不同碳源对传统酸肉中微生物菌群和生物胺的影响

为了研究添加小米饭、糯米饭、籼米饭、再接种籼米饭以及加入葡萄糖酸内酯对传统酸肉制品中肉毒梭状芽孢杆菌、生物胺含量及产品品质的影响,对预腌和发酵期间产品的水分含量、水分活性、pH及菌相的变化进行了分析。结果表明,传统酸肉制品的水分含量介于65.21%～70.44%之间,添加不同的米饭并未促进初期pH的下降;各组均未检出肉毒梭状芽孢杆菌,且大肠菌群经发酵2d后便低于4个对数单位,经发酵5d后低于1个对数单位;除了微球菌科和真菌类增殖较慢外,耐盐性细菌、乳酸菌和乳酸菌群等微生物均生长良好,发酵5d后菌数均维持在7～8个对数单位。添加GDL组在发酵初期有降低pH和水分含量,且能抑制微球菌生长的效果,添加GDL组挥发性盐基氮和生物胺含量较低,能提高传统酸肉的贮藏品质。     

A synthetic hexapeptide (Argireline) with antiwrinkle activity

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) represent a revolution in cosmetic science because of their remarkable and long-lasting antiwrinkle activity. However, their high neurotoxicity seriously limits their use. Thus, there is a need to design and validate non-toxic molecules that mimic the action of BoNTs. The hexapeptide Ac-EEMQRR-NH(2) (coined Argireline) was identified as a result of a rational design programme. Noteworthy, skin topography analysis of an oil/water (O/W) emulsion containing 10% of the hexapeptide on healthy women volunteers reduced wrinkle depth up to 30% upon 30 days treatment. Analysis of the mechanism of action showed that Argireline significantly inhibited neurotransmitter release with a potency similar to that of BoNT A, although as expected, it displayed much lower efficacy than the neurotoxin. Inhibition of neurotransmitter release was due to the interference of the hexapeptide with the formation and/or stability of the protein complex that is required to drive Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis, namely the vesicular fusion (known as SNARE) complex. Notably, this peptide did not exhibit in vivo oral toxicity nor primary irritation at high doses. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that Argireline is a non-toxic, antiwrinkle peptide that emulates the action of currently used BoNTs. Therefore, this hexapetide represents a biosafe alternative to BoNTs in cosmetics.     

Mechanism of Ganglioside Receptor Recognition by Botulinum Neurotoxin Serotype E

The botulinum neurotoxins are potent molecules that are not only responsible for the lethal paralytic disease botulism, but have also been harnessed for therapeutic uses in the treatment of an increasing number of chronic neurological and neuromuscular disorders, in addition to cosmetic applications. The toxins act at the cholinergic nerve terminals thanks to an efficient and specific mechanism of cell recognition which is based on a dual receptor system that involves gangliosides and protein receptors. Binding to surface-anchored gangliosides is the first essential step in this process. Here, we determined the X-ray crystal structure of the binding domain of BoNT/E, a toxin of clinical interest, in complex with its GD1a oligosaccharide receptor. Beyond confirmation of the conserved ganglioside binding site, we identified key interacting residues that are unique to BoNT/E and a significant rearrangement of loop 1228–1237 upon carbohydrate binding. These observations were also supported by thermodynamic measurements of the binding reaction and assessment of ganglioside selectivity by immobilised-receptor binding assays. These results provide a structural basis to understand the specificity of BoNT/E for complex gangliosides.     

Small Molecule Receptor Binding Inhibitors with In Vivo Efficacy against Botulinum Neurotoxin Serotypes A and E

Botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs) are the most poisonous substances in nature. Currently, the only therapy for botulism is antitoxin. This therapy suffers from several limitations and hence new therapeutic strategies are desired. One of the limitations in discovering BoNT inhibitors is the absence of an in vitro assay that correlates with toxin neutralization in vivo. In this work, a high-throughput screening assay for receptor-binding inhibitors against BoNT/A was developed. The assay is composed of two chimeric proteins: a receptor-simulating protein, consisting of the fourth luminal loop of synaptic vesicle protein 2C fused to glutathione-S-transferase, and a toxin-simulating protein, consisting of the receptor-binding domain of BoNT/A fused to beta-galactosidase. The assay was applied to screen the LOPAC1280 compound library. Seven selected compounds were evaluated in mice exposed to a lethal dose of BoNT/A. The compound aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) conferred 92% protection, whereas significant delayed time to death (p < 0.005) was observed for three additional compounds. Remarkably, ATA was also fully protective in mice challenged with a lethal dose of BoNT/E, which also uses the SV2 receptor. This study demonstrates that receptor-binding inhibitors have the potential to serve as next generation therapeutics for botulism, and therefore the assay developed may facilitate discovery of new anti-BoNT countermeasures.     

Cortical networks grown on microelectrode arrays as a biosensor for botulinum toxin

ABSTRACT:  Botulinum toxin (BoNT) is a potent neurotoxin produced by toxigenic strains of Clostridium botulinum . Botulinum toxin poses a major threat since it could be employed in a deliberate attack on the U.S. food supply. Furthermore, BoNT may be liberated in any insufficiently processed food containing a reduced oxygen atmosphere. Hence, rapid and reliable detection of BoNT in foods is necessary to reduce risks posed through food contamination. We present a BoNT biosensor employing living neural cultures grown in vitro on microelectrode arrays (MEAs). An MEA is a culture dish with a grid of electrodes embedded in its surface, enabling extracellular recording of action potentials of neural cultures grown over the array. Pharmaceutical grade BoNT A was applied to the media bath of mature cortical networks cultured on MEAs. Both spontaneous and evoked activities were monitored over 1 wk to quantify changes in the neural population produced by BoNT A. Introduction of BoNT A resulted in an increased duration and number of spikes in spontaneous and evoked bursts relative to control cultures. Increases were significant within 48 h of BoNT A dosage ( P < 0.05). Application of BoNT A also induced unique oscillatory behavior within each burst that is reminiscent of early developmental activity patterns rather than the mature cultures used here. Three or more activity peaks were observed in 50% of the BoNT dosed cultures. Control cultures exhibited only a single activity peak. Thus activity of these cortical networks measured with MEAs could provide a valuable substrate for BoNT detection.     

