Comparative network-based analysis of toll-like receptor agonist, L-pampo signaling pathways in immune and cancer cells.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are critical components to stimulate immune responses against various infections. Recently, TLR agonists have emerged as a promising way to activate anti-tumor immunity. L-pampo, a TLR1/2 and TLR3 agonist, induces humoral and cellular immune responses and also causes cancer cell death. In this study, we investigated the L-pampo-induced signals and delineated their interactions with molecular signaling pathways using RNA-seq in immune cells and colon and prostate cancer cells. We first constructed a template network with differentially expressed genes and influential genes from network propagation using the weighted gene co-expression network analysis. Next, we obtained perturbed modules using the above method and extracted core submodules from them by conducting Walktrap. Finally, we reconstructed the subnetworks of major molecular signals utilizing a shortest path-finding algorithm, TOPAS. Our analysis suggests that TLR signaling activated by L-pampo is transmitted to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) with reactive oxygen species (ROS) through PI3K-AKT and JAK-STAT only in immune and prostate cancer cells that highly express TLRs. This signal flow may further sensitize prostate cancer to L-pampo due to its high basal expression level of OXPHOS and ROS. Our computational approaches can be applied for inferring underlying molecular mechanisms from complex gene expression profiles.

A Robust End-to-End Deep Learning-Based Approach for Effective and Reliable BTD Using MR Images.

Detection of a brain tumor in the early stages is critical for clinical practice and survival rate. Brain tumors arise in multiple shapes, sizes, and features with various treatment options. Tumor detection manually is challenging, time-consuming, and prone to error. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are mostly used for tumor detection due to their non-invasive properties and also avoid painful biopsy. MRI scanning of one patient's brain generates many 3D images from multiple directions, making the manual detection of tumors very difficult, error-prone, and time-consuming. Therefore, there is a considerable need for autonomous diagnostics tools to detect brain tumors accurately. In this research, we have presented a novel TumorResnet deep learning (DL) model for brain detection, i.e., binary classification. The TumorResNet model employs 20 convolution layers with a leaky ReLU (LReLU) activation function for feature map activation to compute the most distinctive deep features. Finally, three fully connected classification layers are used to classify brain tumors MRI into normal and tumorous. The performance of the proposed TumorResNet architecture is evaluated on a standard Kaggle brain tumor MRI dataset for brain tumor detection (BTD), which contains brain tumor and normal MR images. The proposed model achieved a good accuracy of 99.33% for BTD. These experimental results, including the cross-dataset setting, validate the superiority of the TumorResNet model over the contemporary frameworks. This study offers an automated BTD method that aids in the early diagnosis of brain cancers. This procedure has a substantial impact on improving treatment options and patient survival.

Genome-scale CRISPR screening identifies cell cycle and protein ubiquitination processes as druggable targets for erlotinib-resistant lung cancer.

Erlotinib is highly effective in lung cancer patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. However, despite initial favorable responses, most patients rapidly develop resistance to erlotinib soon after the initial treatment. This study aims to identify new genes and pathways associated with erlotinib resistance mechanisms in order to develop novel therapeutic strategies. Here, we induced knockout (KO) mutations in erlotinib-resistant human lung cancer cells (NCI-H820) using a genome-scale CRISPR-Cas9 sgRNA library to screen for genes involved in erlotinib susceptibility. The spectrum of sgRNAs incorporated among erlotinib-treated cells was substantially different to that of the untreated cells. Gene set analyses showed a significant depletion of 'cell cycle process' and 'protein ubiquitination pathway' genes among erlotinib-treated cells. Chemical inhibitors targeting genes in these two pathways, such as nutlin-3 and carfilzomib, increased cancer cell death when combined with erlotinib in both in vitro cell line and in vivo patient-derived xenograft experiments. Therefore, we propose that targeting cell cycle processes or protein ubiquitination pathways are promising treatment strategies for overcoming resistance to EGFR inhibitors in lung cancer.

iCSDB: an integrated database of CRISPR screens.

