Project description:Exposure to dogs in early infancy has been shown to reduce the risk of childhood allergic disease development and dog-ownership is associated with a distinct house dust microbial exposure. Here we demonstrate, using murine models, that exposure of mice toM-BM- dog-associated house dust protects against ovalbumin or cockroach allergen mediated airway pathology. Protected animals exhibited significant reductions in the total number of airway T cells, down-regulation of Th2-related airway responses as well as mucin secretion. Following house dust exposure, the cecal microbiome of protected animals was extensively restructured with significant enrichment of, amongst others, Lactobacillus johnsonii. Supplementation of wild type animals with L. johnsonii protected them against both airway allergen challenge or infection with respiratory syncytial virus. L. johnsonii mediated protection wasM-BM- associated with significant reductions in the total number and proportion of activated CD11c+/CD11b+ and CD11c+/CD8+ cells, as well as significantly reduced airway Th2 cytokine expression. Our results reveal that exposure to dog-associated household dust results in protection against airway allergen challenge and a distinct GI microbiome composition. Moreover the study identifies L. johnsonii as a pivotal species within the gastrointestinal tract capable of influencing adaptive immunity at remote mucosal surfaces in a manner that is protective against a variety of respiratory insults. The G2 PhyloChip microarray platform (commercially available from Second Genome, Inc.) was used to profile cecal gut bacteria from 29 mice: 7 controls, 5 gavaged with dust from homes with pets, 5 gavaged with dust from homes with no pets, 4 CRA-challenged, 4 gavaged with L. johnsonii, and 4 gavaged with L. johnsonii prior to CRA challenge. The PhyloChip was also used to profile 1 house dust sample collected from a home with dogs
Project description:Exposure to dogs in early infancy has been shown to reduce the risk of childhood allergic disease development and dog-ownership is associated with a distinct house dust microbial exposure. Here we demonstrate, using murine models, that exposure of mice toM-BM- dog-associated house dust protects against ovalbumin or cockroach allergen mediated airway pathology. Protected animals exhibited significant reductions in the total number of airway T cells, down-regulation of Th2-related airway responses as well as mucin secretion. Following house dust exposure, the cecal microbiome of protected animals was extensively restructured with significant enrichment of, amongst others, Lactobacillus johnsonii. Supplementation of wild type animals with L. johnsonii protected them against both airway allergen challenge or infection with respiratory syncytial virus. L. johnsonii mediated protection wasM-BM- associated with significant reductions in the total number and proportion of activated CD11c+/CD11b+ and CD11c+/CD8+ cells, as well as significantly reduced airway Th2 cytokine expression. Our results reveal that exposure to dog-associated household dust results in protection against airway allergen challenge and a distinct GI microbiome composition. Moreover the study identifies L. johnsonii as a pivotal species within the gastrointestinal tract capable of influencing adaptive immunity at remote mucosal surfaces in a manner that is protective against a variety of respiratory insults. The G2 PhyloChip microarray platform (commercially available from Second Genome, Inc.) was used to profile cecal gut bacteria from 29 mice: 7 controls, 5 gavaged with dust from homes with pets, 5 gavaged with dust from homes with no pets, 4 CRA-challenged, 4 gavaged with L. johnsonii, and 4 gavaged with L. johnsonii prior to CRA challenge. The PhyloChip was also used to profile 1 house dust sample collected from a home with dogs
Project description:Exposure to dogs in early infancy has been shown to reduce the risk of childhood allergic disease development and dog-ownership is associated with a distinct house dust microbial exposure. Here we demonstrate, using murine models, that exposure of mice toM-BM- dog-associated house dust protects against ovalbumin or cockroach allergen mediated airway pathology. Protected animals exhibited significant reductions in the total number of airway T cells, down-regulation of Th2-related airway responses as well as mucin secretion. Following house dust exposure, the cecal microbiome of protected animals was extensively restructured with significant enrichment of, amongst others, Lactobacillus johnsonii. Supplementation of wild type animals with