Gene expression in Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) larvae exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii identifies shared and microbe-specific induction of immune genes.

Antibiotic resistance is a continuing challenge in medicine. There are various strategies for expanding antibiotic therapeutic repertoires, including the use of blow flies. Their larvae exhibit strong antibiotic and antibiofilm properties that alter microbiome communities. One species, Lucilia sericata, is used to treat problematic wounds due to its debridement capabilities and its excretions and secretions that kill some pathogenic bacteria. There is much to be learned about how L. sericata interacts with microbiomes at the molecular level. To address this deficiency, gene expression was assessed after feeding exposure (1 h or 4 h) to two clinically problematic pathogens: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii. The results identified immunity-related genes that were differentially expressed when exposed to these pathogens, as well as non-immune genes possibly involved in gut responses to bacterial infection. There was a greater response to P. aeruginosa that increased over time, while few genes responded to A. baumannii exposure, and expression was not time-dependent. The response to feeding on pathogens indicates a few common responses and features distinct to each pathogen, which is useful in improving the wound debridement therapy and helps to develop biomimetic alternatives.

Preparation and characterization of chitosan/ß-cyclodextrin nanoparticles containing plasmid DNA encoding interleukin-12.

Interleukin-12 (IL-12) as a cytokine has been proved to possess antitumor effects via stimulating the immune system. Non-viral gene delivery systems offer several advantages, including easiness in production, low cost, safety; low immunogenicity and can carry higher amounts of genetic material without limitation on their sizes.pUMVC3-hIL12 loaded Low Molecular Weight chitosan/ß-cyclodextrin (LMW CS/CD) nanoparticles were prepared using ionotropic gelation method and characterized in terms of size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, morphology, loading efficiency and cytotoxicity against the CT-26 colon carcinoma cell line.All prepared particles were spherical in shape and nano-sized (171.3±2.165 nm, PdI: 0.231±0.014) and exhibited a positive zeta potential (34.3±1.55). The nanoparticles demonstrated good DNA encapsulation efficiencies (83.315%±2.067). Prepared pUMVC3-hIL12 loaded LMW CS/CD nanoparticles showed no cell toxicity in murine CT-26 colon carcinoma cells. At the concentration of 0.1 µg/ml of nanoparticles, the transfection ability was obviously higher than that of the naked DNA.LMW CS/CD-plasmid DNA nanoparticles encoding IL-12 prepared using ionotropic gelation method with no toxic effect on the tested cells can be considered as a basis for further gene delivery studies both in vitro and in vivo to enhance the expression of IL-12.

Spectroscopic studies on the interaction between erlotinib hydrochloride and bovine serum albumin.

BACKGROUND AND THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The binding ability of a drug to serum albumin has influence on the pharmacokinetics of a drug. In the present study, the mutual interaction of anticancer drug erlotinib hydrochloride with bovine serum albumin (BSA) using fluorescence and UV/vis spectroscopy was investigated. METHODS: The BSA solution (0.1 mM) was prepared daily in Tris buffer (0.05 mol l-1, pH =7.4) and treated at final concentration of 1.67×10-5 M with different amounts of erlotinib hydrochloride to obtain final concentrations of 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 20 and 42 µM receptively. The mixture was allowed to stand for 5 min and the fluorescence quenching spectra were recorded at 298, 303, 308 and 313 K. RESULTS: It was found that erlotinib hydrochloride caused the fluorescence quenching of BSA by the formation of a BSA-erlotinib hydrochloride complex. The mechanism of the complex formation was then analyzed by determination of the number of binding sites, apparent binding constant K, and calculation of the corresponding thermodynamic parameters such as the free energy (△G), enthalpy (△H) and entropy changes (△S) at different temperatures. Results showed that binding of erlotinib hydrochloride to BSA was spontaneous, and the hydrophobic forces played a major role in the complex formation. The distance, r, between donor (BSA) and acceptor (erlotinib hydrochloride) was found to be less than 8 nm suggesting the occurrence of non-radiative energy transferring and static quenching between these two molecules. CONCLUSION: The results provided preliminary information on the binding of erlotinib hydrochloride to BSA and the presence of a single binding site on BSA and K values for the association of BSA with erlotinib hydrochloride increased by the increase in temperature.