Halophilic Carotenoids and Breast Cancer: From Salt Marshes to Biomedicine

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among women worldwide. Over the years, oxidative stress has been linked to the onset and progression of cancer. In addition to the classical histological classification, breast carcinomas are classified into phenotypes according to hormone receptors (estrogen receptor—RE—/progesterone receptor—PR) and growth factor receptor (human epidermal growth factor receptor—HER2) expression. Luminal tumors (ER/PR-positive/HER2-negative) are present in older patients with a better outcome. However, patients with HER2-positive or triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) (ER/PR/HER2-negative) subtypes still represent highly aggressive behavior, metastasis, poor prognosis, and drug resistance. Therefore, new alternative therapies have become an urgent clinical need. In recent years, anticancer agents based on natural products have been receiving huge interest. In particular, carotenoids are natural compounds present in fruits and vegetables, but algae, bacteria, and archaea also produce them. The antioxidant properties of carotenoids have been studied during the last years due to their potential in preventing and treating multiple diseases, including cancer. Although the effect of carotenoids on breast cancer during in vitro and in vivo studies is promising, clinical trials are still inconclusive. The haloarchaeal carotenoid bacterioruberin holds great promise to the future of biomedicine due to its particular structure, and antioxidant activity. However, much work remains to be performed to draw firm conclusions. This review summarizes the current knowledge on pre-clinical and clinical analysis on the use of carotenoids as chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents in breast cancer, highlighting the most recent results regarding the use of bacterioruberin from haloarchaea.     

Variation in fatty acid composition among nine forage species from a southeastern US estuarine and nearshore coastal ecosystem

The fatty acid (FA) composition of nine potentially important forage species was determined (n = 330): red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), spotted seatrout (Cynoscion nebulosus), striped mullet (Mugil cephalus), pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides), Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus), star drum (Stellifer lanceolatus), striped anchovy (Anchoa hepsetus), and brief squid (Lolliguncula brevis). Samples were collected from estuarine and nearshore coastal waters around Charleston, South Carolina, USA, from March 2002–February 2003. Twenty-nine of 125 identified FAs were included in multivariate analyses of FA profiles. Despite existing intraspecific variation, the PRIMER routine analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) indicated each species was distinct, and discriminant function analysis correctly classified 99.5% of the training data set samples (n = 221) and 98.2% of the validation samples (n = 109). Most species could be characterized by distinctive levels of a suite of FAs. Our results indicated FA profiles can be used to reliably distinguish even closely related forage species in this southeastern US estuarine ecosystem. The information gained from this study not only provides insight into the biochemical composition of these important species but also provides fundamental information to support studies on the feeding ecology of local higher-level predators. The U.S. Government’s right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty-free license in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

Functional relationships between Collembola and plant pathogenic fungi of agricultural soils

The interactions between the collembolan Mesaphorura krausbaueri and four soilborne plant pathogenic fungi all living in the same layer of agricultural soil were studied under laboratory conditions. Mycelia of Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici, Fusarium culmorum and Rhizoctonia cerealis were palatable to Collembola and were a food source adequate for reproduction. Hyphae of Bipolaris sorokiniana were toxic and repellent for M. krausbaueri, but its conidia were eaten and proved to be a sufficient diet for reproduction. The four fungi fed had a different impact on the life processes of M. krausbaueri. Depending on the species of fungus, the animals produced significantly different numbers of eggs and had different life spans. In particular, animals fed with G. graminis var. tritici showed early maturation, early burst in egg production, early loss of fertility and early death. The different nutritional values of the four fungi pathogen for cereals might have a different influence on the life strategy of Collembola in the field. Thus, since these fungi usually coexist in agricultural soils, though in different percentages, this influence might also affect the capacity of different fungi to attack the plant and thus modulate the appearance of disease.     

The Toll-like receptor 2 pathway establishes colonization by a commensal of the human microbiota

Mucosal surfaces constantly encounter microbes. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) mediate recognition of microbial patterns to eliminate pathogens. By contrast, we demonstrate that the prominent gut commensal Bacteroides fragilis activates the TLR pathway to establish host-microbial symbiosis. TLR2 on CD4(+) T cells is required for B. fragilis colonization of a unique mucosal niche in mice during homeostasis. A symbiosis factor (PSA, polysaccharide A) of B. fragilis signals through TLR2 directly on Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells to promote immunologic tolerance. B. fragilis lacking PSA is unable to restrain T helper 17 cell responses and is defective in niche-specific mucosal colonization. Therefore, commensal bacteria exploit the TLR pathway to actively suppress immunity. We propose that the immune system can discriminate between pathogens and the microbiota through recognition of symbiotic bacterial molecules in a process that engenders commensal colonization.     

