Evolutionary analysis of plant jacalin-related lectins(JRLs)family and expression of rice JRLs in response toMagnaporthe oryzae

Jacalin-related lectins （JRLs） are widely distributed carbohydrate-binding proteins in the plant kingdom, which play key roles in development and pathogen defense. In this study, we profiled evolutionary trajectory of JRLs family in 30 plant species and identified domain diversification and recombination leading to different responsive patterns of JRLs in rice during defense against rice blast. All of 30 plant species analyzed in our study have two types of JRLs by containing either a single jacalin or repeated jacalin domains, while chimeric jacalins exist in more than half of the species, especially in the Poaceae family. Moreover, Poaceae species have evolved two types of unique chimeric JRLs by fusing the jacalin domain（s） with dirigent or NB_ARC domain, some of which positively regulate plant immunity. Seven Poaceae-specific JRLs are found in the rice genome. We further found expression of rice JRLs, including four Poaceae-specific JRLs, are induced by Magnaporthe oryzae infections at either early or late infection stages. Overall, the results present the evolutionary trajectory of JRLs in plant and highlight essential roles of Poaceae specific JRLs against pathogen attacks in rice.

Persistence of ultrasound alterations after antibiotic treatment with levofloxacin in patients with male accessory gland infection

No studies have evaluated the ultrasound features of the male sex accessory glands in infertile patients with bacterial male accessory gland infection （MAGI） according to the microbiological outcomes of bacterial cultures （absent, partial or complete） following antibiotic therapy administration. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the ultrasound characteristics of the prostate, seminal vesicles, and epididymal tracts after treatment with levofloxacin （a common quinolone antibiotic）, in patients with infections caused by Escherichia coil （a Gram-negative bacterium） according to the Naber＇s classification, which includes the following categories： eradication, eradication with superinfection, persistence and persistence with superinfection. The study was conducted in 100 patients aged 25±8 years （range： 20-40 years） with bacterial MAGI and bacterial cultures positive only for E. coil（colony forming units ≥ 106 per ml）. Retrospective analysis was conducted only on patients treated with oral levofloxacin （500 mg） administered once daily for 28 days who were recruited over the last 5 years. Following antibiotic treatment, patients with microbiological persistence or persistence with superinfection had a significantly higher percentage of ultrasound abnormalities suggestive of prostato-vesiculitis （PV） （30.2% and 36.0%, respectively） or prostato-vesiculo-epididymitis （PVE） （60.2% and 70.0%, respectively） compared with patients with microbiological eradication （PV= 10.2% and PVE=8.2%, respectively） or eradication with superinfection （PV= 18.8% and PVE=21.2%, respectively）. In conclusion, patients with microbiological persistence or persistence plus superinfection showed the highest prevalence of complicated forms of MAGI （PV and PVE）, compared with patients with microbiological eradication or eradication with superinfection.

Gut microbiota,inflammation,and molecular signatures of host response to infection

Gut microbial dysbiosis has been linked to many noncommunicable diseases.However,little is known about specific gut microbiota composition and its correlated metabolites associated with molecular signatures underlying host response to infection.Here,we describe the construction of a proteomic risk score based on 20 blood proteomic biomarkers,which have recently been identified as molecular signatures predicting the progression of the COVID-19.We demonstrate that in our cohort of 990 healthy individuals without infection,this proteomic risk score is positively associated with proinflammatory cytokines mainly among older,but not younger,individuals.We further discover that a core set of gut microbiota can accurately predict the above proteomic biomarkers among 301 individuals using a machine learning model and that these gut microbiota features are highly correlated with proinflammatory cytokines in another independent set of 366 individuals.Fecal metabolomics analysis suggests potential amino acid-related pathways linking gut microbiota to host metabolism and inflammation.Overall,our multi-omics analyses suggest that gut microbiota composition and function are closely related to inflammation and molecular signatures of host response to infection among healthy individuals.These results may provide novel insights into the cross-talk between gut microbiota and host immune system.

A cellular response protein induced during HSV-1 infection inhibits viral replication by interacting with ATF5

Studies of herpes simplex virus type 1 （HSV-1） infection have shown that many known and unknown cellular molecules in- volved in viral proliferation are up-regulated following HSV-1 infection. In this study, using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, we found that the expression of the HSV-1 infection response repressive protein （HIRRP, GI 16552881） was up-regulated in human L02 cells infected with HSV-1. HIRRP, an unknown protein, was initially localized in the cytoplasm and then translocated into the nucleus of HSV-l-infected cells. Further analysis showed that HIRRP represses HSV-1 proliferation by inhibiting transcription of the viral genome by interacting with the cellular transcription factor, ATFS, via its N-terminal domain. ATF5 represses the transcription of many host genes but can also act as an activator of genes containing a specific motif. We found that ATF5 promotes the proliferation of HSV-1 via a potential mechanism by which ATF5 enhances the transcription of viral genes during the course of an HSV-1 infection; HIRRP then induces feedback repression of this tran- scription by interacting with ATFS.

Infection-responsive polysaccharide-based drug-loaded nano-assembly for dual-modal treatment against drug-resistant bacterial lung infection

The escalating issue of lung infections induced by multi-drug resistant(MDR)bacteria is threatening human health.Thus,the development of efficient drug delivery systems is essential to eliminate MDR bacterial lung infections effectively.Herein,we designed inhalable drug-loaded nano-assemblies by the electrostatic interaction between negatively charged sodium alginate and a positively charged antibacterial polymer,quaternized polyethyleneimine(QPEI-C_(6)),as well as a kind of typical antibiotic for therapy of lung infection,azithromycin(AZT).By adjusting the feed ratios,we optimized the size of the nano-assembly to approximately 200 nm(STQ_(12)),which was beneficial for penetration through the mucus layer and biofilm.In the slightly acidic environment of the infected site,the nano-assembly could dissemble responsively and release AZT and QPEI-C_(6).Because of the combined bactericidal effect,STQ_(12)exhibited high bactericidal efficiency against MDR bacteria.In animal experiments,STQ_(12)showed notable efficacy against MDR bacterial lung infection.Gene transcriptomic results showed that the main effects of STQ_(12)against bacteria were through influencing the bacterial cell components and metabolic processes,and affecting their growth and reproduction.This work provides a promising strategy to treat MDR bacterium-induced lower respiratory tract infections.