Protective role of murine norovirus against Pseudomonas aeruginosa acute pneumonia

The murine norovirus (MNV) is a recently discovered mouse pathogen, representing the most common contaminant in laboratory mouse colonies. Nevertheless, the effects of MNV infection on biomedical research are still unclear. We tested the hypothesis that MNV infection could alter immune response in mice with acute lung infection. Here we report that co-infection with MNV increases survival of mice with Pseudomonas aeruginosa acute lung injury and decreases in vivo production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Our results suggest that MNV infection can deeply modify the parameters studied in conventional models of infection and lead to false conclusions in experimental models.     

Chemical Composition and Anti-inflammatory Properties of the Unsaponifiable Fraction from Awara (Astrocaryum vulgare M.) Pulp Oil in Activated J774 Macrophages and in a Mice Model of Endotoxic Shock

Awara (Astrocaryum vulgare M.) pulp oil has been shown to possess anti-inflammatory properties in vivo, and contains an unsaponifiable matter rich in bioactive compounds. This study focused on the ethanolic unsaponifiable fraction (EUF) of awara pulp oil. Its chemical composition has been characterized: carotenoid, phytosterol, and tocopherol contents represent 125.7, 152.6, and 6.8?μg/mg of EUF, respectively. We further evaluated this fraction for anti-inflammatory properties in J774 macrophages activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) plus interferon (IFN) γ to understand the biological effects of awara pulp oil. EUF strongly decreased nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E₂, tumour necrosis factor (TNF) α, and interleukin (IL) -6 and -10 production in activated J774 cells. Moreover, it inhibited expression of inducible NO synthase and cyclooxygenases-2 in vitro. The anti-inflammatory properties of EUF were also confirmed in vivo by modulation of TNFα, IL-6 and IL-10 serum concentration in an endotoxic shock model. Pre-treatment with awara oil fraction offers promise as a protective means to lower the production of excessive amounts of pro-inflammatory molecules.     

Model legumes contribute to faba bean breeding

Faba bean is an excellent candidate crop to provide nitrogen input into temperate agricultural systems. However, its growth is hampered by several factors including environmental stresses and the presence of anti-nutritional factors. To solve these limitations, breeding programs have been initiated that were successful for monogenic traits but not so for multigenic traits. The large genome size of faba bean has slowed down breeding processes. Several other legumes have emerged as model legumes including Medicago truncatula, Lotus japonicus, Glycine max and Pisum sativum. The establishment of these models has already boosted our understanding of important processes such as the nitrogen-fixing symbiotic interaction. The high level of synteny and collinearity existing between legumes makes possible the transfer of key knowledge from model legumes to faba bean. Here we review the most recent knowledge gained from model legumes on grain quality, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses, nitrogen-fixing symbiosis and how this knowledge can be employed for faba bean breeding.     

Sequencing of Culex quinquefasciatus establishes a platform for mosquito comparative genomics

Culex quinquefasciatus (the southern house mosquito) is an important mosquito vector of viruses such as West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis virus, as well as of nematodes that cause lymphatic filariasis. C. quinquefasciatus is one species within the Culex pipiens species complex and can be found throughout tropical and temperate climates of the world. The ability of C. quinquefasciatus to take blood meals from birds, livestock, and humans contributes to its ability to vector pathogens between species. Here, we describe the genomic sequence of C. quinquefasciatus: Its repertoire of 18,883 protein-coding genes is 22% larger than that of Aedes aegypti and 52% larger than that of Anopheles gambiae with multiple gene-family expansions, including olfactory and gustatory receptors, salivary gland genes, and genes associated with xenobiotic detoxification.     

Odor-active compounds in cooked rice cultivars from Camargue (France) analyzed by GC-O and GC-MS

Volatile compounds of cooked rice from scented (Aychade, Fidji) and nonscented (Ruille) cultivars grown in the Camargue area in France were compared to that of a marketed Asian scented one (Thai) by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). GC-O analyses of the organic extracts resulted in the perception of 40 odorous compounds. Only two compounds, oct-1-en-3-one and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, were almost always perceived. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed that most of the difference between rice odors was linked to quantitative differences with only 11 compounds being specific to some of the rice. Sixty compounds were identified and quantified by GC-MS, including a few new odor-active components. Principal component analysis enabled us to differentiate scented cultivars from a nonscented one, and scented rice cultivars from Camargue from a Thai sample. Calculated odor-active values evidenced that the Thai sample odor differed from that of scented Camargue cultivars because of the degradation of lipids and of cinnamic acid compounds.     

Functional Diversification of Oyster Big Defensins Generates Antimicrobial Specificity and Synergy against Members of the Microbiota

Big defensins are two-domain antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) that have highly diversified in mollusks. Cg-BigDefs are expressed by immune cells in the oyster Crassostrea gigas, and their expression is dampened during the Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome (POMS), which evolves toward fatal bacteremia. We evaluated whether Cg-BigDefs contribute to the control of oyster-associated microbial communities. Two Cg-BigDefs that are representative of molecular diversity within the peptide family, namely Cg-BigDef1 and Cg-BigDef5, were characterized by gene cloning and synthesized by solid-phase peptide synthesis and native chemical ligation. Synthetic peptides were tested for antibacterial activity against a collection of culturable bacteria belonging to the oyster microbiota, characterized by 16S sequencing and MALDI Biotyping. We first tested the potential of Cg-BigDefs to control the oyster microbiota by injecting synthetic Cg-BigDef1 into oyster tissues and analyzing microbiota dynamics over 24 h by 16S metabarcoding. Cg-BigDef1 induced a significant shift in oyster microbiota β-diversity after 6 h and 24 h, prompting us to investigate antimicrobial activities in vitro against members of the oyster microbiota. Both Cg-BigDef1 and Cg-BigDef5 were active at a high salt concentration (400 mM NaCl) and showed broad spectra of activity against bacteria associated with C. gigas pathologies. Antimicrobial specificity was observed for both molecules at an intra- and inter-genera level. Remarkably, antimicrobial spectra of Cg-BigDef1 and Cg-BigDef5 were complementary, and peptides acted synergistically. Overall, we found that primary sequence diversification of Cg-BigDefs has generated specificity and synergy and extended the spectrum of activity of this peptide family.     

