Usual dietary anthocyanin intake, sources and their association with blood pressure in a representative sample of Australian adults.

BACKGROUND: Anthocyanins represent an important subgroup of non-nutritive components of food as evidence continues to build related to their beneficial bioactive effects. Using a recently developed Australian anthocyanin database, the present study aimed to estimate the intake of both total anthocyanins and their subclasses, identify food sources of anthocyanins, and determine associations between anthocyanin intake and measured blood pressure (BP). METHODS: The present study comprised a secondary analysis of the 2011-12 National Nutrition and Physical Activity component of the Australian Health Survey. Anthocyanin intake was estimated using an Australian anthocyanin database. Usual anthocyanin intake, as estimated from 24-h diet recall data, was computed using multiple source methods, whereas food sources were determined by calculating contribution of food groups to total anthocyanin intake. Regression analysis, adjusted for covariates (age, gender, body mass index, high BP diagnosis, smoking status and physical activity) assessed the relationship between anthocyanin intake and BP in adults aged ≥50 years. RESULTS: Mean anthocyanin intake was 24.17 ± 0.32 mg day-1 . Across age groups, berries were the top sources: blackberry (5-65%), cherry (2-24%), blueberry (2-13%) and raspberry (3-12%). There was a significant inverse association between anthocyanin intake and systolic BP (ß = -0.04, F = 16.8, d.f. = 6, r2  = 0.05, P < 0.01) and diastolic BP (ß = 0.01, F = 5.35, d.f. = 6, R2  = 0.013, P < 0.01), in models that adjusted for covariates. CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with the world composite database, anthocyanin intake in the Australian population was above average [mean (SD): 24.17 (0.32) mg day-1 versus 18.05 (21.14) mg day-1 ]. Berries were the primary source of anthocyanins. Anthocyanin intake in older adults aged ≥50 years was inversely associated with BP.

A systematic literature review of the effect of anthocyanins on gut microbiota populations.

BACKGROUND: Evidence has shown that anthocyanins, a subclass of polyphenol, are metabolised in the gut, modulate bacterial species and exert bioactive effects through this interaction. METHODS: A systematic literature review was undertaken to determine the level of current evidence for the association between anthocyanin intake and changes in gut microbiota populations. The studies included were also assessed for the different techniques used in microbiota determination. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, scientific databases, including Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and MEDLINE, were searched up to June 2017. Details on population/sample, study design, intervention/control, dosage and method of microbiota determination were extracted. RESULTS: Six studies (three in vitro, two animal and one human trials) were included in the review, which showed that anthocyanins induced a significant proliferative effect on Bifidobacterium spp., known for their wide use in probiotics and for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. There was also an observed inhibition of Clostridium histolyticum, which was shown to be pathogenic in humans. The depth of analysis is an important consideration for the choice of microbiota determination technique with respect to a comprehensive, high-resolution microbiota analysis or analysis of the main microbiota taxa. CONCLUSIONS: Very limited research has been carried out in the area of anthocyanins and gut microbiota; beneficial effects have generally been observed, and further clinical trials in humans are needed to confirm changes to gut microbes in relation to dietary anthocyanin intake and potential health benefits.

Association between Malnutrition and Delirium in Older Chronic Kidney Disease Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units: A Data Linkage Study.

BACKGROUND: Independently, malnutrition and delirium in older hospitalised adults is prevalent. However, there is limited evidence on the association between these two conditions in older hospitalised adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD). OBJECTIVES: To determine the association between malnutrition and delirium in older CKD patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU). METHODS: This data linkage study utilised administrative data from New South Wales (NSW) hospitals in Australia between 2017 and 2020.Admitted patient data was linked with Cause of Death Unit Record File, and NSW Registry of Deaths (RBD). The study population comprised all CKD patients aged 65 and over admitted to ICUs. Descriptive statistics were used to summarise patient characteristics. Binary logistic tested for association between malnutrition and delirium. RESULTS: The study population included 748 CKD patients with a total 948 admissions in the study period. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) was used to code for all outcomes and comorbidities. The incidence of delirium was 15.5% (n=141) and malnutrition was recorded in 11.3% (n=103) across all admissions. The adjusted odds ratio (OR) of a delirium diagnosis was 2.07 (95% CI: 1.27-3.39) for CKD patients that were malnourished compared to non-malnourished CKD patients. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a significant association between delirium and malnutrition in older CKD patients admitted to ICU. Management of malnutrition could be critical in reducing the risk of delirium in older hospitalized patients with CKD. Additionally, more education and awareness around delirium and its association with malnutrition are needed in clinical practice.

