Effect of probiotics on vaginal Ureaplasma parvum in women suffering from unexplained infertility.

RESEARCH QUESTION: Does oral probiotic supplementation influence the relative abundance of different vaginal microbiota in women experiencing infertility? DESIGN: A prospective, monocentric randomized controlled trial. To study the influence of probiotics on infertility, 80 patients with primary or secondary infertility were included. Patients were assigned to either a probiotic treatment or a control group. Participants in the treatment group (n = 40) took one sachet (2 g) a day of a defined probiotic supplement limiting Lactobacillus strains. Patients in the control group did not receive any additional probiotic supplements. Vaginal samples were taken on day 20 of the menstrual cycle and 4 weeks later, on day 20, of the consecutive cycle. Subsequently, 16s rRNA gene analysis of the vaginal samples was conducted. RESULTS: After the intervention phase, no effects on alpha diversity resulting from treatment could be observed. The between sample diversity of different women (beta diversity) at baseline had no effects of age, treatment group or body mass index. Primary or secondary sterility, however, had a significant effect on community. Three clusters (Lactobacillus crispatus, Lactobacillus iners and Lactobacillus gasseri) were identified as the leading representatives. Furthermore, patients treated with probiotics showed limited growth of Ureaplasma parvum compared with the control group (P = 0.021). CONCLUSIONS: This study points to a possible protective effect of probiotic supplements on the vaginal microbiota. It is tempting to speculate that this effect assists in containing the growth of non-beneficial bacteria and helps to prevent or cure a dysbiotic vaginal flora.

Combating Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury with Micronutrients and Natural Compounds during Solid Organ Transplantation: Data of Clinical Trials and Lessons of Preclinical Findings.

Although extended donor criteria grafts bear a higher risk of complications such as graft dysfunction, the exceeding demand requires to extent the pool of potential donors. The risk of complications is highly associated with ischemia-reperfusion injury, a condition characterized by high loads of oxidative stress exceeding antioxidative defense mechanisms. The antioxidative properties, along with other beneficial effects like anti-inflammatory, antiapoptotic or antiarrhythmic effects of several micronutrients and natural compounds, have recently emerged increasing research interest resulting in various preclinical and clinical studies. Preclinical studies reported about ameliorated oxidative stress and inflammatory status, resulting in improved graft survival. Although the majority of clinical studies confirmed these results, reporting about improved recovery and superior organ function, others failed to do so. Yet, only a limited number of micronutrients and natural compounds have been investigated in a (large) clinical trial. Despite some ambiguous clinical results and modest clinical data availability, the vast majority of convincing animal and in vitro data, along with low cost and easy availability, encourage the conductance of future clinical trials. These should implement insights gained from animal data.

Lysosomal Acid Lipase Hydrolyzes Retinyl Ester and Affects Retinoid Turnover.

Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) is essential for the clearance of endocytosed cholesteryl ester and triglyceride-rich chylomicron remnants. Humans and mice with defective or absent LAL activity accumulate large amounts of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides in multiple tissues. Although chylomicrons also contain retinyl esters (REs), a role of LAL in the clearance of endocytosed REs has not been reported. In this study, we found that murine LAL exhibits RE hydrolase activity. Pharmacological inhibition of LAL in the human hepatocyte cell line HepG2, incubated with chylomicrons, led to increased accumulation of REs in endosomal/lysosomal fractions. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition or genetic ablation of LAL in murine liver largely reduced in vitro acid RE hydrolase activity. Interestingly, LAL-deficient mice exhibited increased RE content in the duodenum and jejunum but decreased RE content in the liver. Furthermore, LAL-deficient mice challenged with RE gavage exhibited largely reduced post-prandial circulating RE content, indicating that LAL is required for efficient nutritional vitamin A availability. In summary, our results indicate that LAL is the major acid RE hydrolase and required for functional retinoid homeostasis.

α/ß Hydrolase Domain-containing 6 (ABHD6) Degrades the Late Endosomal/Lysosomal Lipid Bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate.

