scholarly journals 116. Characterization of small colony variants from a patient with bloodstream infection of Candida glabrata

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S70-S71
Author(s):  
Shaoji Cheng ◽  
Badrane Hassan ◽  
Guojun Liu ◽  
Cornelius J Clancy ◽  
Minh-Hong Nguyen

Abstract Background Bacterial small colony variants (SCVs) that are tolerant to commonly used antibiotics are well recognized. Clinical SCV Candida have been rarely reported. We describe SCV C. glabrata (CG) strains recovered from within a population causing bloodstream infection (BSI) in a patient (pt), which were not recognized by the micro lab. Pt J developed CG BSI shortly after liver transplant (OLTX), which was treated with voriconazole (VOR). VOR was also used for post-OLTX mold prophylaxis. 67 d after BSI, he developed intra-abdominal infection due to VOR-resistant CG. We hypothesized that BSI might be caused by an unrecognized mixed population of azole-susceptible and –resistant strains. Methods Ten colonies from small (SCV) and large colonies (LC) from blood culture (BC) agar plates underwent Illumina NextSeq WGS and phenotype testing. Results BCs from pt J harbored a diverse population of genetically distinct CG strains, differing by unique SNPs and indels [Fig. 1]. Gene variants identified were enriched for biological processes involved in mitochondrial processes (2.5e-9), cell adhesion (3.3e-5), and respiration (3.5e-4). Unlike LC, SCVs were fluconazole (FLU) resistant (MIC: 128 µg/mL), and exhibited enhanced CDR1 and PDR1 expression (257 ± 11, 15 ± 4, respectively). Compared to LCs, SCVs grew slowly in YPD, did not grow on media containing glycerol as sole carbon source, and were less adherent to agar. SCVs stained poorly with rhodamine 123 by fluorescence flow cytometry and had fewer mitochrondria by transmission electron microscopy, consistent with WGS findings and respiratory deficiency. SCVs were less susceptible to macrophage (J774) phagocytosis, and they were significantly outgrown by other strains in competitive infections in vitro and during disseminated candidiasis in mice. LCs incubated with FLU in vitro yielded SCVs in concentration-dependent manner. Likewise, LCVs passed through spleens of mice following IV inoculation yielded SCVs in both presence and absence of FLU. Venn diagram for 5 representative stranis of C.glabrata Conclusion Mitochondrial dysfunction and SCVs may be under-recognized determinants of azole resistance in CG, if micro labs select single colonies from BCs for antifungal susceptibility testing, or in absence of prolonged incubation. Disclosures Cornelius J. Clancy, MD, Merck (Grant/Research Support) Minh-Hong Nguyen, MD, Merck (Grant/Research Support)

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 494-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sameer Suresh Bhagyawant ◽  
Dakshita Tanaji Narvekar ◽  
Neha Gupta ◽  
Amita Bhadkaria ◽  
Ajay Kumar Gautam ◽  
...  

Background: Diabetes and hypertension are the major health concern and alleged to be of epidemic proportions. This has made it a numero uno subject at various levels of investigation. Glucosidase inhibitor provides the reasonable option in treatment of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) as it specifically targets post prandial hyperglycemia. The Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) plays an important role in hypertension. Therefore, inhibition of ACE in treatment of elevated blood pressure attracts special interest of the scientific community. Chickpea is a food legume and seeds contain carbohydrate binding protein- a lectin. Some of the biological properties of this lectin hitherto been elucidated. Methods: Purified by ion exchange chromatography, chickpea lectin was tested for its in vitro antioxidant, ACE-I inhibitory and anti-diabetic characteristic. Results: Lectin shows a characteristic improvement over the synthetic drugs like acarbose (oral anti-diabetic drug) and captopril (standard antihypertensive drug) when, their IC50 values are compared. Lectin significantly inhibited α-glucosidase and α-amylase in a concentration dependent manner with IC50 values of 85.41 ± 1.21 ҝg/ml and 65.05 ± 1.2 µg/ml compared to acarbose having IC50 70.20 ± 0.47 value of µg/ml and 50.52 ± 1.01 µg/ml respectively. β-Carotene bleaching assay showed antioxidant activity of lectin (72.3%) to be as active as Butylated Hydroxylanisole (BHA). In addition, lectin demonstrated inhibition against ACE-I with IC50 value of 57.43 ± 1.20 µg/ml compared to captopril. Conclusion: Lectin demonstrated its antioxidant character, ACE-I inhibition and significantly inhibitory for α-glucosidase and α-amylase seems to qualify as an anti-hyperglycemic therapeutic molecule. The biological effects of chickpea lectin display potential for reducing the parameters of medically debilitating conditions. These characteristics however needs to be established under in vivo systems too viz. animals through to humans.


