Intranasal administration of dextran-pramlintide polyelectrolyte complex-coated nanoemulsions improves cognitive impairments in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Nasal delivery has emerged as a non-invasive route to administer drugs for brain delivery. In particular, polyelectrolyte complexes-based nanocarriers have been demonstrated to be advantageous for nasal delivery of peptide drugs and vaccines. Pramlintide (Pram) is a peptide that emerges as a novel neuroprotective strategy to modify the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Gardnerella vaginalis, Fannyhessea vaginae, and Prevotella bivia Strongly Influence Each Other's Transcriptome in Triple-Species Biofilms.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV), the most common vaginal infection worldwide, is characterized by the development of a polymicrobial biofilm on the vaginal epithelium. While Gardnerella spp. have been shown to have a prominent role in BV, little is known regarding how other species can influence BV development.

Phage SEP1 hijacks stationary cells' metabolism to replicate.

In nature, bacteria often survive in a stationary state with low metabolic activity. Phages use the metabolic machinery of the host cell to replicate, and, therefore, their efficacy against non-dividing cells is usually limited. Nevertheless, it was previously shown that the phage SEP1 has the remarkable capacity to actively replicate in stationary-phase cells, reducing their numbers.

Adenosinergic system and nucleoside transporters in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: Current findings.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with high heterogeneity that can affect individuals of any age. It is characterized by three main symptoms: inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. These neurobehavioral alterations and neurochemical and pharmacological findings are mainly attributed to unbalanced catecholaminergic signaling, especially involving dopaminergic pathways within prefrontal and striatal areas.

Deletion of impairs biofilm formation, generation of viable but non-culturable cells and stimulates cytokine production in human macrophages.

biofilms are one of the major causes of bloodstream infections related to the use of medical devices. The diagnosis of these infections is challenging, delaying their treatment and resulting in increased morbidity and mortality rates. As such, it is urgent to characterize the mechanisms employed by this bacterium to endure antibiotic treatments and the response of the host immune system, to develop more effective therapeutic strategies.

Pharmacological Evidence of Eugenia Brasiliensis Leaves in a Reserpine-Induced Fibromyalgia Model: Antinociceptive, Emotional, Anti-Inflammatory, and Neurotrophic Effects.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a painful chronic condition that significantly impacts the quality of life, posing challenges for clinical management. Given the difficulty of understanding the pathophysiology and finding new therapeutics, this study explored the effects of a medicinal plant, E. brasiliensis, in an FM model induced by reserpine in Swiss mice.

Pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and in vivo toxicity of 7-nitroindazole loaded in pegylated and non-pegylated nanoemulsions in rats.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. The development of sepsis is associated with excessive nitric oxide (NO) production, which plays an important role in controlling vascular homeostasis. 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) is a selective inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS-1) with potential application for treating NO imbalance conditions.

Behavioral deficits after mild traumatic brain injury by fluid percussion in rats.

Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) can lead to various disorders, encompassing cognitive and psychiatric complications. While pre-clinical studies have long investigated behavioral alterations, the fluid percussion injury (FPI) model still lacks a comprehensive behavioral battery that includes psychiatric-like disorders. To address this gap, we conducted multiple behavioral tasks over two months in adult male Wistar rats, focusing on mild FPI.

Host Soluble Factors Cause Changes in Antibiotic Susceptibility and Biofilm Formation Ability.

is a major nosocomial pathogen with a remarkable ability to adhere to the surfaces of indwelling medical devices and form biofilms. Unlike other nosocomial pathogens, the interaction of with host factors has not been the focus of substantial research. This study aimed to assess the alterations in the antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm formation ability of in the presence of host serum factors.

Gene Expression Quantification from Pathogenic Bacterial Biofilms by Quantitative PCR.

Quantitative PCR (qPCR) is one of the most used techniques to quantify gene expression in bacterial biofilms due to its easiness, sensitivity, and robustness. However, several practical aspects need to be considered to obtain accurate and reliable results. Here, we describe a detailed and optimized protocol to quantify mRNA transcripts from bacterial biofilms using qPCR, including pieces of advice to improve RNA quality, which ultimately increases the accuracy, consistency, and relevance of gene expression data.

The Role of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Biofilms on Late-Onset Sepsis: Current Challenges and Emerging Diagnostics and Therapies.

