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Topic Review
Metal Nanomaterials and Hydrolytic Enzyme-Based Formulations
Combination of metals and enzymes as effective antifungal agents is currently being conducted due to the growing antifungal resistance problem. Metals are attracting special attention due to the wide variety of ligands that can be used for them, including chemically synthesized and naturally obtained variants as a result of the so-called “green synthesis”. The main mechanism of the antifungal action of metals is the triggering of the generation and accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Further action of ROS on various biomolecules is nonspecific. Various hydrolytic enzymes exhibit antifungal properties by affecting the structural elements of fungal cells (cell walls, membranes), fungal quorum sensing molecules, fungal own protective agents (mycotoxins and antibiotics), and proteins responsible for the adhesion and formation of stable, highly concentrated populations in the form of biofilms. 
  • 979
  • 24 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Sources of Bioavailable Water in Desert Ecosystems
Water availability is the dominant driver of microbial community structure and function in desert soils. However, these habitats typically only receive very infrequent large-scale water inputs (e.g., from precipitation and/or run-off). In light of studies, the paradigm that desert soil microorganisms are largely dormant under xeric conditions is questionable. Gene expression profiling of microbial communities in desert soils suggests that many microbial taxa retain some metabolic functionality, even under severely xeric conditions.
  • 978
  • 24 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Immunological interactions with fungal melanin
Melanins are ubiquitous complex polymers that are commonly known in humans to cause pigmentation of our skin. Melanins are also present in bacteria, fungi, and helminths.
  • 977
  • 04 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Microbiome-Derived Solutions in Skin Health and Care
The microbiome, as a community of microorganisms and their structural elements, genomes, metabolites/signal molecules, has been shown to play an important role in human health, with significant beneficial applications for gut health. Skin microbiome has emerged as a new field with high potential to develop disruptive solutions to manage skin health and disease. Despite an incomplete toolbox for skin microbiome analyses, much progress has been made towards functional dissection of microbiomes and host-microbiome interactions. A standardized and robust investigation of the skin microbiome is necessary to provide accurate microbial information and set the base for a successful translation of innovations in the dermo-cosmetic field. 
  • 976
  • 07 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Gut Microbiome and Trimethylamine Oxide in Atherosclerosis
The gut microbiome plays a major role in human health, and gut microbial imbalance or dysbiosis is associated with disease development. Modulation in the gut microbiome can be used to treat or prevent different diseases. Gut dysbiosis increases with aging, and it has been associated with the impairment of gut barrier function leading to the leakage of harmful metabolites such as trimethylamine (TMA). TMA is a gut metabolite resulting from dietary amines that originate from animal-based foods. TMA enters the portal circulation and is oxidized by the hepatic enzyme into trimethylamine oxide (TMAO). Increased TMAO levels have been reported in elderly people. High TMAO levels are linked to peripheral artery disease (PAD), endothelial senescence, and vascular aging.
  • 976
  • 01 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Antimicrobial Peptides-Silver Nanoparticles for Methicillin-Resistance Staphylococcus aureus
Antibiotics are regarded as a miracle in the medical field as it prevents disease caused by pathogenic bacteria. Since the discovery of penicillin, antibiotics have become the foundation for modern medical discoveries. However, bacteria soon became resistant to antibiotics, which puts a burden on the healthcare system. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become one of the most prominent antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the world since 1961. MRSA primarily developed resistance to beta-lactamases antibiotics and can be easily spread in the healthcare system. Thus, alternatives to combat MRSA are urgently required. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), an innate host immune agent and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), are gaining interest as alternative treatments against MRSA. Both agents have broad-spectrum properties which are suitable candidates for controlling MRSA. Although both agents can exhibit antimicrobial effects independently, the combination of both can be synergistic and complementary to each other to exhibit stronger antimicrobial activity. The combination of AMPs and AgNPs also reduces their own weaknesses as their own, which can be developed as a potential agent to combat antibiotic resistance especially towards MRSA. 
