Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Microbial turnover”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Biochemical and immunohistochemical comparison of collagen in granuloma annulare and skin sarcoidosis.

Collagen was studied by biochemical and immunohistochemical means in 5 patients with granuloma annulare (GA) and 3 with cutaneous sarcoidosis (SA). The solubility of collagen from the lesional skin in acetic acid was higher than that of collagen from unaffected skin from both patients and control subjects. Collagen concentration in the skin lesions, measured in terms of hydroxyproline content, was reduced in 3 patients with granuloma annulare and one with sarcoidosis, but the ratio of type III/I collagen was unchanged vis-à-vis non-affected skin. The collagen concentration in non-affected skin of both GA and SA-patients was also lower than in controls. The most typical immunohistochemical finding was the association of type III procollagen and fibronectin with granulomas in the lesional skin of both GA and SA cases. The activity of prolyl hydroxylase, a key enzyme in collagen biosynthesis, was markedly increased in the lesional skin, indicating that collagen synthesis in vivo was also increased. Surprisingly, collagen synthesis was not increased in cell culture studies. This could be due to cell selection as observed previously in scleroderma. Another possibility could be that various mediators released in vivo from inflammatory cells activate fibroblasts. However, when cells are subcultivated, this effect is not maintained. In conclusion, marked changes in collagen could be observed in granuloma annulare and skin sarcoidosis, reflecting increased turnover of collagen in vivo.

Adult↗

Varying degradation rates of total nonstructural carbohydrates: effects on ruminal fermentation, blood metabolites, and milk production and composition in high producing Holstein cows.

Twelve multiparous Holstein cows (6 ruminally cannulated and 6 intact) at 56 to 77 d of lactation were used in an experiment with a 3 x 6 Latin square design. Cows were fed three total mixed rations that varied in degradation rates of total nonstructural carbohydrates (6.04, 6.98, and 7.94%/h). No interactions between treatment and square were detected. Higher ruminal degradation rates of dietary total nonstructural carbohydrates increased the nonammonia N (NAN) pool of the liquid fraction but did not alter the dry matter or volume of fractional pools, microbial NAN pools, or microbial composition. Treatment did not affect dry matter intake, total concentrations of volatile fatty acids, or fiber digestibility. As ruminal degradation rates of total nonstructural carbohydrates increased, the following effects were observed: 1) the turnover rates of solids increased linearly; 2) ruminal NH3 N concentrations and degradabilities of organic matter and N decreased, but propionate concentrations, bacterial efficiency, and total NAN flows tended to increase; 3) blood glucose and insulin concentrations were not affected, but blood urea N and nonesterified fatty acids were decreased; 4) intestinal and total tract digestibilities of organic matter and total nonstructural carbohydrates increased; and 5) milk production and milk true protein content and yield increased, but energetic efficiency of milk production did not change. The highest dietary ruminal degradation rate of total nonstructural carbohydrates increased the amount of nutrients digested in the intestine and increased milk production.

Animals↗

Evaluating real-time PCR for the quantification of distinct pathogens and indicator organisms in environmental samples.

We evaluated quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and RTqPCR (for RNA species) for their ability to quantify microorganisms and viruses in problematic environmental samples such as cattle manure, digester material, wastewater and soil. Important developments included a standard spiking approach which compensated for methodological bias and allowed sample-to-sample comparison and reliable quantification. Programme CeTe was developed to calculate endogenous concentrations of target organisms (nucleic acid copies) for each sample separately from the generated standard curves. The approach also permitted assessment of the detection limit of the complete method, including extraction. It varied from sample to sample, due to different extraction efficiencies and variable co-extraction of PCR inhibitors. False negative results were thereby avoided. By using this approach we were able to optimise a DNA extraction protocol from the different tested sample types. Protocols for the extraction of RNA species from environmental samples were also optimised. DNA was (almost) not degraded after lethal shock (autoclaving) in the sterile environment. In contrast, the parallel selective cultivation and qPCR results for various microbial parameters from an anaerobic digester chain suggested that DNA from decaying organisms was readily recycled in metabolically active environments. It may, therefore, be used to determine viable organisms in samples exhibiting substantial metabolic turnover. It is proposed that our standard spiking approach, including data evaluation by the program CeTe, should be considered in future standardisation and norms for the quantification of nucleic acid containing organisms in environmental and product samples.

