Acta biochimica Polonica最新文献

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the potential of interleukin-34 (IL-34) as a novel biomarker for predicting mortality in sepsis patients, with a specific focus on those with sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI).

Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 115 sepsis patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). The patients were divided into survival and non-survival groups, as well as ALI and non-ALI subgroups. Serum levels of IL-34, in conjunction with other established biomarkers such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and lactate, were measured and analyzed. Statistical analyses, including receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, Kaplan-Meier survival curves and Cox regression models, were used to determine the prognostic significance of IL-34.

Results: Serum IL-34 levels were significantly elevated in sepsis patients compared to healthy controls, and they were also higher in non-survival group compared to survival group (p < 0.05). Additionally, IL-34 levels exhibited a positive correlation with sepsis severity, as indicated by APACHE II and SOFA scores. Kaplan-Meier survival curves and multivariate COX regression analysis revealed that IL-34 is an independent risk factor for death within 28 days of sepsis. The serum IL-34 level in the ALI group was significantly higher than that in the non-ALI group, particularly in severe cases (p < 0.05). However, the prognostic value of IL-34 in sepsis-induced ALI requires further investigation.

Conclusion: IL-34 shows promise as an independent prognostic factor in sepsis patients and may enhance risk stratification, especially in those with sepsis-induced ALI.

Urinary tract infections (UTI) are a significant problem among populations worldwide. It is mainly associated with the increasing incidence of recurrence, complications and the increasing drug resistance of uropathogens. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the prevalence of resistance among pathogens causing urinary tract infections. The material for the study was data obtained from the Mazovian Specialized Hospital (M.S.H) in Radom over a period of 2 years. Urine was collected from hospitalized patients with UTI. Statistical calculations were performed using statistical software. During the study period, 3,917 patients underwent microbiological examination of urine, and almost 15% of them were found to be infected with UTI. Based on statistical analysis of drug susceptibility of the most common uropathogens, it was shown that urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae, among others, often show high resistance to fluoroquinolones and β-lactam antibiotics. Proteus mirabilis strains have been shown to be more resistant to aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones than to beta-lactams. In the case of Pseudomonas aeruginisa, resistance to fluoroquinolones predominates. On the other hand, UTI caused by Acientobacter baumannii should be treated based on the results of drug susceptibility testing due to the increasing prevalence of multidrug-resistant strains.

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections worldwide and increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) challenges conventional antibiotic treatments. Phage therapy (PT) has emerged as a promising alternative due to its specificity, safety and efficacy against multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens causing infectious diseases. PT demonstrates significant potential in treating chronic and recurrent UTIs, also including catheter-associated infection by reducing bacterial biofilms, delaying catheter blockage, and enhancing antibiotic efficacy when used in combination. Clinical trials and case studies have reported high rates of bacterial eradication and symptom improvement with minimal side effects. Although endotoxin release and immune activation during treatment should continue to be investigated. The aim of this review is to present issues related to the use of phages in the treatment of UTIs of various etiological origins in selected patients, including those with comorbidities, taking into account the legal regulations, safety and effectiveness of this experimental therapy. The growing prevalence of MDR uropathogens highlights the urgent need for alternative therapies, such as those based on phages in order to treat antibiotic-resistant infections and improve patient outcomes. Despite the great potential of PT, its clinical implementation and use of phages as a routine treatment for bacterial infections requires rigorous trials, standardized production protocols and regulatory advancements.

In recent years, significant advancements in biochemistry, materials science, engineering, and computer-aided testing have driven the development of high-throughput tools for profiling genetic information. Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) technologies have established themselves as key tools for dissecting genetic sequences at the level of single cells. These technologies reveal cellular diversity and allow for the exploration of cell states and transformations with exceptional resolution. Unlike bulk sequencing, which provides population-averaged data, scRNA-seq can detect cell subtypes or gene expression variations that would otherwise be overlooked. However, a key limitation of scRNA-seq is its inability to preserve spatial information about the RNA transcriptome, as the process requires tissue dissociation and cell isolation. Spatial transcriptomics is a pivotal advancement in medical biotechnology, facilitating the identification of molecules such as RNA in their original spatial context within tissue sections at the single-cell level. This capability offers a substantial advantage over traditional single-cell sequencing techniques. Spatial transcriptomics offers valuable insights into a wide range of biomedical fields, including neurology, embryology, cancer research, immunology, and histology. This review highlights single-cell sequencing approaches, recent technological developments, associated challenges, various techniques for expression data analysis, and their applications in disciplines such as cancer research, microbiology, neuroscience, reproductive biology, and immunology. It highlights the critical role of single-cell sequencing tools in characterizing the dynamic nature of individual cells.