High-throughput screening based on CRISPR-Cas9 libraries has become an attractive and powerful technique to identify target genes for functional studies. However, accessibility of public data is limited due to the lack of user-friendly utilities and up-to-date resources covering experiments from third parties. Here, we describe iCSDB, an integrated database of CRISPR screening experiments using human cell lines. We compiled two major sources of CRISPR-Cas9 screening: the DepMap portal and BioGRID ORCS. DepMap portal itself is an integrated database that includes three large-scale projects of CRISPR screening. We additionally aggregated CRISPR screens from BioGRID ORCS that is a collection of screening results from PubMed articles. Currently, iCSDB contains 1375 genome-wide screens across 976 human cell lines, covering 28 tissues and 70 cancer types. Importantly, the batch effects from different CRISPR libraries were removed and the screening scores were converted into a single metric to estimate the knockout efficiency. Clinical and molecular information were also integrated to help users to select cell lines of interest readily. Furthermore, we have implemented various interactive tools and viewers to facilitate users to choose, examine and compare the screen results both at the gene and guide RNA levels. iCSDB is available at https://www.kobic.re.kr/icsdb/.

Lichenicola cladoniae gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Acetobacteraceae isolated from an Antarctic lichen.

Two Gram-stain-negative, facultative anaerobic, chemoheterotrophic, pink-coloured, rod-shaped and non-motile bacterial strains, PAMC 26568 and PAMC 26569T, were isolated from an Antarctic lichen. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains PAMC 26568 and PAMC 26569T belong to the family Acetobacteraceae and the most closely related species are Gluconacetobacter takamatsuzukensis (96.1 %), Gluconacetobacter tumulisoli (95.9 %) and Gluconacetobacter sacchari (95.7 %). Phylogenomic and genomic relatedness analyses showed that strains PAMC 26568 and PAMC 26569T are clearly distinguished from other genera in the family Acetobacteraceae by average nucleotide identity values (<72.8 %) and the genome-to-genome distance values (<22.5 %). Genomic analysis revealed that strains PAMC 26568 and PAMC 26569T do not contain genes involved in atmospheric nitrogen fixation and utilization of sole carbon compounds such as methane and methanol. Instead, strains PAMC 26568 and PAMC 26569T possess genes to utilize nitrate and nitrite and certain monosaccharides and disaccharides. The major fatty acids (>10 %) are summed feature 8 (C18 : 1 ω7c and/or C18 : 1 ω6c; 40.3-40.4 %), C18 : 1 2OH (22.7-23.7 %) and summed feature 2 (C14 : 0 3OH and/or C16 : 1 iso I; 12.0 % in PAMC 26568). The major respiratory quinone is Q-10. The genomic DNA G+C content of PAMC 26568 and PAMC 26569T is 64.6 %. Their distinct phylogenetic position and some physiological characteristics distinguish strains PAMC 26568 and PAMC 26569T from other genera in the family Acetobacteraceae supporting the proposal of Lichenicola gen. nov., with the type species Lichenicola cladoniae sp. nov. (type strain, PAMC 26569T=KCCM 43315T=JCM 33604T).

Glutathione peroxidase-1 regulates adhesion and metastasis of triple-negative breast cancer cells via FAK signaling.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells, which do not express genes for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and Her2/neu, develop highly aggressive and metastatic tumors resistant to chemo- and hormonal therapies. We found that expression of glutathione peroxidase-1 (Gpx1) is silenced in the non-TNBC cells but significantly maintained in the TNBC cell lines. Such Gpx1 expression plays a vital role in the metastasis of TNBC cells by regulating cell adhesion. Transcriptomic and signaling pathway analyses demonstrate that depletion of Gpx1 essentially impairs cell adhesion/spreading by down-regulating FAK/c-Src activation. Mechanistically, Gpx1 interacts with FAK kinase and prevents the kinase inactivation by H2O2, not lipid hydroperoxide. As a result, depletion of Gpx1 suppresses lung metastasis of TNBC cells in vivo. Overall, our study identifies that Gpx1 is a redox safeguard of FAK kinase and its inhibition may provide an effective way to control the metastasis of deadly malignant TNBC.

Brevibacillus antibioticus sp. nov., with a broad range of antibacterial activity, isolated from soil in the Nakdong River.

