The ability of probiotic bacteria to adhere to the intestinal epithelium play an important role in colonization of the gastrointestinal tract, preventing their elimination by peristalsis and providing a competitive advantage in this ecosystem. To identify bacterial traits related to adhesion the probiotic strain L. acidophilus M92 was examined for autoaggregation ability and cell surface hydrophobicity L. acidophilus M92 exhibits a strong autoaggregation phenotype and also coaggregation with some pathogen microorganisms that may form a barrier that prevents their colonization. The examined probiotic strain manifests a good degree of hydrophobicity determined by microbial adhesion to hydrocarbons. Aggregation and hydrophobicity were abolished upon exposure of the cells to pronase, which suggests the possible role of cell surface layer (S-layer) proteins, approximated at 45 kDa, in a L. acidophilus M92. The relationship between autoaggregation and adhesion ability to intestinal tissue was investigated by observing the adhesivity of L. acidophilus M92 to porcine ileal epithelial cells. Removal of the S-layer proteins by extraction with 5 M LiCl reduced autaggregation and in vitro adhesion of this strain.

Adhesion and aggregation ability of probiotic strain Lactobacillus acidophilus M92

El cultivo del lenguado (Solea senegalensis) se ve limitada por enfermedades producidas por Vibrio harveyi y Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida. Como medida profilactica se han usado tanto las vacunas como las bacterias probioticas. Una caracteristica que pueden poseer los probioticos es la de activar la respuesta inmunitaria. Si ademas poseen antigenos comunes a lo patogenos, los anticuerpos producidos por la cepa podrian dar una reaccion cruzada con los antigenos del patogeno. De esta forma estos probioticos podrian utilizarse de forma similar a una vacuna viva. Por tanto, en este trabajo se propuso la busqueda y seleccion de bacterias probioticas con capacidad antagonista frente a P. damselae y V. harveyi, y similitud antigenica.
Se partio de 718 cepas marinas que se seleccionaron en base a la existencia de antigenos comunes con los patogenos y su capacidad de inhibir su crecimiento. De este proceso se seleccionaron 5 cepas, a las que se determinaron su avirulencia, activacion de la respuesta inmunitaria, y caracteristicas fisiologicas. 
Finalmente se selecciono la cepa Vibrio proteolyticus DCF12.2 para su administracion a lenguados. Los resultados mostraron que la bacteria activo la respuesta inmunitaria inespecifica y la produccion de anticuerpos de los peces. La ingestion del probiotico aumento la diversidad microbiana en el intestino. 
La administracion de V. proteolyticus DCF12.2 por via intraperitoneal, oral y bano genero proteccion frente a P. damselae subsp. piscicida. En el caso de V. harveyi solo protegio por via intraperitoneal. Cuando la cepa fue administrada junto a una vacuna bivalente frente a los dos patogenos genero un efecto aditivo en la proteccion frente a P. damselae subsp. piscicida pero este efecto aditivo no se observo frente a V. harveyi.
En conclusion: la cepa seleccionada mostro un gran potencial para ser utilizada en la prevencion de enfermedades causadas por V. harveyi y P. damselae subsp. piscicida.

Selección de probióticos inmunoestimulantes en lenguados (solea senegalensis k) frente a vibrio harveyi y photobacterium damselae subsp. Piscicida

Selection of putative probiotics based on antigen-antibody cross-reaction with Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida and Vibrio harveyi for use in Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis)

Abstract Background Exercise-induced oxidative stress is a challenge in equine sports. This study aims at determining the effects of ergothioneine on heat shock protein-70 (HSP-70) following the stress of an endurance exercise of 30 km by Arabian stallions. Molecular docking was also done to investigate the interaction between the ligand ergothioneine and heat shock protein-70 using sulfogalactosylceramide and sulfogalactoglycerolipid as standards. The study involved a total of 18 clinically healthy stallions, with an average age of 6.7 ± 2.4 years and an average weight of 411.54 ± 12.46 kg. Only clinically healthy stallions were selected as subjects. The stallions were divided into two groups of nine stallions each. Group I (ERGX) was administered ergothioneine at a dose of 0.02 mg/kg once daily orally for four weeks while group II (ERGN) was not administered ergothioneine. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase were determined in the two groups before and post-exercise. The concentrations of malondialdehyde and HSP-70 were also determined. Results The results obtained showed that the activities of the antioxidant enzymes and concentration of HSP-70 were higher ( P &lt; 0.05) in the ERGX group compared to the ERGN group. The concentration of malondialdehyde was however lower in the ERGX group. Following molecular docking, ergothioneine and the selected standards have common amino acids at the site of interaction with the target protein (HSP-70) suggesting that ergothioneine may have a modulatory effect on the synthesis of HSP-70. Conclusion The results obtained indicated that ergothioneine modulated the synthesis of HSP-70 and the biomarkers of oxidative stress. It was therefore concluded that ergothioneine may be beneficial to horses subjected to endurance exercise. 