Members of the families Thermosynechococcaceae and Thermostichaceae are well-known unicellular thermophilic cyanobacteria and a non-thermophilic genus Pseudocalidococcus was newly classified into the former. Analysis of the codon usage bias (CUB) of cyanobacterial species inhabiting different thermal and non-thermal niches will benefit the understanding of their genetic and evolutionary characteristics. Herein, the CUB and codon context patterns of protein-coding genes were systematically analyzed and compared between members of the two families. Overall, the nucleotide composition and CUB indices were found to differ between thermophiles and non-thermophiles. The thermophiles showed a higher G/C content in the codon base composition and tended to end with G/C compared to the non-thermophiles. Correlation analysis indicated significant associations between codon base composition and CUB indices. The results of the effective number of codons, parity-rule 2, neutral and correspondence analyses indicated that mutational pressure and natural selection primarily account for CUB in these cyanobacterial species, but the primary driving forces exhibit variation among genera. Moreover, the optimal codons identified based on relative synonymous codon usage values were found to differ among genera and even within genera. In addition, codon context pattern analysis revealed the specificity of the sequence context of start and stop codons among genera. Intriguingly, the clustering of codon context patterns appeared to be more related to thermotolerance than to phylogenomic relationships. In conclusion, this study facilitates the understanding of the characteristics and sources of variation of CUB and the evolution of the surveyed cyanobacterial clades with different thermotolerance and provides insights into their adaptation to different environments.

Erythritol is a beneficial sugar alcohol that can be used as a sugar substitute for diabetic patients. Erythritol is a bioproduct produced by microorganisms as a response to high osmotic pressure and stress in the growth medium. High concentrations of carbon source substrate can increase the osmotic pressure and provide more nutrient supply for yeast growth and metabolism. Aside from that, an optimal carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio can also make the erythritol conversion pathway more favorable. Therefore, this research aims to determine the optimal concentrations of molasses as the carbon source, yeast extract as the nitrogen source, and the optimal carbon-to-nitrogen (C/N) ratio to achieve the highest erythritol productivity. The research also seeks to optimize NaCl concentrations and pH while comparing batch and fed-batch fermentation systems to determine which produces a higher erythritol yield. One-Factor-at-A-Time (OFAT) method was used to identify optimal production conditions. The study found that the highest erythritol concentration, 17.48 ± 0.86 g/L, was achieved using 200 g/L of molasses, 7 g/L of yeast extract (200/7), and 25 g/L of NaCl, with a yield mass of 0.262 ± 0.00 g/g and a volumetric productivity of 0.095 ± 0.021 g/Lh. The pH optimization revealed that the best erythritol production occurred within a pH of 5. Furthermore, fed-batch fermentation significantly increased erythritol concentration to 26.52 ± 1.61 g/L, with a yield mass of 0.501 ± 0.032 g/g and a volumetric productivity of 0.158 ± 0.01 g/Lh. These findings emphasize the importance of optimizing carbon source, nitrogen source and NaCl concentration, pH, and fermentation systems, particularly highlighting the benefits of fed-batch fermentation in maximizing erythritol production. These findings provide a solid foundation for improving erythritol yields for industrial applications.

Various high-efficiency hemodialysis techniques exist, including different online high- volume hemodiafiltration (HDF) modes and expanded hemodialysis (HDx) utilizing dialyzers with medium cut-off (MCO) membranes. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of uremic toxin removal among four modalities: (I) HDx, (II) pre-dilution HDF (PRE-HDF), (III) mixed-dilution HDF (MIX-HDF), and (IV) post-dilution HDF (POST-HDF), each applied for 1 week in a randomized order. This research was a single-center, prospective, open-label, exploratory crossover study. The reduction ratio (RR) for small molecular toxins (urea and phosphate), a middle molecular toxin (beta-2-microglobulin, β2M), a large-middle molecular toxin (Chitinase-3-like protein 1, YKL-40), and a protein- bound uremic toxin (indoxyl sulfate, IS) was evaluated during a single mid-week dialysis session. Twelve patients were included, with an average age of 52.5 ± 15.47 years and an average dialysis duration of 42.05 ± 31.04 months. The dialysis parameters, including; post-dialysis weight, session duration, dialysate composition, blood and dialysate flow; rates, dialysate temperature, and anticoagulation dosage, were maintained consistently across all modalities. No significant differences in RR for urea, phosphate, β2M, YKL-40, and IS were observed between the treatments. Although the highest IS clearance, though not statistically significant, was observed with POST-HDF and HDx, the differences were not substantial enough to favor any particular modality as the most effective.

