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Dendritic cells (DCs) are the cutting edge in innate and adaptive immunity. The major functions of these antigen presenting cells are the capture, endosomal processing and presentation of antigens, providing them an exclusive ability to provoke adaptive immune responses and to induce and control tolerance. Immature DCs capture and process antigens, migrate towards secondary lymphoid organs where they present antigens to naive T cells in a well synchronized sequence of procedures referred to as maturation. Indeed, recent research indicated that sphingolipids are modulators of essential steps in DC homeostasis. It has been recognized that sphingolipids not only modulate the development of DC subtypes from precursor cells but also influence functional activities of DCs such as antigen capture, and cytokine profiling. Thus, it is not astonishing that sphingolipids and sphingolipid metabolism play a substantial role in inflammatory diseases that are modulated by DCs. Here we highlight the function of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) on DC homeostasis and the role of SIP and SW metabolism in inflammatory diseases.
Microplastics (MP) provide a unique and extensive surface for microbial colonization in aquatic ecosystems. The formation of microorganism-microplastic complexes, such as biofilms, maximizes the degradation of organic matter and horizontal gene transfer. In this context, MP affect the structure and function of microbial communities, which in turn render the physical and chemical fate of MP. This new paradigm generates challenges for microbiology, ecology, and ecotoxicology. Dispersal of MP is concomitant with that of their associated microorganisms and their mobile genetic elements, including antibiotic resistance genes, islands of pathogenicity, and diverse metabolic pathways. Functional changes in aquatic microbiomes can alter carbon metabolism and food webs, with unknown consequences on higher organisms or human microbiomes and hence health. Here, we examine a variety of effects of MP pollution from the microbial ecology perspective, whose repercussions on aquatic ecosystems begin to be unraveled. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Starch is a complex carbohydrate polymer produced by plants and especially by crops in huge amounts. It consists of amylose and amylopectin, which have alpha-1,4-and alpha-1,6-linked glucose units. Despite this simple chemistry, the entire starch metabolism is complex, containing various (iso)enzymes/proteins. However, whose interplay is still not yet fully understood. Starch is essential for humans and animals as a source of nutrition and energy. Nowadays, starch is also commonly used in non-food industrial sectors for a variety of purposes. However, native starches do not always satisfy the needs of a wide range of (industrial) applications. This review summarizes the structural properties of starch, analytical methods for starch characterization, and in planta starch modifications.
Carbon nanomaterials doped with some other lightweight elements were recently described as powerful, heterogeneous, metal-free organocatalysts, adding to their high performance in electrocatalysis. Here, recent observations in traditional catalysis are reviewed, and the underlying reaction mechanisms of the catalyzed organic transformations are explored. In some cases, these are due to specific active functional sites, but more generally the catalytic activity relates to collective properties of the conjugated nanocarbon frameworks and the electron transfer from and to the catalytic centers and substrates. It is shown that the !earnings are tightly related to those of electrocatalysis; i.e., the search for better electrocatalysts also improves chemocatalysis, and vice versa. Carbon-carbon heterojunction effects and some perspectives on future possibilities are discussed at the end.
The levels of environmental light experienced by organisms during the behavioral activity phase deeply influence the performance of important ecological tasks. As a result, their shape and coloring may experience a light-driven selection process via the day-night rhythmic behavior. In this study, we tested the phenotypic and genetic variability of the western Mediterranean squat lobster (Munida tenuimana). We sampled at depths with different photic conditions and potentially, different burrow emergence rhythms. We performed day-night hauling at different depths, above and below the twilight zone end (i.e., 700 m, 1200 m, 1350 m, and 1500 m), to portray the occurrence of any burrow emergence rhythmicity. Collected animals were screened for shape and size (by geometric morphometry), spectrum and color variation (by photometric analysis), as well as for sequence variation at the mitochondria] DNA gene encoding for the NADH dehydrogenase subunit I. We found that a weak genetic structuring and shape homogeneity occurred together with significant variations in size, with the smaller individuals living at the twilight zone inferior limit and the larger individuals above and below. The infra-red wavelengths of spectral reflectance varied significantly with depth while the blue-green ones were size-dependent and expressed in smaller animals, which has a very small spectral reflectance. The effects of solar and bioluminescence lighting are discussed as depth-dependent evolutionary forces likely influencing the behavioral rhythms and coloring of M. tenuimana.