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Molecular docking and experimental validation of the effect of ergothioneine on heat shock protein-70 following endurance exercise by Arabian stallions

Bacillus spp. associated with two types of fermented African locust beans iru woro and iru pete were isolated and screened for probiotic potentials using standard microbiological techniques. The total bacterial counts for iru woro (pH 8.4) and iru pete (with pH 8.1) were 6.4314 and 6.4771 log10CFU/g respectively. In the two samples, the load of aerobic sporeformers were 6.2068 and 6.2553 log10CFU/g. In the samples Bacillus subtilis had the highest occurrence (44%), followed by B. lichenliformis (28%) and B. megaterium (24%) while B. coagulans had the least (4%). Only 28% of Bacillus isolates produced caseinase, while 28% produced haemolysin. Majority of these isolates showed tolerance to salt at concentrations less than 5% and also grew fairly at pH tending to neutral. Bacillus subtilis P14, Bacillus lichenliformis P12 and Bacillus megaterium P6 grew at 3.0% bile. Percentage hydophobicity, auto-aggregation and co-aggregation of the isolates ranged from 49.00 to 65.00%, -53.00 to 84.00% and -69.44 to 36.08% respectively. High level of antibiotic Original Research Article David et al.; BBJ, 10(4): 1-12, 2016; Article no.BBJ.17698 2 resistance (especially to first line antibiotics) was recorded among isolates. Most of the Bacillus species isolated from the iru samples had very poor probiotic properties. Molecular and in vitro probiotic properties of promising candidates are still open to investigation.

Probiotic Properties and Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Bacillus spp. Isolated from Two Types of Fermented Locust Bean (iru)

Fungal infection has become a persistent problem in humans and is sometimes life-threatening in immune-compromised individuals. This work aims to study phytochemicals from Annona muricata (sour sop) as probable antifungal agents against Candida albicans sterol 14α-demethylase target receptor by Computer Aided-Drug Design (CADD) approach using voriconazole and fluconazole as standard drugs. A modern method of drug discovery by molecular docking and chemoinformatics was used to screen 131 isolated phytochemicals with medicinal properties from Annona muricata against Candida albicans ‘sterol 14α-demethylase, a prominent target receptor for most anti-fungal drugs, towards the development of new anti-fungal therapeutic agents and a new approach to treat patients with fungal infections. The compounds were all subjected to analyses like ADMET, drug-likeness, bioactivity, oral-bioavailability and PASS. The results of the docking simulation and chemoinformatics analyses showed that muricin M (-7.9 kcal/mol), chlorogenic acid (-8.2 kcal/mol), roseoside (-8.5 kcal/mol) and caffeoylquinic acid (-8.1 kcal/mol) are potential drug candidates for treating fungal infections due to their excellent properties such as binding affinities, ADMET profile, drug-likeness, bioactivity, binding mode and interactions with the target receptor. Thus, muricin M, chlorogenic acid, roseoside and caffeoylquinic acid are recommended for further analyses towards the development of further antifungal drugs.

