Epigenetic adaptations of the masticatory mucosa to periodontal inflammation

Abstract Background In mucosal barrier interfaces, flexible responses of gene expression to long-term environmental changes allow adaptation and fine-tuning for the balance of host defense and uncontrolled not-resolving inflammation. Epigenetic modifications of the chromatin confer plasticity to the genetic information and give insight into how tissues use the genetic information to adapt to environmental factors. The oral mucosa is particularly exposed to environmental stressors such as a variable microbiota. Likewise, persistent oral inflammation is the most important intrinsic risk factor for the oral inflammatory disease periodontitis and has strong potential to alter DNA-methylation patterns. The aim of the current study was to identify epigenetic changes of the oral masticatory mucosa in response to long-term inflammation that resulted in periodontitis. Methods and results Genome-wide CpG methylation of both inflamed and clinically uninflamed solid gingival tissue biopsies of 60 periodontitis cases was analyzed using the Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip. We validated and performed cell-type deconvolution for infiltrated immune cells using the EpiDish algorithm. Effect sizes of DMPs in gingival epithelial and fibroblast cells were estimated and adjusted for confounding factors using our recently developed “intercept-method”. In the current EWAS, we identified various genes that showed significantly different methylation between periodontitis-inflamed and uninflamed oral mucosa in periodontitis patients. The strongest differences were observed for genes with roles in wound healing (ROBO2, PTP4A3), cell adhesion (LPXN) and innate immune response (CCL26, DNAJC1, BPI). Enrichment analyses implied a role of epigenetic changes for vesicle trafficking gene sets. Conclusions Our results imply specific adaptations of the oral mucosa to a persistent inflammatory environment that involve wound repair, barrier integrity, and innate immune defense.

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Cnidarian Interaction with Microbial Communities: From Aid to Animal’s Health to Rejection Responses

Marine Drugs ◽

10.3390/md16090296 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 16 (9) ◽

pp. 296 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Loredana Stabili ◽

Maria Parisi ◽

Daniela Parrinello ◽

Matteo Cammarata

Keyword(s):

Microbial Communities ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Defense Mechanism ◽

Immune Defense ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Animal Disease ◽

Normal Microbiota ◽

Essential Components ◽

Pathogenic Agents ◽

And Behavior

The phylum Cnidaria is an ancient branch in the tree of metazoans. Several species exert a remarkable longevity, suggesting the existence of a developed and consistent defense mechanism of the innate immunity capable to overcome the potential repeated exposure to microbial pathogenic agents. Increasing evidence indicates that the innate immune system in Cnidarians is not only involved in the disruption of harmful microorganisms, but also is crucial in structuring tissue-associated microbial communities that are essential components of the Cnidarian holobiont and useful to the animal’s health for several functions, including metabolism, immune defense, development, and behavior. Sometimes, the shifts in the normal microbiota may be used as “early” bio-indicators of both environmental changes and/or animal disease. Here the Cnidarians relationships with microbial communities and the potential biotechnological applications are summarized and discussed.

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The Genetic Component of Seagrass Restoration: What We Know and the Way Forwards

Water ◽

10.3390/w13060829 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 829

Author(s):

Jessica Pazzaglia ◽

Hung Manh Nguyen ◽

Alex Santillán-Sarmiento ◽

Miriam Ruocco ◽

Emanuela Dattolo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Information ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Ethical Issues ◽

