An E1-E2 fusion protein primes antiviral immune signalling in bacteria.

In all organisms, innate immune pathways sense infection and rapidly activate potent immune responses while avoiding inappropriate activation (autoimmunity). In humans, the innate immune receptor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS) detects viral infection to produce the nucleotide second messenger cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP), which initiates stimulator of interferon genes (STING)-dependent antiviral signalling1. Bacteria encode evolutionary predecessors of cGAS called cGAS/DncV-like nucleotidyltransferases2 (CD-NTases), which detect bacteriophage infection and produce diverse nucleotide second messengers3. How bacterial CD-NTase activation is controlled remains unknown. Here we show that CD-NTase-associated protein 2 (Cap2) primes bacterial CD-NTases for activation through a ubiquitin transferase-like mechanism. A cryo-electron microscopy structure of the Cap2-CD-NTase complex reveals Cap2 as an all-in-one ubiquitin transferase-like protein, with distinct domains resembling eukaryotic E1 and E2 proteins. The structure captures a reactive-intermediate state with the CD-NTase C terminus positioned in the Cap2 E1 active site and conjugated to AMP. Cap2 conjugates the CD-NTase C terminus to a target molecule that primes the CD-NTase for increased cGAMP production. We further demonstrate that a specific endopeptidase, Cap3, balances Cap2 activity by cleaving CD-NTase-target conjugates. Our data demonstrate that bacteria control immune signalling using an ancient, minimized ubiquitin transferase-like system and provide insight into the evolution of the E1 and E2 machinery across domains of life.

HORMA Domain Proteins and a Trip13-like ATPase Regulate Bacterial cGAS-like Enzymes to Mediate Bacteriophage Immunity.

Bacteria are continually challenged by foreign invaders, including bacteriophages, and have evolved a variety of defenses against these invaders. Here, we describe the structural and biochemical mechanisms of a bacteriophage immunity pathway found in a broad array of bacteria, including E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This pathway uses eukaryotic-like HORMA domain proteins that recognize specific peptides, then bind and activate a cGAS/DncV-like nucleotidyltransferase (CD-NTase) to generate a cyclic triadenylate (cAAA) second messenger; cAAA in turn activates an endonuclease effector, NucC. Signaling is attenuated by a homolog of the AAA+ ATPase Pch2/TRIP13, which binds and disassembles the active HORMA-CD-NTase complex. When expressed in non-pathogenic E. coli, this pathway confers immunity against bacteriophage λ through an abortive infection mechanism. Our findings reveal the molecular mechanisms of a bacterial defense pathway integrating a cGAS-like nucleotidyltransferase with HORMA domain proteins for threat sensing through protein detection and negative regulation by a Trip13 ATPase.

Structure and Mechanism of a Cyclic Trinucleotide-Activated Bacterial Endonuclease Mediating Bacteriophage Immunity.

Bacteria possess an array of defenses against foreign invaders, including a broadly distributed bacteriophage defense system termed CBASS (cyclic oligonucleotide-based anti-phage signaling system). In CBASS systems, a cGAS/DncV-like nucleotidyltransferase synthesizes cyclic di- or tri-nucleotide second messengers in response to infection, and these molecules activate diverse effectors to mediate bacteriophage immunity via abortive infection. Here, we show that the CBASS effector NucC is related to restriction enzymes but uniquely assembles into a homotrimer. Binding of NucC trimers to a cyclic tri-adenylate second messenger promotes assembly of a NucC homohexamer competent for non-specific double-strand DNA cleavage. In infected cells, NucC activation leads to complete destruction of the bacterial chromosome, causing cell death prior to completion of phage replication. In addition to CBASS systems, we identify NucC homologs in over 30 type III CRISPR/Cas systems, where they likely function as accessory nucleases activated by cyclic oligoadenylate second messengers synthesized by these systems' effector complexes.

A conserved signaling pathway activates bacterial CBASS immune signaling in response to DNA damage.

To protect themselves from the constant threat of bacteriophage (phage) infection, bacteria have evolved diverse immune systems including restriction-modification, CRISPR-Cas, and many others. Here, we describe the discovery of a two-protein transcriptional regulator module associated with hundreds of CBASS immune systems and demonstrate that this module drives the expression of its associated CBASS system in response to DNA damage. We show that the helix-turn-helix transcriptional repressor CapH binds the promoter region of its associated CBASS system to repress transcription until it is cleaved by the metallopeptidase CapP. CapP is activated in vitro by single-stranded DNA, and in cells by DNA-damaging drugs. Together, CapH and CapP drive increased expression of their associated CBASS system in response to DNA damage. We identify CapH- and CapP-related proteins associated with diverse known and putative bacterial immune systems including DISARM and Pycsar antiphage operons. Overall, our data highlight a mechanism by which bacterial immune systems can sense and respond to a universal signal of cell stress, potentially enabling multiple immune systems to mount a coordinated defensive response against an invading pathogen.