DNA, Bacterial↗

Mouse plasmacytoid cells: long-lived cells, heterogeneous in surface phenotype and function, that differentiate into CD8(+) dendritic cells only after microbial stimulus.

The CD45RA(hi)CD11c(int) plasmacytoid predendritic cells (p-preDCs) of mouse lymphoid organs, when stimulated in culture with CpG or influenza virus, produce large amounts of type I interferons and transform without division into CD8(+)CD205(-) DCs. P-preDCs express CIRE, the murine equivalent of DC-specific intercellular adhesion molecule 3 grabbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN). P-preDCs are divisible by CD4 expression into two subgroups differing in turnover rate and in response to Staphylococcus aureus. The kinetics of bromodeoxyuridine labeling and the results of transfer to normal recipient mice indicate that CD4(-) p-preDCs are the immediate precursors of CD4(+) p-preDCs. Similar experiments indicate that p-preDCs are normally long lived and are not the precursors of the short-lived steady-state conventional DCs. However, in line with the culture studies on transfer to influenza virus-stimulated mice the p-preDCs transform into CD8(+)CD205(-) DCs, distinct from conventional CD8(+)CD205(+) DCs. Hence as well as activating preexistant DCs, microbial infection induces a wave of production of a new DC subtype. The functional implications of this shift in the DC network remain to be determined.

Animals↗

Regulation of plasminogen activator production by bone-resorbing hormones in normal and malignant osteoblasts.

The plasminogen activator (PA) activity of clonal rat osteogenic sarcoma cell (phenotypically osteoblast) and of osteoblast-rich rat calvarial cells is shown to be increased by treatment with the bone-resorbing hormones, PTH, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, prostaglandin E2, and epidermal growth factor. Dose-dependent increases were observed, after a lag period of 4 to 8 h. Stimulated and control PA activities were inhibited by actinomycin D and cycloheximide but not by cytosine arabinoside. Glucocorticoid hormones prevented the hormone stimulation, but other steroids did not. Calcitonin had no effect either on basal or on hormone-treated PA activity. Isobutyl-methylxanthine alone increased PA activity and enhanced responsiveness to PTH and to prostaglandin E2. These data point to a common pathway in the actions upon osteoblasts of several hormones with diverse initial cellular actions and raise the possibility that the PA/plasmin system may contribute to cellular mechanisms of bone turnover.

Animals↗

Characterization of soil organic matter fractions from grassland and cultivated soils via C content and delta13C signature.

Variations in (13)C natural abundance and distribution of total C among five size and density fractions of soil organic matter, water soluble organic C (WSOC) and microbial biomass C (MBC) were investigated in the upper layer (0-20 cm) of a continuous grassland soil (CG, C(3) vegetation), a C(3)-humus soil converted to continuous maize cultivation (CM, C(4) vegetation) and a C(3)-humus soil converted to a rotation of maize cultivation and grassland (R). The amounts of WSOC and MBC were both significantly larger in the CG than in the CM and the R. In the three soils, WSOC was depleted while MBC was enriched in (13)C as compared with whole soil C. The relative contributions to the total C content of C stored in the macro-organic matter and in the size fraction 50-150 microm decreased with decreasing total C contents in the order CG > R > CM, while the relative contribution of C associated with the clay- and silt-sized fraction <50 microm increased. This reflects a greater stability and physical protection against microbial degradation associated with soil disruption (tillage) of the clay- and silt-associated organic C, in relation to the organic C in larger size fractions. The size and density fractions from the CG soil showed significant differences in (13)C enrichment, indicating different degrees of microbial degradation and stability of soil organic C associated with physically different soil organic matter (SOM) fractions. Delta(13)C analysis of the size and density fractions from CM and R soils reflected a decreasing turnover rate of soil organic C with increasing density among the macro-organic matter fractions and with decreasing particle size.

Biomass↗

Morphometric analysis of intestinal mucins under different dietary conditions and gut flora in rats.

Elucidation of the mechanisms that alter the biosynthesis, turnover, and degradation of intestinal mucins is relevant to the understanding of both the normal gut ecosystem and various intestinal diseases. In this study image analysis was used to quantify the effects of diet and microbial flora on the mucin composition of goblet and deep crypt cells, the number and volume density of mucin-containing cells, and the staining density of their stored mucins in the small and large intestine of germ-free and conventionally maintained rats fed two different diets. One was a coarsely ground commercial rodent diet containing crude fiber of cereal origin and the other a purified diet composed of finely powdered ingredients, including cellulose as a source of fiber. The changes in mucin production were also analyzed in germ-free rats colonized with a human flora. Feeding a commercial diet reduced the volume density of cells containing neutral and sulfomucins in the jejunum of conventional rats and the staining density of neutral and acidic mucins in the germ-free rats. Both rat and human floras reduced the number of cells containing acidic and sulfomucins and the staining density of neutral mucins in the small intestine of animals fed on a purified diet. However, inoculation of human flora increased the staining density of stored neutral and sulfated mucins in the cells of the large intestine. The results demonstrate that the dietary changes are influential in modifying the amount and proportion of mucins in the small intestine and the microbial flora in the large intestine.

Animal Feed↗

Chromatography as an analytical tool for selected antibiotic classes: a reappraisal addressed to pharmacokinetic applications.

The first antibiotic discovered, penicillin, appeared on the market just after the Second World War. Intensive research in subsequent years led to the discovery and development of cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines and rifamycin. The chemotherapeutic quinolones and the more recently discovered fluoroquinolones have added promising new therapeutic weapons to fight the microbial challenge. The major role pharmacokinetics has played in developing these compounds should be highlighted. Plasma concentration-time profiles and the therapeutic activity evoked by these compounds allow the therapeutic window, doses and dose turnovers to be appropriately defined as well as possible dose adjustment to be made in renal failure. The pharmacokinetics of antimicrobial agents were initially explored by using microbiological methods, but these lack specificity. The HPLC technique with UV, fluorometric, electrochemical and, in some cases, mass spectrometry detection has satisfactory solved the problem of antimicrobial agent assay for pharmacokinetic, bioavailability and bioequivalence purposes alike. Indeed, in these studies, plasma concentrations of the given analyte must be followed up for a period > or = 3 times the half-life, which calls for specific sensitive assays. In the review, the authors have described the analytical methods employed in the pharmacokinetics of antibiotics, including some chemotherapeutic agents which are used in medical practice as alternatives to antibiotics. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of each class of drugs are also briefly described, and some historical and chemical notes on the various classes are given.

Animals↗

Vertical and temporal shifts in microbial communities in the water column and sediment of saline meromictic Lake Kaiike (Japan), as determined by a 16S rDNA-based analysis, and related to physicochemical gradients.

The vertical and temporal changes in microbial communities were investigated throughout the water column and sediment of the saline meromictic Lake Kaiike by PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rDNA. Marked depth-related changes in microbial communities were observed at the chemocline and the sediment-water interface. However, no major temporal changes in the microbial community below the chemocline were observed during the sampling period, suggesting that the ecosystem in the anoxic zone of Lake Kaiike was nearly stable. Although the sequence of the most conspicuous DGGE band throughout the anoxic water and in the top of the microbial mat was most similar to that of an anoxic, photosynthetic, green sulphur bacterium, Pelodyction luteolum DSM273 (97% similarity), it represented a new phylotype. A comparison of DGGE banding patterns of the water column and sediment samples demonstrated that specific bacteria accumulated on the bottom from the anoxic water layers, and that indigenous microbial populations were present in the sediment. The measurements of bicarbonate assimilation rates showed significant phototrophic assimilation in the chemocline and lithoautotrophic assimilation throughout the anoxic water, but were not clearly linked with net sulphide turnover rates, indicating that sulphur and carbon metabolisms were not directly correlated.

Bacteria↗

Detoxification of protoanemonin by dienelactone hydrolase.

Protoanemonin is a toxic metabolite which may be formed during the degradation of some chloroaromatic compounds, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, by natural microbial consortia. We show here that protoanemonin can be transformed by dienelactone hydrolase of Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 to cis-acetylacrylate. Although similar Km values were observed for cis-dienelactone and protoanemonin, the turnover rate of protoanemonin was only 1% that of cis-dienelactone. This indicates that at least this percentage of the enzyme is in the active state, even in the absence of activation. The trans-dienelactone hydrolase of Pseudomonas sp. strain RW10 did not detectably transform protoanemonin. Obviously, Pseudomonas sp. strain B13 possesses at least two mechanisms to avoid protoanemonin toxicity, namely a highly active chloromuconate cycloisomerase, which routes most of the 3-chloro-cis,cis-muconate to the cis-dienelactone, thereby largely preventing protoanemonin formation, and dienelactone hydrolase, which detoxifies any small amount of protoanemonin that might nevertheless be formed.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

Tracer studies of urea kinetics in growing pigs: II. The effect of starch infusion at the distal ileum on urea recycling and bacterial nitrogen excretion.

Six gilts, with an average BW of 70 kg, were fitted with a simple T-cannula at the distal ileum to study the effect of continuous starch infusion on urea kinetics by means of a radioisotope dilution technique. The pigs were fed twice daily 600 g of a cornstarch-based diet formulated to contain 16% CP by supplementation with isolated soy protein. Infusion of starch, compared with water, decreased (P < .05) plasma urea concentration, urea pool size, and entry, excretion, and degradation rates; urea turnover rate and urea space were not affected (P > .05). Expressed as a percentage of total entry rate, approximately 40% of urea was recycled into the digestive tract in both infusion treatments. The stimulation of microbial fermentation in the large intestine resulted in an increase (P < .05) in fecal N excretion, which was mainly due to an increased excretion of bacterial N. This increase could not be attributed to a greater secretion of urea into the large intestine and its subsequent utilization by the intestinal microflora. The increased bacterial N assimilation after starch infusion led to a reduction in ammonia absorption from the large intestine, which in turn was reflected by a reduced urinary N excretion. As a result, the overall N balance was not affected. In a second experiment, two barrows, with an average BW of 80 kg, were fed twice daily 1.4 kg of a cereal-based diet. The body urea pool of both pigs was labeled with a single injection of 1 g and 2 g of [15N]urea, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Assessing the microbial activity of soil samples, its nutrient limitation and toxic effects of contaminants using a simple respiration test.

Eight soil samples from five wells of a former gas plant site differing in the contamination with BTEX and PAHs as well as the nutrient content were investigated by soil respiration measurements. The basal, glucose as well as NH4+ and PO4(3-) induced cumulative oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production in 72 and 120 h were determined and additionally the maximal turnover rates and the limitation quotients were calculated. Without additional carbon source only one of five investigated samples was clearly nutrient limited. After glucose supplementation four of seven investigated samples showed nutrient limitation that was in accordance with the available ammonium and phosphorous content. BTEX and PAHs did not exhibit an inhibiting effect on the respiration rate. In contrast, BTEX containing samples exhibited the highest oxygen consumption indicating biodegradation of the contaminants. The results show that oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide production as well as the kinetic of these processes are all informative parameters characterizing the whole microbial respiration potential and their nutrient limitation in soil samples. Therefore this fast respirometric method can be used for the decision if further detailed studies of the bioremediation are useful and if nutrient supplementation is recommended to enhance natural attenuation.

Bacteria↗

Equilibration of labelled and endogenous bile acids in patients with liver cirrhosis after administration of (24-14C)cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids.

On separate occasions (24-14C)cholic acid and (24-14C)chenodeoxycholic acid were administered intravenously to patients with liver cirrhosis and the isotope excretion in urine and faeces monitored. Bile acids in serum, urine and faeces were extracted and separated into unconjugated bile acids, glycine- and taurine conjugates, glucuronides and sulphates. Individual bile acid conjugates were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the unconjugated bile acids were separated by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC) and identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Individual bile acid conjugates were quantified and their isotope contents determined. In serum, isotope contents declined rapidly during the first day, followed by a markedly slow rate of reduction. In accordance with this, the excretion of isotope from the patients was found to be very slow and the routes of bile acid excretion were changed, which resulted in an increased ratio of urine/faeces isotope excretion. Studies of the ratio of labelled to endogenous bile acid conjugates indicated that a continuous transformation of the labelled compounds occurred during the period of study. As judged from serum bile acids, conjugation to glycine- or taurine conjugates was rapid. The specific activities of labelled sulphate esters were consistently lower than for other conjugates during the 300-min observation period. During the first day, the urinary bile acids contained a high proportion of unconjugated labelled bile acids, which gradually disappeared. Labelled primary bile acids were slowly converted into microbial products, mainly 7-alpha dehydroxylated derivatives. The observed slow transformations resulted in a much delayed equilibration of labelled and endogenous bile acid derivatives, which invalidates isotope techniques for calculation of kinetic data of bile acid turnover. However, the observed very slow turnover of labelled bile acids in cirrhosis, owing to the persistent high rate of intestinal absorption and low capacity for urinary excretion, makes it possible for the intestinal flora to markedly change the composition of the bile acids in the pool. Studies of endogenous urinary and faecal bile acid excretion revealed the changed route of bile acid excretion with a high urinary/faeces ratio and the decreased synthesis of bile acids in cirrhosis.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Stimulation by endocytosis of the secretion of collagenase and neutral proteinase from rabbit synovial fibroblasts.

Rabbit synovial fibroblasts in monolayer culture secrete a specific collagenase and a neutral endopeptidase into their serum-free culture medium. The rate of secretion of these two enzymes is increased after the ingestion and storage of latex particles within the vacuolar system of the cells. The increased rates of secretion of the neutral enzymes are stable for over 2 wk in the absence of a further phagocytic bout. In constrast there is little change in the extracellular levels of two lysosomal hydrolases, cathepsin D and beta-glucuronidase. The increase in the secretory rates for the two neutral enzymes is related to the number of latex particles ingested by the cells, and increases of up to 12-fold over the nonphagocytosing cultures were observed. A variety of other materials including mycostatin particles and dextran sulfate also induced increases in the secretion of collagenase. These results are discussed in relation to the turnover of connective tissue matrix macromolecules.

Animals↗

Production and consumption of dimethylsulfoniopropionate in marine microbial mats.

The fate of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), a major sulfonium compound in marine ecosystems, was examined in Microcoleus chthonoplastes-dominated microbial mats. Chemical decomposition of DMSP was observed under laboratory conditions at pH values higher than 10.0. pH profiles measured in situ showed that these highly alkaline conditions occurred in microbial mats. Axenic cultures of M. chthonoplastes contained 37.3 mumol of DMSP g of protein, which was partially liberated when the cells were subjected to an osmotic shock. DMSP-amended mat slurries showed a rapid turnover of this compound. The addition of glutaraldehyde blocked DMSP decrease, indicating biological consumption. Populations of potential dimethyl sulfide consumers were found in the top 10 mm of the mat.

Journal Article↗

Interstitial collagenase (matrix metalloproteinase-1) expresses serpinase activity.

Human endothelial cells treated with either interleukin-1 beta, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or phorbol myristate acetate secreted a metalloproteinase that hydrolyzed and inactivated the two major serine proteinase inhibitors (Serpins) found in plasma, alpha 1-proteinase inhibitor and alpha 1-antichymotrypsin. Surprisingly, the responsible metalloproteinase was identified as human interstitial collagenase (matrix metalloproteinase-1), an enzyme whose only known physiologic substrate has heretofore been believed to be the extracellular matrix molecule, collagen. The metalloproteinase inactivated the Serpins by cleaving peptide bonds at sites unrelated to those hydrolyzed in collagenous macromolecules. NH2-terminal sequence analysis localized the cleavage sites in the Serpins to regions near their respective reactive site centers at three distinct peptide bonds on the amino-terminal side of bulky, hydrophobic residues. Together, these data indicate that matrix metalloproteinase-1 displays an expanded substrate repertoire that supports the existence of a new interface between connective tissue turnover and Serpin function.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Peptidoglycan composition in heterogeneous Tn551 mutants of a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain.

It was shown that Tn551 inactivation of two chromosomal (so-called auxiliary) loci other than the mec gene result in a dramatic reduction of methicillin resistance and decreased cell wall turnover and autolytic capacity in a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strain (de Jonge, B. L. M., de Lencastre, H., and Tomasz, A. (1990) J. Bacteriol. 173, 1105-1110). To understand the mechanistic basis of these phenomena we have examined the status of the autolytic enzymes and the muropeptide composition of peptidoglycan using reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectral analyses. While no differences could be detected in the number of autolytic hydrolases, the mutants showed major changes in peptidoglycan composition. Nine prominent muropeptides of the parental strain each carrying a pentaglycyl substituent were missing from the cell wall of one group of mutants. The second mutant lacked four parental muropeptides which were composed of the unsubstituted disaccharide pentapeptide and its alanyl-tetraglycine derivative. The auxiliary genes are genetic determinants involved with the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan precursors, the presence of which in the cell wall may be needed for optimal cell wall turnover.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Short-Term Success, Long-Term Failure: Strain Turnover and Virulence Re-Emergence May Drive Relapse in Pouchitis.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Pouchitis, de-novo small intestinal inflammation is the most common complication developing in patients with ulcerative colitis after total large bowel resection and ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) reconstruction. While the first line treatment is antibiotics, the microbial properties underlying flare, remission, and relapse remain vague. We aimed to investigate how antibiotic treatment drives microbial shifts that underlie remission and contribute to relapse. METHODS: Patients after IPAA were prospectively recruited during clinical flare (active pouchitis defined by the pouchitis disease activity index) and received a two-week course of metronidazole with either ciprofloxacin or doxycycline. Longitudinal follow up was conducted during a year. Clinical data were recorded, and fecal samples were obtained during consequent flares, recovery, and relapses. Microbial gene repertoire, strains, and resistance to antibiotics were determined. Metagenomic sequencing was integrated with whole-genome sequencing of Escherichia coli isolates, providing strain-specific virulence and antibiotic resistance profiles. RESULTS: Patients (n=21) recruited provided 130 samples over one-year follow-up. Both antibiotic regimens induced rapid but transient clinical improvement, reflected by a decrease in fecal calprotectin (728 to 265 &#x3bc;g/g, p<.05), and a marked reduction in bacterial exotoxin genes (p<.05), yet both parameters rebounded by 6 weeks post-treatment. Antibiotic resistance gene abundance significantly increased during treatment (p<.05), without expansion of resistance gene diversity, indicating that pre-existing resistant strains increased. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic-induced remission in pouchitis likely results from a temporary suppression of exotoxin-producing bacteria, enabling resistant, low-virulence strains to transiently dominate; The fact that harmful strains quickly rebound after treatment cessation highlights the need for targeted approaches to achieve sustained microbial control.

Inflammatory bowel disease↗