2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 358-362
Author(s):  
Renan S. Teixeira ◽  
Paulo H.D. Carvalho ◽  
Jair A.K. Aguiar ◽  
Valquíria P. Medeiros ◽  
Ademar A. Da Silva Filho ◽  
...  

Background: Arctigenin is a lignan found in Arctium lappa L. (Asteraceae) that displays anti-inflammatory activities. Previous studies showed that the crude extract of A. Lappa has antitumor activity in human liver carcinoma, lung and stomach cancer cells. The aim of this study was to obtain arctigenin from A. lappa L., as well as to evaluate its antiproliferative effects in cells of liver carcinoma (HepG2) and fibroblasts (NIH/3T3). Methods: Arctigenin was obtained from the hydrolysis of arctiin, which was isolated from the crude extract of A. lappa. The effects of arctigenin and arctiin on HepG2 cell viability and cell adhesion were analyzed by MTT method. Adhesion assay was also carried out to evaluate the antitumor activity. Results: Our results showed that the analytical process to obtain arctigenin was fast and easy. In vitro experiments showed that arctigenin (107-269 μM) decreased HepG2 cells viability and did not cause cytotoxicity on NIH/3T3 cells. Arctigenin (27-269 μM) demonstrated anti-adhesion in HepG2 cells in a concentration-dependent manner, when compared with control. Conclusion: These results suggest a promising pharmacological activity for arctigenin as an antiproliferative compound.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 6785
Author(s):  
Valeria Sogos ◽  
Paola Caria ◽  
Clara Porcedda ◽  
Rafaela Mostallino ◽  
Franca Piras ◽  
...  

Novel psychoactive substances (NPS) are synthetic substances belonging to diverse groups, designed to mimic the effects of scheduled drugs, resulting in altered toxicity and potency. Up to now, information available on the pharmacology and toxicology of these new substances is very limited, posing a considerable challenge for prevention and treatment. The present in vitro study investigated the possible mechanisms of toxicity of two emerging NPS (i) 4′-methyl-alpha-pyrrolidinoexanophenone (3,4-MDPHP), a synthetic cathinone, and (ii) 2-chloro-4,5-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (2-Cl-4,5-MDMA), a phenethylamine. In addition, to apply our model to the class of synthetic opioids, we evaluated the toxicity of fentanyl, as a reference compound for this group of frequently abused substances. To this aim, the in vitro toxic effects of these three compounds were evaluated in dopaminergic-differentiated SH-SY5Y cells. Following 24 h of exposure, all compounds induced a loss of viability, and oxidative stress in a concentration-dependent manner. 2-Cl-4,5-MDMA activates apoptotic processes, while 3,4-MDPHP elicits cell death by necrosis. Fentanyl triggers cell death through both mechanisms. Increased expression levels of pro-apoptotic Bax and caspase 3 activity were observed following 2-Cl-4,5-MDMA and fentanyl, but not 3,4-MDPHP exposure, confirming the different modes of cell death.


Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (13) ◽  
pp. 3886
Author(s):  
Stefania Sut ◽  
Irene Ferrarese ◽  
Maria Giovanna Lupo ◽  
Nicola De Zordi ◽  
Elisa Tripicchio ◽  
...  

In the present study the ability of supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) extracts of M. longifolia L. leaves to modulate low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) expression was evaluated in cultured human hepatoma cell lines Huh7 and HepG2. Two SCO2 extracts, one oil (ML-SCO2) and a semisolid (MW-SCO2), were subjected to detailed chemical characterization by mono- and bidimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (1D, 2D-NMR), gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Chemical analysis revealed significant amounts of fatty acids, phytosterols and terpenoids. ML-SCO2 was able to induce LDLR expression at a dose of 60 µg/mL in HuH7 and HepG2 cell lines. Furthermore, ML-SCO2 reduced PCSK9 secretion in a concentration-dependent manner in both cell lines. Piperitone oxide, the most abundant compound of the volatile constituent of ML-SCO2 (27% w/w), was isolated and tested for the same targets, showing a very effective reduction of PCSK9 expression. The overall results revealed the opportunity to obtain a new nutraceutical ingredient with a high amount of phytosterols and terpenoids using the SCO2 extraction of M. longifolia L., a very well-known botanical species used as food. Furthermore, for the first time we report the high activity of piperitone oxide in the reduction of PCSK9 expression.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Claudia Taborda Gómez ◽  
Fabiana Lairion ◽  
Marisa Repetto ◽  
Miren Ettcheto ◽  
Amalia Merelli ◽  
...  