L. johnsonii protected them against both airway allergen challenge or infection with respiratory syncytial virus. L. johnsonii mediated protection wasM-BM- associated with significant reductions in the total number and proportion of activated CD11c+/CD11b+ and CD11c+/CD8+ cells, as well as significantly reduced airway Th2 cytokine expression. Our results reveal that exposure to dog-associated household dust results in protection against airway allergen challenge and a distinct GI microbiome composition. Moreover the study identifies L. johnsonii as a pivotal species within the gastrointestinal tract capable of influencing adaptive immunity at remote mucosal surfaces in a manner that is protective against a variety of respiratory insults. The G2 PhyloChip microarray platform (commercially available from Second Genome, Inc.) was used to profile cecal gut bacteria from 29 mice: 7 controls, 5 gavaged with dust from homes with pets, 5 gavaged with dust from homes with no pets, 4 CRA-challenged, 4 gavaged with L. johnsonii, and 4 gavaged with L. johnsonii prior to CRA challenge. The PhyloChip was also used to profile 1 house dust sample collected from a home with dogs
Project description:The monohaloacetic acids (monoHAAs) are generated as byproducts during the disinfection of drinking water and are cytotoxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, and teratogenic. Iodoacetic acid (IAA) toxicity was mitigated by antioxidants, suggesting the involvement of oxidative stress. Other monoHAAs may share a similar mode of action. Human oxidative stress and antioxidant defense gene arrays (SA biosciences) were used to evaluate changes in transcriptome profiles in the human intestinal epithelial cell line FHS 74 INT generated by three compounds, chloroacetic acid (CAA), bromoacetic acid (BAA) and IAA at two time points (30 min and 4 h). Twelve samples were evaluated. Each treated sample was paired with a concurrent negative control (cells treated in medium only). Three technical repeats were included for each sample and Ct values were calculated from the average of the three repeats. Samples 1,2,and 3 were isolated from 30 min negative controls for CAA, BAA, and IAA respectively. Samples 4, 5, and 6 were isolated from cells treated for 30 min with CAA, BAA, and IAA respectivley. Samples 7, 8, and 9 were isolated from 4h negative controls for CAA, BAA, and IAA respectively. Samples 10, 11, and 12 were isolated from cells treated for 4 h with CAA, BAA and IAA respectively. Ct values were normalized against the average of the 5 housekeeping genes included in the array to generate M-NM-^TCt values. Fold changes for each gene were calculated as a ratio of 2^-M-NM-^TCttest / 2^-M-NM-^TCtcontrol.
Project description:Staphylococcus aureus Newman and Staphylococcus epidermidis Tu3298, 20 minutes post challenge with sub-inhibitory concentration of sapienic acid vs equivalent concentration of ethanol. Challenge was added at mid logarithmic growth (OD600 0.5). Biological triplicates of samples were sequenced.
Project description:Snake venoms contain a variety of toxins with a range of biological activity. Among these are the cysteine-rich secreted proteins (CRISPs). The proteins of this family have masses of 20–30 kDa and display homologous amino acid sequences containing 16 cysteine residues, forming eight disulfide bonds. Some of these proteins have been explored, characterized, and described in terms of their activity; however, little is known of their range of activities. A search for new antimicrobial molecules is ongoing, as the number of microbial strains resistant to available antibiotics is increasing. We identified antimicrobial activity in the secretion of the Duvernoy’s gland of the rear-fanged Philodryas patagoniensis. Fractions of this venom were subjected to Reverse Phase – High Performance Liquid Chromatography and analyzed to determine their antimicrobial activity with a liquid broth inhibition assay. One of the fractions presented activity against a Gram-negative bacterium and a filamentous fungus. This fraction was analyzed with LC-MS/MS, and a protein of 24,848.8 Da was identified. Database searches allowed us to identify it as a CRISP due to the presence of some unique fragments in the molecule. We called it patagonin-CRISP, as the same protein in the venom of P. patagoniensis had previously been characterized as having a different biological activity. Patagonin-CRISP presented activity at very low concentrations and showed no cytotoxic activity. This is the first time that antimicrobial activity has been identified for P. patagoniensis venom or for a CRISP family protein.