  • 975
  • 25 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Kinetoplastid Diseases
Kinetoplastid parasites are responsible for high mortality and morbidity in (sub)tropical regions. In the development of new drugs, phenotypic screening already allowed the identification of promising new chemical entities with anti-kinetoplastid activity potential, but knowledge on their mode-of-action (MoA) is lacking due to the generally applied whole-cell based approach. However, identification of the drug target is highly beneficial to steer further hit finding, lead optimization and rational drug design. Multiple complementary ‘omics’ approaches have been successfully used to define the MoA or mode-of-resistance (MoR) of current reference drugs and some new anti-kinetoplastid compounds.
  • 973
  • 07 Jul 2020
Topic Review
Variants of SARS-CoV-2
The immune response elicited by the current COVID-19 vaccinations declines with time, especially among the immunocompromised population. Furthermore, the emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants, particularly the Omicron variant, has raised serious concerns about the efficacy of currently available vaccines in protecting the most vulnerable people.
  • 973
  • 19 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Coliphages in Urban Wastewater Treatments
There is an urgent need to control the fate of fecal microorganisms in wastewater to avoid the negative health consequences of releasing treated effluents into surface waters (rivers, lakes, etc.) or marine coastal water. On the other hand, the measurement of bacterial indicators yields insufficient information to gauge the human health risk associated with viral infections. It would therefore seem advisable to include a viral indicator—for example, somatic coliphages—to monitor the functioning of wastewater treatments.
  • 972
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Collection of VKM Paleofungi
A unique collection of paleofungi from permafrost sediments, cryopegs, paleoseeds, and frozen volcanic ash from the Arctic and Antarctic, collected at different depths, was created in All-Russian Collection of Microorganisms (VKM). Some samples are as old as 3 million years. The collection includes psychrotolerant fungi, which have wide adaptive potential and are able to thrive in low-temperature habitats, and fungi that remain viable due to the presence of natural cryoprotectors that ensure the survival of fungal cells during low-temperature preservation in permafrost sediments. The collection contains 780 strains from 79 genera and more than 160 species and is maintained in accordance with international standards of microbial viability preservation and information support.
  • 971
  • 06 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Francisella tularensis in Ticks
Ticks can transmit a variety of infectious agents, including viruses, bacteria, and parasites, to humans and animals. Tularemia, caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Francisella tularensis, is a highly-infectious zoonotic agent that elicits flu-like symptoms in humans. In the United States, approximately half of tularemia cases are tick-associated. In a recent review by Tully and Huntley, the following points are highlighted: (1) Background information on tularemia and F. tularensis;  (2) What is known about the four different tick vectors associated with tularemia, including their geographic ranges and other arthropod vectors historically associated with tularemia;  (3) Physiological cues in ticks (compared to the mammalian host) that may prompt F. tularensis to modify its metabolism and protein expression to survive and persist in ticks.
  • 967
  • 15 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Nanosystems Applied to HIV Infection
This review highlights the advantages to use nanosized structures for the prevention and treatments of  HIV infection. We briefly  evaluate the most recent developments associated with different polymeric nanosystems.
  • 966
  • 08 Feb 2021
Topic Review
The Promise of Microbial Bioeconomy
Naturally occurring resources, such as water, energy, minerals, and rare earth elements, are limited in availability, yet they are essential components for the survival and development of all life. The pressure on these finite resources is anthropogenic, arising from misuse, overuse, and overdependence, which causes a loss of biodiversity and climate change and poses great challenges to sustainable development. The focal points and principles of the bioeconomy border around ensuring the constant availability of these natural resources for both present and future generations. The rapid growth of the microbial bioeconomy is promising for the purpose of fostering a resilient and sustainable future. This highlights the economic opportunity of using microbial-based resources to substitute fossil fuels in novel products, processes, and services. 
  • 966
  • 09 May 2023
Topic Review
Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a rare type of immune cell that are known to secrete large quantities of type 1 interferon (IFNs) in response to a viral infection. They circulate in the blood and are found in peripheral lymphoid organs. They develop from bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells and constitute < 0.4% of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Other than conducting antiviral mechanisms, pDCs are considered to be key in linking the innate and adaptive immune systems. However, pDCs are also responsible for participating in and exacerbating certain autoimmune diseases like lupus. pDCs that undergo malignant transformation cause a rare hematologic disorder, blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm.
