Bactericidal capacity of oral neutrophils as a marker for clinical course of inflammatory ­respiratory diseases in children

Aim. To study the number of neutrophils in the oral cavity, their bactericidal potential, to assess as an indicator for predicting the course of recurrent bronchitis (J40) and community-acquired focal pneumonia in children. Methods. 87 children between 5 and 10 years old, including 52 children with recurrent bronchitis and 35 with focal community-acquired pneumonia were observed. The control group consisted of 37 conditionally healthy children of a similar age. Viral antigens were studied by chemiluminescence immunoassay. Oral neutrophil counts and functional activity were determined. Antibacterial antibodies were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results. 70.11% of patients had a viral antigen, and 57.47% had immunoglobulins M and G against bacterial pathogens. Oral neutrophil counts increased in the main group compared to the control group: up to 163.826.5 cells (p 0.001) in recurrent bronchitis, to 110.925.5 (p 0.05) in community-acquired pneumonia. By the recovery period, the number of oral neutrophils counts decreased in recurrent bronchitis (1.7 times higher compared to the control group, p 0.01) and remained practically unchanged in community-acquired pneumonia (115.026.9, p 0.05). Myeloperoxidase level had opposite changes for the groups compared to the control group: with recurrent bronchitis, it was 1.610.09 to the level in the control group (p 0.05), with community-acquired pneumonia 0.730.09 to the level in the control group (p 0.001). The level of lysosomal cationic proteins decreased to 0.770.09 to the level in the control group (p 0.05) in recurrent bronchitis, and to 0.800.09 (p 0.05) in pneumonia. Conclusion. In inflammation of the respiratory tract, neutrophil migration to the oral cavity, as well as myeloperoxidase level, increases, indicators of spontaneous luminol-dependent chemiluminescence are activated, and a deficiency of lysosomal cationic proteins occurs; this prevents the penetration of the pathogen into the lower respiratory tract.

Comparative study of flocculation and adsorption behaviour of water treatment proteins from Moringa peregrina and Moringa oleifera seeds

Trees of Moringa oleifera are the most widely exploited species of Moringa and proteins extracted from its seeds have been identified as the most efficient natural coagulant for water purification. Largely for climatic reasons, other Moringa species are more accessible in some regions and this paper presents a comparative study of the adsorption to different materials of the proteins extracted from seeds of Moringa peregrina and Moringa oleifera to explore their use as flocculating agents in regions where each is more readily accessible. Results showed that Moringa peregrina seed proteins had higher adsorption to alumina compared to silica, in contrast to opposite behavior for Moringa oleifera. Both species provide cationic proteins that can act as effective coagulants for the various impurities with different surface potential. Despite the considerable similarity of the amino acid composition, the seed proteins have significantly different adsorption and this presents the opportunity to improve processes by choosing the optimal species or combination of species depending on the type of impurity or possible development of separation processes.

Moringa oleifera seed as a natural coagulant to treat low-turbidity water by in-line filtration

This study evaluated the use of Moringa oleifera (MO) seed as a natural coagulant for the removal of turbidity and apparent color in the water treatment with low initial turbidity through the in-line filtration technique. The morphology and surface charge were investigated by characterization techniques such as optical microscopy, laser particle size, and zeta potential. The cationic proteins of the MO seed were extracted in aqueous solution. The jar test showed the potability standards for turbidity and apparent color were reached in the pH range from 4.0 to 8.5 and dosages ≥ 5 mg L-1 of MO. The dominant coagulation mechanism is adsorption and charge neutralization. This study showed that treating low-turbidity water with MO seed by the in-line filtration technique is possible.

Ascovirus P64 Homologs: A Novel Family of Large Cationic Proteins That Condense Viral Genomic DNA for Encapsidation

Eukaryotic dsDNA viruses use small basic protamine-like proteins or histones, typically <15 kDa, to condense and encapsidate their genomic (g)DNAs during virogenesis. Ascoviruses are large dsDNA (~100–200 kbp) viruses that are pathogenic to lepidopteran larvae. Little is known about the molecular basis for condensation and encapsidation of their gDNAs. Previous proteomic analysis showed that Spodoptera frugiperda ascovirus (SfAV-1a) virions contain a large unique DNA-binding protein (P64; 64 kDa, pI = 12.2) with a novel architecture proposed to condense its gDNA. Here we used physical, biochemical, and transmission electron microscopy techniques to demonstrate that P64’s basic C-terminal domain condenses SfAV-1a gDNA. Moreover, we demonstrate that only P64 homologs in other ascovirus virions are unique in stably binding DNA. As similar protein families or subfamilies were not identified in extensive database searches, our collective data suggest that ascovirus P64 homologs comprise a novel family of atypical large viral gDNA condensing proteins.

Complex coacervation-based loading and tunable release of a cationic protein from monodisperse glycosaminoglycan microgels

Glycosaminoglycan-based microgels are of interest for biomedical applications because of their ability to retain and gradually release bioactive cationic proteins.