A Gram-stain-positive, aerobic, motile, and rod-shaped bacterial strain designated TGS2-1T was isolated from sediment soil in the Nakdong River, Republic of Korea. The optimal growth of strain TGS2-1T was observed at 28°C and pH 7.0 without NaCl supplementation. Strain TGS2-1T revealed antibiosis against various bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus KCCM 4051, CCARM 3089 (methicillin resistant strains), Enterococcus faecalis KCCM 11814, Escherichia coli KCTC 2443, Candida albicans KACC 7270, and Filobasidium neoformans KCTC 7902. Phylogenetic analyses based on the 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that strain TGS2-1T belonged to the genus Brevibacillus and shared 93.8-99.7% sequence similarity with Brevibacillus species. Whole-genome sequencing of strain TGS2-1T revealed a genome size of 6.2 Mbp and DNA G + C content of 47.0 mol%. The TGS2-1T genome shared an average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization of 74.6-93.3% and 18.6-67.1%, respectively, with six related Brevibacillus genomes. The major fatty acid constituents of strain TGS2-1T were anteiso-C15:0 (62.3%) and anteiso-C17:0 (10.8%). Cells of strain TGS2-1T contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, seven unidentified aminophospholipids, and five unidentified lipids. The isoprenoid quinone detected in the strain was menaquinone-7 (MK-7). Based on data obtained from this polyphasic taxonomic study, strain TGS2-1T represents a novel species belonging to genus Brevibacillus, for which the name B. antibioticus sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TGS2-1T (= KCCM 90326T = NBRC 113840T = FBCC-B2501).

Nibricoccus aquaticus gen. nov., sp. nov., a new genus of the family Opitutaceae isolated from hyporheic freshwater.

A yellow-coloured, Gram-strain-negative, non-motile, cocci-shaped, strictly aerobic bacterium, designated HZ-65T, was isolated from hyporheic freshwater in the Republic of Korea. Strain HZ-65T grew at 15-37 °C (optimum, 25-30 °C), pH 5.5-9.0 (optimum, pH 7.0) and 0-0.5 % NaCl (w/v; optimum at 0 % NaCl). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene showed that strain HZ-65T is a member of family Opitutaceae and is closely related to Opitutus terrae PB90-1T (94.0 % similarity), Cephaloticoccus primus CAG34T (93.0 %), and Cephaloticoccus capnophilus CV41T (92.7 %), while the similarities to other Opitutaceae-type strains were lower than 90.0 %. The DNA G+C content was 62.2 mol% and the quinone present was menaquinone-7. The predominant fatty acids were iso-C14 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0, C16 : 0, and iso-C16 : 0, representing 70 % of the total fatty acids. The major polar lipid profile consisted of phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol and diphosphatidylglycerol. Analysis of the HZ-65T genome revealed the presence of 300 genes that are involved in carbohydrate-active enzymes, which indicates the metabolic potential to degrade polysaccharides. The phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, genetic, and phylogenetic properties suggest that strain HZ-65T represents a novel species in a new genus within the family Opitutaceae, for which the name Nibricoccus aquaticus gen. nov., sp. nov., is proposed. The type strain of Nibricoccus aquaticus is HZ-65T (KACC 19333T=NBRC 112907T).

Draft Genome Sequence of Deinococcus koreensis SJW1-2T, a Gamma Radiation-Resistant Bacterium Isolated from River Water.

Deinococcus koreensis SJW1-2T was isolated from river water and was observed to be highly resistant to gamma radiation. In this study, we report a draft genome sequence which revealed that SJW1-2T possesses genes involved in nucleotide excision repair. The primary genomic information will aid in elucidating the DNA repair mechanism during ionizing radiation.

Leucothrix arctica sp. nov., isolated from Arctic seawater.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, oxidase- and catalase-positive, rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from a coastal seawater sample from the Arctic Circle and designated strain IMCC9719T. On the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis, it was shown that strain IMCC9719T belonged to the genus Leucothrix and was closely related to the type strains of Leucothrix pacifica (97.6 % similarity) and Leucothrix mucor (95.1 %), while the strain shared <90.6 % sequence similarity with other bacterial species. The average nucleotide identity and genome-to-genome distance values between strain IMCC9719T and L. pacifica JCM 18388T were 71.7 and 16.9 %, respectively. The DNA G+C content of strain IMCC9719T was 43.5 mol%. Optimum growth of strain IMCC9719T was observed at 15 °C, at pH 7.5-8.5 and in the presence of 2.0-2.5 % (w/v) NaCl. The major fatty acids were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c), summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω6c and/or C18 : 1ω7c) and C16 : 0. Cells of strain IMCC9719T contained diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, an unidentified polar lipid, an unidentified aminophospholipid and two unidentified phospholipids. The major respiratory quinone was ubiquinone-8 (Q-8). Based on the taxonomic data collected in this study, strain IMCC9719T represents a novel species of the genus Leucothrix, for which the name Leucothrix arctica sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IMCC9719T (=KACC 18010T=NBRC 110382T).