Introduction: Proper nutrition in patients with cancer is important for preventing treatment complications and achieving remission. Malnutrition in these patients leads to reduced production of essential structural proteins.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the role of albumin and prealbumin in assessing the nutritional status of cancer patients and in predicting an increased risk of infectious complications during treatment.

Patients and methods: The study included 40 pediatric patients with newly diagnosed cancer and 30 healthy children serving as controls. Prealbumin, albumin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels and the upper arm muscle area (UAMA) were measured before and after treatment in children with cancer and compared with the control group to evaluate nutritional status. Additionally, we assessed associations between these parameters and the incidence of infectious complications during cancer treatment in patients with anthropometric malnutrition, as well as associations with an increased risk of malnutrition related to inflammation before treatment.

Results: At baseline, patients with cancer had lower prealbumin and albumin levels (p< 0.001), higher CRP levels (p < 0.001), and lower UAMA percentiles (p = 0.0245) compared with controls. Cancer treatment resulted in an increase in prealbumin and albumin levels (p < 0.001) and a reduction in CRP levels (p < 0.001), with no change in UAMA (p = 1.000). Prealbumin deficiency was more common than albumin deficiency before and after cancer treatment. Median prealbumin and albumin levels tended to increase with an increasing UAMA percentile range, but these differences were not significant (p> 0.05). The incidence of infectious complications during treatment in patients with risk factors for inflammation-related malnutrition was similar to that in patients with pre-existing anthropometric malnutrition without inflammation (p = 1.000). In a univariable logistic regression model including prealbumin and albumin deficiency, as well as low UAMA percentile, albumin deficiency before treatment was shown to be a significant predictor of 3 or more infectious episodes during treatment (p = 0.02).

Conclusion: Albumin and prealbumin deficiency may predict the risk of malnutrition associated with inflammation in patients with cancer. Hypoalbuminemia may predict an unfavorable course of treatment complicated by frequent infections in these patients.

Contemporary scientific discussions are increasingly focusing on Akkermansia muciniphila due to its complex influence on intestinal physiology. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the various effects Akkermansia muciniphila has on intestinal inflammation, while also exploring its potential associations with obesity and cardiovascular diseases. A systematic literature search was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate with the following keywords: Akkermansia muciniphila, obesity, cardiovascular risk, and inflammatory bowel diseases. The aim of our mini-review was to examine the impact of Akkermansia bacteria on the intestines, cardiovascular system, and its relationship with obesity. Through a detailed review of current literature, the article seeks to elucidate the complex interactions of Akkermansia muciniphila within the human body, highlighting its potential contributions to health improvement and medical interventions. Research indicates that Akkermansia muciniphila positively correlates with maintaining intestinal health, modulating the cardiovascular system, and aiding in weight management. However, the number of studies available is small, and the effects of Akkermansia muciniphila on human health require further research.

Plant transcriptomes are complex entities shaped spatially and temporally by a multitude of stressors. The aim of this review was to summarize the most relevant transcriptomic responses to selected abiotic (UV radiation, chemical compounds, drought, suboptimal temperature) and biotic (bacteria, fungi, viruses, viroids) stress conditions in a variety of plant species, including model species, crops, and medicinal plants. Selected basic and applicative studies employing RNA-seq from various sequencing platforms and single-cell RNA-seq were involved. The transcriptomic responsiveness of various plant species and the diversity of affected gene families were discussed. Under stress acclimation, plant transcriptomes respond particularly dynamically. Stress response involved both distinct, but also similar gene families, depending on the species, tissue, and the quality and dosage of the stressor. We also noted the over-representation of transcriptomic data for some plant organs. Studies on plant transcriptomes allow for a better understanding of response strategies to environmental conditions. Functional analyses reveal the multitude of stress-affected genes as well as acclimatory mechanisms and suggest metabolome diversity, particularly among medicinal species. Extensive characterization of transcriptomic responses to stress would result in the development of new cultivars that would cope with stress more efficiently. These actions would include modern methodological tools, including advanced genetic engineering, as well as gene editing, especially for the expression of selected stress proteins in planta and for metabolic modifications that allow more efficient synthesis of secondary metabolites.