The correlation between gelatin macroscale differences and nanoparticle properties: providing insight into biopolymer variability.

From therapeutic delivery to sustainable packaging, manipulation of biopolymers into nanostructures imparts biocompatibility to numerous materials with minimal environmental pollution during processing. While biopolymers are appealing natural based materials, the lack of nanoparticle (NP) physicochemical consistency has decreased their nanoscale translation into actual products. Insights regarding the macroscale and nanoscale property variation of gelatin, one of the most common biopolymers already utilized in its bulk form, are presented.

Mycoplasma hyorhinis induces proinflammatory responses in mice lymphocytes.

Mycoplasmas are frequent contaminants of cultured cells, leading to alterations in cellular gene expression, protein synthesis, signal transduction, and metabolic pathways. Mycoplasma hyorhinis, the major contaminant of tissue cultures, has been implicated in a variety of diseases in swine. Most human and animal mycoplasmas remain attached to the surface of epithelial cells.

Adhesion and biofilm formation of Mycoplasma pneumoniae on an abiotic surface.

We demonstrated that when M. pneumoniae was grown on an abiotic surface of either glass or polystyrene with a serum-containing medium, the bacteria adhered to the surface and formed highly differentiated volcano-like biofilm structures. As adherence to the surface and/or biofilm formation was totally inhibited by anti-P1 polyclonal monospecific antibodies, we suggest that the adherence of M.

Polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols derived from avocado suppress inflammatory response and provide non-sunscreen protection against UV-induced damage in skin cells.

Exposing skin to ultraviolet (UV) radiation contributes to photoaging and to the development of skin cancer by DNA lesions and triggering inflammatory and other harmful cellular cascades. The present study tested the ability of unique lipid molecules, polyhydroxylated fatty alcohols (PFA), extracted from avocado, to reduce UVB-induced damage and inflammation in skin. Introducing PFA to keratinocytes prior to their exposure to UVB exerted a protective effect, increasing cell viability, decreasing the secretion of IL-6 and PGE(2), and enhancing DNA repair.

Invasion of melanoma cells by Mycoplasma hyorhinis: enhancement by protease treatment.

Mycoplasma hyorhinis (strain MCLD) was recently isolated from a melanoma cell culture. Growth of MCLD was considerably improved by 24 serial passages in a modified Hayflick's mycoplasma medium. Transmission electron microscopy showed that MCLD exhibits a polymorphic appearance, with ovoid or elongated cells frequently harboring an electron-dense core at one of the poles.

Mycoplasma penetrans under nutritional stress: influence on lipid and lipoprotein profiles and on the binding to and invasion of HeLa cells.

By serial passages through media containing decreasing concentrations of horse serum, the sterol-requiring Mycoplasma penetrans strain HF-2 was adapted to grow in a serum-free medium supplemented with bovine serum albumin, cholesterol and free fatty acids. Chemical analysis of membrane preparations obtained from the native and adapted strains revealed two major differences. (1) The polar lipid fraction of the native strain contains, in addition to the de novo-synthesized phospholipids, exogenous lipids incorporated unchanged from the growth medium, whereas exogenous lipids were not detected in the adapted strain.

LRP and alphavbeta3 mediate tPA activation of smooth muscle cells.

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) regulates vascular contractility through the low-density lipoprotein-related receptor (LRP), and this effect is inhibited by plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1). We now report that tPA-mediated vasocontraction also requires the integrin alphavbeta3. tPA-induced contraction of rat aortic rings is inhibited by the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) peptide and by monoclonal anti-alphavbeta3 antibody.

Anti-angiogenic effects and regression of localized murine AML produced by anti-VEGF and anti-Flk-1 antibodies.

Reducing the blood supply of tumors is one modality to combat cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate such an approach in the treatment of localized murine AML (acute myelogenous leukemia). For this purpose we designed an experimental model in which leukemic cells were embedded in 1% agar discs before subcutaneous implantation in C57Bl female mice.

Mycoplasma fermentans binds to and invades HeLa cells: involvement of plasminogen and urokinase.

Adherence of Mycoplasma fermentans to HeLa cells followed saturation kinetics, required a divalent cation, and was enhanced by preincubation of the organism at 37 degrees C for 1 h in a low-osmolarity solution. Proteolytic digestion, choline phosphate, or anti-choline phosphate antibodies partially inhibited the adherence, supporting the notion that M. fermentans utilizes at least two surface components for adhesion, a protease-sensitive surface protein and a phosphocholine-containing glycolipid.

Intracellular location and survival of Mycoplasma penetrans within HeLa cells.

Mycoplasma penetrans invades HeLa cells and survives within them for prolonged periods of time. The intracellular distribution of M. penetrans within HeLa cells was studied utilizing the acidotropic dye LysoTracker (green), which permeates cell membranes and upon protonation remains trapped in acidic compartments.

Internalization and intracellular survival of Mycoplasma pneumoniae by non-phagocytic cells.

Current theory holds that mycoplasmas remain attached to the surface of epithelial cells although some mycoplasmas have evolved mechanisms for entering host cells that are not naturally phagocytic. The ability of Mycoplasma pneumoniae strain M129 to invade and survive within host cells was studied using a HeLa cell line and a human lung carcinoma cell line (A549). The invasion process into the eukaryotic cells was studied qualitatively by confocal laser scanning microscopy and quantitatively by the gentamicin resistance assay.

Body louse remains found in textiles excavated at Masada, Israel.