Deinococcus koreensis sp. nov., a gamma radiation-resistant bacterium isolated from river water.

A gamma radiation-resistant, Gram-stain-negative, rod-shaped bacterial strain, designated SJW1-2T, was isolated from freshwater samples collected from the Seomjin River, Republic of Korea. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analyses showed that strain SJW1-2T was most closely related to Deinococcus metalli 1PNM-19T (94.3 % sequence similarity) and formed a robust phylogenetic clade with other species of the genus Deinococcus. The optimum growth pH and temperature for the isolate were pH 7.0-7.5 and 25 °C, respectively. Strain SJW1-2T exhibited high resistance to gamma radiation. The predominant respiratory quinone was MK-8. The polar lipid profile consisted of different unidentified glycolipids, two unidentified lipids, two unidentified phospholipids and an unidentified phosphoglycolipid. The major peptidoglycan amino acids were alanine, d-glutamic acid, glycine and l-ornithine. The predominant fatty acids (>10 %) were summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c) (25.2 %) and C16 : 0 (21.2 %), and the DNA G+C content was 69.5 mol%. On the basis of phenotypic, genotypic and phylogenetic analyses, strain SJW1-2T (=KACC 19332T=NBRC 112908T) represents a novel species of the genus Deinococcus, for which the name Deinococcus koreensis sp. nov. is proposed.

Paucibacter aquatile sp. nov. isolated from freshwater of the Nakdong River, Republic of Korea.

A Gram-negative, aerobic, motile, and rod-shaped bacterial strain designated CR182T was isolated from freshwater of the Nakdong River, Republic of Korea. Optimal growth conditions for this novel strain were found to be: 25-30 °C, pH 6.5-8.5, and 3% (w/v) NaCl. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequence indicates that the strain CR182T belongs to type strains of genus Paucibacter. Strain CR182T showed 98.0% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Paucibacter oligotrophus CHU3T and formed a robust phylogenetic clade with this species. The average nucleotide identity value between strain CR182T and P. oligotrophus CHU3T was 78.4% and the genome-to-genome distance was 22.2% on average. The genomic DNA G+C content calculated from the genome sequence was 66.3 mol%. Predominant cellular fatty acids of strain CR182T were summed feature 3 (C16:1 ω7c and/or C16:1 ω6c) (31.2%) and C16:0 (16.0%). Its major respiratory quinine was ubiquinone Q-8. Its polar lipids consisted of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and two unidentified phospholipids. Its genomic DNA G+C content was 66.3%. Based on data obtained from this polyphasic taxonomic study, strain CR182T represents a novel species belonging to genus Paucibacter, for which a name of P. aquatile sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is CR182T (= KCCM 90284T = NBRC 113032T).

RNA-Seq De Novo Assembly and Differential Transcriptome Analysis of Korean Medicinal Herb Cirsium japonicum var. spinossimum.

Cirsium japonicum belongs to the Asteraceae or Compositae family and is a medicinal plant in Asia that has a variety of effects, including tumour inhibition, improved immunity with flavones, and antidiabetic and hepatoprotective effects. Silymarin is synthesized by 4-coumaroyl-CoA via both the flavonoid and phenylpropanoid pathways to produce the immediate precursors taxifolin and coniferyl alcohol. Then, the oxidative radicalization of taxifolin and coniferyl alcohol produces silymarin. We identified the expression of genes related to the synthesis of silymarin in C. japonicum in three different tissues, namely, flowers, leaves and roots, through RNA sequencing. We obtained 51,133 unigenes from transcriptome sequencing by de novo assembly using Trinity v2.1.1, TransDecoder v2.0.1, and CD-HIT v4.6 software. The differentially expressed gene analysis revealed that the expression of genes related to the flavonoid pathway was higher in the flowers, whereas the phenylpropanoid pathway was more highly expressed in the roots. In this study, we established a global transcriptome dataset for C. japonicum. The data shall not only be useful to focus more deeply on the genes related to product medicinal metabolite including flavolignan but also to study the functional genomics for genetic engineering of C. japonicum.