Control of bacterial immune signaling by a WYL domain transcription factor.

Bacteria use diverse immune systems to defend themselves from ubiquitous viruses termed bacteriophages (phages). Many anti-phage systems function by abortive infection to kill a phage-infected cell, raising the question of how they are regulated to avoid cell killing outside the context of infection. Here, we identify a transcription factor associated with the widespread CBASS bacterial immune system, that we term CapW. CapW forms a homodimer and binds a palindromic DNA sequence in the CBASS promoter region. Two crystal structures of CapW suggest that the protein switches from an unliganded, DNA binding-competent state to a ligand-bound state unable to bind DNA. We show that CapW strongly represses CBASS gene expression in uninfected cells, and that phage infection causes increased CBASS expression in a CapW-dependent manner. Unexpectedly, this CapW-dependent increase in CBASS expression is not required for robust anti-phage activity, suggesting that CapW may mediate CBASS activation and cell death in response to a signal other than phage infection. Our results parallel concurrent reports on the structure and activity of BrxR, a transcription factor associated with the BREX anti-phage system, suggesting that CapW and BrxR are members of a family of universal defense signaling proteins.

Evidence-based lifestyle medicine interventions to enhance the mental health of law enforcers in Hong Kong: A pilot randomized controlled trial.

Law enforcers are stressed, but they may be reluctant to seek psychological support due to the stigmatization of mental illness in the law enforcement culture. Given the relatively stigma-free lifestyle medicine intervention, a two-arm pilot randomized controlled trial was conducted in the Hong Kong police force to examine the efficacy of integrated lifestyle medicine practices in enhancing the mental health of law enforcers. A total of 18 participants were randomly assigned to the intervention and waitlist control groups. The intervention group attended a 6-week lifestyle medicine program consisting of five lifestyle factors. On analyzing the results of the Patient Health Questionnaire using a paired sample t-test, a statistically significant intervention effect was found. This implies that participants had significantly better general psychological well-being after the intervention in this pilot study. In conclusion, the present findings provide preliminary support to promote the relatively stigma-free lifestyle medicine interventions in law enforcement. Nevertheless, further research effort with a larger sample size is warranted to provide empirical support for the efficacy of integrated lifestyle medicine programme.

Perceptions of using infographics for scientific communication on social media for COVID-19 topics: a survey study.

Navigating for accurate information, especially health- and science-related content, on social media has been challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although infographics are a popular medium for simplifying text-based information into visual components, their usefulness during a global health crisis has not been explored. The study aims to explore the perceptions of infographics in conveying scientific information related to COVID-19 on social media. Following a social media campaign that published COVID-19 related infographics from May to August 2020, a cross-sectional survey was administered to social media users, primarily students from Western University. Several questions asked respondents to make comparisons with written articles when reporting their perceptions of infographics. Seventy-three percent of students from 361 responses belonged to health-related academic backgrounds. Seventy-two percent felt more likely to share infographics than written articles on social media due to the visual appeal. Nearly 90% felt it was easier to navigate through complicated science and that more scientists should use infographics on social media. Educational background did not influence the perceived usefulness of infographics in understanding scientific information. Infographics are perceived favourably in conveying scientific information about COVID-19 on social media. Findings from this study can inform communication strategies during a pandemic and, more broadly, global crises.

Deciphering microbial interactions in synthetic human gut microbiome communities.

The ecological forces that govern the assembly and stability of the human gut microbiota remain unresolved. We developed a generalizable model-guided framework to predict higher-dimensional consortia from time-resolved measurements of lower-order assemblages. This method was employed to decipher microbial interactions in a diverse human gut microbiome synthetic community. We show that pairwise interactions are major drivers of multi-species community dynamics, as opposed to higher-order interactions. The inferred ecological network exhibits a high proportion of negative and frequent positive interactions. Ecological drivers and responsive recipient species were discovered in the network. Our model demonstrated that a prevalent positive and negative interaction topology enables robust coexistence by implementing a negative feedback loop that balances disparities in monospecies fitness levels. We show that negative interactions could generate history-dependent responses of initial species proportions that frequently do not originate from bistability. Measurements of extracellular metabolites illuminated the metabolic capabilities of monospecies and potential molecular basis of microbial interactions. In sum, these methods defined the ecological roles of major human-associated intestinal species and illuminated design principles of microbial communities.

