Capsule-Targeting Depolymerase, Derived from Klebsiella KP36 Phage, as a Tool for the Development of Anti-Virulent Strategy.

The rise of antibiotic-resistant , a leading nosocomial pathogen, prompts the need for alternative therapies. We have identified and characterized a novel depolymerase enzyme encoded by phage KP36 (depoKP36), from the family. To gain insights into the catalytic and structural features of depoKP36, we have recombinantly produced this protein of 93.

Survival rate after vitrification of various stages of cat embryos and blastocyst with and without artificially collapsed blastocoel cavity.

Embryo vitrification is a modern technique for cryopreservation in assisted reproductive programs. From all the embryos, blastocysts are the most challenging during cryostorage due to their size, multicellular structure and the presence of blastocoelic fluid. The aim of this study was to evaluate the suitability for vitrification of various developmental stages of feline embryos and the influence of the artificial shrinkage (AS) of expanded blastocyst on post-vitrification survival rates.

Muscle mercury and selenium in fishes and semiaquatic mammals from a selenium-deficient area.

The aim of this study was to investigate and compare total mercury (Hg), selenium (Se), and Se:Hg molar ratios in fish muscles (phytophages n=3; benthophages n=32; predators n=5) and semiaquatic carnivores, including piscivores (the European otter n=8, the feral American mink n=7) and the omnivorous raccoon (n=37) from a riverine European ecosystem in a Se-deficient area. The Hg concentration in fish reached 0.337μg/g dry weight, dw (0.

The temperate Burkholderia phage AP3 of the Peduovirinae shows efficient antimicrobial activity against B. cenocepacia of the IIIA lineage.

Burkholderia phage AP3 (vB_BceM_AP3) is a temperate virus of the Myoviridae and the Peduovirinae subfamily (P2likevirus genus). This phage specifically infects multidrug-resistant clinical Burkholderia cenocepacia lineage IIIA strains commonly isolated from cystic fibrosis patients. AP3 exhibits high pairwise nucleotide identity (61.

Klebsiella phages representing a novel clade of viruses with an unknown DNA modification and biotechnologically interesting enzymes.

Lytic bacteriophages and phage-encoded endolysins (peptidoglycan hydrolases) provide a source for the development of novel antimicrobial strategies. In the present study, we focus on the closely related (96 % DNA sequence identity) environmental myoviruses vB_KpnM_KP15 (KP15) and vB_KpnM_KP27 (KP27) infecting multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca strains. Their genome organisation and evolutionary relationship are compared to Enterobacter phage phiEap-3 and Klebsiella phages Matisse and Miro.

Proteomic Analysis of Outer Membrane Proteins from Salmonella Enteritidis Strains with Different Sensitivity to Human Serum.

Differential analysis of outer membrane composition of S. Enteritidis strains, resistant to 50% normal human serum (NHS) was performed in order to find factors influencing the resistance to higher concentrations of NHS. Ten S.

Students' attitudes to tick risks.

Introduction And Objectives: The ever-increasing number of patients with tick-borne diseases resulted in the presented study investigating the awareness, attitudes and knowledge among students about the threats arising from tick bites and preventive anti-tick practices.

Materials And Method: Questionnaires concerning these issues were distributed amongst Czech and Polish university students of science. Responses were analyzed by nationality and by gender.

Flavonoid C-glucosides Derived from Flax Straw Extracts Reduce Human Breast Cancer Cell Growth In vitro and Induce Apoptosis.

Flax straw of flax varieties that are grown for oil production is a by product which represents a considerable biomass source. Therefore, its potential application for human use is of high interest. Our research has revealed that flax straw is rich in flavonoid C-glucosides, including vitexin, orientin, and isoorientin.

Cryptosporidium spp. and Enterocytozoon bieneusi in introduced raccoons (Procyon lotor)-first evidence from Poland and Germany.

The raccoon (Procyon lotor) carnivore native to North America is a fast spreading, invasive species in the Europe now. At the moment, the highest population occupies areas near the German-Polish border. The data on the occurrence of Cryptosporidium spp.

Winter activity of Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius, 1794) in the newly emerging population of Lower Silesia, south-west Poland.

This paper presents the unexpected winter activity of Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius, 1794) ticks in a newly emerging population in south-west Poland. Host-seeking ticks were collected from vegetation in January 2016 in a meadow ecosystem in six sites located in the Wroclaw Agglomeration, as well as from ten companion animals. A total of 238 questing D.

Glutathione may have implications in the design of 3-bromopyruvate treatment protocols for both fungal and algal infections as well as multiple myeloma.

In different fungal and algal species, the intracellular concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) correlates closely with their susceptibility to killing by the small molecule alkylating agent 3-bromopyruvate (3BP). Additionally, in the case of Cryptococcus neoformans cells 3BP exhibits a synergistic effect with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO), a known GSH depletion agent. This effect was observed when 3BP and BSO were used together at concentrations respectively of 4-5 and almost 8 times lower than their Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC).

Antimicrobial graphene family materials: Progress, advances, hopes and fears.

Graphene-based materials have become very popular bionanotechnological instruments in the last few years. Since 2010, the graphene family materials have been recognized as worthy of attention due to its antimicrobial properties. Functionalization of graphene (or rather graphene oxide) surface creates the possibilities to obtain efficient antimicrobial agents.

Brains of Native and Alien Mesocarnivores in Biomonitoring of Toxic Metals in Europe.

Mercury (Hg), lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) are involved in mammalian brain damage. However, little is known about Pb and Cd brain levels in wildlife that reflect the geochemical background. The aims of the study include the estimation of Hg, Pb and Cd concentrations, and the determination of relationships between these elements in the brains of 94 mesocarnivores.