Korean Variant Archive (KOVA): a reference database of genetic variations in the Korean population.

Despite efforts to interrogate human genome variation through large-scale databases, systematic preference toward populations of Caucasian descendants has resulted in unintended reduction of power in studying non-Caucasians. Here we report a compilation of coding variants from 1,055 healthy Korean individuals (KOVA; Korean Variant Archive). The samples were sequenced to a mean depth of 75x, yielding 101 singleton variants per individual. Population genetics analysis demonstrates that the Korean population is a distinct ethnic group comparable to other discrete ethnic groups in Africa and Europe, providing a rationale for such independent genomic datasets. Indeed, KOVA conferred 22.8% increased variant filtering power in addition to Exome Aggregation Consortium (ExAC) when used on Korean exomes. Functional assessment of nonsynonymous variant supported the presence of purifying selection in Koreans. Analysis of copy number variants detected 5.2 deletions and 10.3 amplifications per individual with an increased fraction of novel variants among smaller and rarer copy number variable segments. We also report a list of germline variants that are associated with increased tumor susceptibility. This catalog can function as a critical addition to the pre-existing variant databases in pursuing genetic studies of Korean individuals.

Ulvibacter marinus sp. nov., isolated from coastal seawater.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic, chemoheterotrophic, yellow, non-motile and flexirubin-positive bacterium, designated strain IMCC12008(T), was isolated from coastal seawater of the Yellow Sea and subjected to polyphasic taxonomy. Optimal growth was observed at 25 °C, pH 7.0 and in the presence of 2% (w/v) NaCl. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and subsequent phylogenetic analyses, strain IMCC12008(T) belonged to the genus Ulvibacter of the family Flavobacteriaceae, with Ulvibacter antarcticus IMCC3101(T) (96.0%) and Ulvibacter litoralis KMM 3912(T) (95.8%) having the highest sequence similaries. The major fatty acids were iso-C(15 : 0) (26.2%) and iso-C(15 : 1) G (10.5%). The DNA G+C content was 38.1 mol%. Strain IMCC12008(T) contained menaquinone-6 (MK-6) as the respiratory quinone, and polar lipids comprising phosphatidylethanolamine, two unidentified aminolipids and an unknown aminophospholipid. On the basis of data collected from this study, strain IMCC12008(T) ( = NBRC 109484(T) = KCTC 32322(T)) represents a novel species of the genus Ulvibacter, for which the name Ulvibacter marinus sp. nov. is proposed.

Hymenobacter koreensis sp. nov. and Hymenobacter saemangeumensis sp. nov., isolated from estuarine water.

Two Gram-reaction-negative, rod-shaped, non-motile and red-pink-pigmented bacterial strains, designated GYR3077(T) and GSR0100(T), were isolated from a water sample of the Mangyung estuary enclosed by the Saemangeum Embankment in JEOLlabuk-do, South Korea, and were characterized using a polyphasic approach. 16S rRNA genes of strains GYR3077(T) and GSR0100(T) exhibited sequence similarities of 95.9 % to Hymenobacter deserti ZLB-3(T) and 96.6 % to Hymenobacter soli PB17(T), respectively, and indicated that these isolates belonged to the phylum Bacteroidetes. The major cellular fatty acids present in the two isolates were iso-C15 : 0, C16 : 1ω5c, summed feature 4 (iso-C17 : 1 I and/or anteiso-C17 : 1 B) and summed feature 3 (C16 : 1ω7c and/or C16 : 1ω6c). The major respiratory quinone and polyamine patterns were menaquinone-7 and sym-homospermidine, characteristic of the genus Hymenobacter. Flexirubin-type pigments were absent in both strains. The DNA G+C contents of strains GYR3077(T) and GSR0100(T) were 60.2 mol% and 61.9 mol%, respectively. The major polar lipid of strains GYR3077(T) and GSR0100(T) was phosphatidylethanolamine. Based on the morphological and physiological properties, strains GYR3077(T) and GSR0100(T) were considered to represent two novel species of the genus Hymenobacter, for which the names Hymenobacter koreensis sp. nov. (type strain GYR3077(T) = KACC 16451(T) = JCM 17924(T)) and Hymenobacter saemangeumensis sp. nov. (type strain GSR0100(T) = KACC 16452(T) = JCM 17923(T)) are proposed.