Web of microbes (WoM): a curated microbial exometabolomics database for linking chemistry and microbes.

BACKGROUND: As microbiome research becomes increasingly prevalent in the fields of human health, agriculture and biotechnology, there exists a need for a resource to better link organisms and environmental chemistries. Exometabolomics experiments now provide assertions of the metabolites present within specific environments and how the production and depletion of metabolites is linked to specific microbes. This information could be broadly useful, from comparing metabolites across environments, to predicting competition and exchange of metabolites between microbes, and to designing stable microbial consortia. Here, we introduce Web of Microbes (WoM; freely available at: http://webofmicrobes.org ), the first exometabolomics data repository and visualization tool. DESCRIPTION: WoM provides manually curated, direct biochemical observations on the changes to metabolites in an environment after exposure to microorganisms. The web interface displays a number of key features: (1) the metabolites present in a control environment prior to inoculation or microbial activation, (2) heatmap-like displays showing metabolite increases or decreases resulting from microbial activities, (3) a metabolic web displaying the actions of multiple organisms on a specified metabolite pool, (4) metabolite interaction scores indicating an organism's interaction level with its environment, potential for metabolite exchange with other organisms and potential for competition with other organisms, and (5) downloadable datasets for integration with other types of -omics datasets. CONCLUSION: We anticipate that Web of Microbes will be a useful tool for the greater research community by making available manually curated exometabolomics results that can be used to improve genome annotations and aid in the interpretation and construction of microbial communities.

Dynamic substrate preferences predict metabolic properties of a simple microbial consortium.

BACKGROUND: Mixed cultures of different microbial species are increasingly being used to carry out a specific biochemical function in lieu of engineering a single microbe to do the same task. However, knowing how different species' metabolisms will integrate to reach a desired outcome is a difficult problem that has been studied in great detail using steady-state models. However, many biotechnological processes, as well as natural habitats, represent a more dynamic system. Examining how individual species use resources in their growth medium or environment (exometabolomics) over time in batch culture conditions can provide rich phenotypic data that encompasses regulation and transporters, creating an opportunity to integrate the data into a predictive model of resource use by a mixed community. RESULTS: Here we use exometabolomic profiling to examine the time-varying substrate depletion from a mixture of 19 amino acids and glucose by two Pseudomonas and one Bacillus species isolated from ground water. Contrary to studies in model organisms, we found surprisingly few correlations between resource preferences and maximal growth rate or biomass composition. We then modeled patterns of substrate depletion, and used these models to examine if substrate usage preferences and substrate depletion kinetics of individual isolates can be used to predict the metabolism of a co-culture of the isolates. We found that most of the substrates fit the model predictions, except for glucose and histidine, which were depleted more slowly than predicted, and proline, glycine, glutamate, lysine and arginine, which were all consumed significantly faster. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that a significant portion of a model community's overall metabolism can be predicted based on the metabolism of the individuals. Based on the nature of our model, the resources that significantly deviate from the prediction highlight potential metabolic pathways affected by species-species interactions, which when further studied can potentially be used to modulate microbial community structure and/or function.

An intron endonuclease facilitates interference competition between coinfecting viruses.

Introns containing homing endonucleases are widespread in nature and have long been assumed to be selfish elements that provide no benefit to the host organism. These genetic elements are common in viruses, but whether they confer a selective advantage is unclear. In this work, we studied intron-encoded homing endonuclease gp210 in bacteriophage ΦPA3 and found that it contributes to viral competition by interfering with the replication of a coinfecting phage, ΦKZ. We show that gp210 targets a specific sequence in ΦKZ, which prevents the assembly of progeny viruses. This work demonstrates how a homing endonuclease can be deployed in interference competition among viruses and provide a relative fitness advantage. Given the ubiquity of homing endonucleases, this selective advantage likely has widespread evolutionary implications in diverse plasmid and viral competition as well as virus-host interactions.

