Project description:<p>Marine sponges can host abundant and diverse microbiomes, which can largely influence the metabolism and other phenotypic traits of the host. However, information on the potential relationships between sponge microbiomes and metabolic signatures, other than secondary metabolites explored for biotechnological purposes, needs further investigation. Applying an integrated approach, we investigated the microbiomes associated with 4 ubiquitous Mediterranean sponge species (i.e., Petrosia ficiformis, Chondrosia reniformis, Crambe crambe and Chondrilla nucula), correlated with their metabolomic patterns (in terms of lipidomics) and microbial predicted functions. Microscopy observations of sponge tissues revealed differences in microbial abundances, which, however, were only partially linked to their diversity assessed through metabarcoding. The microbiomes of the 4 sponges showed a species-specific composition and a different core size, which was independent from the microbial diversity of the surrounding seawater. Predicted functions of the associated microbiomes allowed identifying 2 functional host clusters: one more related to heterotrophic pathways and the other more linked to phototrophic activities. Differences in the microbiomes were also associated with different metabolic profiles, mostly due to specific compounds characterizing the host and its microbiome. Overall, this study provides new insights on the functionality of sponges and their prokaryotic symbioses’, and in particular, it discloses a descriptive sketch of the diverse compartments forming the sponge holobiont.</p>
Project description:Clinical use of intraoperative auto-transfusion requires the removal of platelets and plasma proteins due to the pump-based suction and water-soluble anticoagulant administration, which causes dilutional coagulopathy. Herein, we develop a carboxylated and sulfonated heparin-mimetic polymer-modified sponge that could spontaneously adsorb blood (1.149 kg/m-2 s-1/2) along with instantaneous anticoagulation. We demonstrate that intrinsic coagulation factors (especially XI) are inactivated by adsorption to the sponge surface, while inactivation of thrombin in the sponge-treated plasma effectively inhibits the common coagulation pathway. Benefiting from the multiple inhibitory effects of sponge on coagulation enzymes and calcium depletion, the whole blood auto-transfusion in trauma-induced hemorrhage is unprecedentedly realized. The transfusion of collected blood favors faster recovery of hemostasis compared to traditional heparinized blood in an animal model. Our work not only develops a safe and convenient approach for whole blood auto-transfusion, but also provides the mechanism of action of self-anticoagulant heparin-mimetic polymer-modified surfaces.
Project description:A major challenge in Down syndrome (DS) is to understand how the extra-dose of functional chromosome 21 (HSA21) genetic elements can impact on the tissue-specific transcriptome to contribute to phenotypic alterations. MiRNAs are post-transcriptional modulators with genome-wide regulatory effects. Five microRNAs have been identified in HSA21 that are present in triple copy in DS individuals. Interestingly, in the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS two of these miRNAs, miR-155 and miR-802, are also triplicated resulting in its overexpression. In the current work, we have developed a lentiviral miRNA-sponge genetic strategy for miR-155 and miR-802 (Lv-miR155-802T) to identify novel mRNA targets involved in hippocampal function. Hippocampal injection of the lentiviral sponge in Ts65Dn mice reduced miR-155 and miR-802 overexpression. Noticeable lentiviral sponge rescued the expression of the miRNA predicted targets showing the potential of the strategy to identify miRNA dosage-sensitive genes with potential involvement in DS-hippocampal phenotypes.
Project description:Marine sponges are essential for coral reefs to thrive and harbour a diverse microbiome that is thought to contribute to host health. Although the overall function of sponge symbionts has been increasingly described, in-depth characterisation of each taxa remains challenging, with many sponge species hosting up to 3,000 distinct microbial species. Recently, the sponge Ianthella basta has emerged as a model organism for symbiosis research, hosting only three dominant symbionts: a Thaumarchaeotum, a Gammaproteobacterium, and an Alphaproteobacterium and a range of other minor taxa. Here, we retrieved metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) for >90% of I. basta’s microbial community which allowed us to make a complete metabolic reconstruction of the sponge’s microbiome, identifying metabolic complementarity between microbes, as well as the importance of symbionts present in low abundance. We also mined the metagenomes for putative viral sequences, highlighting the contribution of viruses to the overall metabolism of the sponge, and complement this data with metaproteomic sequencing to identify active metabolic pathways in both prokaryotes and viruses. This data now allows us to use I. basta as a model organism for studying host-microbe interactions and provides a basis for future (genomic) manipulative experiments.