Effects of pyocyanin and 1-hydroxyphenazine on intracellular calcium, mitochondrial function, and viability in human nasal epithelial cells.

is an opportunistic pathogen that produces phenazine metabolites pyocyanin and 1-hydroxyphenazine that have been suggested to have detrimental effects on mitochondrial function and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production. Prior studies have suggested activation of Ca signaling by pyocyanin in an airway cell line. Ca is tightly linked to both normal mitochondrial function as well as mitochondrial ROS and apoptosis during mitochondrial Ca overload.

Hops bitter β-acids have antibacterial effects against sinonasal Staphylococcus aureus but also induce sinonasal cilia and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Background: Routine prescription of antibiotics to treat chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) exacerbations may contribute to the propagation of antibiotic resistance. Hops bitter β-acids lupulone and colupulone possess potent antibacterial activities and, as T2R1, T2R14, and/or T2R40 agonists, may improve the impaired mucociliary clearance described in CRS patients. We investigated these molecules as alternative treatments to antibiotics in CRS management based on their antibacterial and T2Rs agonists properties.

Methodological framework for assessing malaria risk associated with climate change in Côte d'Ivoire.

Malaria is the leading cause of morbidity among children under five years of age and pregnant women in Côte d'Ivoire. We assessed the geographical distribution of its risk in all climatic zones of the country based on the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approach to climate risk analysis. This methodology considers three main driving components affecting the risk: Hazard, exposure and vulnerability.

Interkingdom Detection of Bacterial Quorum-Sensing Molecules by Mammalian Taste Receptors.

Bitter and sweet taste G protein-coupled receptors (known as T2Rs and T1Rs, respectively) were originally identified in type II taste cells on the tongue, where they signal perception of bitter and sweet tastes, respectively. Over the past ~15 years, taste receptors have been identified in cells all over the body, demonstrating a more general chemosensory role beyond taste. Bitter and sweet taste receptors regulate gut epithelial function, pancreatic β cell secretion, thyroid hormone secretion, adipocyte function, and many other processes.