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Topic Review
Fermented Products
It is speculated that traditional fermented non-dairy beverages have been produced by humans since around 7000 B.C.. These foods are known to confer several health benefits due to their biological properties that include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, antihypertensive, and antidiabetic effects. These health effects are associated with the presence of viable beneficial microorganisms (probiotics), their metabolites and cellular fragments (postbiotics), and non-digestible fibers (prebiotics). 
  • 801
  • 25 Jun 2023
Topic Review
Mycobacteriophages as Diagnostics
Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most impactful diseases of the modern era. Current diagnostics are struggling to meet the multifaceted challenges TB presents. Mycobacteriophages (specific phages active against mycobacterial species) are now being utilised to create promising new diagnostic technologies. Here we explore and review contemporary phage diagnostics targeting mycobacteria, while commenting on key areas warranting further investigation and development. 
  • 799
  • 29 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Immunomodulation, Bioavailability and Safety of Bacteriocins
Bacteriocins can help in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases. Moreover, bacteriocins can be obtained in prokaryotic organisms, and contribute s to their widespread use. While the use of bacteriocins is currently limited to the food industry (for example, nisin is used as a preservative, E234), a large number of studies on their microbicidal properties suggest that their use in medicine may increase in the foreseeable future. However, for the successful use of bacteriocins in medicine, it is necessary to understand their effect on the immune system, especially in cases where immunity is weakened due to infectious processes, oncological, allergic, or autoimmune diseases. Studies on the immuno-modulatory activity of bacteriocins in animal models and human cells have revealed their ability to induce both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors involved in the implementation of innate immunity. The influence of bacteriocins on acquired immunity is revealed by an increase in the number of T-lymphocytes with a simultaneous decrease in B-lymphocyte levels, which makes them attractive substances for reducing inflammation. The widespread use of bacteriocins in the food industry, their low toxicity, and their broad and narrow specificity are reasons for researchers to pay attention to their immunomodulatory properties and explore their medical applications. Inflammation regulation by bacteriocins can be used in the treatment of various pathologies.
  • 799
  • 24 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria
Antimicrobial resistance is considered a complex problem and a global health concern for both humans and animals. Around 2.8 million human cases of infections by antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and 700,000 deaths are reported annually, and this number could reach 10 million by 2050 if antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) is not reduced.
  • 799
  • 30 Oct 2023
Topic Review
Bacteria Single-Cell and Photosensitizer Interaction
Quantifying changes in bacteria cells in the presence of antibacterial treatment is one of the main challenges facing contemporary medicine; it is a challenge that is relevant for tackling issues pertaining to bacterial biofilm formation that substantially decreases susceptibility to biocidal agents. Three-dimensional label-free imaging and quantitative analysis of bacteria–photosensitizer interactions, crucial for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy, is still limited due to the use of conventional imaging techniques. We present a new method for investigating the alterations in living cells and quantitatively analyzing the process of bacteria photodynamic inactivation. Digital holographic tomography (DHT) was used for in situ examination of the response of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus to the accumulation of the photosensitizers immobilized in the copolymer revealed by the changes in the 3D refractive index distributions of single cells. Obtained results were confirmed by confocal microscopy and statistical analysis.
  • 797
  • 07 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Leishmaniasis in the United States
Leishmaniasis, a chronic and persistent intracellular protozoal infection caused by many different species within the genus Leishmania, is an unfamiliar disease to most North American providers. 
  • 797
  • 21 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Bacterial Community in The Rhizosphere Soil
The rhizosphere is known as the region of the soil that surrounds the root where biological, physical and chemical properties of the soil are modulated by plant processes. The abundance of nutrient accumulation in rhizosphere soils has placed the rhizosphere as an “epicenter” of bacterial concentrations. 
  • 796
  • 10 Jan 2023
Topic Review
S. aureus Infections as a Challenge to Vaccinology
Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive pathogenic bacterium that may be found on the skin and mucous membranes of humans and several animal species. S. aureus colonizes the nares or nasopharynx of about 30% of a population in an asymptomatic manner and becomes pathogenic after breaching epithelial barriers, making colonization an important risk factor. Typical staphylococcal infections range from minor skin and soft tissue infections, such as abscesses, furuncles and impetigo, to life threatening diseases, such as bacteremia, infective endocarditis, sepsis and toxic shock syndrome. S. aureus is also a leading causative agent in surgical site infections, biomaterial-associated infections (e.g., catheters, artificial heart valves, bone and joint prostheses) and food poisoning. Epidemiological data show that S. aureus bacteremia leads to approximately 20,000 deaths a year in the USA, which accounts for more deaths than those from AIDS, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis combined together. Furthermore, patients with risk factors (e.g., diabetics, immunocompromised, transplant recipients, oncological patients) are prone to developing severe staphylococcal infections.
