Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) is an important cause of diarrhoea in children and piglets. Infection of ETEC results in fluid secretion and electrolyte losses in the small intestine. In this study the effects of tempeh, a traditional fungal fermented soybean product, on fluid losses induced by ETEC infection in piglets was investigated. Pairs of ETEC-infected and non-infected small int...

Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus HD100 is a predatory bacterium that attacks many Gram-negative human pathogens. A serious drawback of this strain, however, is its ineffectiveness against Gram-positive strains, such as the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus. Here we demonstrate that the extracellular proteases produced by a host-independent B. bacteriovorus (HIB) effectively degrade/inhibit the for...

The enteric microbiota contributes to the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, but the pathways involved and bacterial participants may vary in different hosts. We previously reported that some components of the human commensal microbiota, particularly Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens), have the proteolytic capacity for host matrix degradation and reduce transepithelial resistance...

Polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) invade the cornea following an alkali burn apparently undergoing a respiratory burst and degranulation, which is thought to lead to corneal ulceration. The supernatant obtained from burned Sigma collagen (Miller type 1) or from bovine cornea produced a significant locomotory stimulus to PMNs. Citrate inhibited this locomotory stimulus by 69.5% and 98%, respec...

A bacteria-free supernatant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa induces the production of neutrophil chemotactic activity in human bronchial epithelial cells in vitro that is due to the potent chemotactic factor, interleukin-8 (IL-8). Because P. aeruginosa supernatant itself is not chemotactic, we hypothesized that intratracheal P. aeruginosa induces the production of neutrophil chemotactic factors, incl...

We investigated the effect of inactivated Bifidobacterium on the mRNA expression of TRAF6, GSK-3β, and microRNA-146a in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated rat small intestinal epithelial cells (IEC-6s). IEC-6s were randomly divided into an LPS group, a culture supernatant group, and an inactivated bacteria group. After stimulation with LPS for 5 h, the three groups were treated as follows: the...

Coronary tone is determined by a balance between endogenously produced endothelin and metabolic dilators. We hypothesized that coronary vasodilation during augmented metabolism is the net result of decreased endothelin production and increased production of vasodilators. Isolated rat myocytes were stimulated at 0, 200, and 400 beats/min to modify metabolism. Supernatant from these preparations ...

An amino acid-incorporating system has been obtained from ungerminated wheat embryos. This system has very low endogenous activity, but phenylalanine incorporation can be stimulated by the addition of polyuridylic acid. The poly U-stimulated system is similar to those from other sources in that it requires ribosomal particles, supernatant fluid, soluble ribonucleic acid, adenosine triphosphate,...

A study was made of the integrity of some components of the protein-synthesizing system from viable and non-viable embryos of rye grains. In comparison with viable-embryo components both post-ribosomal supernatant and ribosomal fractions from non-viable embryos are impaired, for neither will fully support polyphenylalanine synthesis in poly(U)-directed cell-free systems. The lesion in the super...

Senescence marker protein-30 (SMP30) decreases with aging. Mice with SMP30 deficiency, a model of aging, have a short lifespan with increased oxidant stress. To elucidate SMP30's effect on coronary circulation derived from myocytes, we measured the changes in the diameter of isolated coronary arterioles in wild-type (WT) mice exposed to supernatant collected from isolated paced cardiac myocytes...