Maternal telomere length is shorter in intrauterine growth restriction versus uncomplicated pregnancies, but not in the offspring or in IVF-conceived newborns.

Research Question: The study aimed to determine whether IVF or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) result in short neonatal telomeres, which could explain the higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disease described in these populations.

Design: This was an observational, analytical, cross-sectional, prospective study with controls in a tertiary hospital. The main outcome was to determine the leukocyte telomere length in 126 newborns and their mothers (n = 109).

Blood Markers in Healthy-Aged Nonagenarians: A Combination of High Telomere Length and Low Amyloidβ Are Strongly Associated With Healthy Aging in the Oldest Old.

Many factors may converge in healthy aging in the oldest old, but their association and predictive power on healthy or functionally impaired aging has yet to be demonstrated. By detecting healthy aging and in turn, poor aging, we could take action to prevent chronic diseases associated with age. We conducted a pilot study comparing results of a set of markers (peripheral blood mononuclear cell or PBMC telomere length, circulating Aβ peptides, anti-Aβ antibodies, and ApoE status) previously associated with poor aging or cognitive deterioration, and their combinations, in a cohort of "neurologically healthy" (both motor and cognitive) nonagenarians ( = 20) and functionally impaired, institutionalized nonagenarians ( = 38) recruited between 2014 and 2015.

Walnut Consumption for Two Years and Leukocyte Telomere Attrition in Mediterranean Elders: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Randomized controlled trials on diet and shortening of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) mostly focus on marine-derived -3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). Walnuts are a sustainable source of -3 PUFA. We investigated whether inclusion of walnuts (15% of energy) in the diet for 2 years would maintain LTL in cognitively healthy elders (63⁻79 years old) compared to a control group (habitual diet, abstaining from walnuts).

The red blood cell proportion of arachidonic acid relates to shorter leukocyte telomeres in Mediterranean elders: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial.

Background & Aims: Shortening of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is a biomarker of aging. Epidemiologic studies of LTL in relation to dietary fatty acids have reported conflicting results. The red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid status is a valid objective biomarker of long-term dietary intake of C18:2n-6, C18:3n-3 and long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (C20:5n-3 and C22:6n-3).

Critically short telomeres and toxicity of chemotherapy in early breast cancer.

Cumulative toxicity from weekly paclitaxel (myalgia, peripheral neuropathy, fatigue) compromises long-term administration. Preclinical data suggest that the burden of critically short telomeres (< 3 kilobases, CSTs), but not average telomere length by itself, accounts for limited tissue renewal and turnover capacity. The impact of this parameter (which can be modified with different therapies) in chemotherapy-derived toxicity has not been studied.

Short Telomere Load, Telomere Length, and Subclinical Atherosclerosis: The PESA Study.

Background: Leucocyte telomere length (LTL) shortening is associated with cardiovascular ischemic events and mortality in humans, but data on its association with subclinical atherosclerosis are scarce. Whether the incidence and severity of subclinical atherosclerosis are associated with the abundance of critically short telomeres, a major trigger of cellular senescence, remains unknown.

Objectives: The authors conducted a cross-sectional exploration of the association between subclinical atherosclerosis burden and both average LTL and the abundance of short telomeres (%LTL<3 kb).

Molecular insights into the OGG1 gene, a cancer risk modifier in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations carriers.

We have recently shown that rs2304277 variant in the OGG1 glycosidase gene of the Base Excision Repair pathway can increase ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 mutation carriers. In the present study, we aimed to explore the role of this genetic variant on different genome instability hallmarks to explain its association with cancer risk.We have evaluated the effect of this polymorphism on OGG1 transcriptional regulation and its contribution to telomere shortening and DNA damage accumulation.

ParAB Partition Dynamics in Firmicutes: Nucleoid Bound ParA Captures and Tethers ParB-Plasmid Complexes.

In Firmicutes, small homodimeric ParA-like (δ2) and ParB-like (ω2) proteins, in concert with cis-acting plasmid-borne parS and the host chromosome, secure stable plasmid inheritance in a growing bacterial population. This study shows that (ω:YFP)2 binding to parS facilitates plasmid clustering in the cytosol. (δ:GFP)2 requires ATP binding but not hydrolysis to localize onto the cell's nucleoid as a fluorescent cloud.