  • 793
  • 15 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Proteins of PF07598 Paralogous Gene Family
Leptospirosis is an emerging infectious disease, with increasing frequency and severity of outbreaks, a changing epidemiology of populations at risk, and the emergence of new strains, serovars, serogroups, and species. Virulence-modifying (VM) proteins encoded by the PF07598 gene family are hypothesized to be Leptospira-secreted exotoxins that mediate the molecular and cellular pathogenesis of severe and fatal leptospirosis. If confirmed experimentally, this concept could revolutionize the treatment, diagnosis, prognosis, and vaccine-mediated prevention of leptospirosis by enabling a novel array of targeted interventions. VM proteins, as with other bacterial-secreted protein exotoxins, mediate their virulence effects by attaching to eukaryotic cells, competing with other microorganisms for limited resources in environmental niches, directly intoxicating target cells, and disrupting their function in the mammalian host.
  • 793
  • 13 Mar 2023
Topic Review
The VBNC State in Beneficial Bacteria
Bacteria in the viable but non-culturable (VBNC) state exhibit a remarkable phenomenon: they are unable to grow and form colonies on conventional culture media, yet they remain alive and able to restart their metabolic activity. Cells in this status typically display reduced levels of metabolic activity and undergo significant metabolic alterations, such as reductions in nutrient transport and respiration rates and macromolecular synthesis, and form resistance structures similar to spores. However, a feature that distinguishes the VNBC state is the continuous gene expression within these cells.
  • 793
  • 08 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Host Cyanobacteria Killing by Novel Lytic Cyanophage YongM
Cyanobacteria are autotrophic prokaryotes that can proliferate robustly in eutrophic waters through photosynthesis. This can lead to outbreaks of lake “water blooms”, which result in water quality reduction and environmental pollution that seriously affect fisheries and aquaculture. The use of cyanophages to control the growth of cyanobacteria is an important strategy to tackle annual cyanobacterial blooms. YongM is a novel lytic cyanophage with a broad host spectrum and high efficiency in killing its host, cyanobacteria FACHB-596. However, changes in cyanophage protein profile during infestation and killing of the host remains unknown.
  • 790
  • 15 Feb 2022
Topic Review
Oral microbiome, COVID-19 Infection, and Oral hygiene
The oral microbiome plays an important role in the maintenance of immune homeostasis, whereas its association with SARS-CoV-2 infection remains under investigation. Since the oral path is one of the transmission routes for COVID-19, researchers attempt to show the relationship between the oral microbiome, COVID-19 infection, and oral hygiene. 
  • 790
  • 28 Jan 2023
Topic Review
Mitochondria-Mediated Azole Drug
In recent years, the role of mitochondria in pathogenic fungi in terms of azole resistance and fungal pathogenicity has been a rapidly developing field. In this review, we describe the molecular mechanisms by which mitochondria are involved in regulating azole resistance and fungal pathogenicity. Mitochondrial function is involved in the regulation of drug efflux pumps at the transcriptional and posttranslational levels. On the one hand, defects in mitochondrial function can serve as the signal leading to activation of calcium signaling and the pleiotropic drugresistance pathway and, therefore, can globally upregulate the expression of drug efflux pump genes, leading to azole drug resistance. On the other hand, mitochondria also contribute to azole resistance through modulation of drug efflux pump localization and activity. Mitochondria further contribute to azole resistance through participating in iron homeostasis and lipid biosynthesis. Additionally, mitochondrial dynamics play an important role in azole resistance. Meanwhile, mitochondrial morphology is important for fungal virulence, playing roles in growth in stressful conditions in a host. Furthermore, there is a close link between mitochondrial respiration and fungal virulence, and mitochondrial respiration plays an important role in morphogenetic transition, hypoxia adaptation, and cell wall biosynthesis. Finally, we discuss the possibility for targeting mitochondrial factors for the development of antifungal therapies.
  • 789
  • 10 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Riboflavin + UV Light Pathogen Reduction Technology
Blood transfusions are essential in treating patients with anemia, blood loss, and other medical conditions. However, these lifesaving procedures can contribute to infectious disease transmission, particularly to vulnerable populations. New methods have been implemented on a global basis for the prevention of transfusion transmissions via plasma, platelets, and whole blood products. Implementing proactive pathogen reduction methods may reduce the likelihood of disease transmission via blood transfusions, even for newly emerging agents.