The effect of growth temperature on the phospholipid and fatty acyl compositions of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum

A non-proteolytic strain of Clostridium botulinum (NCIB 4270) was found to have a complex lipid composition, comprising five major phosphorus-containing lipids: phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylglycerol (PG), diphosphatidylglycerol (DPG), phosphatidylserine (PS) and a glycophospholipid of unknown structure (GPL), in order of abundance. Changing the growth temperature did not alter the lipid composition either qualitatively or quantitatively. The main fatty acyl components of the lipids are 14:0, 16:0 and 16:1. When the growth temperature was lowered from 37 to 8°C, there was an increase in 14:0 from 16.4 to 37.5%, an increase in 16:1 from 10.5 to 22.5%, and a decrease in the proportion of 16:0 from 40.3 to 19.1%. There was also a decrease in the proportion of cyclopropane fatty acids (15:0cyc and 17:0cyc) from 7.3 to 0.5%, and in the equivalent chain length of the total fatty acids from 15.9 to 15.3 as the temperature was lowered. The same temperature-dependent changes occurred in the five major lipid classes examined. Despite reports of the presence of plasmalogenic forms of phospholipids (i.e. those lipids which have the acyl chain in the sn-1 position replaced by an alk-1-enyl group) in some Clostridium spp., none were detected in C. botulinum NCIB 4270 using either commercially available spray reagents or by gas-liquid chromatographic analysis of the products or acid methanolysis of total lipid extracts. It is concluded that non-proteolytic C. botulinum lacks plasmalogens, typical of other clostridia, in its membranes and instead modulates its fatty acid composition in response to temperature changes in a manner that is typical of other (non-clostridial) bacteria.     

Adaptive Simulated Annealing Based Protein Loop Modeling of Neurotoxins

A loop modeling method, adaptive simulated annealing, for ab initio prediction of protein loop structures, as an optimization problem of searching the global minimum of a given energy function, is proposed. An interface-friendly toolbox--LoopModeller in Windows and Linux systems, VC and OpenGL environments is developed for analysis and visualization. Simulation results of three short-chain neurotoxins modeled by LoopModeller show that the method proposed is fast and efficient.     

市售婴幼儿配方奶粉和婴幼儿米粉中梭状芽胞杆菌的分离和综合鉴定分析

目的 对57件市售婴幼儿配方奶粉、50件婴幼儿米粉进行梭状芽胞菌分离鉴定分析及毒素基因检测,获得梭状芽胞杆菌的污染水平数据,并评估各鉴定方法。方法 通过分离菌株的生长特性、革兰染色、普通显微镜下形态特征等表型特征,应用微生物飞行时间质谱（MALDI-TOF-MS）、16S rRNA基因测序技术、全基因组测序技术对分离菌株进行综合鉴定,通过PCR对分离的梭状芽胞杆菌进行肉毒毒素基因检测,对肉毒毒素基因PCR阳性片段进行测序和比对分析。结果 57份市售婴儿配方奶粉中有26份样品中检出38株梭状芽胞杆菌,其中9份样品中同时检出超过两种细菌。50份市售婴幼儿米粉中有5份样品检出5株梭状芽胞杆菌。奶粉中分离的一株楔形梭菌E型肉毒梭菌毒素基因PCR扩增阳性,扩增片段测序比对结果显示这段序列并不是E型肉毒梭菌毒素基因,全基因组测序结果也证实。43株梭状芽胞杆菌均未检出肉毒梭菌的毒素基因。结论 梭状芽胞杆菌鉴定需要多种方法的综合分析。市售婴幼儿配方奶粉、婴幼儿米粉中存在梭状芽胞杆菌的污染,应加强婴幼儿配方食品中重要梭状芽胞杆菌的监测,为风险评估提供数据支持。     

Caffeic Acid Activity Against Clostridium botulinum Spores

Caffeic acid (CA) is widely distributed among higher fruits and vegetables. While CA has antimicrobial activity, little information exists on its utility as a food additive. As such, CA was tested for activity against Clostridium botulinum spores. At 0.78 and 3.25 mM, CA inhibited germination for 6 and 24 hr, respectively, with >100 mM required to render spores nonviable. CA concentrations a 50mM reduced 80°C spore thermal resistance. Sporostatic activity was retained when tested in commercial meat broths, and 5.0 mM CA delayed toxigenesis. Caffeic acid has potential as a food additive to inhibit growth of C. botulinum, and reduce thermal processing requirements of heat sensitive foods.     

石家庄市肉毒梭菌在环境中的分布研究

目的:了解石家庄市肉毒梭菌在环境中的分布情况,为预防、诊断、治疗肉毒梭菌食物中毒提供科学依据.方法:按照地貌,均匀抽取8个县(市、区),采集土壤、食品和水3类样品,检测肉毒梭菌污染情况.结果:采集土壤、水、食品3类样品共350份,肉毒梭菌检出15份,检出率为4.3%,其中,12份为8型肉毒毒素,3份为A型肉毒毒素.发生过肉毒中毒的县(市、区)肉毒梭菌检出率高于未发生过的县(市、区)(P<0.05).山区与平原肉毒梭菌检出率差异无统计学意义.结论:石家庄市外环境中肉毒梭菌污染较以前严重,并且存在A型肉毒毒素.