Photodynamic therapy: a new approach to the treatment of Nontuberculous Mycobacterial skin and soft tissue infections.

Nontuberculous mycobacterial skin and soft tissue infections are rising and are causing social concern due to the growth of cosmetic dermatology and immune-compromised populations. For the treatment of nontuberculous mycobacteria, several novel strategies have been investigated. One of them, photodynamic therapy, is a recently developed therapeutic strategy that has shown promise in managing nontuberculous mycobacterial skin and soft tissue infections. In this review, we first present an overview of the current status of the therapy and then summarize and analyze the cases of photodynamic therapy used to treat nontuberculous mycobacterial skin and soft tissue infections. We also discussed the feasibility of photodynamic therapy for treating nontuberculous mycobacterial skin soft tissue infections and the related mechanisms, providing a potential new option for clinical treatment.

ALA-PDT regulates macrophage M1 polarization via ERK/MAPK-NLRP3 pathway to promote the early inflammatory response.

BACKGROUND: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a promising new approach to promote wound healing and its effectiveness has been demonstrated in both clinical and animal studies. Macrophages are the key cells in wound healing and inflammatory response. However, the mechanism of action of PDT on macrophages in promoting wound healing is still unclear. METHODS: In this study, RAW264.7 cells were used. We analyzed the expression levels of macrophage markers arginase 1 (Arg-1), CD206, iNOS, CD86, and inflammatory factors IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1ß by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Western blot, Milliplex microtubule-associated protein multiplex assay was performed to analyze the expression of inflammatory factors in the supernatant. Live cell Imaging System to observe the dynamic process of macrophage phagocytosis. Western blot was performed to observe the activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK) and NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. RESULTS: 5-Aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-PDT increased the expression of M1 marker iNOS/CD86 and decreased the expression of Arg-1/CD206 in RAW264.7 cells, while, proinflammatory factors IL-6, TNF-α, and IL-1ß expression was enhanced and macrophage phagocytosis was increased. We also found that these phenomena were associated with activation of the ERK/MAPK-NLRP3 pathway. CONCLUSION: ALA-PDT promotes early inflammatory responses by regulating macrophage M1 polarization through the ERK/MAPK-NLRP3 pathway. It also promotes macrophage phagocytosis.

Edible qualities, microbial compositions and volatile compounds in fresh fermented rice noodles fermented with different starter cultures.

To shorten the fermentation time and reduce the heterozygous bacteria contamination during fresh fermented rice noodles (FFRNs) fermentation, four starter cultures that consist of Limosilactobacillus fermentum, Lactoplantibacillus plantarum and Saccharomyces cerevisiae were used to produce FFRN. The cooking qualities and texture profiles of FFRNs, the dynamics of microbial diversities and volatile compounds at different fermentation stages were explored. Results showed that the fermentation time of the adding starter culture groups required 12 h, while that the natural fermentation (NF) group required 36 h. Significant differences were observed in the texture profiles and cooking qualities of these five groups FFRNs (P ＜ 0.05). In addition, compared with NF group, the microbial diversity of four adding starter culture groups was significantly lower, which meant that the edible safety of FFRNs could be enhanced. Meanwhile, a total of 115 volatile compounds were detected by Gas chromatography-ion Mobility Spectrometry and Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, the aldehydes, alcohols, acids and esters were increased while aldehydes were decreased in FFRNs during fermentation. Among these, the relative odor activity value of 50 volatile compounds was greater than 0.1, contributing unique flavors to FFRNs. Notably, the flavor of Lactoplantibacillus plantarum + Saccharomyces cerevisiae (L.p + S.c) and Lactoplantibacillus plantarum + Limosilactobacillus fermentum + Saccharomyces cerevisiae (L.pf + S.c) groups was richer than that of other groups.

Plant protein reduces serum cholesterol levels in hypercholesterolemia hamsters by modulating the compositions of gut microbiota and metabolites.

Plant proteins exert effects of reducing cardio-cerebrovascular disease-related mortality partly via cholesterol-lowering, which was associated with gut microbiota. Here, we verify that there are significant differences in cholesterol levels among hamsters consuming different proteins. The decisive roles of gut microbiota in regulating host cholesterol are illustrated by the fact that the difference in serum cholesterol levels between hamsters feeding with pea protein and pork protein disappeared when treated with antibiotics. The results of cross-over intervention of pea and pork protein show that serum cholesterol levels are reversed with dietary exchange. The corresponding changes in microbiota suggest that Muribaculaceae are responsible for the inhibitory effect of pea protein on serum cholesterol level, whereas the opposite effect of pork protein is due to Erysipelotrichaceae. Moreover, pea protein supplement alters cecal metabolites including arginine/histidine pathway, primary bile acid biosynthesis, short-chain fatty acids, and other lipid-like molecules involved in cholesterol metabolism.

