1
|
Martel J, Wu CY, Huang PR, Cheng WY, Young JD. Pleomorphic bacteria-like structures in human blood represent non-living membrane vesicles and protein particles. Sci Rep 2017; 7:10650. [PMID: 28878382 PMCID: PMC5587737 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10479-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Although human blood is believed to be a sterile environment, recent studies suggest that pleomorphic bacteria exist in the blood of healthy humans. These studies have led to the development of "live-blood analysis," a technique used by alternative medicine practitioners to diagnose various human conditions, including allergies, cancer, cardiovascular disease and septicemia. We show here that bacteria-like vesicles and refringent particles form in healthy human blood observed under dark-field microscopy. These structures gradually increase in number during incubation and show morphologies reminiscent of cells undergoing division. Based on lipid analysis and Western blotting, we show that the bacteria-like entities consist of membrane vesicles containing serum and exosome proteins, including albumin, fetuin-A, apolipoprotein-A1, alkaline phosphatase, TNFR1 and CD63. In contrast, the refringent particles represent protein aggregates that contain several blood proteins. 16S rDNA PCR analysis reveals the presence of bacterial DNA in incubated blood samples but also in negative controls, indicating that the amplified sequences represent contaminants. These results suggest that the bacteria-like vesicles and refringent particles observed in human blood represent non-living membrane vesicles and protein aggregates derived from blood. The phenomena observed during live-blood analysis are therefore consistent with time-dependent decay of cells and body fluids during incubation ex vivo.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jan Martel
- Center for Molecular and Clinical Immunology, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Chang Gung Immunology Consortium, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Yeu Wu
- Center for Molecular and Clinical Immunology, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Chang Gung Immunology Consortium, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Research Center of Bacterial Pathogenesis, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Rong Huang
- Center for Molecular and Clinical Immunology, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Yun Cheng
- Center for Molecular and Clinical Immunology, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan
- Chang Gung Immunology Consortium, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - John D Young
- Center for Molecular and Clinical Immunology, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
- Laboratory of Nanomaterials, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
- Chang Gung Immunology Consortium, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
- Laboratory of Cellular Physiology and Immunology, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA.
- Biochemical Engineering Research Center, Ming Chi University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Studer P, Borisova M, Schneider A, Ayala JA, Mayer C, Schuppler M, Loessner MJ, Briers Y. The Absence of a Mature Cell Wall Sacculus in Stable Listeria monocytogenes L-Form Cells Is Independent of Peptidoglycan Synthesis. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0154925. [PMID: 27149671 PMCID: PMC4858229 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0154925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2015] [Accepted: 04/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
L-forms are cell wall-deficient variants of otherwise walled bacteria that maintain the ability to survive and proliferate in absence of the surrounding peptidoglycan sacculus. While transient or unstable L-forms can revert to the walled state and may still rely on residual peptidoglycan synthesis for multiplication, stable L-forms cannot revert to the walled form and are believed to propagate in the complete absence of peptidoglycan. L-forms are increasingly studied as a fundamental biological model system for cell wall synthesis. Here, we show that a stable L-form of the intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes features a surprisingly intact peptidoglycan synthesis pathway including glycosyl transfer, in spite of the accumulation of multiple mutations during prolonged passage in the cell wall-deficient state. Microscopic and biochemical analysis revealed the presence of peptidoglycan precursors and functional glycosyl transferases, resulting in the formation of peptidoglycan polymers but without the synthesis of a mature cell wall sacculus. In conclusion, we found that stable, non-reverting L-forms, which do not require active PG synthesis for proliferation, may still continue to produce aberrant peptidoglycan.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Patrick Studer
- Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marina Borisova
- Department of Microbiology/Biotechnology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Alexander Schneider
- Department of Microbiology/Biotechnology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Juan A. Ayala
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Christoph Mayer
- Department of Microbiology/Biotechnology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
| | - Markus Schuppler
- Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Martin J. Loessner
- Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Yves Briers
- Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Applied Biosciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
- * E-mail:
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Je JY, Cho YS, Kim SK. Characterization of (aminoethyl)chitin/DNA nanoparticle for gene delivery. Biomacromolecules 2007; 7:3448-51. [PMID: 17154473 DOI: 10.1021/bm060373d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Nonviral gene delivery systems have been increasingly proposed as a safer alternative to viral vehicles. In the present study, we synthesized water-soluble chitin by aminoalkylating onto chitin at the C-6 position, and its transfection efficiency was investigated. Aminoethyl-chitin (AEC) was complexed with DNA, and AEC/DNA nanoparticles were characterized. AEC/DNA nanoparticles showed good DNA binding ability, high protection of DNA from nuclease and serum, and low cytotoxicity. Mean particle size decreased from 367 to 290 nm and zeta potential increased from -4.58 to 22.87 mV when the AEC/DNA charge ratio (N/P) increased from 1.15 to 18.5. The transfection efficiency of AEC/DNA nanoparticles was investigated in a human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK293), and the results showed that AEC/DNA nanoparticles were much enhanced compare with naked DNA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jae-Young Je
- Department of Chemistry, Pukyong National University, Busan 608-737, Korea