Genetic Research ◽

Gene Pools ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

The Face ◽

Donor Population ◽

Seagrass Restoration

Seagrasses are marine flowering plants providing key ecological services and functions in coasts and estuaries across the globe. Increased environmental changes fueled by human activities are affecting their existence, compromising natural habitats and ecosystems’ biodiversity and functioning. In this context, restoration of disturbed seagrass environments has become a worldwide priority to reverse ecosystem degradation and to recover ecosystem functionality and associated services. Despite the proven importance of genetic research to perform successful restoration projects, this aspect has often been overlooked in seagrass restoration. Here, we aimed to provide a comprehensive perspective of genetic aspects related to seagrass restoration. To this end, we first reviewed the importance of studying the genetic diversity and population structure of target seagrass populations; then, we discussed the pros and cons of different approaches used to restore and/or reinforce degraded populations. In general, the collection of genetic information and the development of connectivity maps are critical steps for any seagrass restoration activity. Traditionally, the selection of donor population preferred the use of local gene pools, thought to be the best adapted to current conditions. However, in the face of rapid ocean changes, alternative approaches such as the use of climate-adjusted or admixture genotypes might provide more sustainable options to secure the survival of restored meadows. Also, we discussed different transplantation strategies applied in seagrasses and emphasized the importance of long-term seagrass monitoring in restoration. The newly developed information on epigenetics as well as the application of assisted evolution strategies were also explored. Finally, a view of legal and ethical issues related to national and international restoration management is included, highlighting improvements and potential new directions to integrate with the genetic assessment. We concluded that a good restoration effort should incorporate: (1) a good understanding of the genetic structure of both donors and populations being restored; (2) the analysis of local environmental conditions and disturbances that affect the site to be restored; (3) the analysis of local adaptation constraints influencing the performances of donor populations and native plants; (4) the integration of distribution/connectivity maps with genetic information and environmental factors relative to the target seagrass populations; (5) the planning of long-term monitoring programs to assess the performance of the restored populations. The inclusion of epigenetic knowledge and the development of assisted evolution programs are strongly hoped for the future.

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Life Strategies in Placozoa

10.1101/2021.11.26.470175 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daria Romanova ◽

Mikhail A. Nikitin ◽

Sergey V Shchenkov ◽

Leonid L. Moroz

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Strategies ◽

Cell Layer ◽

Immune Defense ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Life Strategies ◽

Natural Habitats ◽

Fiber Cells ◽

Reproduction Stage ◽

Feeding Sources

Placozoans are essential reference species for understanding the origins and evolution of the animal organization. However, little is known about their life strategies in natural habitats. Here, by establishing long-term culturing for four species of Trichoplax and Hoilungia, we extend our knowledge about feeding and reproductive adaptations relevant to their ecology and immune mechanisms. Three modes of population growth depended upon feeding sources, including induction of social behaviors and different reproductive strategies. In addition to fission, representatives of all haplotypes produced swarmers, which could be formed from the lower epithelium (with greater cell-type diversity) as a separate asexual reproduction stage. In aging culture, we reported the formation of specialized structures (spheres) from the upper cell layer as a part of the innate immune defense response with the involvement of fiber cells. Finally, we showed that regeneration could be a part of the adaptive reproductive strategies in placozoans and a unique model for regenerative biology in general.

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Designing a CRM Framework for online & offline sports footwear retailers

"Carácter" Revista Cientifica de la Universidad Del Pacifico ISSN 2602-8476 ◽

10.35936/caracter.v3i1.41 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rodrigo Cueva ◽

Guillem Rufian ◽

Maria Gabriela Valdes

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Customer Relationship ◽

Business Strategies ◽

Economic Sectors ◽

Running Shoes ◽

Brick And Mortar ◽

Key Factor ◽

On Line ◽

The Impact

The use of Customer Relationship Managers to foster customers loyalty has become one of the most common business strategies in the past years. However, CRM solutions do not fill the abundance of happily ever-after relationships that business needs, and each client’s perception is different in the buying process. Therefore, the experience must be precise, in order to extend the loyalty period of a customer as much as possible. One of the economic sectors in which CRM’s have improved this experience is retailing, where the personalized attention to the customer is a key factor. However, brick and mortar experiences are not enough to be aware in how environmental changes could affect the industry trends in the long term. A base unified theoretical framework must be taken into consideration, in order to develop an adaptable model for constructing or implementing CRMs into companies. Thanks to this approximation, the information is complemented, and the outcome will increment the quality in any Marketing/Sales initiative. The goal of this article is to explore the different factors grouped by three main domains within the impact of service quality, from a consumer’s perspective, in both on-line and off-line retailing sector. Secondly, we plan to go a step further and extract base guidelines about previous analysis for designing CRM’s solutions focused on the loyalty of the customers for a specific retailing sector and its product: Sports Running Shoes.

