Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #bacterial
Most recents (18)
1/50 #Science is an ongoing process that serves to investigate phenomena, gain new insights or "correct prior knowledge" and this only works in #discourse. This includes diversity of #Opinion, #tolerance and a broad debate space. This is a large thread.
2/50 "#trust the science" is in my view the most #antiscience statement ever. #Questioning science is how you do #Science. This thread gives some examples and further questions.
scientificamerican.com/article/why-do…
scientificamerican.com/article/why-do…
3/50 What about good ##scientific #Practice? I found a glaring example here (of all things, in what I consider to be a rush to #vaccine #approval). #blotgate
trialsitenews.com/a/startling-ev…
trialsitenews.com/a/startling-ev…
Let me tell you today about recent exciting work by my former lab which brings together two things I love: #evolution and the #bacterial world! 🧑🔬䷰🦠
Let’s talk about #speciation, chromosome organization and positive selection.
Intro thread! 🧵 1/
Let’s talk about #speciation, chromosome organization and positive selection.
Intro thread! 🧵 1/
For a really long time we have known that the many species of the bacterial kingdom have a common ancestor, and evolution during millions of years have allowed bacteria to be genetically very different and live in many different environments 2/
But, for closer species in the tree of evolution, which share a lot of similar genes, the order of these genes in the chromosome is highly variable…
what evolutionary process could result in these re-arrangements? 3/
what evolutionary process could result in these re-arrangements? 3/
This is the most straightforward explanation for chronic symptoms in at least a subset of #LongCovid patients. Partly b/c if the #virus is still present its activity can directly contribute to other phenomena also being documented in LongCovid
2/ Persistence of #SARS-CoV-2 in tissue could lead to shedding of spike protein into blood, which can catalyze the ongoing formation of microclots and hyperactivated platelets
3/ Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 can lead to ongoing downregulation of interferon and/or T cell signaling by the virus, creating an optimal atmosphere for activation of EBV or other #pathogens normally controlled by such immunity
Happy 2021! @MBVanElzakker and I are excited to share our new article published in #Immunometabolism: “Pathogens Hijack Host Cell Metabolism: Intracellular Infection as a Driver of the Warburg Effect in Cancer and Other Chronic Inflammatory Conditions”: ij.hapres.com/htmls/IJ_1341_…
2/ In the paper, we detail molecular mechanisms by which #viral, #bacterial, and #parasite intracellular pathogens can induce, or contribute to, a Warburg-like #metabolism in infected host cells in order to meet their own replication and nutritional needs.
3/ We also discuss how host defense towards #infection may impact cellular metabolic changes (including how #mitochondria can participate in the innate immune response towards infection)
Cool paper detailing what body sites, cell types, symptoms #COVID-19 has been connected to thus far 👉 But one thing: everyone knows that most persistent #viral (and #bacterial) pathogens are capable of #infecting/driving an equally extensive # of #symptoms, right?
2/ For example, in this interview, Dharam Ablashi (who co-discovered the #virus HHV6) explains how HHV6 has been shown capable of contributing to #cancers, type 1 #diabetes, Hashimoto’s, #MS, HPA-axis dysregulation, ME/CFS, Alzheimer’s, neuroinflammation..microbeminded.com/2020/06/28/int…
3/ ..and that the HHV6 can survive in
#microglia, astrocytes, macrophage, neurons/nerves, #pancreatic islet cells, the lung, gut epithelial cells, the #liver etc etc etc!
#microglia, astrocytes, macrophage, neurons/nerves, #pancreatic islet cells, the lung, gut epithelial cells, the #liver etc etc etc!
Cool new study which found that a range of #pathogens (some capable of long-term persistence in tissue + #blood) upregulate expression of the cell surface protein CD47 in the host cells they infect as an #immune evasion strategy
2/ I fact, upregulation of CD47 is a very smart survival strategy by such pathogens, b/c it interferes w/ the host innate immune response that is normally supposed to identify, target and kill them!
