Nonpreferential but Detrimental Accumulation of Macrophages With Clonal Hematopoiesis-Driver Mutations in Cardiovascular Tissues-Brief Report.

BACKGROUND: Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is an acquired genetic risk factor for both leukemia and cardiovascular disease. It results in proinflammatory myeloid cells in the bone marrow and blood; however, how these cells behave in the cardiovascular tissue remains unclear. Our study aimed at investigating whether CHIP-mutated macrophages accumulate preferentially in cardiovascular tissues and examining the transcriptome of tissue macrophages from DNMT3A (DNA methyltransferase 3 alpha) or TET2 (Tet methylcytosine dioxygenase 2) mutation carriers. METHODS: We recruited patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy or heart surgeries to screen for CHIP mutation carriers using targeted genomic sequencing. Myeloid and lymphoid cells were isolated from blood and cardiovascular tissue collected during surgeries using flow cytometry. DNA and RNA extracted from these sorted cells were subjected to variant allele frequency measurement using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction and transcriptomic profiling using bulk RNA sequencing, respectively. RESULTS: Using droplet digital polymerase chain reaction, we detected similar variant allele frequency of CHIP in monocytes from blood and macrophages from atheromas and heart tissues, even among heart macrophages with and without CCR2 (C-C motif chemokine receptor 2) expression. Bulk RNA sequencing revealed a proinflammatory gene profile of myeloid cells from DNMT3A or TET2 mutation carriers compared with those from noncarriers. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitatively, CHIP-mutated myeloid cells did not preferentially accumulate in cardiovascular tissues, but qualitatively, they expressed a more disease-prone phenotype.

Bacteriophage 933W encodes a functional esterase downstream of the Shiga toxin 2a operon.

In this study, the 1938bp open reading frame z1466, which is encoded directly downstream the Shiga toxin 2a (Stx2a) operon in E. coli O157:H7 phage 933W was cloned and expressed recombinantly. Purification with Ni-NTA agarose beads with subsequent SDS-PAGE revealed a 68kDa protein, designated 933Wp42-His. Analysis of 933Wp42-His demonstrated an esterase activity by activity staining of native gels using triacetin as a substrate. Purified 933Wp42-His demonstrated a Km value of about 10mM and a Vmax value of 1.667nkat/ml for 4-methylumbelliferyl-acetate (4-MUF-Ac) as a substrate. The enzyme was most active in the pH-range of 7.0-8.0, and at 50°C. Furthermore, 933Wp42-His was able to hydrolyze acetic acid from mucin, and 5-N-acetyl-9-O-acetyl neuraminic acid (Neu5,9Ac2). This is the first description of an enzymatic activity of the Stx-phage-encoded protein 933Wp42. Its role in substrate utilization during colonization and human infection is discussed.

Variation of the Pseudomonas community structure on oak leaf lettuce during storage detected by culture-dependent and -independent methods.

The genus Pseudomonas plays an important role in the lettuce leaf microbiota and certain species can induce spoilage. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and diversity of Pseudomonas spp. on oak leaf lettuce and to follow their community shift during a six day cold storage with culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. In total, 21 analysed partial Pseudomonas 16S rRNA gene sequences matched closely (> 98.3%) to the different reference strain sequences, which were distributed among 13 different phylogenetic groups or subgroups within the genus Pseudomonas. It could be shown that all detected Pseudomonas species belonged to the P. fluorescens lineage. In the culture-dependent analysis, 73% of the isolates at day 0 and 79% of the isolates at day 6 belonged to the P. fluorescens subgroup. The second most frequent group, with 12% of the isolates, was the P. koreensis subgroup. This subgroup was only detected at day 0. In the culture-independent analysis the P. fluorescens subgroup and P. extremaustralis could not be differentiated by RFLP. Both groups were most abundant and amounted to approximately 46% at day 0 and 79% at day 6. The phytopathogenic species P. salmonii, P. viridiflava and P. marginalis increased during storage. Both approaches identified the P. fluorescens group as the main phylogenetic group. The results of the present study suggest that pseudomonads found by plating methods indeed represent the most abundant part of the Pseudomonas community on oak leaf lettuce.