Association between Randall's plaque and calcifying nanoparticles.

OBJECTIVES: Randall initially described calcified subepithelial papillary plaques, which he hypothesized as nidi for urinary calculi. The discovery of calcifying nanoparticles (CNP), also referred to as nanobacteria, in calcified soft tissues has raised another hypothesis about their possible involvement in urinary stone formation. This research is the first attempt to investigate the potential association of these two hypotheses. METHODS: We collected renal papilla and blood samples from 17 human patients who had undergone laparoscopic nephrectomy. Immunohistochemical staining (IHS) was applied using monoclonal antibody (mAb) against CNP. Homogenized papillary tissues and serum samples were cultured for CNP. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) were performed on papillary samples. Serum samples were tested for CNP antigen and antibody with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). RESULTS: Randall's plaques (RP) were visible on gross inspection in 11 out of 17 samples. IHS was positive for CNP antigen in 8 of the visually positive samples, but in only 1 of the remaining samples. SEM revealed spherical apatite-formations in 14 samples confirmed by EDS analysis. In cultures, all serum samples and 13 tissue homogenates grew CNP. In ELISA, 14 samples were positive for CNP-antigen and 11 samples were positive for CNP-antibody. CONCLUSION: There was evidence of a link between detection of CNP and presence of RP. Although causality was not demonstrated, these results suggest that further studies with negative control samples should be made to explore the etiology of RP formation, thus leading to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of stone formation.

A preliminary investigation into light-modulated replication of nanobacteria and heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this preliminary study is to evaluate the effect of various wavelengths of light on nanobacteria (NB). BACKGROUND DATA: NB and mitochondria use light for biological processes. NB have been described as multifunctional primordial nanovesicles with the potential to utilize solar energy for replication. NB produce slime, a process common to living bacteria. Slime release is an evolutionary important stress-dependent phenomenon increasing the survival chance of individual bacteria in a colony. In the cardiovascular system, stress-induced bacterial colony formation may lead to a deposition of plaque. METHODS: Cultured NB were irradiated with NASA-LEDs at different wavelengths of light: 670, 728 and 880 nm. Light intensities were about 500k Wm(-2), and energy density was 1 x 10(4) J m(-2). RESULTS: Monochromatic light clearly affected replication of NB. Maximum replication was achieved at 670 nm. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that suitable wavelengths of light could be instrumental in elevating the vitality level of NB, preventing the production of NB-mediated slime, and simultaneously increasing the vitality level of mitochondria. The finding could stimulate the design of cooperative therapy concepts that could reduce death caused by myocardial infarcts.

Living nanovesicles--chemical and physical survival strategies of primordial biosystems.

Life on Earth and Mars could have started with self-assembled nanovesicles similar to the present nanobacteria (NB). To resist extreme environmental stress situations and periods of nutritional deprivation, nanovesicles would have had a chemical composition protected by a closed mineralized compartment, facilitating their development in a primordial soup, or other early wet environment. Their survivability would have been enhanced if they had mechanisms for metabolic communication, and an ability to collect primordially available energy forms. Here, we establish an irreducible model system for life formation starting with NB.

[Nanobacteria in serum, bile and gallbladder mucosa of cholecystolithiasis patients].

OBJECTIVE: To find the distribution of nanobacteria in the serum, bile and gallbladder mucosa of cholecystolithiasis patients. METHODS: The infection rate of nanobacteria was identified by ELISA in the serum samples from 338 healthy people and 76 patients with cholecystolithiasis (chi(2) = 0.89, P > 0.05). Nanobacteria were cultured from the bile samples in 57 patients with cholecystolithiasis and 18 non-cholelithiasis patients and identified by immunohistochemical staining and TEM (chi(2) = 29.80, P < 0.05). Forty samples of gallbladder mucosa randomly selected from the 57 cholecystolithiasis patients were identified by immunohistochemical staining and compared with the corresponding bile samples. RESULTS: The infection rate of nanobacteria was 8.0% and 31.6% for the serum samples of the healthy people and cholecystolithiasis patients, respectively. The positive rate of nanobacteria in the bile samples was 61.3% and there was no significant difference in the bile of the cholecystolithiasis patients and the control group (61.4% vs. 61.1%). Fourteen positive patients had infection of nanobacteria in the gallbladder mucosa, submucosa, and calcific field. CONCLUSIONS: The infection rate of nanobacteria was 8% in the serum samples from the healthy people. There are nanobacteria in the serum, bile, and gallbladder mucosa. The infection of the nanobacteria may result in calcification and fibrosis of the gallbladder.

Characteristics of nanobacteria and their possible role in stone formation.

Kidney stone formation is a multifactorial disease in which the defence mechanisms and risk factors are imbalanced in favour of stone formation. We have proposed a novel infectious agent, mineral forming nanobacteria (NB), to be active nidi that attach to, invade and damage the urinary epithelium of collecting ducts and papilla forming the calcium phosphate center(s) found in most kidney stones. Stone formation may proceed in urine supersaturated with calcium phosphate, calcium oxalate and uric acid/urate under the influence of crystallization promoters and inhibitors. Our hypothesis underlines the role of active nidi: even supersaturated urine requires nidi for crystallization to appear.

Light-induced replication of nanobacteria: a preliminary report.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of light on nanobacteria. BACKGROUND DATA: Since their first description in literature, it is not clear whether the nanoparticles called "nanobacteria" are alive or not. The 80-1,000-nm-sized spherical particles are protected by a crystalline carbonate apatite shell and are culturable in cell culture media. Present in mammalians, including humans, nanobacteria seem to cause diseases related to biomineralization processes. Mesoscopic structures found on Martian meteorites and terrestrial rocks indicated that nanobacteria-like biological objects forming apatite, a material fairly transparent to visible light, could have been present on the primitive Earth during an era with the sun as the principal terrestrial energy source. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To evaluate possible biomedical effects of therapeutically relevant irradiation sources on nanobacteria, we irradiated nanobacteria cultures with polarized light and laser-light at low, nonthermal energy density levels. RESULTS: Our observations indicated that nanobacteria are alive. Polarized white light was found to clearly accelerate their replication in vitro, resulting in significant dose-dependent increases in the turbidity of the cultures, compared to nonirradiated controls. Laser irradiation did not affect their replication. CONCLUSION: The possibility that primordial and present nanobacteria could have been not only exposed to, but actively harvested, solar irradiation for their own development suggests itself. Considering that there exists no published material on the action of light on nanobacteria, the reported effects are expected to have an impact on modeling biomineralization processes, associated photoreceptor mechanisms, and astrobiological and evolutionary theories-on Earth and in space.