  • 787
  • 29 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Mycobiota in the Carposphere
Sour cherries (Prunus cerasus L.) and sweet cherries (P. avium L.) are economically important fruits with high potential in the food industry and medicine. In this study, we analyzed fungal communities associated with the carposphere of sour and sweet cherries that were freshly harvested from private plantations and purchased in a food store. Following DNA isolation, a DNA fragment of the ITS2 rRNA gene region of each sample was individually amplified and subjected to high-throughput NGS sequencing. Analysis of 168,933 high-quality reads showed the presence of 690 fungal taxa. Investigation of microbial ASVs diversity revealed plant-dependent and postharvest handling-affected fungal assemblages. Among the microorganisms inhabiting tested berries, potentially beneficial or pathogenic fungi were documented. Numerous cultivable yeasts were isolated from the surface of tested berries and characterized by their antagonistic activity. Some of the isolates, identified as Aureobasidium pullulans, Metschnikowia fructicola, and M. pulcherrima, displayed pronounced activity against potential fungal pathogens and showed attractiveness for disease control.
  • 785
  • 08 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Probiotics in Pediatric Critical Illness
In 2002, for the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) described probiotics as live micro-organisms that, when administered in the necessary quantities, help to maintain the homeostasis of the intestinal flora. In fact, the microbiome is a collection of microorganisms that live in symbiosis with the human body and play a crucial role in regulating the response of the intestinal immune system through production of anti-inflammatory cytokines and inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokines.
  • 784
  • 06 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Food-Related Bacteria and IR Microspectroscopy
Because the robust and rapid determination of spoilage microorganisms is becoming increasingly important in industry, the use of IR microspectroscopy, and the establishment of robust and versatile chemometric models for data processing and classification, is gaining importance. To further improve the chemometric models, bacterial stress responses were induced, to study the effect on the IR spectra and to improve the chemometric model. Thus, in this work, nine important food-relevant microorganisms were subjected to eight stress conditions, besides the regular culturing as a reference. Spectral changes compared to normal growth conditions without stressors were found in the spectral regions of 900–1500 cm−1 and 1500–1700 cm−1. These differences might stem from changes in the protein secondary structure, exopolymer production, and concentration of nucleic acids, lipids, and polysaccharides. As a result, a model for the discrimination of the studied microorganisms at the genus, species and strain level was established, with an accuracy of 96.6%. This was achieved despite the inclusion of various stress conditions and times after incubation of the bacteria. In addition, a model was developed for each individual microorganism, to separate each stress condition or regular treatment with 100% accuracy.
  • 784
  • 24 Nov 2021
Topic Review
Sage and Lavender Essential Oils
Modern society is becoming more and more reluctant to use antibiotic or chemical compounds in food production and is demanding foods without what they perceive as artificial and harmful chemicals, including many used as antimicrobials and preservatives in food. Another big problem is the improper use of antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones, which has significantly contributed to increased antibiotic resistance in many microorganisms. As a consequence, the whole scientific world has recently concentrated numerous studies on the research of natural remedies capable of counteracting multidrug-resistant strains and fighting infections: the use of aromatic plants and their essential oils (EOs) as potential alternatives to conventional antimicrobials to extend shelf life and combat foodborne pathogens has heightened.
  • 782
  • 31 Aug 2023
Topic Review
Liposomes-Based Drug Delivery Systems of Anti-Biofilm Agents
All currently approved antibiotics are being met by some degree of resistance by the bacteria they target. Biofilm formation is one of the crucial enablers of bacterial resistance, making it an important bacterial process to target for overcoming antibiotic resistance. Accordingly, several drug delivery systems that target biofilm formation have been developed. One of these systems is based on lipid-based nanocarriers (liposomes), which have shown strong efficacy against biofilms of bacterial pathogens. Liposomes come in various types, namely conventional (charged or neutral), stimuli-responsive, deformable, targeted, and stealth. This research reviews studies employing liposomal formulations against biofilms of medically salient gram-negative and gram-positive bacterial species reported recently. 
  • 781
  • 29 May 2023
Topic Review
Host–Microbiota Interactions in Liver
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a difficult to treat liver cancer that generally arises in individuals suffering from alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. Inflammation, tissue injury and fibrosis are important precursors of HCC. Translocation of microbial- and danger-associated molecular patterns (MAMPs and DAMPs) from the gut to the liver elicits profound chronic inflammation, leading to severe hepatic injury and eventually HCC progression. 
  • 779
  • 24 Nov 2021
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