1
|
Pisithkul T, Pisithkul T, Lao-Araya M. Impact of Air Pollution and Allergic Status on Health-Related Quality of Life among University Students in Northern Thailand. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2024; 21:452. [PMID: 38673363 PMCID: PMC11050436 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21040452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2024] [Revised: 03/29/2024] [Accepted: 04/06/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Global awareness of ambient air pollution has heightened due to its detrimental impact on health, particularly in regions with elevated PM2.5 levels. Chiang Mai has emerged as an area experiencing the highest PM2.5 levels in Thailand. OBJECTIVES to examine the prevalence of respiratory allergies and assess the impact of air pollution on the health-related quality of life (QoL) among university students in Chiang Mai. METHODS Chiang Mai University (CMU) and Maejo University (MJU) students were recruited. The Global Asthma Network (GAN) questionnaire screened for respiratory allergies (RAs). The disease-specific QoL questionnaire (Rcq-36) was administered twice during low-PM2.5 and high-PM2.5 seasons to evaluate air pollution's impact on health-related QoL. Those showing potential RAs underwent a skin prick test (SPT) to investigate allergic sensitization. RESULTS Out of 406 participants, 131 (32%) reported respiratory allergies. Among those undergoing SPT, a high rate (82.54%) had positive results. Across both universities, students reported significantly lower QoL in multiple domains, particularly respiratory, eye, sleep, and emotional well-being, during the high-PM2.5 season. This aligned with their poorer self-reported health on a visual analog scale (VAS; p-value < 0.01). PM2.5 levels significantly impacted social functioning for CMU students (p-value = 0.001) and role limitations for MJU students (p-value < 0.001). Notably, participants without respiratory allergies (non-RAs) were more significantly affected by PM2.5 than RA participants in almost all parameters, despite experiencing fewer baseline symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Respiratory allergies, particularly allergic rhinitis, are prevalent among university students in Chiang Mai. This study underscores the substantial negative impact of ambient air pollution on QoL for both allergic and non-allergic students.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tipanan Pisithkul
- Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand;
| | - Tippapha Pisithkul
- Program in Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Maejo University, Chiang Mai 50290, Thailand;
| | - Mongkol Lao-Araya
- Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200, Thailand;
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kwan G, Plagenz B, Cowles K, Pisithkul T, Amador-Noguez D, Barak JD. Few Differences in Metabolic Network Use Found Between Salmonella enterica Colonization of Plants and Typhoidal Mice. Front Microbiol 2018; 9:695. [PMID: 29867780 PMCID: PMC5951976 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 03/26/2018] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The human enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica leads a cross-kingdom lifestyle, actively colonizing and persisting on plants in between animal hosts. One of the questions that arises from this dual lifestyle is how S. enterica is able to adapt to such divergent hosts. Metabolic pathways required for S. enterica animal colonization and virulence have been previously identified, but the metabolism of this bacterium on plants is poorly understood. To determine the requirements for plant colonization by S. enterica, we first screened a library of metabolic mutants, previously examined in a systemic mouse typhoidal model, for competitive plant colonization fitness on alfalfa seedlings. By comparing our results to those reported in S. enterica-infected murine spleens, we found that the presence of individual nutrients differed between the two host niches. Yet, similar metabolic pathways contributed to S. enterica colonization of both plants and animals, such as the biosynthesis of amino acids, purines, and vitamins and the catabolism of glycerol and glucose. However, utilization of at least three metabolic networks differed during the bacterium's plant- and animal-associated lifestyles. Whereas both fatty acid biosynthesis and degradation contributed to S. enterica animal colonization, only fatty acid biosynthesis was required during plant colonization. Though serine biosynthesis was required in both hosts, S. enterica used different pathways within the serine metabolic network to achieve this outcome. Lastly, the metabolic network surrounding manA played different roles during colonization of each host. In animal models of infection, O-antigen production downstream of manA facilitates immune evasion. We discovered that manA contributed to S. enterica attachment, to seeds and germinated seedlings, and was essential for growth in early seedling exudates, when mannose is limited. However, only seedling attachment was linked to O-antigen production, indicating that manA played additional roles critical for plant colonization that were independent of surface polysaccharide production. The integrated view of S. enterica metabolism throughout its life cycle presented here provides insight on how metabolic versatility and adaption of known physiological pathways for alternate functions enable a zoonotic pathogen to thrive in niches spanning across multiple kingdoms of life.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Grace Kwan
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Brett Plagenz
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Kimberly Cowles
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Tippapha Pisithkul
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Daniel Amador-Noguez
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | - Jeri D Barak