Infections are one of the most significant complications of neonates, especially those born preterm, with sepsis as one of the principal causes of mortality. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), a group of staphylococcal species that naturally inhabit healthy human skin and mucosa, are the most common cause of late-onset sepsis, especially in preterms. One of the risk factors for the development of CoNS infections is the presence of implanted biomedical devices, which are frequently used for medications and/or nutrient delivery, as they serve as a scaffold for biofilm formation.

Transcriptome Mining to Identify Molecular Markers for the Diagnosis of Bloodstream Infections.

Bloodstream infections caused by are often misdiagnosed since no diagnostic marker found so far can unequivocally discriminate "true" infection from sample contamination. While attempts have been made to find genomic and/or phenotypic differences between invasive and commensal isolates, possible changes in the transcriptome of these isolates under in vivo-mimicking conditions have not been investigated. Herein, we characterized the transcriptome, by RNA sequencing, of three clinical and three commensal isolates after 2 h of exposure to whole human blood.

DNA extraction leads to bias in bacterial quantification by qPCR.

Quantitative PCR (qPCR) has become a widely used technique for bacterial quantification. The affordability, ease of experimental design, reproducibility, and robustness of qPCR experiments contribute to its success. The establishment of guidelines for minimum information for publication of qPCR experiments, now more than 10 years ago, aimed to mitigate the publication of contradictory data.

Exploiting the Anti-Biofilm Effect of the Engineered Phage Endolysin PM-477 to Disrupt In Vitro Single- and Dual-Species Biofilms of Vaginal Pathogens Associated with Bacterial Vaginosis.

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most frequent vaginal infection in women of reproductive age. It is caused by the overgrowth of anaerobic vaginal pathogens, such as , , and , which are vaginal pathogens detected during the early stages of incident BV and have been found to form multi-species biofilms. Treatment of biofilm-associated infections, such as BV, is challenging.

In vitro interactions within a biofilm containing three species found in bacterial vaginosis (BV) support the higher antimicrobial tolerance associated with BV recurrence.

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV), the most common cause of vaginal discharge, is characterized by the presence of a polymicrobial biofilm on the vaginal epithelium, formed primarily by Gardnerella spp., but also other anaerobic species. Interactions between bacteria in multi-species biofilms are likely to contribute to increased virulence and to enhanced antimicrobial tolerance observed in vivo.

Accurate qPCR quantification in polymicrobial communities requires assessment of gDNA extraction efficiency.

qPCR absolute quantification requires the assessment of PCR reaction efficiency. This is achieved by performing serial dilutions of gDNA. Herein, we demonstrate that when quantifying bacterial load in mixed samples, reaction efficiency should not be used as a calibration curve since gDNA isolation efficiency is neglected, significantly impacting quantification.

Homologue Has a Minor Role in 1457 Virulence Potential.

biofilm cells are characterized by increased antimicrobial tolerance and improved ability to evade host immune system defenses. These features are, in part, due to the presence of viable but non-culturable (VBNC) cells. A previous study identified genes potentially involved in VBNC cells formation in biofilms, among which raised special interest due to their putative role as a toxin-antitoxin system of the family.

Agmatine improves olfactory and cognitive deficits in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR): An animal model of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent and disabling disorder that frequently persists into adulthood. Many patients are considered nonresponders to typical pharmacological treatments due to insufficient symptoms' reduction or the inability to tolerate the side effects of these medications. Agmatine is an endogenous neuromodulator with emotional- and cognitive-enhancing properties that arises as a promising agent to manage several Central Nervous System disorders.

A New PNA-FISH Probe Targeting .

Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common vaginal infection in women of reproductive age and has been associated with serious health complications, mainly in pregnant women. It is characterized by a decrease in the number of species in the healthy vaginal microbiota and an overgrowth of strict and facultative anaerobic bacteria that develop a polymicrobial biofilm. Despite over 60 years of research investigating BV, its etiology is not fully understood.

and Expression Is Induced in Biofilm and Planktonic Populations With Higher Proportions of Viable but Non-Culturable Cells.

biofilm cells can enter a physiological state known as viable but non-culturable (VBNC), where, despite being alive, they do not grow in conventional laboratory media. As such, the presence of VBNC cells impacts the diagnosis of biofilm-associated infections. Previous transcriptomics analysis of strain 9142 biofilms with higher proportions of VBNC cells suggested that the genes and could be involved in the induction of the VBNC state.