The anticancer agent 3-bromopyruvate: a simple but powerful molecule taken from the lab to the bedside.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, 3-bromopyruvate (3BP), a simple alkylating chemical compound was presented to the scientific community as a potent anticancer agent, able to cause rapid toxicity to cancer cells without bystander effects on normal tissues. The altered metabolism of cancers, an essential hallmark for their progression, also became their Achilles heel by facilitating 3BP's selective entry and specific targeting. Treatment with 3BP has been administered in several cancer type models both in vitro and in vivo, either alone or in combination with other anticancer therapeutic approaches.

Study of the impact of cranberry extract on the virulence factors and biofilm formation by Enterococcus faecalis strains isolated from urinary tract infections.

Drinking of cranberry fruit juice and application of commercial preparations containing the cranberry extracts are recommended in the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections (UTIs), especially in women with recurrent UTIs. Many studies focus on the activity of cranberries against uropathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains.

Different patterns of extracellular proteolytic activity in W303a and BY4742 Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains.

Protease secretion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cultures is a complex process, important for the application of this organism in the food industry and biotechnology. Previous studies provide rather quantitative data, yielding no information about the number of enzymes involved in proteolysis and their individual biochemical properties. Here we demonstrate that W303a and BY4742 S.

Virulence Genes and the Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Escherichia coli, Isolated from Wild Waterbirds, in the Netherlands and Poland.

Affiliation to four phylogroups (A, B1, B2, and D) was examined, among 190 Escherichia coli strains, collected from five, wild waterbird species, including the following: the Greylag goose-Anser anser (61) and the Canada goose-Branta canadensis (33) obtained in the Netherlands, and the Mallard-Anas platyrhynchos (38), the Mute swan-Cygnus olor (37), and the Great cormorant-Phalacrocorax carbo (21) obtained in Poland. Moreover, the prevalence of 10 virulence factors: astA, iss, iucD, irp2, papC, tsh, vat, cva/cvi, stx2f, and bfp, as well as antimicrobial susceptibility to amoxicillin, enrofloxacin, and tetracycline (minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] using E-tests) were investigated, in the examined E. coli strains.

Detection of selected pathogens in ticks collected from cats and dogs in the Wrocław Agglomeration, South-West Poland.

Background: Tick-borne infections are no longer confined to rural areas, they are documented with increasing frequency in urban settlements across the world. They are known to cause diseases in humans as well as in their companion animals.

Methods: During a period of 2 years, from January 2013 until December 2014, ticks were collected from dogs and cats in 18 veterinary clinics in the Wrocław Agglomeration, Poland.

Dark stains on rock surfaces in Driny Cave (Little Carpathian Mountains, Slovakia).

Mycobiota are important in underground ecology. In 2014, we discovered dark stains on clayey sediments on the walls of Driny Cave, Slovakia. Our description is based on the morphology of the fungus and the phylogenetic relationships of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region.

A proposed integrated approach for the preclinical evaluation of phage therapy in Pseudomonas infections.

Bacteriophage therapy is currently resurging as a potential complement/alternative to antibiotic treatment. However, preclinical evaluation lacks streamlined approaches. We here focus on preclinical approaches which have been implemented to assess bacteriophage efficacy against Pseudomonas biofilms and infections.

Biofilm prevention by dicephalic cationic surfactants and their interactions with DNA.

Aims: The studies were aimed to contribute to the elucidation of the relationships between structure of the double-headed cationic surfactants-N,N-bis[3,3'-(dimethylamine)- propyl]alkylamide dihydrochlorides and N,N-bis[3,3'-(trimethylammonio)propyl]alkylamide dibromides (alkyl: n-C9 H19 , n-C11 H23 , n-C13 H27 , n-C15 H31 ) and their antibacterial and biofilm preventing activity.

Methods And Results: The minimal inhibitory and bactericidal concentrations (MIC and MBC) of dicephalic surfactants against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were tested using standard methods. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was resistant to studied compounds but MBC values against Staph.

The occurrence of nematodes of the genus Trichinella in wolves (Canis lupus) from the Bieszczady Mountains and Augustowska Forest in Poland.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Trichinella infection in wolves (Canis lupus) in two regions in Poland. Muscle samples were collected from 21 wolves between 1999 and 2015 and processed by artificial digestion. In two cases, the muscle larvae (ML) were obtained and stored in alcohol.

Silver Nanoforms as a Therapeutic Agent for Killing Escherichia coli and Certain ESKAPE Pathogens.

The scope of this study included the preparation of silver nanoforms with high antimicrobial efficacy, low cost, and ease of application. The term 'silver nanoforms' refers to silver located on the amorphous or crystalline titanium dioxide (TiO2). Silver nanoforms may be used as an alternative to antibiotics in killing bacteria.

Bats Increase the Number of Cultivable Airborne Fungi in the "Nietoperek" Bat Reserve in Western Poland.

The "Nietoperek" bat reserve located in Western Poland is one of the largest bat hibernation sites in the European Union with nearly 38,000 bats from 12 species. Nietoperek is part of a built underground fortification system from WWII. The aims of the study were (1) to determine the fungal species composition and changes during hibernation season in relation to bat number and microclimatic conditions and (2) evaluate the potential threat of fungi for bat assemblages and humans visiting the complex.

Microbial inhibitors of cysteine proteases.

Cysteine proteases are one of the major classes of proteolytic enzymes involved in a number of physiological and pathological processes in plants, animals and microorganisms. When their synthesis, activity and localization in mammalian cells are altered, they may contribute to the development of many diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis and cancer. Therefore, cysteine proteases have become promising drug targets for the medical treatment of these disorders.