Cannabidiol (CBD), a lipophilic cannabinoid compound without psychoactive effects, has emerged as adjuvant of anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) in the treatment of refractory epilepsy (RE), decreasing the severity and/or frequency of seizures. CBD is considered a multitarget drug that could act throughout the canonical endocannabinoid receptors (CB1-CB2) or multiple non-canonical pathways. Despite the fact that the CBD mechanism in RE is still unknown, experiments carried out in our laboratory showed that CBD has an inhibitory role on P-glycoprotein excretory function, highly related to RE. Since CB2 is expressed mainly in the immune cells, we hypothesized that CBD treatment could alter the activity of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) in a similar way that it does with microglia/macrophages and others circulating leukocytes. In vitro, CBD induced PMN cytoplasmatic vacuolization and proapoptotic nuclear condensation, associated with a significantly decreased viability in a concentration-dependent manner, while low CBD concentration decreased PMN viability in a time-dependent manner. At a functional level, CBD reduced the chemotaxis and oxygen consumption of PMNs related with superoxide anion production, while the singlet oxygen level was increased suggesting oxidative stress damage. These results are in line with the well-known CBD anti-inflammatory effect and support a potential immunosuppressor role on PMNs that could promote an eventual defenseless state during chronic treatment with CBD in RE.


Nutrients ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 123
Author(s):  
Natalia K. Kordulewska ◽  
Justyna Topa ◽  
Małgorzata Tańska ◽  
Anna Cieślińska ◽  
Ewa Fiedorowicz ◽  
...  

Lipopolysaccharydes (LPS) are responsible for the intestinal inflammatory reaction, as they may disrupt tight junctions and induce cytokines (CKs) secretion. Osthole has a wide spectrum of pharmacological effects, thus its anti-inflammatory potential in the LPS-treated Caco-2 cell line as well as in Caco-2/THP-1 and Caco-2/macrophages co-cultures was investigated. In brief, Caco-2 cells and co-cultures were incubated with LPS to induce an inflammatory reaction, after which osthole (150–450 ng/mL) was applied to reduce this effect. After 24 h, the level of secreted CKs and changes in gene expression were examined. LPS significantly increased the levels of IL-1β, -6, -8, and TNF-α, while osthole reduced this effect in a concentration-dependent manner, with the most significant decrease when a 450 ng/mL dose was applied (p < 0.0001). A similar trend was observed in changes in gene expression, with the significant osthole efficiency at a concentration of 450 ng/μL for IL1R1 and COX-2 (p < 0.01) and 300 ng/μL for NF-κB (p < 0.001). Osthole increased Caco-2 monolayer permeability, thus if it would ever be considered as a potential drug for minimizing intestinal inflammatory symptoms, its safety should be confirmed in extended in vitro and in vivo studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1128.1-1129
Author(s):  
A. Mavropoulos ◽  
S. Tsiogkas ◽  
D. Skyvalidas ◽  
C. Liaskos ◽  
A. Roussaki-Schulze ◽  
...  

Background:Delphinidin, a dietary anthocyanidin and powerful anti-oxidant from pigmented fruits and vegetables, has broad anti-inflammatory properties. In a human skin model of psoriasis, delphinidin reduced expression of proliferative and inflammatory markers (1).Objectives:The rationale of our study was to assess whether delphinidin can in vitro suppress IL-17 and IFN-γ production in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) subsets from patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA).Methods:PBMCs were obtained from 24 patients with PsA attending the outpatient clinic of the Department of Rheumatology/clinical Immunology at the University General Hospital of Larissa, Greece. 16 age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were also included in the study. Delphinidin was supplemented at a concentration ranging from 1 to 50μg/ml, one hour prior to cell stimulation. Cell viability (Annexin V staining) and innate/adaptive lymphocyte subpopulations were assessed by flow cytometry with a panel of fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies against CD56, CD3, CD4 and CD8. Intracellular expression of IL-17 and IFN-γ was measured following PMA/ionomycin stimulation for 5 hours using standard cell permeabilization protocols and monoclonal antibodies against IL-17 and IFN-γResults:Delphinidin at concentration ≥10 μg/ml sharply diminished IL-17-production by CD4(+) T cells (Th17) and CD56(+)CD3(+) (NKT) cells from patients with psoriatic arthritis and normal controls (p≤0.05). IFN-γ producing T (CD4 and CD8) cells, as well as NK and NKT cells were also dose-dependently suppressed following delphinidin pre-incubation in both patients and healthy controls. Inhibition of IFN-γ(+) cells ranged from 27 to 69% and peaked at delphinidin concentration 20-50μg/ml. The inhibitory effect of delphinidin on IL-17 and IFN-γ producing lymphocytes was not due to compromised cell viability, as assessed by annexin V binding.Conclusion:Delphinidin exerts, in a dose-dependent manner, a profound in vitro inhibitory effect on T cell and NKT cell IL-17 and IFN-γ production in PsA, and therefore, it may be used as a dietary immunosuppressant, complementary to standard treatment.References:[1]Chamcheu JC Skin Pharmacol Physiol. 2015;28(4):177-88. doi: 10.1159/000368445Disclosure of Interests:ATHANASIOS MAVROPOULOS: None declared, Sotirios Tsiogkas: None declared, Dimitrios Skyvalidas: None declared, Christos Liaskos: None declared, Aggeliki Roussaki-Schulze Grant/research support from: Received a grant to support the educational and research activities of the department from Genesis Pharma (2018), Speakers bureau: Received honoraria from Genesis Pharma and Janssen(2017) and from Roche and Pharmaserve Lilly(2018), Efterpi Zafiriou Speakers bureau: Received honoraria from Genesis Pharma, Abbvie, Novartis, Roche, Jansses(2017) and Novartis, Abbvie(2018), Dimitrios Bogdanos: None declared, Lazaros Sakkas Grant/research support from: Received a grant to support the educational and research activities of the department from Bristol-Meyers Squib, Speakers bureau: Received honoraria from Actellion(2018), Janssen(2017), Novartis(2017), Sanofi-Aventis(2018), Abbvie(2017) and Roche(2017)


