Use of serum-free media for peripheral blood mononuclear cell culture and the impact on T and B cell readouts.

Introduction: As part of a wider programme of work developing next-generation risk assessment approaches (NGRA) using non-animal methods (NAMs) for safety assessment of materials, Unilever SEAC is exploring the use of a peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) system to investigate how cells from different arms of the human immune system are impacted by different treatments. To maximise human relevance, the cell cultures are supported by human serum, but this came with some challenges, including an inability to measure induced levels of immunoglobulins due to high background levels. Therefore, a study comparing use of human sera containing media with three different chemically defined serum-free media was undertaken.

Qualitative exploration of the barriers and facilitators to community pharmacy PrEP delivery for UK pharmacists and underserved community members using the COM-B model of behaviour change.

Objectives: Expanding delivery of oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to community pharmacies could improve access, aligning well with the UK government's goals to eliminate new HIV acquisitions by 2030. Using the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation, Behaviour (COM-B) model for behaviour change, the aim of this research was to explore the barriers and facilitators of community pharmacy PrEP delivery, for pharmacists and community members.

Methods: Community members at elevated risk of acquiring HIV and community pharmacists were recruited to participate in semi-structured interviews.

A novel approach for the synthesis of the cyclic lipopeptide globomycin.

Cyclic lipopeptides (CLiPs) are a highly diverse class of secondary metabolites produced by bacteria and fungi. Examples of CLiPs have been found that possess potent antimicrobial activity against multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. Globomycin is a 19-membered CLiP that kills both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria through inhibition of lipoprotein signal peptidase II (Lsp).

Microbiome-derived antimicrobial peptides show therapeutic activity against the critically important priority pathogen, Acinetobacter baumannii.

Acinetobacter baumannii is designated by the World Health Organisation as a critical priority pathogen. Previously we discovered antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), namely Lynronne-1, -2 and -3, with efficacy against bacterial pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Here we assessed Lynronne-1, -2 and -3 structure by circular dichroism and efficacy against clinical strains of A.

A classic antibiotic reimagined: Rationally designed bacitracin variants exhibit potent activity against vancomycin-resistant pathogens.

Bacitracin is a macrocyclic peptide antibiotic that is widely used as a topical treatment for infections caused by gram-positive bacteria. Mechanistically, bacitracin targets bacteria by specifically binding to the phospholipid undecaprenyl pyrophosphate (CPP), which plays a key role in the bacterial lipid II cycle. Recent crystallographic studies have shown that when bound to CPP, bacitracin adopts a highly ordered amphipathic conformation.