Project description:Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are cells with high regenerative and immunosuppressive capacity that are known to be very potent donors of functional mitochondria to all surrounding cells, including immune cells. As metabolism shapes immune cell response and phenotype, mitochondrial transfer might be one of the main immunosuppressive mechanisms used by stem cells. However, the precise mechanism underlying horizontal mitochondrial transfer and its effect on some cell populations has yet to be discovered. In our project, we have shown that MSCs transfer mitochondria to B lymphocytes less efficiently in comparison to other immune populations. To describe the effect of mitochondrial transfer on activated B lymphocytes, MSCs were co-cultivated with B lymphocytes which were activated prior to co-cultivation. Then B cell acceptors and non-acceptors of mitochondria were sorted for further RNA isolation and the performance of bulk RNA-seq.
Project description:Antibiotic resistance is exacerbated by the exchange of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) between microbes from diverse habitats. Plasmids are important ARGs mobile elements and are spread by horizontal gene transfer (HGT). In this study, we demonstrated the presence of multi-resistant plasmids from inhalable particulate matter (PM) and its effect on gene horizontal transfer. Three transferable multi-resistant plasmids were identified from PM in a hospital, using conjugative mating assays and nanopore sequencing. pTAir-3 contained 26 horizontal transfer elements and 10 ARGs. Importantly pTAir-5 harbored carbapenem resistance gene (blaOXA) which shows homology to plasmids from human and pig commensal bacteria, thus indicating that PM is a media for antibiotic resistant plasmid spread. In addition, 125 μg/mL PM2.5 and PM10 significantly increased the conjugative transfer rate by 110% and 30%, respectively, and augmented reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. Underlying mechanisms were revealed by identifying the upregulated expressional levels of genes related to ROS, SOS, cell membranes, pilus generation, and transposition via genome-wide RNA sequencing. The study highlights the airborne spread of multi-resistant plasmids and the impact of inhalable PM on the horizontal transfer of antibiotic resistance.
2022-10-31 | GSE159850 | GEO
Project description:Bacterial Horizontal Gene Transfer in the mammalian gut