α/ß Hydrolase domain-containing 6 (ABHD6) can act as monoacylglycerol hydrolase and is believed to play a role in endocannabinoid signaling as well as in the pathogenesis of obesity and liver steatosis. However, the mechanistic link between gene function and disease is incompletely understood. Here we aimed to further characterize the role of ABHD6 in lipid metabolism. We show that mouse and human ABHD6 degrade bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate (BMP) with high specific activity. BMP, also known as lysobisphosphatidic acid, is enriched in late endosomes/lysosomes, where it plays a key role in the formation of intraluminal vesicles and in lipid sorting. Up to now, little has been known about the catabolism of this lipid. Our data demonstrate that ABHD6 is responsible for ∼ 90% of the BMP hydrolase activity detected in the liver and that knockdown of ABHD6 increases hepatic BMP levels. Tissue fractionation and live-cell imaging experiments revealed that ABHD6 co-localizes with late endosomes/lysosomes. The enzyme is active at cytosolic pH and lacks acid hydrolase activity, implying that it degrades BMP exported from acidic organelles or de novo-formed BMP. In conclusion, our data suggest that ABHD6 controls BMP catabolism and is therefore part of the late endosomal/lysosomal lipid-sorting machinery.

ATGL and CGI-58 are lipid droplet proteins of the hepatic stellate cell line HSC-T6.

Lipid droplets (LDs) of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) contain large amounts of vitamin A [in the form of retinyl esters (REs)] as well as other neutral lipids such as TGs. During times of insufficient vitamin A availability, RE stores are mobilized to ensure a constant supply to the body. To date, little is known about the enzymes responsible for the hydrolysis of neutral lipid esters, in particular of REs, in HSCs. In this study, we aimed to identify LD-associated neutral lipid hydrolases by a proteomic approach using the rat stellate cell line HSC-T6. First, we loaded cells with retinol and FAs to promote lipid synthesis and deposition within LDs. Then, LDs were isolated and lipid composition and the LD proteome were analyzed. Among other proteins, we found perilipin 2, adipose TG lipase (ATGL), and comparative gene identification-58 (CGI-58), known and established LD proteins. Bioinformatic search of the LD proteome for α/ß-hydrolase fold-containing proteins revealed no yet uncharacterized neutral lipid hydrolases. In in vitro activity assays, we show that rat (r)ATGL, coactivated by rat (r)CGI-58, efficiently hydrolyzes TGs and REs. These findings suggest that rATGL and rCGI-58 are LD-resident proteins in HSCs and participate in the mobilization of both REs and TGs.

The 2.5 Å structure of the enterococcus conjugation protein TraM resembles VirB8 type IV secretion proteins.

Conjugative plasmid transfer is the most important means of spreading antibiotic resistance and virulence genes among bacteria and therefore presents a serious threat to human health. The process requires direct cell-cell contact made possible by a multiprotein complex that spans cellular membranes and serves as a channel for macromolecular secretion. Thus far, well studied conjugative type IV secretion systems (T4SS) are of Gram-negative (G-) origin. Although many medically relevant pathogens (e.g., enterococci, staphylococci, and streptococci) are Gram-positive (G+), their conjugation systems have received little attention. This study provides structural information for the transfer protein TraM of the G+ broad host range Enterococcus conjugative plasmid pIP501. Immunolocalization demonstrated that the protein localizes to the cell wall. We then used opsonophagocytosis as a novel tool to verify that TraM was exposed on the cell surface. In these assays, antibodies generated to TraM recruited macrophages and enabled killing of pIP501 harboring Enteroccocus faecalis cells. The crystal structure of the C-terminal, surface-exposed domain of TraM was determined to 2.5 Å resolution. The structure, molecular dynamics, and cross-linking studies indicated that a TraM trimer acts as the biological unit. Despite the absence of sequence-based similarity, TraM unexpectedly displayed a fold similar to the T4SS VirB8 proteins from Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Brucella suis (G-) and to the transfer protein TcpC from Clostridium perfringens plasmid pCW3 (G+). Based on the alignments of secondary structure elements of VirB8-like proteins from mobile genetic elements and chromosomally encoded T4SS from G+ and G- bacteria, we propose a new classification scheme of VirB8-like proteins.