Daily Bookmarks to GAVNet 5/15/2020
Kits, reagents and viruses - Virology Down Under
virologydownunder.com/kits-reagents-…
#coronavirus #kit #viruses
Kits, reagents and viruses - Virology Down Under
virologydownunder.com/kits-reagents-…
#coronavirus #kit #viruses
What Can Other Coronaviruses Tell Us About SARS-CoV-2? | Quanta Magazine
quantamagazine.org/what-can-other…
#coronavirus
quantamagazine.org/what-can-other…
#coronavirus
Bacterial behavior influences cloud formation
phys.org/news/2020-05-b…
#butterfly #clouds #chaos #behavior #bacterial
phys.org/news/2020-05-b…
#butterfly #clouds #chaos #behavior #bacterial
Glad to see #ME/CFS mentioned as a disease potentially connected to immunometabolic reprogramming of host cells. But #pathogen activity in ME/CFS is severely understudied. For example, no team has yet searched for organisms in patient cerebrospinal fluid
2/ Further, numerous outbreaks of the disease have occurred that were directly linked to #enterovirus/coxsackie #viruses + autopsy studies of patients w/ ME/CFS have identified enteroviruses in patient brain tissue + stomach biospy samples: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17872383
3/ Moreover early studies on #microbiome activity in ME/CFS indicate dysbiosis of #bacterial communities in patients w/ the #disease, w/ one study noting an increase in bacterial phyla in patient blood after a symptom-provocation challenge: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26683192
#Scandal ⚠️#coronavirus
— #HongKong Govt provides #UNSAFE protective gear-*ASTM level 1 Masks* for doctors & nurses in #hospitals!
ASTM Level 2 is the *SAFE LEVEL by @WHO but 🇭🇰 docs can only get lv 1.
😡HOW DARE YOU #CarrieLam & Hospital Authority!
#ChinaPneumonia #WuhanVirus
— #HongKong Govt provides #UNSAFE protective gear-*ASTM level 1 Masks* for doctors & nurses in #hospitals!
ASTM Level 2 is the *SAFE LEVEL by @WHO but 🇭🇰 docs can only get lv 1.
😡HOW DARE YOU #CarrieLam & Hospital Authority!
#ChinaPneumonia #WuhanVirus
#Safety standard by #WHO, listing ASTM Level 2 SHOULD be used by medical practitioners!
who.int/docs/default-s…
ASTM level 2: BFE (#Bacterial Filtration Efficiency) >98% and PFE (Particle Filtration Efficiency) > 98%
#HongKong legislator Cheng Chung Tai facebook.com/39694943381275…
who.int/docs/default-s…
ASTM level 2: BFE (#Bacterial Filtration Efficiency) >98% and PFE (Particle Filtration Efficiency) > 98%
#HongKong legislator Cheng Chung Tai facebook.com/39694943381275…
Team examines if #Huntington’s genetic mutation that predisposes to immune cell + neural tissue problems cld faciliate #microbial colonization of the of HD brain 👉 Find microbiome (bacteria + a variety of fungal structures) in HD autopsied brains: frontiersin.org/articles/10.33…
2/ Some of the #fungi were found in the striatum + frontal cortex of seven #HD patient #brains, w/ close proximity to the nucleus, or even as intranuclear inclusions 👉 and prevalent #bacterial genera included Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter and Burkholderia.
3/ Some of the identified #fungi create #mycotoxins like aflatoxins, ochratoxin A and trichothecenes 👉 which can provoke cellular injuries including ROS production + #mitochondria dysfunction
Interesting. But the big question is: WHY do immune cells act abnormally in #Parkinson’s (PD)? 👉 It’s worth noting that PD-associated protein alpha-syn is increasingly being studied as an antimicrobial peptide that forms in response to certain pathogens: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/27520…
2/2 For example, this team also found that #bacterial endotoxin can cause alpha-syn formation, causing the team to conclude that “exposure to exogenous #pathogens” may contribute to alpha-syn’s activity in neuroinflammatory disease: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/27488…
3/3 Indeed, this study identified bacterial pathogen p.gingivalis (+ the toxic gingapains it creates) inside fibrinogen clots in PD blood 👉 indicating the #pathogen + associated LPS can drive many of the immune + cytokine changes noted in the disease: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Just published: Team uses mNGS + culture-based techniques + negative controls 👉 Identify fungi + bacteria in complex communities in the first pass meconium (stool) of infants☝️Indicates that the neonatal gut microbiome starts to form in the womb: biorxiv.org/content/10.110…
2/2 The organisms they identified colonizing the fetal #intestine prior to birth 👉 were identified in the meconium of both term-born and #preterm newborns☝️And machine learning suggested that #fungal gut communities develop in complexity w/ advancing gestational age at birth.