Beneficial effect of oclacitinib in a case of feline pemphigus foliaceus

Pemphigus foliaceous (PF) is a pustular, immune-mediated skin disease characterised by acantholytic cells and commonly treated with high doses of glucocorticoids. This report describes one case of feline PF successfully controlled using oral oclacitinib, suggesting a possible therapeutic alternative to glucocorticoids in some cases.     

Assessment of the Phytoremediation Potential of Salvinia minima Baker Compared to Spirodela polyrrhiza in High-strength Organic Wastewater

Salvinia minima combines several advantages for being used in aquatic phytoremediation. The objectives of this work were to compare the growth kinetics and productivity of S. minima and Spirodela polyrrhiza in high-strength synthetic organic wastewater (HSWW) and to evaluate the growth characteristics of S. minima in various culture media, including anaerobic effluents from pig wastewater (PWAE). It was found that the Relative Growth Rate (RGR) of S. minima was significantly higher (p?<?0.05) compared to the RGR of S. polyrrhiza in Hutner Medium (HM) and in HSWW. Also, S. minima showed a 1.5 fold productivity and a 2.3 fold productivity, compared to S. polyrrhiza in HM and HSWW, respectively. Diauxic growth of S. minima was observed preferentially under pH control and there was a simultaneous consumption of two nitrogen sources. Productivity of S. minima was similar in pig waste anaerobic effluents (PWAE) and in HM without ammonium nitrate and amended with ammonium sulphate (MHM?+?AS), at an initial NH₄ concentration of 35 mg l^?1. Above this level, the productivity was found to decrease as the initial ammonium concentration increased, in both media. Growth was completely inhibited at 140 mg l^?1 in the PWAE. In summary, S. minima is a better option than S. polyrrhiza for treating high-strength organic wastewater and lagoons should be operated at a maximum initial ammonium–nitrogen concentration of 70 mg l^?1 and at a pH of 5.0 or 6.0. Likewise, the initial density should be maintained in the range of 7 to 15 g dw m^?2.     

Immunoassay to quantify the major peach allergen Pru p 3 in foodstuffs. Differential allergen release and stability under physiological conditions

Pru p 3 is a lipid transfer protein (LTP) that has been identified as the major peach (Prunus persica) allergen. However, little is known about the amount present in both raw and processed foodstuffs. Moreover, the in vivo release upon consumption of peach-containing foods remains unclear. We have developed a sensitive monoclonal antibody-based ELISA for Pru p 3. The method has been applied to measure the allergen levels in foodstuffs and the allergen release under different physiological conditions. A significant variability in all raw peaches and peach-containing foods tested has been detected. The allergen was extracted more efficiently at a low pH, and it was highly resistant to pepsin. This ELISA will be very useful in controlling the allergen concentration in diagnostics, in evaluating threshold levels in provocation tests, and in detecting hidden allergens in processed foods and cosmetics.     

Biodiversity of micro-eukaryotes in Antarctic Dry Valley soils with <5% soil moisture

Soils in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica are considered to be among the world's most extreme environments. These soils are old, cold and dry with low contents of organic carbon and nitrogen. Habitats adjacent to water (lakes and ice melts) have significant biological activity as demonstrated by the presence of algal mats, lichens and small invertebrates, particularly nematodes, tardigrades and rotifers. In contrast, there are extensive areas in the Dry Valleys that are extremely dry with less than 5% moisture content. These soils are often salty and appear to be barren of life as they have a coarse texture due to their lack of plant organic material. In contrast, molecular techniques (DNA extraction from soils, cloning and rDNA sequence analysis) demonstrated the presence of a complex micro-eukaryotic food web whose structure and composition varied with moisture content and location. Micro-eukaryotic communities in soils with 0.2-1.3% moisture were represented by species of the yeast genus Trichosporon and an unidentified clade of micro-eukaryotes, whereas levels from 3.1% to 4.9% contained complex food webs including primary producers (chlorophytes and stramenopiles), symbionts (lichen associated fungi), saprophytes (fungi), predators (alveolates and cercozoans) and fungal nematode parasite/pathogens. The soils had a diversity of species (80 species from 15 sites) with a restricted number (3-21 species) at each site. The sensitive and measurable community structure of the low moisture Dry Valley soils provides an unparalleled opportunity to examine local and global environmental effects on micro-eukaryotic community dynamics with multiple trophic levels.     

Role of the sertoli cell in spermatogenesis: TheSqualus testis model

In the dogfish sharkSqualus acanthias different germ cell stages are topographically segregated within the testis. Using this species we have developed methods for the isolation and culture of Sertoli cells from premeiotic, meiotic and post-meiotic stages of spermatogenesis and present preliminary evidence for stage-dependent variations in cell morphology and behavior, thymidine incorporation, protein synthesis and steroidogenesis. The goal of future studies is to determine how maturational changes are regulated in Sertoli cells and, in turn, to elucidate Sertoli cell-germ cell interactions.