Effects of exogenous Strigolactone on the physiological and ecological characteristics of Pennisetum purpureum Schum. Seedlings under drought stress.

Background: Drought is one of the main environmental factors limiting plant growth and development. Pennisetum purpureum Schum. was used to explore the mitigation effects of exogenous strigolactone (SL) on drought stress during the seedling stage.

Complement receptor 3 mediates internalization into alveolar epithelial cells with the increase of intracellular phosphatidic acid by activating FAK.

Complement receptor 3 (CD11b/CD18) is an important receptor that mediates adhesion, phagocytosis and chemotaxis in various immunocytes. The conidia of the medically-important pathogenic fungus, can be internalized into alveolar epithelial cells to disseminate its infection in immunocompromised host; however, the role of CR3 in this process is poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the potential role of CR3 on internalization into type II alveolar epithelial cells and its effect on host intracellular PA content induced by .

Aspergillus fumigatus Induces the Release of IL-8 and MCP-1 by Activating Nuclear Transcription Through Dectin-1 and CR3 Receptors in Alveolar Epithelial Cells.

Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis induced by the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus is one of the common fatal complications in immunocompromised patients. Lung epithelial cells play an important role in host immune defense against A. fumigatus.

Gliotoxin Induces Cofilin Phosphorylation to Promote Actin Cytoskeleton Dynamics and Internalization of Into Type II Human Pneumocyte Cells.

is able to internalize into lung epithelial cells to escape from immune attack for further dissemination. We previously reported that gliotoxin, a major mycotoxin of , promotes this internalization; however, the mechanism remained unclear. Here, we report that gliotoxin is able to induce cofilin phosphorylation in A549 type II human pneumocytes.

Role of Downregulation and Phosphorylation of Cofilin in Polarized Growth, MpkA Activation and Stress Response of .

causes most of aspergillosis in clinic and comprehensive function analysis of its key protein would promote anti-aspergillosis. In a previous study, we speculated actin depolymerizing factor cofilin might be essential for viability and found its overexpression upregulated oxidative response and cell wall polysaccharide synthesis of this pathogen. Here, we constructed a conditional mutant to determine the essential role of cofilin.

High prevalence and clonal dissemination of OXA-72-producing Acinetobacter baumannii in a Chinese hospital: a cross sectional study.

Background: Carbapenem resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii in China was mainly mediated by OXA-23-like carbapenemases, while OXA-24/40-like carbapenemases were rarely identified. OXA-72 is one variant of OXA-24/40-like carbapenemases. This study aimed to demonstrate the epidemiology and characterizations of OXA-72-producing A.

Role of the small GTPase Rho1 in cell wall integrity, stress response, and pathogenesis of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Aspergillus fumigatus is a major pathogen of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The small GTPase, Rho1, of A. fumigatus is reported to comprise a potential regulatory subunit of β-1,3-glucan synthase and is indispensable for fungal viability; however, the role of AfRho1 on the growth, cell wall integrity, and pathogenesis of A.

Gliotoxin destructs the pulmonary epithelium barrier function by reducing cofilin oligomer formation to promote the dissolution of actin stress fibers.

The destruction of pulmonary epithelium is a major feature of lung diseases caused by the fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus). Gliotoxin, a major mycotoxin of A.

Elevated MIC Values of Imidazole Drugs against Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates with TR/L98H/S297T/F495I Mutation.

The use of azole fungicides in agriculture is believed to be one of the main reasons for the emergence of azole resistance in Though widely used in agriculture, imidazole fungicides have not been linked to resistance in This study showed that elevated MIC values of imidazole drugs were observed against isolates with TR/L98H/S297T/F495I mutation, but not among isolates with TR/L98H mutation. Short-tandem-repeat (STR) typing analysis of 580 isolates from 20 countries suggested that the majority of TR/L98H/S297T/F495I strains from China were genetically different from the predominant major clade comprising most of the azole-resistant strains and the strains with the same mutation from the Netherlands and Denmark. Alignments of sterol 14α-demethylase sequences suggested that F495I in was orthologous to F506I in and F489L in , which have been reported to be associated with imidazole resistance.

Identification and Characterization of Key Charged Residues in the Cofilin Protein Involved in Azole Susceptibility, Apoptosis, and Virulence of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Through some specific amino acid residues, cofilin, a ubiquitous actin depolymerization factor, can significantly affect mitochondrial function related to drug resistance and apoptosis in ; however, this modulation in a major fungal pathogen, , was still unclear. Hereby, it was found, first, that mutations on several charged residues in cofilin to alanine, D19A-R21A, E48A, and K36A, increased the formation of reactive oxygen species and induced apoptosis along with typical hallmarks, including mitochondrial membrane potential depolarization, cytochrome release, upregulation of metacaspases, and DNA cleavage, in Two of these mutations (D19A-R21A and K36A) increased acetyl coenzyme A and ATP concentrations by triggering fatty acid β-oxidation. The upregulated acetyl coenzyme A affected the ergosterol biosynthetic pathway, leading to overexpression of and -, while excess ATP fueled ATP-binding cassette transporters.

Role of actin depolymerizing factor cofilin in Aspergillus fumigatus oxidative stress response and pathogenesis.

Aspergillus fumigatus is a major fungal pathogen that is responsible for approximately 90% of human aspergillosis. Cofilin is an actin depolymerizing factor that plays crucial roles in multiple cellular functions in many organisms. However, the functions of cofilin in A.

Predicting nosocomial lower respiratory tract infections by a risk index based system.

