Salmonella Typhimurium infection causes defects and fastening of Caenorhabditis elegans developmental stages

Tracking Chlamydia - Host interactions and antichlamydial activity in Caenorhabditis elegans

The fading efficacy of antibiotics is a growing global health concern due to its life-threatening consequences and increased healthcare costs. Non-genetic mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance, such as those employed by Chlamydia pneumoniae and Chlamydia trachomatis, complicate treatment as these bacteria can enter a non-replicative, persistent state under stress, evading antibiotics and linking to inflammatory conditions. Understanding chlamydial persistence at the molecular level is challenging, and new models for studying Chlamydia-host interactions in vivo are urgently needed. Caenorhabditis elegans offers an alternative given its immune system and numerous orthologues of human genes. This study established C. elegans as an in vivo model for chlamydial infection. Both Chlamydia species reduced the worm's lifespan, their DNA being detectable at three- and six-days post-infection. Azithromycin at its MIC (25 nM) failed to prevent the infection-induced lifespan reduction, indicating a persister phenotype. In contrast, the methanolic extract of Schisandra chinensis berries showed anti-chlamydial activity both in vitro (in THP-1 macrophages) and in vivo, significantly extending the lifespan of infected C. elegans and reducing the bacterial load. Moreover, S. chinensis increased the transcriptional activity of SKN-1 in the worms, but was unable to impact the bacterial load or lifespan in a sek-1 defective C. elegans strain. In summary, this study validated C. elegans as a chlamydial infection model and showcased S. chinensis berries' in vivo anti-chlamydial potential, possibly through SEK/SKN-1 signaling modulation.

Enterococcus faecium inhibits NF-κB/NLRP3/IL-1β signaling pathway and antagonizes Salmonella-mediated inflammatory response

Aim: This study explored the protective effect of Enterococcus faecium as a probiotic against Salmonella typhimurium infection. Materials & methods: The protective role of E. faecium against tissue damage by S. typhimurium infection and the expression of inflammatory cytokines and tight junction proteins were detected by histological observation, real-time quantitative PCR and immunohistochemical methods. Results: E. faecium demonstrated a regulatory function that affected the expression of Claudin-1 and enhanced tight junctions, suppressed the NF-κB/NLRP3/IL-1β signaling pathway and reduced the release of IL-6, TNF-α, IFN-γ, TLR4 and MYD88 and inflammatory damage to tissues by S. typhimurium in the duodenum, cecum and colon of mice. Conclusion: E. faecium antagonized S. Typhimurium alleviating inflammatory injury in mice through the NF-κB/NLRP3/IL-1β signaling pathway.

The effects of different biochars on Caenorhabditis elegans and the underlying transcriptomic mechanisms

Different biochars have diverse properties, with ambiguous effects on soil nematodes. This study investigated how aspen sawdust (ABC), bamboo powder (BBC), maize straw (MBC) and peanut-shell biochars (PBC) affected Caenorhabditis elegans via culture assays and RNA-seq analysis. The results showed that biochars derived from different agricultural materials varied significantly in physicochemical properties, and PBC produced more volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to attract C. elegans than ABC, BBC and MBC. Moreover, worms in ABC experienced the worst outcomes, while worms in PBC experienced milder impacts. Nematode body length decreased to 724.6 μm, 784.0 μm and 799.7 μm on average in ABC, BBC and MBC, respectively, compared to the control (1052 μm) and PBC treatments (960 μm). The brood size in ABC, MBC, BBC and PBC decreased 41.1%, 39.4%, 39.2% and 19.1% compared to the control, respectively. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms of biochar-induced developmental effects on C. elegans were explored. Although several differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were different among the four biochars, worm phenotypic changes were mainly related to col genes (col-129; col-140; col-40; col-184), bli-6, sqt-3, perm-2/4, cdk-8, daf-16 and sod-1/2/5, which are associated with cuticle collagen synthesis, eggshell formation in postembryonic growth and rhythmic processes. Our study suggests that different properties of biochars could be crucial to soil nematodes, as well as the worms' biochemical changes are important for the health in agriculture soil.