide retained full activity, with partial activity down to the 10aa alpha helix.

Membrane Lipids Augment Cell Envelope Stress Signaling via the MadRS System to Defend Against Antimicrobial Peptides and Antibiotics in Enterococcus faecalis.

Enterococci have evolved resistance mechanisms to protect their cell envelopes against bacteriocins and host cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) produced in the gastrointestinal environment. Activation of the membrane stress response has also been tied to resistance to the lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin. However, the actual effectors mediating resistance have not been elucidated.

Membrane Lipids Augment Cell Envelope Stress Signaling and Resistance to Antibiotics and Antimicrobial Peptides in .

Enterococci have evolved resistance mechanisms to protect their cell envelopes against bacteriocins and host cationic antimicrobial peptides (CAMPs) produced in the gastrointestinal environment. Activation of the membrane stress response has also been tied to resistance to the lipopeptide antibiotic daptomycin. However, the actual effectors mediating resistance have not been elucidated.

Host-derived reactive oxygen species trigger activation of the Candida albicans transcription regulator Rtg1/3.

The signals that denote mammalian host environments and dictate the activation of signaling pathways in human-associated microorganisms are often unknown. The transcription regulator Rtg1/3 in the human fungal pathogen Candida albicans is a crucial determinant of host colonization and pathogenicity. Rtg1/3's activity is controlled, in part, by shuttling the regulator between the cytoplasm and nucleus of the fungus.

Structural and functional analysis of EntV reveals a 12 amino acid fragment protective against fungal infections.

Fungal pathogens are a continuing challenge due to few effective antifungals and a rise in resistance. In previous work, we described the inhibition of Candida albicans virulence following exposure to the 68 amino acid bacteriocin, EntV, secreted by Enterococcus faecalis. Here, to optimize EntV as a potential therapeutic and better understand its antifungal features, an X-ray structure is obtained.

An Open-Access Data Platform: Global Nutrition and Health Atlas (GNHA).

The rapid development of nutrition science is embracing digital transformation to generate large amounts of data. Precision nutrition and "Big Data" place increasing demand for data repositories and visualization, which enhances the digital transformation. We defined the need for an integrated nutrition data platform as a web-based platform that can collect, store, track, analyze, monitor, and visually display key metrics in nutrition and health while allowing users to interact with visuals and download data provided in the platform.

Food and Nutrition Systems Dashboards: A Systematic Review.

The rapid expansion of food and nutrition information requires new ways of data sharing and dissemination. Interactive platforms integrating data portals and visualization dashboards have been effectively utilized to describe, monitor, and track information related to food and nutrition; however, a comprehensive evaluation of emerging interactive systems is lacking. We conducted a systematic review on publicly available dashboards using a set of 48 evaluation metrics for data integrity, completeness, granularity, visualization quality, and interactivity based on 4 major principles: evidence, efficiency, emphasis, and ethics.

HOW IS THE DIET QUALITY OF PATIENTS WITH CROHN'S DISEASE IN CLINICAL REMISSION USING INFLIXIMAB?

Background: A healthy diet is recommended for patients with Crohn's disease (CD) in remission.

Objective: To evaluate the diet quality of patients with CD.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with patients with CD and clinical remission using the biological agent infliximab.

Ribonuclease J-Mediated mRNA Turnover Modulates Cell Shape, Metabolism and Virulence in .

Controlled RNA degradation is a crucial process in bacterial cell biology for maintaining proper transcriptome homeostasis and adaptation to changing environments. mRNA turnover in many Gram-positive bacteria involves a specialized ribonuclease called RNase J (RnJ). To date, however, nothing is known about this process in the diphtheria-causative pathogen , nor is known the identity of this ribonuclease in this organism.

Transcriptome analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans lacking heme peroxidase SKPO-1 reveals an altered response to Enterococcus faecalis.

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is commonly used as a model organism in studies of the host immune response. The worm encodes twelve peroxidase-cyclooxygenase superfamily members, making it an attractive model in which to study the functions of heme peroxidases. In previous work, loss of one of these peroxidases, SKPO-1 (ShkT-containing peroxidase), rendered C.

Amplex Red Assay for Measuring Hydrogen Peroxide Production from .

Reagents such as Amplex Red have been developed for detecting hydrogen peroxide (HO) and are used to measure the release of HO from biological samples such as mammalian leukocytes undergoing the oxidative burst. is commonly used as a model host in the study of interactions with microbial pathogens and releases reactive oxygen species (ROS) as a component of its defense response. We adapted the Amplex Red Hydrogen Peroxide/Peroxidase Assay Kit to measure HO output from live exposed to microbial pathogens.

Cardiac Microlesions Form During Severe Bacteremic Enterococcus faecalis Infection.

Enterococcus  faecalis is a significant cause of hospital-acquired bacteremia. Herein, the discovery is reported that cardiac microlesions form during severe bacteremic E. faecalis infection in mice.

Antimicrobial sensing coupled with cell membrane remodeling mediates antibiotic resistance and virulence in .

Bacteria have developed several evolutionary strategies to protect their cell membranes (CMs) from the attack of antibiotics and antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) produced by the innate immune system, including remodeling of phospholipid content and localization. Multidrug-resistant an opportunistic human pathogen, evolves resistance to the lipopeptide daptomycin and AMPs by diverting the antibiotic away from critical septal targets using CM anionic phospholipid redistribution. The LiaFSR stress response system regulates this CM remodeling via the LiaR response regulator by a previously unknown mechanism.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Cholera Hospitalization in Vellore, India.