Although belonging to one of the most common type of nosocomial infection, there was currently no simple prediction model for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs). This study aims to develop a risk index based system for predicting nosocomial LRTIs based on data from a large point-prevalence survey. Among the 49328 patients included, the prevalence of nosocomial LRTIs was 1.

Assessing antibiotic therapy effectiveness against the major bacterial pathogens in a hospital using an integrated index.

Aim: To assess the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy against five indicator bacteria in a Chinese hospital using an index-based approach.

Methods: The study population comprises 1031 patients who had one clinically significant bacterial isolate in 2008, 2010 and 2013. Drug resistance index (DRI) based on pathogens was calculated.

Epidemiology and Molecular Characterizations of Azole Resistance in Clinical and Environmental Aspergillus fumigatus Isolates from China.

Azole resistance in Aspergillus fumigatus has emerged as a worldwide public health problem. We sought here to demonstrate the occurrence and characteristics of azole resistance in A. fumigatus from different parts of China.

Transcriptome Profiles of Human Lung Epithelial Cells A549 Interacting with Aspergillus fumigatus by RNA-Seq.

Lung epithelial cells constitute the first defense line of host against the inhaled Aspergillus fumigatus; however, the transcriptional response of human alveolar type II epithelial cells was still unclear. Here we used RNA-Seq technology to assess the transcriptome profiles of A549 cells following direct interaction with conidia of A. fumigatus.

Evidence for the involvement of cofilin in Aspergillus fumigatus internalization into type II alveolar epithelial cells.

Background: The internalization of Aspergillus fumigatus into alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) is tightly controlled by host cellular actin dynamics, which require close modulation of the ADF (actin depolymerizing factor)/cofilin family. However, the role of cofilin in A. fumigatus internalization into AECs remains unclear.

Occurrence of oral Candida colonization and its risk factors among patients with malignancies in China.

Objectives: Oral colonization of Candida could lead to later development of oropharyngeal candidiasis or candidemia among the immunocompromised patients. This study aims to describe the occurrence and risk factors of oral Candida colonization in patients with malignancies.

Materials And Methods: From October 2012 to March 2013, 78 patients with pulmonary cancer (group I), 101 patients with gastrointestinal tract tumor (group II), 79 patients with hematopoietic system malignant tumor (group III), and 101 healthy controls were consecutively recruited in a hospital in Beijing, China.

A data-driven mathematical model of multi-drug resistant Acinetobacter baumannii transmission in an intensive care unit.

Major challenges remain when attempting to quantify and evaluate the impacts of contaminated environments and heterogeneity in the cohorting of health care workers (HCWs) on hospital infections. Data on the detection rate of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB) in a Chinese intensive care unit (ICU) were obtained to accurately evaluate the level of environmental contamination and also to simplify existing models. Data-driven mathematical models, including mean-field and pair approximation models, were proposed to examine the comprehensive effect of integrated measures including cohorting, increasing nurse-patient ratios and improvement of environmental sanitation on MRAB infection.

Occurrence of nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a marker for transmission in a surgical intensive care unit in China.

In 2008, an intensive care unit (ICU) in a large Chinese hospital was moved from a 6-bed old ward to a 20-bed new ward. After the move, the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in patients and environmental sites decreased significantly, but the number of ICU-acquired cases per imported MRSA case increased from 1.4 to 4.

Gliotoxin promotes Aspergillus fumigatus internalization into type II human pneumocyte A549 cells by inducing host phospholipase D activation.

The internalization of Aspergillus fumigatus into lung epithelial cells is critical for the infection process in the host. Gliotoxin is the most potent toxin produced by A. fumigatus.

Characterization of KPC-2-producing Escherichia coli, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterobacter aerogenes, and Klebsiella oxytoca isolates from a Chinese Hospital.

Twelve nonduplicated KPC-2-producing enterobacterial isolates, including three Escherichia coli, two Citrobacter freundii, two Enterobacter cloacae, four Enterobacter aerogenes, and one Klebsiella oxytoca, were collected from various clinical samples within 18 months (March 2011 to September 2012). Two of the 12 patients died from infections caused by KPC-2-producing pathogens, while the rest of the patients with KPC-2-producing pathogens improved or were cured. The majority of the clinical isolates exhibited a high-level of resistance to oxyimino-cephalosporins and carbapenems, and possessed self-transferable bla(KPC-2)-carrying plasmids with sizes ranging from 20 to 120 kb.

A bronchofiberoscopy-associated outbreak of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in an intensive care unit in Beijing, China.

Background: Bronchofiberscopy, a widely used procedure for the diagnosis of various pulmonary diseases within intensive care units, has a history of association with nosocomial infections. Between September and November 2009, an outbreak caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR-Ab) was observed in the intensive care unit of a tertiary care hospital in Beijing, China. This study is aimed to describe the course and control of this outbreak and investigate the related risk factors.

Disruption of the phospholipase D gene attenuates the virulence of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Aspergillus fumigatus is the most prevalent airborne fungal pathogen that induces serious infections in immunocompromised patients. Phospholipases are key enzymes in pathogenic fungi that cleave host phospholipids, resulting in membrane destabilization and host cell penetration. However, knowledge of the impact of phospholipases on A.

β-1,3-Glucan-induced host phospholipase D activation is involved in Aspergillus fumigatus internalization into type II human pneumocyte A549 cells.

The internalization of Aspergillus fumigatus into lung epithelial cells is a process that depends on host cell actin dynamics. The host membrane phosphatidylcholine cleavage driven by phospholipase D (PLD) is closely related to cellular actin dynamics. However, little is known about the impact of PLD on A.