Prioritizing Melanoma Surgeries to Prevent Wait Time Delays and Upstaging of Melanoma during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Prompt diagnosis and surgical management of melanoma strongly impact prognosis. Considering the limited resources, emergency closures, and staffing shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, our institution implemented a dedicated care pathway to prioritize cancer surgeries. We aim to assess whether this strategy was effective at preventing surgical wait time delays and upstaging of melanoma. We retrospectively collected data of patients aged ≥18 years with biopsy-proven primary melanoma who underwent wide local excision (WLE) ± sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) between 1 March 2018-29 February 2020 (pre-pandemic) and 1 March 2020-22 March 2022 (pandemic). Patients with distant metastasis, recurrence, in situ disease, and unknown primary were excluded. Wait time from consult to surgery, tumour (T) and nodal (N) stage, and overall stage were collected. Results: We included 419 patients [pre-pandemic (n = 204) and pandemic (n = 215)]. Median wait time (days) [interquartile range] to surgery was 36 [22-48] pre-pandemic and 35 [24-49] during the pandemic (p = 0.888). There were no differences found in T stage (p = 0.060), N stage (p = 0.214), or overall melanoma stage (p = 0.192). We highlight the importance of streamlining melanoma surgery during a pandemic. As the need arises to meet surgical backlogs including benign surgery, dedicated cancer surgery should maintain a priority to not negatively affect cancer outcomes.

A mobile intron facilitates interference competition between co-infecting viruses.

Mobile introns containing homing endonucleases are widespread in nature and have long been assumed to be selfish elements that provide no benefit to the host organism. These genetic elements are common in viruses, but whether they confer a selective advantage is unclear. Here we studied a mobile intron in bacteriophage ΦPA3 and found its homing endonuclease gp210 contributes to viral competition by interfering with the virogenesis of co-infecting phage ΦKZ. We show that gp210 targets a specific sequence in its competitor ΦKZ, preventing the assembly of progeny viruses. This work reports the first demonstration of how a mobile intron can be deployed to engage in interference competition and provide a reproductive advantage. Given the ubiquity of introns, this selective advantage likely has widespread evolutionary implications in nature.

Structure and activity of a bacterial defense-associated 3'-5' exonuclease.

The widespread CBASS (cyclic oligonucleotide-based anti-phage signaling system) immune systems in bacteria protect their hosts from bacteriophage infection by triggering programmed cell death. CBASS systems all encode a cyclic oligonucleotide synthase related to eukaryotic cGAS but use diverse regulators and effector proteins including nucleases, phospholipases, and membrane-disrupting proteins to effect cell death. Cap18 is a predicted 3'-5' exonuclease associated with hundreds of CBASS systems, whose structure, biochemical activities, and biological roles remain unknown. Here we show that Cap18 is a DEDDh-family exonuclease related to the bacterial exonucleases RNase T and Orn and has nonspecific 3'-5' DNA exonuclease activity. Cap18 is commonly found in CBASS systems with associated CapW or CapH+CapP transcription factors, suggesting that it may coordinate with these proteins to regulate CBASS transcription in response to DNA damage. These data expand the repertoire of enzymatic activities associated with bacterial CBASS systems and provide new insights into the regulation of these important bacterial immune systems.

Ustekinumab for the treatment of moderate to severe ulcerative colitis: a multicentre UK cohort study.

Objective: Ustekinumab is an interleukin-12/interleukin-23 receptor antagonist licensed for the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Clinical trial data were promising; however, real-world data are limited. We assessed the safety and effectiveness of ustekinumab in UC in a real-world setting. Design/method: This was a multicentre, retrospective, observational cohort study between February 2020 and January 2022. Disease activity was assessed using the Simple Clinical Colitis Activity Index (SCCAI). Clinical remission was defined as a SCCAI≤2. The primary endpoints were rates of corticosteroid-free remission (CSFR) at week 16 and at week 26. Objective outcomes, including faecal calprotectin (FCAL), were also collected. Results: 110 patients with UC (65% male; median age 40 (IQR range 29-59); 96% with prior biologic and/or tofacitinib exposure) had a median follow-up of 28 weeks (IQR 17-47). CSFR was 36% (18/50) at week 16% and 33% (13/39) at week 26, corresponding with a significant fall in SCCAI from 6 (IQR 4-8) at baseline to 3 (IQR 0-5) at week 26, p<0.001. By week 16, there was improvement of median FCAL measurements, which fell from a baseline of 610 µg/g (IQR 333-1100) to 102 µg/g (IQR 54-674) at week 16. At the end of follow-up, 15% (17/110) had discontinued treatment; 13 patients due to primary non-response or loss of response, and 1 patient for family planning. Treatment was discontinued in three patients due to adverse events. Conclusion: In the largest real-world study to date, ustekinumab was effective with a reassuring safety profile in a refractory cohort of patients.

