Changes in T-Cell Subpopulations and Cytokine Levels in Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression—A Preliminary Study

Although there is some evidence for the involvement of cytokines and T cells in the pathophysiology of treatment-resistant depression (TRD), the nature of this relationship is not entirely clear. Therefore, we compared T-cell subpopulations and serum cytokine levels in TRD patients to find relationships between their immunological profiles, clinical presentation, and episode severity. Blood samples from TRD patients (n = 20) and healthy people (n = 13) were collected and analyzed by flow cytometry. We analyzed the percentages of helper and cytotoxic T cells according to the expression of selected activation markers, including CD28, CD69, CD25, CD95, and HLA-DR. The serum levels of inflammatory cytokines IL12p70, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-8 were also determined. TRD patients had a lower percentage of CD3⁺CD4⁺CD25⁺ and CD3⁺CD8⁺CD95⁺ cells than healthy people. They also had lower serum levels of IL-12p70 and TNF-α, whereas IL-8 levels were significantly higher. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that serum IL-8 values above 19.55 pg/mL were associated with a 10.26 likelihood ratio of developing TRD. No connections were found between the MADRS score and immunological parameters. These results show that TRD patients have reduced percentages of T cells expressing activation antigens (CD25 and CD95) and higher serum concentrations of proinflammatory and chemotactic IL-8. These changes may indicate reduced activity of the immune system and the important role of IL-8 in maintaining chronic inflammation in the course of depression.     

Behavioral Reaction and c-fos Expression after Opioids Injection into the Pedunculopontine Tegmental Nucleus and Electrical Stimulation of the Ventral Tegmental Area

The pedunculopontine tegmental nucleus (PPN) regulates the activity of dopaminergic cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA). In this study, the role of opioid receptors (OR) in the PPN on motivated behaviors was investigated by using a model of feeding induced by electrical VTA-stimulation (Es-VTA) in rats (male Wistar; n = 91). We found that the OR excitation by morphine and their blocking by naloxone within the PPN caused a change in the analyzed motivational behavior and neuronal activation. The opioid injections into the PPN resulted in a marked, dose-dependent increase/decrease in latency to feeding response (FR), which corresponded with increased neuronal activity (c-Fos protein), in most of the analyzed brain structures. Morphine dosed at 1.25/1.5 µg into the PPN significantly reduced behavior induced by Es-VTA, whereas morphine dosed at 0.25/0.5 µg into the PPN did not affect this behavior. The opposite effect was observed after the naloxone injection into the PPN, where its lowest doses of 2.5/5.0 μg shortened the FR latency. However, its highest dose of 25.0 μg into the PPN nucleus did not cause FR latency changes. In conclusion, the level of OR arousal in the PPN can modulate the activity of the reward system.     

On the Intercept Probability of DF Relaying Wireless Communication

Wireless Personal Communications - In this work, we determine the probability of intercept for relaying wireless communication over Nakagami-m faded environment. An eavesdropper attempts to...     

Air Learning: a deep reinforcement learning gym for autonomous aerial robot visual navigation

Machine Learning - We introduce Air Learning, an open-source simulator, and a gym environment for deep reinforcement learning research on resource-constrained aerial robots. Equipped with domain...     

Hypersensitive SSY1 mutations negatively influence transition to quiescence in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Most cells spend the majority of their life in the non‐proliferating, quiescent state. Transition to this state is crucial for microorganisms to survive long starvation periods and restart divisions afterwards. Experimental evolution allowed us to identify several mutation in genes that are presumably important for such transition in yeast cells. Most of these candidate genes belong to the SPS amino acid sensing pathway or to the SIR complex. We assembled these mutations on the ancestral strain background. Analysis of the quiescent/non‐quiescent cell ratio of the starved yeast populations confirmed the crucial role of SSY1, the primary receptor component of the SPS sensor, in transition to the Q state. The evolved SSY1 mutations increased yeast sensitivity to amino acid presence in the environment. This resulted in decreased quiescent cell fraction and a 5.14% increase of the total amino acid content in the starved populations. We discuss external amino acid sensing via the SPS pathway as one of the mechanisms influencing transition to quiescence.     

The Lactococcal dgkB (yecE) and dxsA Genes for Lipid Metabolism Are Involved in the Resistance to Cell Envelope-Acting Antimicrobials

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria led to an urgent need for next-generation antimicrobial agents with novel mechanisms of action. The use of positively charged antimicrobial peptides that target cytoplasmic membrane is an especially promising strategy since essential functions and the conserved structure of the membrane hinder the development of bacterial resistance. Aureocin A53- and enterocin L50-like bacteriocins are highly cationic, membrane-targeting antimicrobial peptides that have potential as next-generation antibiotics. However, the mechanisms of resistance to these bacteriocins and cross-resistance against antibiotics must be examined before application to ensure their safe use. Here, in the model bacterium Lactococcus lactis, we studied the development of resistance to selected aureocin A53- and enterocin L50-like bacteriocins and its correlation with antibiotics. First, to generate spontaneous resistant mutants, L. lactis was exposed to bacteriocin BHT-B. Sequencing of their genomes revealed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the dgkB (yecE) and dxsA genes encoding diacylglycerol kinase and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate synthase, respectively. Then, selected mutants underwent susceptibility tests with a wide array of bacteriocins and antibiotics. The highest alterations in the sensitivity of studied mutants were seen in the presence of cytoplasmic membrane targeting bacteriocins (K411, Ent7, EntL50, WelM, SalC, nisin) and antibiotics (daptomycin and gramicidin) as well as lipid II cycle-blocking bacteriocins (nisin and Lcn972) and antibiotics (bacitracin). Interestingly, decreased via the SNPs accumulation sensitivity to membrane-active bacteriocins and antibiotics resulted in the concurrently increased vulnerability to bacitracin, carbenicillin, or chlortetracycline. It is suspected that SNPs may result in alterations to the efficiency of the nascent enzymes rather than a total loss of their function as neither deletion nor overexpression of dxsA restored the phenotype observed in spontaneous mutants.     

Development and characterisation of functional cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.)-based edible films

The aim of this study was to develop functional edible films containing cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) powder extract using alginate, pectin and chitosan in combination with proteins (whey protein isolate, soya and hemp protein). The films were examined for their physico-chemical (dry matter content, colour, thickness), mechanical (elongation at break (EAB)), bioactive (the content of total polyphenols (TPC), flavan-3-ols (F3olC), antioxidant capacity (AC)) and sensory properties. The plain alginate film exhibited the highest EAB (29.1%). The highest TPC and F3olC were determined in plain alginate (29 mg GAE/g and 2.75 mg (+)-catechin/g) and pectin (29 mg GAE/g and 2.25 mg (+)-catechin/g) films. The addition of proteins resulted in prolonged release of polyphenols and enhanced functional properties; however, the formation of protein–polyphenol complexes caused slight alterations in the bioactive composition of the films. The obtained results indicate a high potential of the developed films as functional, biodegradable form of active food packaging.