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The Role of Cell Metabolism in Innate Immune Memory

Journal of Innate Immunity ◽

10.1159/000512280 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Anaisa Valido Ferreira ◽

Jorge Domiguéz-Andrés ◽

Mihai Gheorghe Netea

Keyword(s):

Metabolic Pathways ◽

Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle ◽

Cell Metabolism ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Immune Memory ◽

Functional Changes ◽

Trained Immunity ◽

Health And Disease

Immunological memory is classically attributed to adaptive immune responses, but recent studies have shown that challenged innate immune cells can display long-term functional changes that increase nonspecific responsiveness to subsequent infections. This phenomenon, coined <i>trained immunity</i> or <i>innate immune memory</i>, is based on the epigenetic reprogramming and the rewiring of intracellular metabolic pathways. Here, we review the different metabolic pathways that are modulated in trained immunity. Glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, amino acid, and lipid metabolism are interplaying pathways that are crucial for the establishment of innate immune memory. Unraveling this metabolic wiring allows for a better understanding of innate immune contribution to health and disease. These insights may open avenues for the development of future therapies that aim to harness or dampen the power of the innate immune response.

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Past testate amoeba communities in landslide mountain fens (Polish Carpathians): The relationship between shell types and sediment

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/0959683621994647 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 095968362199464

Author(s):

Katarzyna Marcisz ◽

Krzysztof Buczek ◽

Mariusz Gałka ◽

Włodzimierz Margielewski ◽

Matthieu Mulot ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Testate Amoebae ◽

Mineral Matter ◽

Testate Amoeba ◽

Run Off ◽

Number Of Factors ◽

Depth To Water Table ◽

Polish Carpathians ◽

The Relationship

Landslide mountain fens formed in landslide depressions are dynamic environments as their development is disturbed by a number of factors, for example, landslides, slopewash, and surface run-off. These processes lead to the accumulation of mineral material and wood in peat. Disturbed peatlands are interesting archives of past environmental changes, but they may be challenging for providing biotic proxy-based quantitative reconstructions. Here we investigate long-term changes in testate amoeba communities from two landslide mountain fens – so far an overlooked habitat for testate amoeba investigations. Our results show that abundances of testate amoebae are extremely low in this type of peatlands, therefore not suitable for providing quantitative depth-to-water table reconstructions. However, frequent shifts of dominant testate amoeba species reflect dynamic lithological situation of the studied fens. We observed that high and stable mineral matter input into the peatlands was associated with high abundances of species producing agglutinated (xenosomic) as well as idiosomic shells which prevailed in the testate amoeba communities in both analyzed profiles. This is the first study that explores testate amoebae of landslide mountain fens in such detail, providing novel information about microbial communities of these ecosystems.

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Specific Functional Features of the Cell Integrity MAP Kinase Pathway in the Dimorphic Fission Yeast Schizosaccharomyces japonicus

Journal of Fungi ◽

10.3390/jof7060482 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. 482

Author(s):

Elisa Gómez-Gil ◽

Alejandro Franco ◽

Beatriz Vázquez-Marín ◽

Francisco Prieto-Ruiz ◽

Armando Pérez-Díaz ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fission Yeast ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Yeast Species ◽

Mapk Signaling ◽

Fine Tuning ◽

Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase ◽

Major Influence ◽

Cell Integrity ◽

Mitogen Activated Protein ◽

Functional Features

Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways execute essential functions in eukaryotic organisms by transducing extracellular stimuli into adaptive cellular responses. In the fission yeast model Schizosaccharomyces pombe the cell integrity pathway (CIP) and its core effector, MAPK Pmk1, play a key role during regulation of cell integrity, cytokinesis, and ionic homeostasis. Schizosaccharomyces japonicus, another fission yeast species, shows remarkable differences with respect to S. pombe, including a robust yeast to hyphae dimorphism in response to environmental changes. We show that the CIP MAPK module architecture and its upstream regulators, PKC orthologs Pck1 and Pck2, are conserved in both fission yeast species. However, some of S. pombe’s CIP-related functions, such as cytokinetic control and response to glucose availability, are regulated differently in S. japonicus. Moreover, Pck1 and Pck2 antagonistically regulate S. japonicus hyphal differentiation through fine-tuning of Pmk1 activity. Chimeric MAPK-swapping experiments revealed that S. japonicus Pmk1 is fully functional in S. pombe, whereas S. pombe Pmk1 shows a limited ability to execute CIP functions and promote S. japonicus mycelial development. Our findings also suggest that a modified N-lobe domain secondary structure within S. japonicus Pmk1 has a major influence on the CIP signaling features of this evolutionarily diverged fission yeast.