Protist impacts on marine cyanovirocell metabolism.

The fate of oceanic carbon and nutrients depends on interactions between viruses, prokaryotes, and unicellular eukaryotes (protists) in a highly interconnected planktonic food web. To date, few controlled mechanistic studies of these interactions exist, and where they do, they are largely pairwise, focusing either on viral infection (i.e., virocells) or protist predation. Here we studied population-level responses of Synechococcus cyanobacterial virocells (i.e., cyanovirocells) to the protist Oxyrrhis marina using transcriptomics, endo- and exo-metabolomics, photosynthetic efficiency measurements, and microscopy. Protist presence had no measurable impact on Synechococcus transcripts or endometabolites. The cyanovirocells alone had a smaller intracellular transcriptional and metabolic response than cyanovirocells co-cultured with protists, displaying known patterns of virus-mediated metabolic reprogramming while releasing diverse exometabolites during infection. When protists were added, several exometabolites disappeared, suggesting microbial consumption. In addition, the intracellular cyanovirocell impact was largest, with 4.5- and 10-fold more host transcripts and endometabolites, respectively, responding to protists, especially those involved in resource and energy production. Physiologically, photosynthetic efficiency also increased, and together with the transcriptomics and metabolomics findings suggest that cyanovirocell metabolic demand is highest when protists are present. These data illustrate cyanovirocell responses to protist presence that are not yet considered when linking microbial physiology to global-scale biogeochemical processes.

Predictors of self-monitoring of blood glucose among noninsulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes in a primary care setting in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: The current study aimed to examine the relationship between patient characteristics (internal psychological, external psychological, internal physical, external physical, and educational) and self-monitoring of blood glucose among noninsulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes in a local primary care setting. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, in which data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Correlational and multivariate multiple regression analyses were performed. Three hundred seventy-four noninsulin-treated patients with type 2 diabetes were eligible and completed the questionnaire in August 2019. The response rate was 93.5%. The respondents' self-reported self-monitoring of blood glucose adherence was the main outcome measure. RESULTS: In predicting self-monitoring of blood glucose adherence, the current regression model accounted for 12.3% of the variance (Adjusted R 2 = 0.123, p < 0.05), with internal psychological factors and educational factors being significant. External psychological factors, external physical factors, and internal physical factors were found to be statistically nonsignificant. CONCLUSION: The findings highlighted the facilitating role of internal psychological factors and educational factors in SMBG adherence in noninsulin-treated type 2 diabetic patients. Among these factors, the education aspect was relatively strongly associated with increased SMBG adherence. With adequate patient education on diabetes and SMBG, the increased literacy would possibly strengthen patients' internal psychological factors and motivate them to uptake SMBG practice. Implications from the current findings suggested that further research on different SMBG parameters is warranted to fill the knowledge gap in structuring an individualized and targeted SMBG protocol for better diabetic care.

Biallelic inheritance in a single Pakistani family with intellectual disability implicates new candidate gene RDH14.

In a multi-branch family from Pakistan, individuals presenting with palmoplantar keratoderma segregate in autosomal dominant fashion, and individuals with intellectual disability (ID) segregate in apparent autosomal recessive fashion. Initial attempts to identify the ID locus using homozygosity-by-descent (HBD) mapping were unsuccessful. However, following an assumption of locus heterogeneity, a reiterative HBD approach in concert with whole exome sequencing (WES) was employed. We identified a known disease-linked mutation in the polymicrogyria gene, ADGRG1, in two affected members. In the remaining two (living) affected members, HBD mapping cross-referenced with WES data identified a single biallelic frameshifting variant in the gene encoding retinol dehydrogenase 14 (RDH14). Transcription data indicate that RDH14 is expressed in brain, but not in retina. Magnetic resonance imaging for the individuals with this RDH14 mutation show no signs of polymicrogyria, however cerebellar atrophy was a notable feature. RDH14 in HEK293 cells localized mainly in the nucleoplasm. Co-immunoprecipitation studies confirmed binding to the proton-activated chloride channel 1 (PACC1/TMEM206), which is greatly diminished by the mutation. Our studies suggest RDH14 as a candidate for autosomal recessive ID and cerebellar atrophy, implicating either disrupted retinoic acid signaling, or, through PACC1, disrupted chloride ion homeostasis in the brain as a putative disease mechanism.