Rubrivirga marina gen. nov., sp. nov., a member of the family Rhodothermaceae isolated from deep seawater.

Two aerobic, Gram-stain-negative, pale-red-pigmented and rod-shaped bacterial strains, designated SAORIC-26 and SAORIC-28(T), were isolated from seawater (3000 m depth) from the Pacific Ocean. Phylogenetic analysis based on their 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that the novel isolates could be affiliated with the family Rhodothermaceae of the class Cytophagia. Strains SAORIC-26 and SAORIC-28(T) shared 99.7% pairwise sequence similarity with each other and showed less than 92.6% similarity with other cultivated members of the class Cytophagia. The strains were found to be non-motile, oxidase-positive, catalase-negative and able to hydrolyse gelatin and aesculin. The DNA G+C contents were determined to be 64.8-65.8 mol% and MK-7 was the predominant menaquinone. Summed feature 9 (iso-C17:1ω9c and/or C16:0 10-methyl), summed feature 3 (C16:1ω6c and/or C16:1ω7c) and iso-C15:0 were found to be the major cellular fatty acids. On the basis of this taxonomic study using a polyphasic approach, it was concluded that strains SAORIC-26 and SAORIC-28(T) represent a novel species of a new genus in the family Rhodothermaceae, for which the name Rubrivirga marina gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the type species of is SAORIC-28(T) (=KCTC 23867(T)=NBRC 108816(T)). An additional strain of the species is SAORIC-26.

Saccharospirillum aestuarii sp. nov., isolated from tidal flat sediment, and an emended description of the genus Saccharospirillum.

A Gram-reaction-negative, chemoheterotrophic, non-motile, facultatively anaerobic, curved rod-shaped bacterial strain, IMCC4453(T), was isolated from tidal flat sediment and subjected to a taxonomic study using a polyphasic approach. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strain IMCC4453(T) belonged to the genus Saccharospirillum, forming a robust clade with members of the genus, and was most closely related to the type strains of Saccharospirillum salsuginis (97.6  % similarity) and Saccharospirillum impatiens (95.9  %). The DNA-DNA relatedness value between strain IMCC4453(T) and S. salsuginis YIM-Y25(T) was 23-30  %. Differences in several physiological and biochemical characteristics between strain IMCC4453(T) and the two recognized species of the genus Saccharospirillum, together with phylogenetic and genomic distinctiveness, differentiated the novel strain from members of the genus Saccharospirillum. On the basis of the data from the present study, it is concluded that strain IMCC4453(T) represents a novel species of the genus Saccharospirillum, for which the name Saccharospirillum aestuarii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is IMCC4453(T) (=KCTC 22684(T)=KCCM 42930(T)=NBRC 105825(T)). An emended description of the genus Saccharospirillum is provided.

The effects of fatty acids in propylene glycol on the percutaneous absorption of alendronate across the excised hairless mouse skin.

The effects of fatty acids at various concentrations in propylene glycol (PG) on the in vitro permeation of alendronate from solution formulations and formulated pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) transdermal delivery systems through excised hairless mouse skin were investigated. Caprylic acid, capric acid, lauric acid, oleic acid and linoleic acid at concentrations of 3, 6 and 10% were employed as a fatty acid. The highest maximum permeation flux was obtained with 3% capric acid in PG followed by 6% capric acid and 3% oleic acid from solution formulations; the enhancement factor by the addition of 3% capric acid to PG was 20.5 compared to PG alone. On the contrary, from PSA transdermal delivery systems, the highest enhancement factor of 2.9 was attained with 6% caprylic acid in PG compared to PG alone. The maximum permeation flux and lag time from PSA transdermal delivery systems by the addition of 6% caprylic acid to PG were 195.68+/-26.6 ng/cm2/h and 0.6+/-0.3h whereas PG without fatty acids showed 67.3+/-5.8 ng/cm2/h and 0.5+/-0.4h, respectively. The PSA transdermal delivery systems initially provided very high permeation rate followed by a gradual decrease regardless of the fatty acids. The highest release rate was also obtained with the formulation containing 6% caprylic acid in PG although release rates were not matched with permeation rates perfectly. In conclusion, for effective transdermal delivery system of alendronate, 6% caprylic acid in PG could be employed.