Publications by authors named "Montesinos E"

is a xylem-limited plant pathogenic bacterium that is a menace to the agriculture worldwide, threating economically relevant crops such as almond. The pathogen presents a dual lifestyle in the plant xylem, consisting of sessile microbial aggregates and mobile independent cells that move by twitching motility. The latter is essential for the systemic colonization of the host and is mediated through type IV pili.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

New defense elicitor peptides have been identified which control Xylella fastidiosa infections in almond. Xylella fastidiosa is a plant pathogenic bacterium that has been introduced in the European Union (EU), threatening the agricultural economy of relevant Mediterranean crops such as almond (Prunus dulcis). Plant defense elicitor peptides would be promising to manage diseases such as almond leaf scorch, but their effect on the host has not been fully studied.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The ecological fitness of the biological control strains A17 and PM411 was evaluated in different crops, geographical zones, and growing seasons. Both strains (2 g L of dried formulation) were spray-inoculated on apricot trees, peach trees, and grapevines. Depending on the crop, flowers, fruits, and leaves were picked at several sampling time points.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alterations in the epigenetic machinery in both tumor and immune cells contribute to bladder cancer (BC) development, constituting a promising target as an alternative therapeutic option. Here, we have explored the effects of a novel histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor CM-1758, alone or in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) in BC. We determined the antitumor effects of CM-1758 in various BC cell lines together with the induction of broad transcriptional changes, with focus on the epigenetic regulation of PD-L1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Plant disease control requires novel approaches to mitigate the spread of and losses caused by current, emerging, and re-emerging diseases and to adapt plant protection to global climate change and the restrictions on the use of conventional pesticides. Currently, disease management relies mainly on biopesticides, which are required for the sustainable use of plant-protection products. Functional peptides are candidate biopesticides because they originate from living organisms or are synthetic analogs and provide novel mechanisms of action against plant pathogens.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The activity of Eucalyptus essential oil against eleven strains pertaining to six species of plant pathogenic bacteria was studied using growth inhibition and contact assays. All strains were susceptible to the formulation EGL2, and subspecies and were the most sensitive. The bactericidal effect was strong causing 4.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The present study aims to evaluate the response of the three Mediterranean local grapevines 'Garnacha Blanca', 'Garnacha Tinta', and 'Macabeo' to treatments with biocontrol products, namely a botanical extract (Akivi, extract) and a beneficial microorganism ( UdG, ). A combination of transcriptomics and metabolomics approaches were chosen in order to study grapevine gene expression and to identify gene marker candidates, as well as, to determine differentially concentrated grapevine metabolites in response to biocontrol product treatments. Grapevine plants were cultivated in greenhouse under controlled conditions and submitted to the treatments.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Transient expression of genes encoding peptides BP134 and BP178 by means of a (PVX) based-vector system, and treatment with synthetic peptides by endotherapy, were evaluated in the control of infections, in the model plant . Transient production of BP178 significantly decreased disease severity compared to PVX and non-treated control (NTC) plants, without adverse effects. Plants treated with synthetic BP134 and BP178 showed consistently lower levels of disease than NTC plants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Guselkumab is a monoclonal antibody that selectively blocks the p19 subunit of interleukin 23 and has been approved for the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis and active psoriatic arthritis in adult patients due to its efficacy in different clinical trials. Therefore, itis important to know the performance of guselkumab in this setting of patients in clinical practice given that a high percentage of them are not represented in these clinical trials. Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness and tolerability of guselkumab in clinical practice in the first patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis treated since the date of its approval for psoriasis in Spain, in joint dermatology-rheumatology clinics.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The control of plant diseases caused by bacteria that seriously compromise crop productivity around the world is still one of the most important challenges in food security. Integrated approaches for disease control generally lack plant protection products with high efficacy and low environmental and health adverse effects. Functional peptides, either from natural sources or synthetic, are considered as novel candidates to develop biopesticides.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Biological control is an effective and sustainable alternative or complement to conventional pesticides for fungal and bacterial plant disease management. Some of the most intensively studied biological control agents are bacteria that can use multiple mechanisms implicated in the limitation of plant disease development, and several bacterial-based products have been already registered and marketed as biopesticides. However, efforts are still required to increase the commercially available microbial biopesticides.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Thirty peptide conjugates were designed by combining an antimicrobial peptide (BP16, BP100, BP143, KSL-W, BP387, or BP475) at the N- or C-terminus of a plant defense elicitor peptide (flg15, BP13, Pep13, or PIP1). These conjugates were highly active against six plant-pathogenic bacteria, especially against Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni, Xanthomonas fragariae and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