A leg of the body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus L. (Phthiraptera: Pediculidae), was found in a storeroom at Masada build during the reign of King Herod the Great. The unearthed culture material clearly indicates that the room was occupied by the rebels during the first Jewish revolt against the Romans (AD 66-73/4).

In vitro and in vivo effects of tPA and PAI-1 on blood vessel tone.

Tissue type plasminogen activator (tPA) is a key enzyme in the fibrinolytic cascade. In this paper we report that tPA contains 2 independent epitopes that exert opposite effects on blood vessel tone. Low concentrations of tPA (1 nM) inhibit the phenylephrine (PE)-induced contraction of isolated aorta rings.

Effect of Ascorbic Acid and Its Hydrophobic Derivative Palmitoyl Ascorbate on the Redox State of Primary Human Fibroblasts.

Ascorbic acid (AA) and its derivatives participate in vitro in oxidative-reductive reactions both as antioxidants and as prooxidants. The physiological relevance of these prooxidant effects of AA and its derivatives remains unclear. There is little evidence that AA can initiate formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) or lipid peroxidation in cells or tissue.

Human alpha-defensin regulates smooth muscle cell contraction: a role for low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein/alpha 2-macroglobulin receptor.

We have previously identified alpha-defensin in association with medial smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in human coronary arteries. In the present paper we report that alpha-defensin, at concentrations below those found in pathological conditions, inhibits phenylephrine (PE)-induced contraction of rat aortic rings. Addition of 1 microM alpha-defensin increased the half-maximal effective concentration (EC(50)) of PE on denuded aortic rings from 32 to 630 nM.

Destruction of bacteria in the digestive tract of the maggot of Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

Green fluorescent protein-producing Escherichia coli were used to investigate the fate of bacteria in the alimentary tract of sterile grown maggots, Lucilia sericata (Meigen), using a laser scanning confocal microscope. A computer program was used to analyze the intensity of the fluorescence and to quantify the number of bacteria. The crop and the anterior midgut were the most heavily infected areas of the intestine.

Protein kinase C activation and vacuolation in HeLa cells invaded by Mycoplasma penetrans.

The AIDS-associated Mycoplasma penetrans is capable of inducing its own uptake by non-phagocytic cells. This study investigated the invasion of HeLa cells and its consequences by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Invasion was dependent on the duration of infection and temperature, diminished by inhibiting microfilament assembly with cytochalasin D and almost completely abolished by disorganising microtubules with vinblastine or taxol.

Mycoplasma fermentans glycolipid triggers inflammatory response in rat astrocytes.

Mycoplasma fermentans glycolipid (MfGL-II) is a major lipid in the membranes of this AIDS-associated mycoplasma and constituting up to 20% of the total phospholipids of this organism. It was recently shown that MfGL-II, mainly through its phosphocholine moiety, is responsible for the attachment of M. fermentans to host cells.

Membrane lipids of Mycoplasma fermentans.

Membranes of Mycoplasma fermentans, incognitus strain, were isolated by a combination of osmotic lysis and sonication. Analysis of membrane lipids revealed, in addition to free and esterified cholesterol, six major polar lipids dominated by a de novo synthesized compound (compound X), which accounts for 64% of the total lipid phosphorus. Compound X was labeled by palmitate, but not by oleate.

Use of Merocyanine 540 and Hoechst 33258 for the selective killing of contaminating mycoplasmas in cell cultures.

Mycoplasma infection can substantially affect the biological properties of cells in vitro. We have devised a method for the selective killing of mycoplasmas, e.g.

Fusion of Spiroplasma floricola cells with small unilamellar vesicles is dependent on the age of the culture.

Small unilamellar vesicles were labeled with the fluorescent probe octadecylrhodamine B chloride and mixed with intact Spiroplasma floricola cells. The increase in fluorescence observed was interpreted as a result of the dilution of the probe in the unlabeled S. floricola membranes because of lipid mixing upon fusion.

Mycoplasma fermentans (incognitus strain) cells are able to fuse with T lymphocytes.

Characteristics of the fusion of Mycoplasma fermentans (incognitus strain) with cultured lymphocytes were investigated. The rate and extent of fusion were monitored continuously in an assay that measured lipid mixing on the basis of dequenching of a fluorescent probe, octadecylrhodamine (R18), incorporated into mycoplasmas. Fusion of M.

Cholesterol is required for the fusion of single unilamellar vesicles with Mycoplasma capricolum.

Small unilamellar vesicles (SUV) were prepared from the total lipid extract of Mycoplasma capricolum. The SUV were labeled with the fluorescent probe octadecylrhodamine B chloride (R18) to a level at which the R18 fluorescence was self-quenched. At pH 7.

Mycoplasma cells stimulate in vitro activation of plasminogen by purified tissue-type plasminogen activator.

In an in vitro direct assay with tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), plasminogen and the chromogenic substrate S-2251, the ability of Mycoplasma fermentans KL4 to stimulate tPA-mediated activation of plasminogen to plasmin was studied. Mycoplasma cells markedly enhanced the activation of plasminogen by tPA in a concentration-, temperature- and pH-dependent manner. Nonidet P-40 (0.

Mycoplasma fermentans (incognitus strain) induces TNF alpha and IL-1 production by human monocytes and murine macrophages.

We have demonstrated that Mycoplasma fermentans (incognitus strain), as well as M. fermentans KL4, PG 18 and IM 1 strains have the ability to activate human peripheral blood monocytes and murine macrophages of two inbred strains to secrete a high level of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) in a dose-dependent manner. Secretion of interleukin-1 (IL-1) was also stimulated following the incubation of human monocytes with the organism.