Natalizumab is effective as second line therapy in the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Natalizumab has been recommended for the treatment of patients with relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis with insufficient response to interferon-beta (IFN-beta) or glatiramer acetate (GA). METHOD: Prospective, observational study. RESULTS: We found a reduction of the annualized relapse rate from 2.1 under IFN-beta or GA to 0.2 one year after switching to natalizumab. There were 94% fewer gadolinium enhancing lesions with natalizumab. CONCLUSION: Natalizumab reduced short term clinical and MRI activity in second line therapy and efficacy is comparable to first line therapy as demonstrated in the pivotal trials.

Anthocyanin-rich plum juice reduces ambulatory blood pressure but not acute cognitive function in younger and older adults: a pilot crossover dose-timing study.

Consumption of anthocyanins from fruit sources may exert protection against hypertension and improve cognition. However, the effect of dose timing in studies is rarely considered. We hypothesized that timed-dose consumption of juice from an anthocyanin-rich Japanese plum variety (Queen Garnet plum, QGP) will have acute and dose-timing effects on cardiovascular responses, cognition, and urinary anthocyanin excretion profiles. Our study objective was to investigate the impact of plum juice on these health parameters. Twelve older (65+ years) and 12 younger (18-45 years) adults participated in an acute crossover study. Participants received, randomly, either 1 × 300 mL or 3 × 100 mL plum juice over 3 hours on 2 different occasions with a 2-week washout period. A battery of cognitive tasks was administered at 0 and 6 hours on each study day. Blood pressure (BP) and urinary anthocyanin/metabolite excretion profiles were measured over 24 hours. Area under the curve for BP was calculated (0-6 hours). A significant reduction in BP and cardiovascular responses was observed in both age groups which was more obvious in the older age group on the single dose for systolic BP, diastolic BP, mean arterial pressure, and heart rate (P values = .035, .028, .017, and .006, respectively). No significant difference was observed between dose-timing regimens for either age group. There was no observed effect on cognition. Native QGP anthocyanins, as well as methylated/glucuronidated metabolites, were detected in urine with no significant differences between age groups or dose timing. High-anthocyanin plum juice significantly reduced BP, but dose timing did not appear to be a significant factor in the potential acute BP-lowering effect of QGP juice.

Protection against murine listeriosis by oral vaccination with recombinant Salmonella expressing hybrid Yersinia type III proteins.

In the present study, we have investigated the possibility to engage the Yersinia outer protein E (YopE) as a carrier molecule for heterologous Ag delivery by the type III secretion system of Salmonella typhimurium. Defined secretion and translocation domains of YopE were fused to the immunodominant T cell Ags listeriolysin O and p60 of Listeria monocytogenes. In vitro experiments showed that S. typhimurium allows secretion and translocation of large hybrid YopE proteins in a type III-dependent fashion. Translocation and cytosolic delivery of these chimeric proteins into host cells, but not secretion into endosomal compartments, led to efficient MHC class I-restricted Ag presentation of listerial nonamer peptides. Mice orally vaccinated with a single dose of attenuated S. typhimurium expressing translocated hybrid YopE proteins revealed high numbers of IFN-gamma-producing cells reactive with listeriolysin O 91-99 or p60 217-225, respectively. This CD8 T cell response protected mice against a challenge with L. monocytogenes. In conclusion, these findings suggest that YopE is a versatile carrier molecule for type III-mediated foreign Ag delivery by Salmonella vaccine strains.

Novel virulence-associated type II secretion system unique to high-pathogenicity Yersinia enterocolitica.