  • 966
  • 18 Nov 2022
Topic Review
SARS-related Coronavirus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome–related coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARSr-CoV)[note 1] is a species of coronavirus that infects humans, bats and certain other mammals. It is an enveloped positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus that enters its host cell by binding to the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptor. It is a member of the genus Betacoronavirus and subgenus Sarbecovirus. Two strains of the virus have caused outbreaks of severe respiratory diseases in humans: severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), which caused the 2002–2004 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is causing the 2019–20 pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). There are hundreds of other strains of SARS-CoV, all of which are only known to infect non-human species: bats are a major reservoir of many strains of SARS-related coronaviruses, and several strains have been identified in palm civets, which were likely ancestors of SARS-CoV. The SARS-related coronavirus was one of several viruses identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016 as a likely cause of a future epidemic in a new plan developed after the Ebola epidemic for urgent research and development before and during an epidemic towards diagnostic tests, vaccines and medicines. The prediction came to pass with the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 964
  • 29 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Biogenesis of Outer Membrane Vesicles
Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are spheroidal proteoliposomes ranging from ~20 to 200 nm in diameter that originate from the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. The biogenesis of OMVs has been a topic of intense research due to the diverse roles that OMVs play in bacterial pathogenesis, immune modulation, and potential therapeutic applications. 
  • 964
  • 04 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Extensively Drug-resistant Tuberculosis
Extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) is a form of tuberculosis caused by bacteria that are resistant to some of the most effective anti-TB drugs. XDR-TB strains have arisen after the mismanagement of individuals with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Almost one in four people in the world is infected with TB bacteria. Only when the bacteria become active do people become ill with TB. Bacteria become active as a result of anything that can reduce the person's immunity, such as HIV, advancing age, or some medical conditions. TB can usually be treated with a course of four standard, or first-line, anti-TB drugs (i.e., isoniazid, rifampin and any fluoroquinolone). If these drugs are misused or mismanaged, multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) can develop. MDR-TB takes longer to treat with second-line drugs (i.e., amikacin, kanamycin, or capreomycin), which are more expensive and have more side-effects. XDR-TB can develop when these second-line drugs are also misused or mismanaged and become ineffective. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines XDR-TB as MDR-TB that is resistant to at least one fluoroquinolone and a second-line injectable drug (amikacin, capreomycin, or kanamycin). XDR-TB raises concerns of a future TB epidemic with restricted treatment options, and jeopardizes the major gains made in TB control and progress on reducing TB deaths among people living with HIV/AIDS. It is therefore vital that TB control be managed properly and new tools developed to prevent, treat and diagnose the disease. The true scale of XDR-TB is unknown as many countries lack the necessary equipment and capacity to accurately diagnose it. By June 2008, 49 countries had confirmed cases of XDR-TB. By the end of 2017, 127 WHO Member States reported a total of 10,800 cases of XDR-TB, and 8.5% of cases of MDR-TB in 2017 were estimated to have been XDR-TB. In August 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of Pretomanid in combination with bedaquiline and linezolid for treating a limited and specific population of adult patients with extensively drug resistant, treatment-intolerant or nonresponsive multidrug resistant pulmonary TB.
  • 963
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Epstein–Barr Virus in Periodontitis
Periodontitis, an inflammatory condition that affects the structures surrounding the tooth eventually leading to tooth loss, is one of the two biggest threats to oral health.
  • 960
  • 21 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Naegleria fowleri
Naegleria fowleri is a free-living amoeba (FLA) that is commonly known as the “brain-eating amoeba.” This parasite can invade the central nervous system (CNS), causing an acute and fulminating infection known as primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). Even though PAM is characterized by low morbidity, it has shown a mortality rate of 98%, usually causing death in less than two weeks after the initial exposure.
  • 960
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV-1: Evolution
This entry reviews the genetic evolution and adaptation to the host environment of M. tuberculosis and HIV-1. It provides an overview of the latest developments in the knowledge about the genetic diversity of these devastating intracellular human pathogens and its impact on the host immune system, virulence, drug resistance propensity and other relevant aspects. We also proposed a novel topic in the literature regarding the use of single cell "omics" to study the interacting evolutionary dynamics of M. tuberculosis and HIV-1 in co-infection, at the cellular niche of monocytes/macrophages.
  • 959
  • 20 Jan 2021
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