TraG encoded by the pIP501 type IV secretion system is a two-domain peptidoglycan-degrading enzyme essential for conjugative transfer.

pIP501 is a conjugative broad-host-range plasmid frequently present in nosocomial Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates. We focus here on the functional analysis of the type IV secretion gene traG, which was found to be essential for pIP501 conjugative transfer between Gram-positive bacteria. The TraG protein, which localizes to the cell envelope of E. faecalis harboring pIP501, was expressed and purified without its N-terminal transmembrane helix (TraGΔTMH) and shown to possess peptidoglycan-degrading activity. TraGΔTMH was inhibited by specific lytic transglycosylase inhibitors hexa-N-acetylchitohexaose and bulgecin A. Analysis of the TraG sequence suggested the presence of two domains which both could contribute to the observed cell wall-degrading activity: an N-terminal soluble lytic transglycosylase domain (SLT) and a C-terminal cysteine-, histidine-dependent amidohydrolases/peptidases (CHAP) domain. The protein domains were expressed separately, and both degraded peptidoglycan. A change of the conserved glutamate residue in the putative catalytic center of the SLT domain (E87) to glycine resulted in almost complete inactivity, which is consistent with this part of TraG being a predicted lytic transglycosylase. Based on our findings, we propose that TraG locally opens the peptidoglycan to facilitate insertion of the Gram-positive bacterial type IV secretion machinery into the cell envelope.

Crystallization and preliminary structure determination of the transfer protein TraM from the Gram-positive conjugative plasmid pIP501.

The major means of horizontal gene spread (e.g. of antibiotic resistance) is conjugative plasmid transfer. It presents a serious threat especially for hospitalized and immuno-suppressed patients, as it can lead to the accelerated spread of bacteria with multiple antibiotic resistances. Detailed information about the process is available only for bacteria of Gram-negative (G-) origin and little is known about the corresponding mechanisms in Gram-positive (G+) bacteria. Here we present the purification, biophysical characterization, crystallization and preliminary structure determination of the TraM C-terminal domain (TraMΔ, comprising residues 190-322 of the full-length protein), a putative transfer protein from the G+ conjugative model plasmid pIP501. The crystals diffracted to 2.5 Å resolution and belonged to space group P1, with unit-cell parameters a = 39.21, b = 54.98, c = 93.47 Å, α = 89.91, ß = 86.44, γ = 78.63° and six molecules per asymmetric unit. The preliminary structure was solved by selenomethionine single-wavelength anomalous diffraction.

The Development of High-Quality Multispecies Probiotic Formulations: From Bench to Market.

Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host. To date, there is an increasing number of commercially available products containing probiotics on the market. Probiotics have been recommended by health care professionals for reasons ranging from their long-term immunomodulatory effects to proven benefits in the management of different health conditions. For probiotic products, there are several important aspects that determine the success rate of the development from bench to market. The aim of this review is to explore how the current knowledge on microbe-microbe and host-microbe interactions can be used to develop high-quality, evidence-based probiotic formulations, specifically probiotic dietary supplements, with a focus on the selection of safe strains with relevant functional properties. In addition, we will highlight aspects of the probiotic manufacturing process that need to be considered during the product development and the subsequent manufacturing process to guarantee consistent efficacy of a probiotic product. For each high-quality probiotic formulation, it is important to screen multiple strains, and select only those strains that show relevant functional properties and that can be considered safe for human consumption. In addition, it is imperative that attention is paid to the product development and manufacturing process, and that safety and quality properties are monitored. Importantly, the beneficial effects of probiotics should be evaluated in product efficacy studies and post-marketing surveys in order to demonstrate their clinical efficacy. All these aspects need to be evaluated and validated during the development of a successful high-quality and ready-to-market probiotic.

Hepatic Retinyl Ester Hydrolases and the Mobilization of Retinyl Ester Stores.

For mammals, vitamin A (retinol and metabolites) is an essential micronutrient that is required for the maintenance of life. Mammals cannot synthesize vitamin A but have to obtain it from their diet. Resorbed dietary vitamin A is stored in large quantities in the form of retinyl esters (REs) in cytosolic lipid droplets of cells to ensure a constant supply of the body. The largest quantities of REs are stored in the liver, comprising around 80% of the body's total vitamin A content. These hepatic vitamin A stores are known to be mobilized under times of insufficient dietary vitamin A intake but also under pathological conditions such as chronic alcohol consumption and different forms of liver diseases. The mobilization of REs requires the activity of RE hydrolases. It is astounding that despite their physiological significance little is known about their identities as well as about factors or stimuli which lead to their activation and consequently to the mobilization of hepatic RE stores. In this review, we focus on the recent advances for the understanding of hepatic RE hydrolases and discuss pathological conditions which lead to the mobilization of hepatic RE stores.