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The roles of grouper TANK in innate immune defense against iridovirus and nodavirus infections

Fish & Shellfish Immunology ◽

10.1016/j.fsi.2020.06.017 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 104 ◽

pp. 506-516

Author(s):

Jingguang Wei ◽

Chen Li ◽

Jisheng Ou ◽

Xin Zhang ◽

Zetian Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Immune Defense ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Innate Immune Defense

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Alpha-1 antitrypsin inhibits TMPRSS2 protease activity and SARS-CoV-2 infection

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-21972-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Lukas Wettstein ◽

Tatjana Weil ◽

Carina Conzelmann ◽

Janis A. Müller ◽

Rüdiger Groß ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Serine Protease ◽

Immune Defense ◽

Innate Immune ◽

Respiratory Pathogen ◽

The Novel ◽

Airway Epithelial ◽

Protein Library ◽

Epithelial Cultures ◽

Alpha 1 Antitrypsin ◽

Novel Coronavirus

AbstractSARS-CoV-2 is a respiratory pathogen and primarily infects the airway epithelium. As our knowledge about innate immune factors of the respiratory tract against SARS-CoV-2 is limited, we generated and screened a peptide/protein library derived from bronchoalveolar lavage for inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 spike-driven entry. Analysis of antiviral fractions revealed the presence of α1-antitrypsin (α1AT), a highly abundant circulating serine protease inhibitor. Here, we report that α1AT inhibits SARS-CoV-2 entry at physiological concentrations and suppresses viral replication in cell lines and primary cells including human airway epithelial cultures. We further demonstrate that α1AT binds and inactivates the serine protease TMPRSS2, which enzymatically primes the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein for membrane fusion. Thus, the acute phase protein α1AT is an inhibitor of TMPRSS2 and SARS-CoV-2 entry, and may play an important role in the innate immune defense against the novel coronavirus. Our findings suggest that repurposing of α1AT-containing drugs has prospects for the therapy of COVID-19.

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Cellular stress signaling activates type-I IFN response through FOXO3-regulated lamin posttranslational modification

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-020-20839-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Inah Hwang ◽

Hiroki Uchida ◽

Ziwei Dai ◽

Fei Li ◽

Teresa Sanchez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Oxidative Stress ◽

Environmental Changes ◽

Type I ◽

Neurogenic Differentiation ◽

Forkhead Box ◽

Nuclear Lamin ◽

Neural Stem Progenitor Cells ◽

Subsequent Activation ◽

Methyl Group Transfer

AbstractNeural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) persist over the lifespan while encountering constant challenges from age or injury related brain environmental changes like elevated oxidative stress. But how oxidative stress regulates NSPC and its neurogenic differentiation is less clear. Here we report that acutely elevated cellular oxidative stress in NSPCs modulates neurogenic differentiation through induction of Forkhead box protein O3 (FOXO3)-mediated cGAS/STING and type I interferon (IFN-I) responses. We show that oxidative stress activates FOXO3 and its transcriptional target glycine-N-methyltransferase (GNMT) whose upregulation triggers depletion of s-adenosylmethionine (SAM), a key co-substrate involved in methyl group transfer reactions. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that reduced intracellular SAM availability disrupts carboxymethylation and maturation of nuclear lamin, which induce cytosolic release of chromatin fragments and subsequent activation of the cGAS/STING-IFN-I cascade to suppress neurogenic differentiation. Together, our findings suggest the FOXO3-GNMT/SAM-lamin-cGAS/STING-IFN-I signaling cascade as a critical stress response program that regulates long-term regenerative potential.

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