3/3 Quote from paper 👉 “The demonstration of live #microorganisms in the #newborn gut represents a monumental shift from the sterile #womb hypothesis that dominated perinatal biology for the last century...”
Important 👉 This team is investigating bacterial quorum sensing peptides (QSPs) as metabolites that can contribute to #microbiome-driven disease processes👆They identified QSPs that selectively influence functionality of several types of neuronal #brain cells including microglia
Their abstract concludes that 👉 "Combined with our in-vivo studies indicating that these QSP are permeating the #intestinal wall, as well as the blood-brain barrier, our findings may open up a new field of diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for #neurological disorders."
Rob Moir describes a similar phenomenon in this interview, stating 👉 "#Vagus Nerve traffic may include #bacterial signaling molecules called quorum sensing molecules. In this sense microbes in the gut and microbes in the brain may be “talking...": microbeminded.com/2017/12/18/int…
Wow this is major 👉 In simple terms, infection can change the #electrical properties of #macrophages in a way that eventually directs the white blood cells away from the site of #infection...allowing the escape of the macrophages that contain pathogens
Also, remember this study? 👉 which found that #bacteria in #biofilm communities not only coordinate their own behavior, but also influence the behavior of diverse species at a distance☝️via ion channel mediated long-range electrical signaling: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
And this study 👉 which found that #bacteria in the human gut can generate #electricity☝️The genes that code for this electrical transfer were identified in hundreds of bacterial species, including human pathogens: nature.com/articles/s4158…
Yay we are go! @ryanfseipke introducing the best #microbio19 session 'The biological and chemical tales of the antibiotic makers' on behalf of fellow organizers @kate_duncan @lore_fermar and myself and invite all session delegates to social from 9pm onwards in The Dirty Onion pub
.@MattHutchings10: covers 10years of amzing chemical ecology and (micro)biology, with multilevel multitrophic interactions #Microbio19
This team successfully identified key factors driving a complex multifactorial disease tied to persistent #infection! (necrotizing colitis)👉 They used a combo of genome-resolved #metagenomics + machine learning approaches to identify #microbial features predictive of the illness
Features considered included genes, #bacterial strain types, eukaryotes, bacteriophages, plasmids + growth rates 👉 ...which allowed the team to “uncover #biomarkers that could lead to early detection of necrotizing enterocolitis and targets for #microbiome-based therapeutics.”
Important consideration from study👉 “Bioinformatics techniques can also infer in situ bacterial replication rates directly from #metagenomic data, an important metric, as some #microbiome-related diseases have a signal related to bacterial replication but not relative abundance”
THIS 👉 #Mitochondria play a role in helping white blood cells target human #pathogens☝️Below, mitochondria-derived vesicles delivered #antimicrobial reactive oxygen species to control phagosome-localized S. aureus (a #bacterial infection)
So let’s add #mitochondria to the growing list of human organelles/proteins/pathways recently shown to have #antimicrobial activity 👉 Other compounds already on that list include #amyloid beta, alpha-syn, PrP, #HMOs etc☝️More context here: microbeminded.com/2018/12/30/myf…
Also #mitochondria are derived from #bacterial ancestors, and can become infected by a range of viral/bacterial #pathogens 👉 Suggests mitochondria’s antimicrobial activities may be defense mechanisms that stem from their #evolutionary history as a free-living organisms
“Missing #microbes” are a factor in the development of chronic #inflammatory disease 👉 But personally, I’m more concerned about the fact that many aspects of modern living are driving a rise in “missing #immunity” and the consequent survival of “additional persistent #pathogens”
Here’s an example 👉 #Formula feeding is often associated w/ increased chronic #disease incidence☝️ Meanwhile, #breast milk has a #microbiome, but is ALSO filled w/ antimicrobial compounds + metabolites that play a key role in the immune’s system’s ability to manage #infection
This team found that interactions b/t neonatal #saliva and #breast milk released #antimicrobial compounds including H202☝️These compounds inhibited growth of a range of human pathogens: nature.com/articles/s4159…