Planta Medica ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 86 (09) ◽  
pp. 631-642
Author(s):  
Watcharee Waratchareeyakul ◽  
Fabio Fusi ◽  
Miriam Durante ◽  
Amer Ahmed ◽  
Walter Knirsch ◽  
...  

AbstractFive compounds, 3,4′-dihydroxy-3′,5,5′-trimethoxydihydrostilbene, 1; 3,4′-ihydroxy-3′,5′-dimethoxydihydrostilbene, 2; 3,4′-dihydroxy-5,5′-dimethoxydihydrostilbene, 3; 9,10-dihydro-2,7-dihydroxy-4,6-dimethoxyphenanthrene, 4; and the previously unreported 1,2,6,7-tetrahydroxy-4-methoxyphenanthrene, 5 were isolated from the South American orchid, Brasiliorchis porphyrostele. An in-depth analysis of their vascular effects was performed on in vitro rat aorta rings and tail main artery myocytes. Compounds 1 – 4 were shown to possess vasorelaxant activity on rings pre-contracted by the α 1 receptor agonist phenylephrine, the CaV1.2 stimulator (S)-(−)-Bay K 8644, or depolarized with high K+ concentrations. However, compound 5 was active solely on rings stimulated by 25 mM but not 60 mM K+. The spasmolytic activity of compounds 1 and 4 was significantly affected by the presence of an intact endothelium. The KATP channel blocker glibenclamide and the KV channel blocker 4-aminopyridine significantly antagonized the vasorelaxant activity of compounds 4 and 1, respectively. In patch-clamp experiments, compounds 1 – 4 inhibited Ba2+ current through CaV1.2 channels in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas neither compound 4 nor compound 1 affected K+ currents through KATP and KV channels, respectively. The present in vitro, comprehensive study demonstrates that Brasiliorchis porphyrostele may represent a source of vasoactive agents potentially useful for the development of novel antihypertensive agents that has now to be validated in vivo in animal models of hypertension.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123
Author(s):  
Raju Senthil Kumar ◽  
Balasubramanian Rajkapoor ◽  
Perumal Perumal ◽  
Sekar Vinoth Kumar ◽  
Arunachalam Suba Geetha

ABSTRACT Indigofera linnaei Ali. (Tamil Name: Cheppu Nerinjil) belongs to the family Fabaceae, used for the treatment of various ailments in the traditional system of medicine. In the present study, the beneficial effects of methanol extract of whole plant of I. linnaei (MEIL) were evaluated on inflammation and nociception responses in rodent models. In vitro nitric oxide (NO), lipoxygenase (LOX) and cyclooxygense (COX) inhibitory activities were also performed to understand the mode of action. MEIL at the dose of 200 & 400 mg/kg, p.o. significantly inhibited carrageenan induced rat paw volume and reduced the weight of granuloma in cotton pellet granuloma model. The results obtained were comparable with the standard drug aceclofenac. The anti-nociceptive effect of MEIL in mice was evaluated in hot plate and acetic acid induced writhing model. The plant extract significantly reduced the number of writhes and the analgesic effect was higher than that of the standard drug aspirin. However, the extract fails to increase the latency period in hot plate method suggesting that the extract produce nociception by peripheral activity. The extract produced inhibitory effect on NO, LOX and COX in concentration dependent manner. The extract exhibited pronounced and selective COX-2 inhibition. Altogether, these results suggested that the methanol extract of Indigofera linnaei could be considered as a potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic agent.


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