The PerioGene North study reveals that periodontal inflammation and advanced jawbone loss in periodontitis associate with serum gingipain antibodies but not with systemic autoimmunity.

Introduction: Periodontitis is associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). One hypothesis posits that this connection arises from the formation of autoantibodies against citrullinated proteins (ACPA) in inflamed gums, possibly triggered by . We previously demonstrated an increased antibody response to arginine gingipains (anti-Rgp IgG), not only in individuals with severe periodontitis compared to controls, but in RA versus controls, with an association to ACPA.

Metagenomic analysis of pristine oil sheds new light on the global distribution of microbial genetic repertoire in hydrocarbon-associated ecosystems.

Oil reservoirs are society's primary source of hydrocarbons. While microbial communities in industrially exploited oil reservoirs have been investigated in the past, pristine microbial communities in untapped oil reservoirs are little explored, as are distribution patterns of respective genetic signatures. Here, we show that a pristine oil sample contains a complex community consisting of bacteria and fungi for the degradation of hydrocarbons.

A computational chemistry-based approach to optimizing PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors.

Introduction: To design effective small molecule inhibitors targeting the immune checkpoint PD-1/PD-L1 and to explore their inhibitory activity.

Methods: In this paper, a total of 69 PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors with the same backbone were searched through opendatabases, and their docking mechanism with PD-L1 protein was investigatedby molecular docking method, and the active conformation of the inhibitors was explored. The biological activity of the four newly designed inhibitors was also evaluated using ELISA.

Comparative Analysis of Spacer Targets in CRISPR-Cas Systems of Starter Cultures.

Dairy production facilities represent a unique ecological niche for bacteriophages of lactic acid bacteria. Throughout evolution, bacteria have developed a wide range of defense mechanisms against viral infections caused by bacteriophages. The CRISPR-Cas system is of particular interest due to its adaptive nature.

Proteo-Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals the Mechanisms Underlying Escherichia coli Phenotypic Shifts Under Blue Light.

Bacteria can adapt their lifestyles, including microbial growth, metabolism, and biofilm formation, in response to light signaling. However, the molecular pathways through which blue light affects the lifestyle of Escherichia coli (E. coli) remain incomplete and poorly understood.

Regenerating Locus Coeruleus-Norepinephrine (LC-NE) Function: A Novel Approach for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Pathological changes in the locus coeruleus-norepinephrine (LC-NE) neurons, the major source of norepinephrine (NE, also known as noradrenaline) in the brain, are evident during the early stages of neurodegenerative diseases (ND). Research on both human and animal models have highlighted the therapeutic potential of targeting the LC-NE system to mitigate the progression of ND and alleviate associated psychiatric symptoms. However, the early and widespread degeneration of the LC-NE system presents a significant challenge for direct intervention in ND.

Natural intestinal parasite infection in synanthropic migratory Barn Swallow, Hirundo rustica, in central Peninsular Malaysia.

Migratory birds are potential vectors transmitting zoonotic parasites, bacteria, and viruses that can significantly affect human health. Over 60 diseases have been identified to be associated with these birds. Given their close proximity to human habitation, the potential transmission of zoonotic diseases is a major concern for the public.

First molecular detection of hemotropic Mycoplasma spp. and molecular screening of other vector-borne pathogens in camels from the greater Cairo metropolitan area, Egypt.

In Egypt, knowledge about vector-borne bacterial pathogens in camels remains limited. To address this gap, 181 blood samples from adult one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) in the greater Cairo metropolitan area were collected from October 2021 to March 2022. Through PCR assays, four pathogens were detected, where Anaplasmataceae being the most common (54.

Investigating the role of intratumoral Streptococcus mitis in gastric cancer progression: insights into tumor microenvironment.

Growing evidence implicates that intratumoral microbiota are closely linked to cancer progression; however, research on the role of these microbiota in the development of gastric cancer remains limited. Here, using 16 S rRNA sequencing, tumor tissue proteomics and serum cytokines analysis, we identified enrichment of specific microbial communities within tumors of gastric cancer patients, possibly affecting the tumor microenvironment by immune modulation, metabolic processes, and inflammatory responses. Based on the results of in vivo experiments and intratumoral microbiota analysis, we found that Streptococcus mitis can inhibit gastric cancer progression via suppressing M2 macrophage polarization and infiltration, as well as altering the intratumoral microbial community.

Genotype-driven sensitivity of mice to tick-borne encephalitis virus correlates with differential host responses in peripheral macrophages and brain.

Background: Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most common tick-borne viral infection in Eurasia. Outcomes range from asymptomatic infection to fatal encephalitis, with host genetics likely playing a role. BALB/c mice have intermediate susceptibility to TBE virus (TBEV) and STS mice are highly resistant, whereas the recombinant congenic strain CcS-11, which carries 12.

Toll-Like Receptor 4-Mediated Neuroinflammation: Updates on Pathological Roles and Therapeutic Strategies in Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion.

Neuroinflammation has been acknowledged as being one of the main pathologies that occur following chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH). Since it significantly contributes to neuronal cell damage and thereby leads to cognitive impairment, the signals related to inflammation in hypoperfusion injury have been extensively investigated over the past few years. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is the key receptor responsible for immune and inflammatory reactions.

Targeting MYC for the treatment of breast cancer: use of the novel MYC-GSPT1 degrader, GT19630.