Improvements required for the detection of Salmonella Pullorum and Gallinarum

Detection of the specific Salmonella serovar Gallinarum, which is divided into the biovars Pullorum and Gallinarum, is compulsory under the national hygienic and sanitary control regulations of France for breeding flocks whose offspring are exported. Our aim was to examine the suitability of bacteriologic and serologic methods routinely used in France to screen serum samples and organs for S. Gallinarum. Since bacteriologic reference techniques are designed to isolate the commonly occurring non-typhoid serovars, such as S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis, and others that cause outbreaks of foodborne illness, they may not be particularly suitable for detecting S. Pullorum and S. Gallinarum. This hypothesis was confirmed by the inoculation of 10-wk-old chickens and 1-d-old chicks with various strains of S. Pullorum and S. Gallinarum. The most reliable enrichment media were selenite cystine and Rappaport-Vassiliadis broths. Moreover, on the usual plating media, colonies were small, grew more slowly than the common serovars (in 48 h instead of 24 h), and had an unusual appearance. Since the rapid slide agglutination (RSA) test is based only on antigens from standard and variant strains of S. Pullorum, it may not readily detect S. Gallinarum. In our study, it detected infection in all 10-wk-old chickens inoculated with S. Pullorum strains but did not detect any antibodies against S. Gallinarum. Therefore, S. Gallinarum antigens must be added to the S. Pullorum antigens used in the RSA test in order to detect antibodies produced by birds infected with either biovar.     

Determination of reference intervals for plasma biochemical values in clinically normal adult domestic shorthair cats by use of a dry-slide biochemical analyzer

OBJECTIVE: To establish reference intervals of plasma biochemical values in healthy adult domestic shorthair (DSH) cats by use of controlled conditions. ANIMALS: 95 healthy client-owned cats. PROCEDURES: Food was withheld from the cats overnight. All blood samples were obtained on the same day, at the same location, and by the same investigator. Blood samples were collected from a cephalic vein into lithium heparin tubes. After centrifugation of blood samples, plasma supernatants were harvested and stored at -20 degrees C until assayed for total proteins, albumin, creatinine, urea, glucose, calcium, phosphates, sodium, chloride, potassium, and CO2 concentrations and alkaline phosphatase and alanine aminotransferase activities. RESULTS: Reference intervals in healthy adult DSH cats were 65 to 85 g/L for total proteins, 27 to 39 g/L for albumin, 89 to 207 micromol/L for creatinine, 6.6 to 11.3 mmol/L for urea, 4.1 to 8.2 mmol/L for glucose, 2.4 to 2.9 mmol/L for calcium, 1.1 to 2.1 mmol/L for phosphates, 153 to 161 mmol/L for sodium, 120 to 127 mmol/L for chloride, 3.3 to 4.2 mmol/L for potassium, 15 to 21 mmol/L for CO2, 32 to 147 U/L for alkaline phosphatase, and 34 to 123 U/L for alanine aminotransferase. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study provided reference intervals for plasma analytes in adult DSH cats. The influence of potential confounding factors was minimized through use of controlled preanalytic and analytic conditions. However, these results cannot be extrapolated to other feline breeds or used to interpret results from other biochemical analyzers.     

Refeeding and insulin activate the AKT/p70S6 kinase pathway without affecting IRS1 tyrosine phosphorylation in chicken muscle

p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K) is a key enzyme involved in the control of protein synthesis. We have previously shown that this kinase is insulin sensitive in chicken muscle despite a relative insulin resistance in the early steps of insulin receptor signaling in this tissue, particularly with no change in tyrosine phosphorylation of the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1). The aim of the present study is to further study the p70S6K pathway in chicken muscle. By analyzing in silico several kinases involved in the protein kinase B (PKB also called AKT)/target of rapamycin (TOR)/p70S6K pathway in the chicken, we showed that the amino acid sequence of the proteins exhibited a very high identity with their homologs in mammalian species and Drosophila. We investigated the regulation of these kinases in vivo or in vitro. Refeeding and insulin treatment significantly (P<0.05) increased the phosphorylation and/or activity of kinases upstream of p70S6K such as AKT and TOR. Similarly, refeeding and insulin increased the phosphorylation of p70S6K on key residues (i.e. T389, T229 and T421/S424) and the phosphorylation of a p70S6K downstream target, the ribosomal protein S6 (by 3-10-fold, P<0.05). Interestingly, we also showed an increase in the phosphorylation level of IRS1 on S632/S635, sites involved in insulin resistance. In conclusion, the AKT/TOR/p70S6K pathway is activated by refeeding and insulin injection, which might negatively regulate IRS1 tyrosine phosphorylation. These results indicate some particularities of the insulin signaling in chicken muscle and suggest the involvement of p70S6K in these features.