Antifungal Activities of Phytochemicals from Annona muricate (Sour Sop): Molecular Docking and Chemoinformatics Approach

195 Background: It has been suggested that the intestinal microbiome plays a vital role in the development of colorectal cancer (CRC), but the changes in intestinal bacteria in healthy and CRC subjects have not yet been examined in the Nigerian population. The study sought to investigate changes in intestinal bacteria in healthy subjects and patients with CRC. Methods: Fecal samples were collected from healthy and CRC subjects at the Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta with the study ethical approval number FMCA/47O/HREC/01/2021/23. We extracted genomic DNA with magnetic bead extraction and sequenced the whole genome using a Nanopore MinION sequencer. We performed metagenomic analysis on fecal samples from 20 healthy subjects and 20 patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) to study the bacterial community structure, relative abundance, differentially abundant bacteria, association networks, taxonomic profiling, and specialty gene expression. Results: CRC patients have significantly different bacterial community structures compared to healthy subjects. Compared to healthy subjects, CRC patients had low intestinal bacterial diversity. Only CRCs contain Gammaproteobacteria at the phylum level. Compared to CRC, Bacteroidia and Actinobacteria were significantly more abundant in healthy subjects, while Bacilli and Negativicutes were significantly less abundant. Bacteroides and Prevotella are more abundant in healthy subjects than in CRC at the genus level. There was a greater abundance of Escherichia and Pseudomonas in CRC as compared with healthy subjects. It is noteworthy that Escherichia coli, which co-occurred in both healthy and CRC subjects, was significantly elevated only in CRC, while Pseudomonas aeruginosa only occurs in CRC. Based on phylogenetic analysis, there were notable relationships between six strains of E. coli and four strains of Shigella sp. identified in CRC. There were several pathogenic-associated virulent and antimicrobial resistant genes expressed in these strains. These genes conferred resistance via antibiotic inactivation, efflux pump activity, alteration of cell wall proteins, and regulation of antibiotic permeability. Conclusions: The present study demonstrated that the taxonomic composition and functional genes of intestinal bacteria were significantly altered in CRC. Also, E. coli and P. aeruginosa are at least partially involved in the pathogenesis of CRC.

Metagenomic analysis of gut microbiota of patients with colorectal cancer at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Abstract Colorectal cancer is the third most deadly cancer globally. Drug resistance and attendant side effects make the available standard anti-colorectal cancer drugs against target receptors inefficient. Phytochemicals from medicinal plants are safer, cheaper, effective, and heal diseases from the cellular level. This study is aimed at identifying potential inhibitors of thymidylate synthase (TS) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF–κB) target receptors from Capsicum annuum towards the development of new therapeutic drugs against colorectal cancer via in silico approach. One hundred and fifty (150) ligands previously reported from Capsicum annuum were downloaded from the PubChem database and were subjected to chemo-informatics analyses such as ADMET, drug-likeness, oral bioavailability, bioactivity, and PASS prediction to ascertain their therapeutic and safety profile before docking. The ligands that passed the analyses were docked against TS and NF–κB in duplicate using a creditable docking tool (PyRx). Raltitrexed and emetine were used as the standard drug inhibitors for TS and NF–κB, respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that feruloyl-beta-D-glucose (8.45 kcal/mol), 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (−8.40 kcal/mol), 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid methyl ester (−7.89 kcal/mol), feruloyl hexoside (−7.40 kcal/mol), O-glucopyranoside (−7.55 kcal/mol), and quercetin (−7.00 kcal/mol) shared the same binding pocket with TS while feruloyl-beta-D-glucose (−7.00 kcal/mol), chlorogenic acid (−6.90 kcal/mol), 5-O-caffeoylquinic acid (−6.90 kcal/mol) and feruloyl hexoside (−6.50 kcal/mol) shared the same pocket with NF–κB. These compounds were selected as best hits due to their excellent inhibitory efficiency and chemoinformatic profiles. Thus, the compounds may function as prospective lead compounds for developing a new anti-colorectal cancer drug.

Identification of potential inhibitors of thymidylate synthase (TS) (PDB ID: 6QXH) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF–κB) (PDB ID: 1A3Q) from Capsicum annuum (bell pepper) towards the development of new therapeutic drugs against colorectal cancer (CRC)

M. Olajide

Papers

Probiotic Properties and Antibiotic Resistance Pattern of Bacillus spp. Isolated from Two Types of Fermented Locust Bean (iru)

Antifungal Activities of Phytochemicals from Annona muricate (Sour Sop): Molecular Docking and Chemoinformatics Approach

Metagenomic analysis of gut microbiota of patients with colorectal cancer at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Identification of potential inhibitors of thymidylate synthase (TS) (PDB ID: 6QXH) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF–κB) (PDB ID: 1A3Q) from Capsicum annuum (bell pepper) towards the development of new therapeutic drugs against colorectal cancer (CRC)