Photoprotection Against UV-Induced Skin Damage Using Hyaluronic Acid Produced by Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Enterococcus durans.

Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is one of the major factors that causes skin aging, erythema, sunburns, and skin cancer. This study aimed to select probiotic bacterial isolates able to produce high yield of hyaluronic acid (HA) to be employed for skin photoprotection and other possible biological applications. The selected isolates K11 and St3 were able to produce the highest yields of HA 4.8 and 4.4 mg/ml, respectively. Both isolates were identified as Enterococcus durans strain K11 and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum strain St3 using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The antioxidant activity of HA produced by E. durans strain K11 and L. plantarum strain St3 was (65.4 0.2%) and (66.6 0.1%), respectively. The viability of UVB-irradiated keratinocytes pre-treated with HA produced by E. durans strain K11 and L. plantarum strain St3 was 91.3 and 91.4%, respectively, compared with the control. While the viability of UVB-irradiated keratinocytes post-treated with HA produced by E. durans strain K11 and L. plantarum strain St3 was 86 and 88.5%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first recordation of HA production by Enterococcus durans and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum which revealed a significant radioprotection of the human keratinocytes against UVB radiation.

Typing of alpha and beta coronaviruses by DNA barcoding of NSP12 gene.

Since the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world paid attention to coronaviruses (CoVs) evolution and their diverged lineages because many researches studies supposed that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is evolutionarily developed from a lineage of bats CoVs. This is due to the ability of some mutant CoVs to transmit from a host to different hosts. For this reason, there are many fears about the pathogenicity of the upcoming variants of CoVs. Thus, it is important to get a rapid and economic technique for typing a wide range of human and animal CoVs species for following up their mutant transmission. Therefore, the present study aims at approaching a simple design of DNA barcoding of a wide range of mammals' CoVs (including alpha and beta CoVs), by universal amplification of a species-specific sequence inside a conserved gene (NSP12) followed by amplicon sequencing. The in silico evaluation involved 96 nucleotide sequences of different CoVs (18 alpha CoVs and 78 beta CoVs), and was applied experimentally into the lab on 5 human CoVs isolates; 3 of them belong to beta CoVs (OC43, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2) and 2 are alpha CoVs (229E and NL63). The results indicated that the designed universal primers are able to amplify 332 bp of a taxonomic region inside the NSP12 coding sequence that facilitates the identification and classification of mammals' CoVs upon the resulting phylogenetic tree.

Histologic Evaluations of Xenotransplanted Rabbit Knees by In Vitro-Propagated Human Amniotic Epithelial Cells: A Preclinical Study.

OBJECTIVES: Human amniotic epithelial cells have multipotent differentiation capacity and are considered as potential therapeutic cells for clinical use. This study represents the first published report on the evaluation of the safety and clinical feasibility of human amniotic epithelial cells for transplant into knee joints, serving as an initial step for subsequent therapeutic evaluations within arthritis clinics. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our experimental design was based on subjecting groups of rabbits as a recipient model for human amniotic epithelial cell transplant into knee joints. Twenty rabbits received 200 µL sterile 0.9% sodium chloride solution containing 1 × 109 human amniotic epithelial cells/knee joint by intra-articular injection. Control groups received cell-free saline into knees, and some animals were not treated. After 10 days of xenotransplant, radiology scans and histologic sections of transplanted and nontrans planted knees were examined and compared. Immunohistochemistry staining was also applied to detect tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interleukin 17 (as inflammatory and immuno-rejection markers) in knee sections. RESULTS: Similar to results shown in noninjected and saline-injected knees, all treated knees appeared normal, with no signs of acute immunorejection, no microbial colonization, no pain, no allergic reactions, no inflammation, and normal motion. Use of human amniotic epithelial cells appeared safe without risk of immunorejection or tumor formation in the transplanted knee joint. CONCLUSIONS: Human amniotic epithelial cells can be safely transplanted into knee joints, encouraging a need for complementary research for further therapeutic evaluations of human amniotic epithelial cells for curing arthritis.

Comparative study between topically applied irradiated human amniotic membrane in combination with tea tree oil versus topical tioconazole in pityraisis versicolor treatment.

Pityriasis versicolor (PV) is a chronic skin disease caused by virulence activities of Malassezia, a genus of skin-associated yeasts. Traditionally, Tioconazole is used as a topical antifungal for curing PV. Previous investigations cited that human amniotic membrane (HAM), a placental tissue, has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities and is useful as a dressing for healing skin lesions. Moreover, tea tree oil (TTO) has a potent antifungal efficacy. This clinical trial aims to achieve an alternative therapeutic treatment able to kill Malassezia and heal PV lesions using TTO-saturated HAM (TOSHAM), with little application times. This study subjected 120 patients with hypopigmented or hyperpigmented PV lesions; half patients were treated weekly with TOSHAM compared with the others who applying 1% Tioconazole cream daily as a traditional treatment. Microbiological evaluation of in vitro fungicidal activity of TOSHAM versus Tioconazole was carried out against Malassezia furfur culture. The clinical outcomes of this study proved the superior activity of TOSHAM to heal PV lesions than Tioconazole; this was in harmony with microbiological findings. This study approached a novel therapeutic treatment of PV with great outcomes by using TOSHAM.