Systematically collected hospitalization records provide valuable insight into disease patterns and support comprehensive national infectious disease surveillance networks. Hospitalization records detailing patient's place of residence (PoR) can be utilized to better understand a hospital's case load and strengthen surveillance among mobile populations. This study examined geographic patterns of patients treated for cholera at a major hospital in south India.

Spatiotemporal and Demographic Trends and Disparities in Cardiovascular Disease Among Older Adults in the United States Based on 181 Million Hospitalization Records.

Background The US population is aging, with concurrent increases in cardiovascular disease (CVD) burdens; however, spatiotemporal and demographic trends in CVD incidence in the US elderly have not been investigated in detail. This study aims to characterize trends from 1991 to 2014 in CVD hospitalizations among US Medicare beneficiaries, aged 65+ years, by single year of age/sex/race/state using records from the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, covering 98% of older Americans. Methods and Results We abstracted 181 202 758 US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid hospitalization records indicating CVD in any of 10 diagnosis codes; tabulated total cases of CVD by sex, age, race, state, and calendar year (1991-2014); and normalized hospitalization counts to standardize over data batches.

Antifungal Activity of the Enterococcus faecalis Peptide EntV Requires Protease Cleavage and Disulfide Bond Formation.

, a Gram-positive bacterium, and , a polymorphic fungus, are common constituents of the microbiome as well as increasingly problematic causes of infections. Interestingly, we previously showed that these two species antagonize each other's virulence and that inhibition of was specifically mediated by EntV. EntV is a bacteriocin encoded by the () locus that reduces virulence and biofilm formation by inhibiting hyphal morphogenesis.

The use of remotely sensed environmental parameters for spatial and temporal schistosomiasis prediction across climate zones in Ghana.

Schistosomiasis control in sub-Saharan Africa is enacted primarily through preventive chemotherapy. Predictive models can play an important role in filling knowledge gaps in the distribution of the disease and help guide the allocation of limited resources. Previous modeling approaches have used localized cross-sectional survey data and environmental data typically collected at a discrete point in time.

Disrupting Membrane Adaptation Restores In Vivo Efficacy of Antibiotics Against Multidrug-Resistant Enterococci and Potentiates Killing by Human Neutrophils.

Daptomycin resistance in enterococci is often mediated by the LiaFSR system, which orchestrates the cell membrane stress response. Activation of LiaFSR through the response regulator LiaR generates major changes in cell membrane function and architecture (membrane adaptive response), permitting the organism to survive the antibiotic attack. Here, using a laboratory strain of Enterococcus faecalis, we developed a novel Caenorhabditis elegans model of daptomycin therapy and showed that disrupting LiaR-mediated cell membrane adaptation restores the in vivo activity of daptomycin.

Ethanolamine Utilization and Bacterial Microcompartment Formation Are Subject to Carbon Catabolite Repression.

Ethanolamine (EA) is a compound prevalent in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract that can be used as a carbon, nitrogen, and/or energy source. , a GI commensal and opportunistic pathogen, contains approximately 20 thanolamine ilization () genes encoding the necessary regulatory, enzymatic, and structural proteins for this process. Here, using a chemically defined medium, two regulatory factors that affect EA utilization were examined.

Estimation of skeletal muscle mass in patients with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 and 10.

Background: Neurodegenerative diseases may progress to a level in which patients present spontaneous weight loss, resulting in increased falls and functional disabilities when the disease is associated with muscle mass depletion.

Objective: Evaluate the muscle compartment in patients presenting spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) type 3 and 10.

Methods: Forty-six patients presenting SCA type 3 and 10 were assessed and 76 volunteers were selected to the control group.

Loss of Ethanolamine Utilization in Enterococcus faecalis Increases Gastrointestinal Tract Colonization.

is paradoxically a dangerous nosocomial pathogen and a normal constituent of the human gut microbiome, an environment rich in ethanolamine. carries the (ethanolamine utilization) genes, which enable the catabolism of ethanolamine (EA) as a valuable source of carbon and/or nitrogen. EA catabolism was previously shown to contribute to the colonization and growth of enteric pathogens, such as serovar Typhimurium and enterohemorrhagic (EHEC), in the gut environment.

From hospitalization records to surveillance: The use of local patient profiles to characterize cholera in Vellore, India.

Despite availability of high quality medical records, health care systems often do not have the resources or tools to utilize these data efficiently. Yet, hospital-based, laboratory-confirmed records may pave the way for building reliable surveillance systems capable of monitoring temporal trends of emerging infections. In this communication, we present a new tool to compress and visualize medical records with a local population profile (LPP) approach, which transforms information into statistically comparable patterns.

bacteriocin EntV inhibits hyphal morphogenesis, biofilm formation, and virulence of .

, a Gram-positive bacterium, and , a fungus, occupy overlapping niches as ubiquitous constituents of the gastrointestinal and oral microbiome. Both species also are among the most important and problematic, opportunistic nosocomial pathogens. Surprisingly, these two species antagonize each other's virulence in both nematode infection and in vitro biofilm models.

Ecosystem engineering by a gall-forming wasp indirectly suppresses diversity and density of herbivores on oak trees.

Ecosystem engineers, organisms that modify the physical environment, are generally thought to increase diversity by facilitating species that benefit from engineered habitats. Recent theoretical work, however, suggests that ecosystem engineering could initiate cascades of trophic interactions that shape community structure in unexpected ways, potentially having negative indirect effects on abundance and diversity in components of the community that do not directly interact with the habitat modifications. We tested the indirect effects of a gall-forming wasp on arthropod communities in surrounding unmodified foliage.