Yersinia enterocolitica strains comprise an important group of bacterial enteropathogens that cause a broad range of gastrointestinal syndromes. Three groups are distinguishable within this bacterial species, namely, the nonpathogenic group (biotype 1A strains), the low-pathogenicity, non-mouse-lethal group (biotypes 2 to 5), and the high-pathogenicity, mouse-lethal group (biotype 1B). To date, the presence of the high-pathogenicity island (HPI), a chromosomal locus that encodes the yersiniabactin system (involved in iron uptake), defines essentially the difference between low-pathogenicity and high-pathogenicity Y. enterocolitica strains, with the low-pathogenicity strains lacking the HPI. Using the powerful tool of representational difference analysis between the nonpathogenic 1A strain, NF-O, and its high-pathogenicity 1B counterpart, WA-314, we have identified a novel type II secretion gene cluster (yts1C-S) occurring exclusively in the high-pathogenicity group. The encoded secreton, designated Yts1 (for Yersinia type II secretion 1) was shown to be important for virulence in mice. A close examination of the almost completed genome sequence of another high-pathogenicity representative, Y. enterocolitica 8081, revealed a second putative type II secretion cluster uniformly distributed among all Y. enterocolitica isolates. This putative species-specific cluster (designated yts2) differed significantly from yts1, while resembling more closely the putative type II cluster present on the genome of Y. pestis. The Yts1 secreton thus appears to have been additionally acquired by the high-pathogenicity assemblage for a virulence-associated function.

Rational live oral carrier vaccine design by mutating virulence-associated genes of Yersinia enterocolitica.

Three different Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O8 strains harboring mutations in virulence-associated genes coding for Yersinia adhesin A (YadA), Mn-cofactored superoxide dismutase (SodA), and high-molecular-weight protein 1 were analyzed for their ability to colonize and persist in tissues after orogastric immunization of C57BL/6 mice. We demonstrated that all three Yersinia mutant strains were markedly impaired in their ability to disseminate into the spleens and livers of immunized mice but were able to colonize the Peyer's patches for at least 12 days, resulting in the induction of significant antibody titers against Yersinia outer proteins (Yops) and in the priming of Yersinia antigen-specific CD4+ Th1 cells isolated from spleens. The high level of attenuation did not diminish the immunogenic properties of the mutant strains. In fact, mice immunized with a single oral dose of any of the mutant strains were protected against a lethal oral-challenge infection with wild-type Y. enterocolitica. Moreover, adoptive transfer of Yersinia-specific antibodies from sera of mice immunized with the mutant WAP-314 sodA revealed that this protection could be mediated by Yersinia-specific immunoglobulins.

Isolation of a temperate bacteriophage encoding the type III effector protein SopE from an epidemic Salmonella typhimurium strain.

Salmonella typhimurium employs the specialized type III secretion system encoded in pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) to translocate effector proteins into host cells and to modulate host cell signal transduction. The SPI1 type III system and the effector proteins are conserved among all salmonellae and are thought to be acquired by horizontal gene transfer. The genetic mechanisms mediating this horizontal transfer are unknown. Here, we describe that SopE, a SPI1-dependent translocated effector protein, is present in relatively few S. typhimurium isolates. We have isolated a temperate phage that encodes SopE. Phage morphology and DNA hybridization, as well as partial sequence information, suggest that this phage (SopEPhi) is a new member of the P2 family of bacteriophages. By lysogenic conversion this phage can horizontally transfer genes between different S. typhimurium strains. Strikingly, most of the isolates harboring SopEPhi belong to the small group of epidemic strains of S. typhimurium that have been responsible for a large percentage of human and animal salmonellosis and have persisted for a long period of time. Our data suggest that horizontal transfer of type III dependent effector proteins by lysogenic infection with bacteriophages (lysogenic conversion) may provide an efficient mechanism for fine-tuning the interaction of Salmonella spp. with their hosts.

Yersinia enterocolitica-mediated translocation of defined fusion proteins to the cytosol of mammalian cells results in peptide-specific MHC class I-restricted antigen presentation.

Yersinia enterocolitica delivers a set of effector proteins [Yersinia outer proteins (Yop)] into the cytosol of target cells to modulate host cell signal transduction pathways required for the extracellular survival of the bacterium. Secretion and subsequent translocation of Yop across the eukaryotic cell membrane are achieved via a type III secretion system. About 50 - 100 amino acids of the N terminus of Yop are required for chaperone-directed secretion and translocation. In this study, it is demonstrated by immunoblot analysis of Yersinia-infected cultured epithelial cells that one ot these proteins, YopE, can serve as a molecular carrier to deliver protein fragments of the heterologous p60 antigen of Listeria monocytogenes into the cytosol of target cells. T cell activation assays revealed that the observed type III-mediated antigen translocation led to a p60 peptide-specific MHC class I-restricted antigen presentation. Efficient translocation and antigen presentation were strictly dependent on the co-localized expression of hybrid YopE-p60 proteins and the YopE-specific chaperone SycE. These results suggest that the Yersinia type III secretion system may serve as an attractive tool for antigen delivery in Yersinia-based live vaccines to induce cellular immune responses.