- Department of Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Rand JM, Pisithkul T, Clark RL, Thiede JM, Mehrer CR, Agnew DE, Campbell CE, Markley AL, Price MN, Ray J, Wetmore KM, Suh Y, Arkin AP, Deutschbauer AM, Amador-Noguez D, Pfleger BF. A metabolic pathway for catabolizing levulinic acid in bacteria. Nat Microbiol 2017; 2:1624-1634. [PMID: 28947739 PMCID: PMC5705400 DOI: 10.1038/s41564-017-0028-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2017] [Accepted: 08/16/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Microorganisms can catabolize a wide range of organic compounds and therefore have the potential to perform many industrially relevant bioconversions. One barrier to realizing the potential of biorefining strategies lies in our incomplete knowledge of metabolic pathways, including those that can be used to assimilate naturally abundant or easily generated feedstocks. For instance, levulinic acid (LA) is a carbon source that is readily obtainable as a dehydration product of lignocellulosic biomass and can serve as the sole carbon source for some bacteria. Yet, the genetics and structure of LA catabolism have remained unknown. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a seven-gene operon that enables LA catabolism in Pseudomonas putida KT2440. When the pathway was reconstituted with purified proteins, we observed the formation of four acyl-CoA intermediates, including a unique 4-phosphovaleryl-CoA and the previously observed 3-hydroxyvaleryl-CoA product. Using adaptive evolution, we obtained a mutant of Escherichia coli LS5218 with functional deletions of fadE and atoC that was capable of robust growth on LA when it expressed the five enzymes from the P. putida operon. This discovery will enable more efficient use of biomass hydrolysates and metabolic engineering to develop bioconversions using LA as a feedstock.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jacqueline M Rand
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Tippapha Pisithkul
- Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Ryan L Clark
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Joshua M Thiede
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Christopher R Mehrer
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Daniel E Agnew
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Candace E Campbell
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Andrew L Markley
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Morgan N Price
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Jayashree Ray
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Kelly M Wetmore
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Yumi Suh
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Adam P Arkin
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.,Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Adam M Deutschbauer
- Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
| | - Daniel Amador-Noguez
- Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.,Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Brian F Pfleger
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Wang PM, Choera T, Wiemann P, Pisithkul T, Amador-Noguez D, Keller NP. TrpE feedback mutants reveal roadblocks and conduits toward increasing secondary metabolism in Aspergillus fumigatus. Fungal Genet Biol 2015; 89:102-113. [PMID: 26701311 DOI: 10.1016/j.fgb.2015.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2015] [Revised: 11/23/2015] [Accepted: 12/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Small peptides formed from non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) are bioactive molecules produced by many fungi including the genus Aspergillus. A subset of NRPS utilizes tryptophan and its precursor, the non-proteinogenic amino acid anthranilate, in synthesis of various metabolites such as Aspergillus fumigatus fumiquinazolines (Fqs) produced by the fmq gene cluster. The A. fumigatus genome contains two putative anthranilate synthases - a key enzyme in conversion of anthranilic acid to tryptophan - one beside the fmq cluster and one in a region of co-linearity with other Aspergillus spp. Only the gene found in the co-linear region, trpE, was involved in tryptophan biosynthesis. We found that site-specific mutations of the TrpE feedback domain resulted in significantly increased production of anthranilate, tryptophan, p-aminobenzoate and fumiquinazolines FqF and FqC. Supplementation with tryptophan restored metabolism to near wild type levels in the feedback mutants and suggested that synthesis of the tryptophan degradation product kynurenine could negatively impact Fq synthesis. The second putative anthranilate synthase gene next to the fmq cluster was termed icsA for its considerable identity to isochorismate synthases in bacteria. Although icsA had no impact on A. fumigatus Fq production, deletion and over-expression of icsA increased and decreased respectively aromatic amino acid levels suggesting that IcsA can draw from the cellular chorismate pool.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Pin-Mei Wang
- Ocean College, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, Zhejiang Province, PR China
| | - Tsokyi Choera
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | - Philipp Wiemann
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | | | | | - Nancy P Keller
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA; Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Pisithkul T, Patel NM, Amador-Noguez D. Post-translational modifications as key regulators of bacterial metabolic fluxes. Curr Opin Microbiol 2015; 24:29-37. [PMID: 25597444 DOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2014.12.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2014] [Revised: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 12/30/2014] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In order to survive and compete in natural settings, bacteria must excel at quickly adapting their metabolism to fluctuations in nutrient availability and other environmental variables. This necessitates fast-acting post-translational regulatory mechanisms, that is, allostery or covalent modification, to control metabolic flux. While allosteric regulation has long been a well-established strategy for regulating metabolic enzyme activity in bacteria, covalent post-translational modes of regulation, such as phosphorylation or acetylation, have previously been regarded as regulatory mechanisms employed primarily by eukaryotic organisms. Recent findings, however, have shifted this perception and point to a widespread role for covalent posttranslational modification in the regulation of metabolic enzymes and fluxes in bacteria. This review provides an outline of the exciting recent advances in this area.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tippapha Pisithkul
- Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States; Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | - Nishaben M Patel
- Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, United States
| | | |
Collapse
|