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wu D, Liu Y, Jiang X, He C, Goh SH, Leong KW. Hyperbranched Poly(amino ester)s with Different Terminal Amine Groups for DNA Delivery. Biomacromolecules 2006; 7:1879-83. [PMID: 16768410 DOI: 10.1021/bm0601878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s containing tertiary amines in the core and primary, secondary, and tertiary amines in the periphery, respectively, were evaluated for DNA delivery in vitro. The same core structure facilitated the investigation on the effects of the terminal amine type on the properties of hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s for DNA delivery. The hydrolysis of the poly(amino ester)s was monitored using (1)H NMR. The results reflected that the terminal amine type had negligible effects on the hydrolysis rate but was much slower than that of linear poly(amino ester)s, probably due to the compact hyperbranched spatial structure preventing the accessibility of water. In comparison with PEI 25 K, the hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s showed much lower cytotoxicity in Cos7, HEK293, and HepG2 cells. Gel electrophoresis indicated that poly(amino ester)s could condense DNA efficiently, and the zeta potentials and sizes of the complexes formed with different weight ratios of hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s and DNA were measured. Remarkably, all the hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s showed DNA transfection efficiency comparable to PEI 25 K in Cos7, HEK293, and HepG2 cells regardless of the terminal amine type. Therefore, the terminal amine type had insignificant effects on the hydrolysis rate, cytotoxicity, DNA condensation capability, and in vitro DNA transfection efficiency of the hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Decheng Wu
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
5
|
Wu D, Liu Y, Jiang X, Chen L, He C, Goh SH, Leong KW. Evaluation of Hyperbranched Poly(amino ester)s of Amine Constitutions Similar to Polyethylenimine for DNA Delivery. Biomacromolecules 2005; 6:3166-73. [PMID: 16283742 DOI: 10.1021/bm0504983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
New hyperbranched poly(amino ester)s were synthesized via A3 + 2BB'B' ' approach, represented by the Michael addition polymerization of trimethylol-propane triacrylate (TMPTA) (A3-type monomers) with a double molar 1-(2-aminoethyl)piperazine (AEPZ) (BB'B''-type monomer) performed in chloroform at ambient temperature. The results obtained by in situ monitoring the polymerization using NMR and MS indicated that hyperbranched poly(TMPTA1-AEPZ2) was formed via a A(B'B'')2 intermediate, and the B' ' (the formed 2 degrees amine) was kept intact in the reaction. Therefore, poly(TMPTA1-AEPZ2) contained secondary and tertiary amines in the core and primary amines in the periphery similar to polyethylenimine (PEI). The chemistry of protonated poly(TMPTA1-AEPZ2) was further confirmed by 13C NMR, and the molecular weight, the radius of gyration (Rg), and the hydrodynamic radius (Rh) were determined using GPC, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and laser dynamic light scattering (LDLS), respectively. The ratio of Rg/Rh of ca. 1.1 verified the hyperbranched structure. Protonated hyperbranched poly(TMPTA1-AEPZ2) is degradable and less cytotoxic as compared with PEI (25 K). Gel electrophoresis reflected that stable complexes could be formed from protonated hyperbranched poly(TMPTA1-AEPZ2) and DNA, and the size and xi-potential of the complexes were characterized. Remarkably, protonated hyperbranched poly(TMPTA1-AEPZ2) showed transfection efficiency comparable to PEI (25 k) for in vitro DNA delivery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Decheng Wu
- Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
6
|
Abstract
Understanding the adaptive significance of sperm form and function has been a challenge to biologists because sperm are highly specialized cells operating at a microscopic level in a complex environment. A fruitful course of investigation has been to use the comparative approach. This comparative study attempts to address some fundamental questions of the evolution of mammalian sperm morphometry. Data on sperm morphometry for 445 mammalian species were collated from published sources. I use contemporary phylogenetic analysis to control for the inherent non-independence of species and explore relationships between the morphometric dimensions of the three essential spermatozoal components: head, mid-piece and flagellum. Energy for flagellar action is metabolized by the mitochondrial-dense mid-piece and these combine to propel the sperm head, carrying the male haplotype, to the ovum. I therefore search for evolutionary associations between sperm morphometry and body mass, karyotype and the duration of oestrus. In contrast to previous findings, there is no inverse correlation between body weight and sperm length. Sperm mid-piece and flagellum lengths are positively associated with both head length and area, and the slopes of these relationships are discussed. Flagellum length is positively associated with mid-piece length but, in contrast to previous research and after phylogenetic control, I find no relationship between flagellum length and the volume of the mitochondrial sheath. Sperm head dimensions are not related to either genome mass or chromosome number, and there are no relationships between sperm morphometry and the duration of oestrus.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M J Gage
- Population Biology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Liverpool.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Grønstøl H, Øverås J. Listeriosis in sheep. Tick-borne fever used as a model to study predisposing factors. Acta Vet Scand 1981. [PMID: 7223579 DOI: 10.1186/bf03546841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
|
8
|
Pease P. Identification of bacteria from blood and joint fluids of human subjects as Bacillus licheniformis. Ann Rheum Dis 1974; 33:67-9. [PMID: 4206905 PMCID: PMC1006202 DOI: 10.1136/ard.33.1.67] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
|
9
|
Pease P. Microorganisma associated with malignancy. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1970; 174:782-5. [PMID: 4322797 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1970.tb45594.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
|
10
|
Livingston VW, Alexander-Jackson E. A specific type of organism cultivated from malignancy: bacteriology and proposed classification. Ann N Y Acad Sci 1970; 174:636-54. [PMID: 5278140 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1970.tb45588.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
|
11
|
|
12
|
|
13
|
Kramer PA, Jones D. Media selective for Listeria monocytogenes. THE JOURNAL OF APPLIED BACTERIOLOGY 1969; 32:381-94. [PMID: 4983933 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1969.tb00987.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
|
14
|
Tedeschi GG, Amici D, Paparelli M. Incorporation of nucleosides and amino-acids in human erythrocyte suspensions: possible relation with a diffuse infection of mycoplasms or bacteria in the L form. Nature 1969; 222:1285-6. [PMID: 5789671 DOI: 10.1038/2221285a0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
|