Background: Since MYC is one of the most frequently altered driver genes involved in cancer formation, it is a potential target for new anti-cancer therapies. Historically, however, MYC has proved difficult to target due to the absence of a suitable crevice for binding potential low molecular weight drugs.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate a novel molecular glue, dubbed GT19630, which degrades both MYC and GSPT1, for the treatment of breast cancer.

Dual modality feature fused neural network integrating binding site information for drug target affinity prediction.

Accurately predicting binding affinities between drugs and targets is crucial for drug discovery but remains challenging due to the complexity of modeling interactions between small drug and large targets. This study proposes DMFF-DTA, a dual-modality neural network model integrates sequence and graph structure information from drugs and proteins for drug-target affinity prediction. The model introduces a binding site-focused graph construction approach to extract binding information, enabling more balanced and efficient modeling of drug-target interactions.

Epidemiology, mechanisms, and clinical impact of bacterial heteroresistance.

Bacterial heteroresistance, a phenomenon where subpopulations within a bacterial strain exhibit significantly reduced antibiotic susceptibility compared to the main population, poses a major challenge in managing infectious diseases. It is considered an intermediate stage in the evolution of bacteria towards full resistance. Heteroresistant strains often have a minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) that appears sensitive, making detection and differentiation in clinical settings difficult.

Robust mucosal SARS-CoV-2-specific T cells effectively combat COVID-19 and establish polyfunctional resident memory in patient lungs.

Mucosal antigen-specific T cells are pivotal for pathogen clearance and immune modulation in respiratory infections. Dysregulated T cell responses exacerbate coronavirus disease 2019 severity, marked by cytokine storms and respiratory failure. Despite extensive description in peripheral blood, the characteristics of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-specific T cells in the lungs remain elusive.

Extracellular vesicles in seminal plasma of Sahiwal cattle bulls carry a differential abundance of sperm fertility-associated proteins for augmenting the functional quality of low-fertile bull spermatozoa.

Poor male fertility significantly affects dairy production, primarily due to low conception rates (CR) in bulls, even when cows are inseminated with morphologically normal sperm. Seminal plasma is a key factor in evaluating the fertilizing ability of bull semen. The extracellular vesicles (EVs) in seminal plasma contain fertility-associated proteins like SPAM1, ADAM7, and SP10, which influence sperm function and fertilizing potential.

An integrated approach to predict genetic risk for Mosquito-Borne diseases in the local Population of Tehsil Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Highly variable response shown by individuals against mosquito-borne infections suggests that host genetic factors play an important role in determining mosquito-borne disease onset. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the genetic risk of these diseases in specific populations. The current study aimed to determine the percentage of individuals in the general population carrying mosquito-borne disease susceptibility and protection-related variants.

Isolation of PCSK9-specific nanobodies from synthetic libraries using a combined protein selection strategy.

Nanobodies (Nbs) hold great potential to replace conventional antibodies in various biomedical applications. However, conventional methods for their discovery can be time-consuming and expensive. We have developed a reliable protein selection strategy that combines magnetic activated cell sorting (MACS)-based screening of yeast surface display (YSD) libraries and functional ligand-binding identification by Tat-based recognition of associating proteins (FLI-TRAP) to isolate antigen-specific Nbs from synthetic libraries.

Isolation, identification, and characterisation of the malachite green detoxifying bacterial strain Bacillus pacificus ROC1 and the azoreductase AzrC.

Malachite green (MG) is used as a dye for materials such as wood, cotton, and nylon, and is used in aquaculture to prevent fungal and protozoan diseases. However, it is highly toxic, with carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic properties, resulting in bans worldwide. Despite this, MG is still frequently used in many countries due to its efficacy and economy.

Discovery of two novel Flavobacterium species with potential for complex polysaccharide degradation.

Polysaccharides are recognized for their extensive biological functions, holding significant promise for applications in both medicine and food industries. However, their utilization is frequently constrained by challenges such as high molecular weights and indistinct sugar chain structures. Recently, two novel bacterial strains, N6 and J3, were isolated from the Nakdong River in Korea.

Neoadjuvant pyrotinib and trastuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer with no early response (NeoPaTHer): efficacy, safety and biomarker analysis of a prospective, multicentre, response-adapted study.

The potential benefits of pyrotinib for patients with trastuzumab-insensitive, HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer remain unclear. This prospective, multicentre, response-adapted study evaluated the efficacy and safety of adding pyrotinib to the neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive breast cancer patients with a poor response to initial docetaxel plus carboplatin and trastuzumab (TCbH). Early response was assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) after two cycles of treatment.

Thyroid Endocrine Disrupting Potential of Fluoxetine in Zebrafish Larvae.

Fluoxetine (FLX), a typical selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, has been frequently detected in aquatic environment and wild fish. However, little is known about its effect on thyroid endocrine system. In the present study, zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were exposed to 1, 3, 10, and 30 μg/L of FLX for 6 days.

Enhanced methanol-xylose co-utilization strategy in Komagataella phaffii.

Bio-manufacturing based on non-food carbon sources is conducive to alleviating the global food crisis and greenhouse effect. However, the mechanism of the utilization of methanol and xylose in Komagataella phaffii based on endogenous metabolic pathways has not been fully explored. In this study, transcriptomics revealed a positive correlation between methanol metabolic efficiency and the transcription level of genes related to xylose metabolism and phosphate metabolism.