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- Licochalcone A Protects Vaginal Epithelial Cells Against Candida albicans Infection Via the TLR4/NF-κB Signaling Pathway
- Wei Li, Yujun Yin, Taoqiong Li, Yiqun Wang, Wenyin Shi
- J. Microbiol. 2024;62(7):525-533. Published online May 31, 2024
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-024-00134-z
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- 1 Web of Science
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Abstract
- Vulvovaginal candidiasis (VVC) is a prevalent condition affecting a significant portion of women worldwide. Licochalcone A (LA), a natural compound with diverse biological activities, holds promise as a protective agent against Candida albicans (C. albicans) infection. This study aims to investigate the potential of LA to safeguard vaginal epithelial cells (VECs) from C. albicans infection and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms. To simulate VVC in vitro, VK2-E6E7 cells were infected with C. albicans. Candida albicans biofilm formation, C. albicans adhesion to VK2-E6E7 cells, and C. albicans-induced cell damage and inflammatory responses were assessed by XTT reduction assay, fluorescence assay, LDH assay, and ELISA. CCK-8 assay was performed to evaluate the cytotoxic effects of LA on VK2-E6E7 cells. Western blotting assay was performed to detect protein expression. LA dose-dependently hindered C. albicans biofilm formation and adhesion to VK2-E6E7 cells. Furthermore, LA mitigated cell damage, inhibited the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and attenuated the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines in C. albicans-induced VK2-E6E7 cells. The investigation into LA's impact on the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway revealed that LA downregulated TLR4 expression and inhibited NF-κB activation in C. albicans-infected VK2-E6E7 cells. Furthermore, TLR4 overexpression partially abated LA-mediated protection, further highlighting the role of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. LA holds the potential to safeguard VECs against C. albicans infection, potentially offering therapeutic avenues for VVC management.
Reviews
- Membrane Proteins as a Regulator for Antibiotic Persistence in Gram‑Negative Bacteria
- Jia Xin Yee , Juhyun Kim , Jinki Yeom
- J. Microbiol. 2023;61(3):331-341. Published online February 17, 2023
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12275-023-00024-w
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- 3 Web of Science
- 3 Crossref
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Abstract
- Antibiotic treatment failure threatens our ability to control bacterial infections that can cause chronic diseases. Persister bacteria are a subpopulation of physiological variants that becomes highly tolerant to antibiotics. Membrane proteins play crucial roles in all living organisms to regulate cellular physiology. Although a diverse membrane component involved in persistence can result in antibiotic treatment failure, the regulations of antibiotic persistence by membrane proteins has not been fully understood. In this review, we summarize the recent advances in our understanding with regards to membrane proteins in Gram-negative bacteria as a regulator for antibiotic persistence, highlighting various physiological mechanisms in bacteria.
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Citations
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- Amino Acid and Au(III) Self-Assembled Supramolecular Nanozymes for Antimicrobial Applications
Yunzhu Xu, Dahai Hou, Min Zhao, Tong Zhao, Yong Ma, Yafeng Zhang, Yang Guo, Weiwei Tao, Hui Wang
ACS Applied Nano Materials.2024; 7(19): 22505. CrossRef -
PhoPQ-mediated lipopolysaccharide modification governs intrinsic resistance to tetracycline and glycylcycline antibiotics in
Escherichia coli
Byoung Jun Choi, Umji Choi, Dae-Beom Ryu, Chang-Ro Lee, Mehrad Hamidian, You-Hee Cho
mSystems.2024;[Epub] CrossRef - Bacterial Regulatory Mechanisms for the Control of Cellular Processes: Simple Organisms’ Complex Regulation
Jin-Won Lee
Journal of Microbiology.2023; 61(3): 273. CrossRef
- Amino Acid and Au(III) Self-Assembled Supramolecular Nanozymes for Antimicrobial Applications
- Genomics Reveals Traces of Fungal Phenylpropanoid-flavonoid Metabolic Pathway in the F ilamentous Fungus Aspergillus oryzae
- Praveen Rao Juvvadi , Yasuyo Seshime , Katsuhiko Kitamoto
- J. Microbiol. 2005;43(6):475-486.
- DOI: https://doi.org/2302 [pii]
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Abstract
- Fungal secondary metabolites constitute a wide variety of compounds which either play a vital role in agricultural, pharmaceutical and industrial contexts, or have devastating effects on agriculture, animal and human affairs by virtue of their toxigenicity. Owing to their beneficial and deleterious characteristics, these complex compounds and the genes responsible for their synthesis have been the subjects of extensive investigation by microbiologists and pharmacologists. A majority of the fungal secondary metabolic genes are classified as type I polyketide synthases (PKS) which are often clustered with other secondary metabolism related genes. In this review we discuss on the significance of our recent discovery of chalcone synthase (CHS) genes belonging to the type III PKS superfamily in an industrially important fungus, Aspergillus oryzae. CHS genes are known to play a vital role in the biosynthesis of flavonoids in plants. A comparative genome analyses revealed the unique character of A. oryzae with four CHS-like genes (csyA, csyB, csyC and csyD) amongst other Aspergilli (Aspergillus nidulans and Aspergillus fumigatus) which contained none of the CHS-like genes. Some other fungi such as Neurospora crassa, Fusarium graminearum, Magnaporthe grisea, Podospora anserina and Phanerochaete chrysosporium also contained putative type III PKSs, with a phylogenic distinction from bacteria and plants. The enzymatically active nature of these newly discovered homologues is expected owing to the conservation in the catalytic residues across the different species of plants and fungi, and also by the fact that a majority of these genes (csyA, csyB and csyD) were expressed in A. oryzae. While this finding brings filamentous fungi closer to plants and bacteria which until recently were the only ones considered to possess the type III PKSs, the presence of putative genes encoding other principal enzymes involved in the phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis (viz., phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, cinnamic acid hydroxylase and p-coumarate CoA ligase) in the A. oryzae genome undoubtedly prove the extent of its metabolic diversity. Since many of these genes have not been identified earlier, knowledge on their corresponding products or activities remain undeciphered. In future, it is anticipated that these enzymes may be reasonable targets for metabolic engineering in fungi to produce agriculturally and nutritionally important metabolites.
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