The Interplay between Different Stability Systems Contributes to Faithful Segregation: Streptococcus pyogenes pSM19035 as a Model.

The Streptococcus pyogenes pSM19035 low-copy-number θ-replicating plasmid encodes five segregation (seg) loci that contribute to plasmid maintenance. These loci map outside of the minimal replicon. The segA locus comprises β2 recombinase and two six sites, and segC includes segA and also the γ topoisomerase and two ssiA sites.

Molecular anatomy of the Streptococcus pyogenes pSM19035 partition and segrosome complexes.

Vancomycin or erythromycin resistance and the stability determinants, δω and ωεζ, of Enterococci and Streptococci plasmids are genetically linked. To unravel the mechanisms that promoted the stable persistence of resistance determinants, the early stages of Streptococcus pyogenes pSM19035 partitioning were biochemically dissected. First, the homodimeric centromere-binding protein, ω2, bound parS DNA to form a short-lived partition complex 1 (PC1).

Bacteriophage induction versus vaginal homeostasis: role of H(2)O(2) in the selection of Lactobacillus defective prophages.

Vaginal disorders associated with systemic chemotherapy arise by direct inhibition of the resident microbiota (dominated by lactobacilli) or, possibly, by induction of prophages harbored in their genomes, leading to cell lysis. In the present study, proficient Lactobacillus phages could not be isolated from vaginal exudates. However, lysogeny appeared to be widespread, although about half of the strains harbored prophage sequences that were not responsive to SOS activation.

Characterization of indigenous vaginal lactobacilli from healthy women as probiotic candidates.

The probiotic relevant characteristics of 45 strains of vaginal Lactobacillus isolated from healthy women were analyzed. Of these, 21 strains were classified as L. crispatus, 17 as L.

Isolation of new Stenotrophomonas bacteriophages and genomic characterization of temperate phage S1.

Twenty-two phages that infect Stenotrophomonas species were isolated through sewage enrichment and prophage induction. Of them, S1, S3, and S4 were selected due to their wide host ranges compared to those of the other phages. S1 and S4 are temperate siphoviruses, while S3 is a virulent myovirus.

[Vaginal microbiota: composition, protective role, associated pathologies, and therapeutic perspectives].

Vaginal microbiota, mainly comprised of Lactobacillus crispatus, L. jensenii and L. gasseri, protect the mucosa against the establishment of pathogenic microorganisms through three complementary mechanisms: a) specific adherence to the epithelium, which blocks colonization of pathogens, b) production of antimicrobial compounds, and c) co-aggregation with pathogens, which enhances their microbiocidal effect.

New method for evaluation of genotoxicity, based on the use of real-time PCR and lysogenic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria.

A method for the detection of the SOS response as measured by the liberation of resident prophages from the genomes of their hosts is described. It is based on the use of two converging oligonucleotides that flank the attP attachment site of the phage as primers for real-time PCR. Amplification was observed only after the phage DNA became excised.

Two discrete elements are required for the replication of a repABC plasmid: an antisense RNA and a stem-loop structure.

The repABC replicons contain an operon encoding the initiator protein (RepC) and partitioning proteins (RepA and RepB). The latter two proteins negatively regulate the transcription of the operon. In this article we have identified two novel regulatory elements, located within the conserved repB-repC intergenic sequence, which negatively modulate the expression of repC, in plasmid p42d of Rhizobium etli.

Incompatibility and the partitioning site of the repABC basic replicon of the symbiotic plasmid from Rhizobium etli.

The basic replicon of the symbiotic plasmid (p42d) of Rhizobium etli CE3 is constituted by the repABC operon. Whereas RepC is essential for plasmid replication, RepA and RepB are involved in plasmid partitioning. Three incompatibility regions have been previously identified in this plasmid: the first one encodes RepA, a partitioning protein that also down-regulates the repABC transcription.

The Rhizobium etli cyaC product: characterization of a novel adenylate cyclase class.

Adenylate cyclases (ACs) catalyze the formation of 3',5'-cyclic AMP (cAMP) from ATP. A novel AC-encoding gene, cyaC, was isolated from Rhizobium etli by phenotypic complementation of an Escherichia coli cya mutant. The functionality of the cyaC gene was corroborated by its ability to restore cAMP accumulation in an E.