Volatile compounds, bacteria compositions and physicochemical properties of 10 fresh fermented rice noodles from southern China.

To clarify the discrepancy in characteristic flavor and bacteria composition of 10 fresh fermented rice noodles from southern China, the volatile and bacteria composition were determined by headspace-gas chromatography ion mobility spectrometry and 16SrRNA sequencing methods. The potential relationship between volatile compounds and bacterial composition has also been further revealed using spearman's correlation analysis. The contents of proximate composition, cooking properties and texture properties of 10 fresh fermented rice noodles exhibited significant different among them (p ＜ 0.05). The flavor analysis showed that a total of 54 compounds were detected. 1-Octen-one, ethyl 3-methylbutanoate, 3-methylbutanal, n-nonanal, hexanal, amyl acetate, ethanol and 2-pentyl furan were the key volatiles among them. The bacterial analysis showed that Leuconostoc and Lactococcus were the core bacteria at the genu level of all samples. Amyl acetate, 2-butanone and methyl-2-methylpropanoate were positively related to Lactococcus while ethanol was negatively correlated with Lactococcus. And Leuconostoc was positively related to 3-methylbutanal and acetone, while was negatively correlated with hexanal. Results indicated that key volatiles and textural properties of different fresh fermented rice noodle samples were associated with bacterial composition.

Dietary Proteins Alter Fermentation Characteristics of Human Gut Microbiota In Vitro.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the fermentation characteristics of proteins from diverse sources by human gut microbiota. Cereal proteins (rice and oat), red meat proteins (pork and beef), chicken protein and casein were selected as the substrates for simulated gastrointestinal digestion (SGID), and human faecal samples were collected from healthy donors as the inoculum of fermentation. In this study, we further analyzed the correlations of amino acids (AA) compositions, fermentation productions and gut microbiota. As the results, the animal protein groups had higher degree of hydrolysis (DH) after digestion and higher levels of ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) after fermentation than cereal proteins. The pH value of fermentation liquid declined as proteins were added during fermentation. Cereal protein groups promoted the gut microbiota to produce more short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) with the high proportion of acetate, propionate and butyrate by lowering the pH than red meat proteins. The abundance of Firmicutes at phylum level in cereal protein groups was lower than red meat proteins after fermentation. The cereal protein groups enhanced the growth of Bacteroides spp. and Bifidobacterium spp. while red meat proteins stimulated the growth of Peptoclostridium spp.. Taken together, our research implies that cereal proteins have better fermentation characters than red meat proteins.

Effect of thermosonication pre-treatment on mung bean (Vigna radiata) and white kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) proteins: Enzymatic hydrolysis, cholesterol lowering activity and structural characterization.

Protein hydrolysates have attained great attention due to a good nutritive food ingredient and higher biological activities. In this study, thermosonication, ultrasound and heat were used as a pre-treatment to obtain (<3KDa) hydrolysate from mung bean and white kidney bean to understand the mechanism of cholesterol absorption into micelle and inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMG-CoA) activity. Size exclusion high performance liquid chromatography (SE-HPLC) results of mung bean showed that the concentration of peptides (0.5KDa-1KDa and 1-3KDa) in the hydrolysate were significantly (p < 0.05) increased after thermosonication while, the peptides concentration (1-3KDa) in white kidney bean was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased. Thermosonication of mung bean hydrolysate exhibited higher inhibition of cholesterol solubilization, hydrophobicity and antioxidant activities. In addition, there was no difference observed in HMG-CoA activity and hydrophobicity between ultrasound alone and ultrasound combined with heat i.e. thermosonication treated hydrolysate of white kidney bean. Changes in secondary and tertiary structures were also analyzed under different processing conditions with maximum change due to thermosonication. Results indicated that mung bean hydrolysate had a great potential for inhibition of cholesterol synthesis and its solubility in the micelle, antioxidant activity and also convinced for its application in food and nutraceutical industries.

Rice-derived peptide AAGALPS inhibits TNF-α-induced inflammation and oxidative stress in vascular endothelial cells.

Injury of vascular endothelial cell is one of the main factors triggering atherosclerosis. Peptide AAGALPS was derived from digestion and absorption product of rice α-globulin, which was proved to prevent atherosclerosis in previous study. This study aims to investigate the potential effects of AAGALPS on improving tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells' (HUVECs) injury. As a result, the viability of HUVECs stimulated by tumor necrosis factor-α was significantly increased by AAGALPS in a dose-dependent manner until 25 µg/ml. The peptide obviously reduced the levels of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, nitric oxide, inducible nitric oxide synthase, reactive oxygen species, and malondialdehyde and increased the concentrations of glutathione peroxidase. Furthermore, AAGALPS inhibited the nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) activation and nuclear translocation through regulating inhibitor of nuclear factor κB kinase α and inhibitor of NF-κB. These results indicated that AAGALPS protected vascular endothelial cells through mediating inflammation and oxidative stress.