Project description:Honey promotes health and is an effective non-pharmacological home remedy against common respiratory infections. However, industrial processing and manipulation of raw honey can have a detrimental effect on its biological activities, including antibacterial ones, and hence its health-benefiting qualities. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the honey’s antibacterial activity, its total protein content, and the abundance of the most dominant bee-derived proteins in honey between raw (n=92) and supermarket (n=17) samples. We showed that raw honey samples were much more effective in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus with a median minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) value of 4.5% compared to supermarket honey samples ceasing bacterial growth with a median MIC value of 36%. Moreover, raw honey samples contained significantly higher amounts of total protein as well as the content of particular bee-derived proteins (major royal jelly protein 1 (MRJP1), glucose oxidase (GOX), and α-glucosidase) in contrast to supermarket honey samples. These data hint that some marketed honey samples could be deliberately manipulated with syrup, especially those that exhibited low protein content. In addition, the supermarket honey sample with the lowest protein content contained α-amylase (diastase) from Aspergillus oryzae. Strikingly, the content of this foreign enzyme in honey was roughly 60 times higher than the naturally occurring bee α-amylase. Our findings highlight the burning need to refine and monitor the specific quality parameters, ensuring the authenticity of honey and maintaining its reputation as a functional food.
Project description:Full-scan and tandem-MS/MS data from the metabolomics of Philippine forest honey coming from Apis cerana, Apis breviligula, and Tetragonula biroi sourced from priority conservation landscapes in Palaui Island, Cagayan Province and Brgy. Laiban, Tanay, Rizal Province. Research supported by The Forest Foundation Philippines under the Dr. Perry S. Ong Fellowship Program.
Project description:Human tracheobronchial epithelial (HTBE) cells are considered to serve as a good correlate of influenza virus infection in the human respiratory tract. ChIP-Seq analysis was used to profile histone acetylation (H3K27ac) in HTBE cells at multiple time points in response to infection with influenza A/California/04/09 (H1N1), A/Wyoming/03/03 (H3N2), and A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) HALo virus. The Influenza A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) HALo mutant virus is an attenuated H5N1 virus generated from wild-type Influenza A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) virus as described in Steel, J., et al. J Virol. 2009 Feb; 83(4):1742-53.
Project description:We performed a RNA immunoprecipitations experiments using gfp-specific antibodies to precipitate gfp-tagged La proteins from from gfp-La wild type and sumoylation deficient La mutant (K41/200R) cells and found that specific mRNAs are preferentially enriched gfp-La wild type RIPs when compared to sumoylation deficient La mutant (K41/200R) RIPs.
Project description:A/Vietnam/1203-CIP048_RG3/2004 (H5N1) is a PB1-F2 deletion in wild type A/Vietnam/1203/2004 (H5N1). The goal of this study was to determine the host response (C57BL/6 mouse model) to the PB1-F2 mutation at a 10^4 PFU dose.
Project description:Dysregulation of MLL complex-mediated histone methylation plays a pivotal role in gene expression associated with diseases, but little is known about cellular factors modulating MLL complex activity. Here, we report that SON, previously known as an RNA splicing factor, controls MLL complex-mediated transcriptional initiation. SON binds to DNA near transcription start sites, interacts with menin, and inhibits MLL complex assembly, resulting in decreased H3K4me3 and transcriptional repression. Importantly, alternatively spliced short isoforms of SON are markedly upregulated in acute myeloid leukemia. The short isoforms compete with full-length SON for chromatin occupancy, but lack the menin-binding ability, thereby antagonizing full-length SON function in transcriptional repression while not impairing full-length SON-mediated RNA splicing. Furthermore, overexpression of a short isoform of SON enhances replating potential of hematopoietic progenitors. Our findings define SON as a fine-tuner of the MLL-menin interaction and reveal short SON overexpression as a marker indicating aberrant transcriptional initiation in leukemia.
Project description:Human monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) serve as a model for resident alveolar macrophages (AM) in the human respiratory tract. mRNA-Seq analysis was used to profile the cellular transcriptome of MDM cells at multiple time points in response to infection with influenza A/California/04/09 (H1N1), A/Wyoming/03/03 (H3N2), and A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) HALo virus. The Influenza A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) HALo mutant virus is an attenuated H5N1 virus generated from wild-type Influenza A/Vietnam/1203/04 (H5N1) virus as described in Steel, J., et al. J Virol. 2009 Feb; 83(4):1742-53.