is a plant pathogenic bacterium that has been introduced in the European Union (EU), causing significant yield losses in economically important Mediterranean crops. Almond leaf scorch (ALS) is currently one of the most relevant diseases observed in Spain, and no cure has been found to be effective for this disease. In previous reports, the peptide BP178 has shown a strong bactericidal activity in vitro against and to other plant pathogens, and to trigger defense responses in tomato plants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

is a plant pathogen that was recently introduced in Europe and is causing havoc to its agriculture. This Gram-negative bacterium invades the host xylem, multiplies, and forms biofilm occluding the vessels and killing its host. In spite of the great research effort, there is no method that effectively prevents or cures hosts from infections.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The hybrid peptide BP178 (KKLFKKILKYLAGPAGIGKFLHSAKKDEL-OH), derived from BP100 (KKLFKKILKYL) and magainin (1-10), and engineered for plant expression, had a strong bactericidal activity but not fungicidal. Moreover, the preventive spray of tomato plants with BP178 controlled infections by the plant pathogenic bacteria pv. tomato and pv.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Jacobsen syndrome or JBS (OMIM #147791) is a contiguous gene syndrome caused by a deletion affecting the terminal q region of chromosome 11. The phenotype of patients with JBS is a specific syndromic phenotype predominately associated with hematological alterations. Complete and partial JBS are differentiated depending on which functional and causal genes are haploinsufficient in the patient.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

From a previous collection of lipopeptides derived from , we selected 18 sequences in order to improve their biological profile. In particular, analogues containing a D-amino acid at position 4 were designed, prepared, and tested against plant pathogenic bacteria and fungi. The biological activity of these sequences was compared with that of the corresponding parent lipopeptides with all L-amino acids.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

In this paper, peptide conjugates were designed and synthesized by incorporating the antimicrobial undecapeptide at the C- or N-terminus of the plant defense elicitor peptide , leading to and , respectively. The evaluation of their in vitro activity against six plant pathogenic bacteria revealed that displayed MIC values between 1.6 and 12.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The aggressiveness of Spanish isolates of , representing different sequence types, were studied in almond plants of several cultivars by means of the dynamics of the population levels and symptoms, colonization and spread, and dose-effect relationships. Pathogen dynamics in almond plants under greenhouse conditions showed doubling times of 2.1 to 2.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Xylella fastidiosa is one of the most harmful bacterial plant pathogens worldwide, causing a variety of diseases, with huge economic impact to agriculture and environment. Although it has been extensively studied, there are no therapeutic solutions to suppress disease development in infected plants. In this context, antimicrobial peptides represent promising alternatives to traditional compounds due to their activity against a wide range of plant pathogens, their low cytotoxicity, their mode of action that make resistance more difficult and their availability for being expressed in plants.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Little has been published on the real-world effectiveness and safety of apremilast in psoriasis.

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness, safety and drug survival of apremilast at 52 weeks in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or palmoplantar psoriasis in routine clinical practice.

Methods: Retrospective, multicentre study of adult patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis or palmoplantar psoriasis treated with apremilast from March 2016 to March 2018.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The kinetics of cell inactivation and the susceptibility of subspecies , , and to synthetic antimicrobial peptides from two libraries (CECMEL11 and CYCLO10) were studied. The bactericidal effect was dependent on the relative concentrations of peptide and bacterial cells, and was influenced by the diluent, either buffer or sap. The most bactericidal and lytic peptide was BP178, an enlarged derivative of the amphipathic cationic linear undecapeptide BP100.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Alopecia areata (AA) is a common disease characterized by nonscarring hair loss. There are no satisfactory therapies for extensive cases. Systemic immune suppressants are usually used despite their nonspecific actions and often associated side effects.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Keratoacanthoma centrifugum marginatum (KCM) is a rare variant of keratoacanthoma (KA), characterized by progressive peripheral growth, and usually devoid of deep invasion. Different systemic (oral retinoids) or topical treatments have been reported, but there is not a well-defined therapeutic protocol. We report the case of a KCM developing after photodynamic therapy (PDT) on the right leg of a 64-year-old woman.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Trichotillomania is a form of traction alopecia resulting from repetitive and compulsive hair pulling and plucking. Trichotillomania and patchy alopecia areata may have similar clinical and dermoscopic features in some cases. On trichoscopic examination, the presence of black dots, coiled or hook hair, shafts of varying lengths with fraying or split ends (trichoptilosis), and an absence of exclamation mark hairs and yellow dots are suggestive of trichotillomania.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF