1,720,984 research outputs found
Molecular identification of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) haemoparasites in Podarcis muralis lizards from northern Italy and detection of conserved motifs in the 18S rRNA gene
Full text linkThis study applies a non-invasive molecular test on common wall lizards (Podarcis muralis) collected in Northern Italy in order to i) identify protozoan blood parasites using primers targeting a portion of haemogregarine 18S rRNA; ii) perform a detailed bioinformatic and phylogenetic analysis of amplicons in a context where sequence analyses data are very scarce. Indeed the corresponding phylum (Apicomplexa) remains the poorest-studied animal group in spite of its significance for reptile ecology and evolution. A single genus, i.e., Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina) and an identical infecting genotype were identified in all positive hosts. Bioinformatic analyses identified highly conserved sequence patterns, some of which known to be involved in the host-parasite cross-talk. Phylogenetic analyses evidenced a limited host specificity, in accord with existing data. This paper provides the first Hepatozoon sequence from P. muralis and one of the few insights into the molecular parasitology, sequence analysis and phylogenesis of haemogregarine parasites
Evaluation of gene expression in human lymphocytes activated in the presence of melatonin
No full textPrecocious puberty and microbiota: The role of the sex hormone-gut microbiome axis
Full text linkPuberty is a critical phase of life associated with physiological changes related to sexual maturation, and represents a complex process regulated by multiple endocrine and genetic controls. Puberty is driven by hormones, and it can impact the gut microbiome (GM). GM differences between sex emerge at puberty onset, confirming a relationship between microbiota and sex hormones. In this narrative review, we present an overview of precocious pubertal development and the changes in the GM in precocious puberty (PP) in order to consider the role of the sex hormone-gut microbiome axis from the perspective of pediatric endocrinology. Bidirectional interactions between the GM and sex hormones have been proposed in different studies. Although the evidence on the interaction between microbiota and sex hormones remains limited in pediatric patients, the evidence that GM alterations may occur in girls with central precocious puberty (CPP) represents an interesting finding for the prediction and prevention of PP. Deepening the understanding of the connection between the sex hormones and the role of microbiota changes can lead to the implementation of microbiota-targeted therapies in pubertal disorders by offering a pediatric endocrinology perspective
Tracking over time the developing gut microbiota in newborns admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit during an outbreak caused by ESBL-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae
No full textThe establishment of gut microbiota is reportedly aberrant in newborns admitted to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), with detrimental long-term health impacts. Here, we vertically tracked the developing gut bacterial communities of newborns hosted in an NICU during an outbreak sustained by ESBL Klebsiella pneumoniae and compared colonized and non-colonized patients. Most communities were highly variable from one sampling point to the next, and dominated by few taxa, often Proteobacteria and Enterobacteriaceae, with marked interindividual variability. This picture was retrieved independently of colonization status or clinical covariates. Our data support the emerging idea of preterm infants as a population in which no defined microbial signatures are clearly associated to clinical status. Instead, the strong pressure of the nosocomial environment, antibiotics and, in this case, the ongoing outbreak, possibly drive the evolution of microbiota patterns according to individual conditions, also in non-colonized patients
XMRV and public health: the retroviral genome is not a suitable template for diagnostic PCR and its association with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) appears unreliable
Full text linkThe paper discuss the controversial association between ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and XMRV and propose that a major role in the unreliability of the results was played by the XMRV genomic composition in itself. To this regard, bioinformatic analyses are presented that show: (i) aspecific, spurious annealings of the available primers in multiple homologous sites of the human genome; (ii) strict homologies between of whole XMRV genome and interspersed repetitive elements widespread in mammalian genomes. To further detail this scenario, we screen several human and mammalian samples by using both published and newly designed primers. The experimental data confirm that available primers are far from being selective and specific. In conclusion, the occurrence of highly 21 conserved, repeated DNA sequences in the XMRV genome deeply undermines the reliability of diagnostic PCRs by leading to artefactual and spurious amplifications. Together with all the other evidences, this makes the association between the XMRV retrovirus and CFS totally unreliabl
Identification and biochemical characterization of Rap2C, a new member of the Rap family of small GTP-binding proteins
No full textPotenzialità della metagenomica per la conservazione dei beni culturali
No full textThis paper focuses on the last generation methods for the characterization of biodeteriogens on historical artifacts. New
"culture-independent" technologies based on DNA obtained from environmental samples, which have replaced the previous
culture-dependent methods, are experiencing a real boom and revolutionized the field of microbial ecology. These methods
are based conceptually on metagenomics and, technically, on the so-called NGS (Next-Generation Sequencing) technologies.
Metagenomic analysis is defined as the direct genetic analysis of genomes contained in an environmental sample. The NGS
technologies are characterized by a power and depth of sequencing totally unthinkable a few years ago and allow the
identification also of the rarest species in a community. Even in their simplest declination, that is, the NGS sequencing of
amplicons obtained with universal primers, the amount of data generated ranges from hundreds to thousands (for the Roche
technology) in the millions-hundreds of millions (for the Illumina platforms)
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Relationship between duodenal microbiota composition, clinical features at diagnosis, and persistent symptoms in adult Coeliac disease
No full textBackground: Duodenal dysbiosis has been suggested to possibly influence the clinical manifestations of coeliac disease (CD), both at onset and when symptoms persist despite a gluten-free diet (GFD). AIMS: To evaluate the relationship between duodenal microbiota composition and: i) clinical phenotype of untreated CD (UCD); ii) presence and type of persistent symptoms despite a satisfactory serological and histological response to a strict GFD. Methods: Duodenal microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing and compared with i) clinical features in 12 adult UCD patients; ii) presence/absence and type of persistent symptoms (diarrhea-predominant vs. non-diarrhea predominant) in 25 adult treated coeliac patients (TCD) on a strict GFD. Results: UCD with iron deficiency anemia (IDA) had a pro-inflammatory shift in their duodenal micro-biota (reduction of Firmicutes, p = 0.03; increase of beta-Proteobacteria, p = 0.02) than those without IDA. TCD with persistent diarrhea showed a reduction of Actinobacteria ( p = 0.03) and Rothia spp ( p = 0.046) compared to TCD suffering from other type of persistent symptoms. Conclusion: A distinctive duodenal microbiota profile is associated with IDA in UCD, and diarrhea-predominant persistent symptoms in TCD. Clinical interventions may include reconsidering patients pre -senting with IDA as a specific disease subtype, and dietary rebalancing if diarrhea persists despite histo-logical response to a GFD. (c) 2021 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
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