Rapid transport of plasmid DNA into the nucleolus via actin depolymerization using the HVJ envelope vector

Persistent symptoms in patients with Crohn's disease in remission: An exploratory study on the role of diet

OBJECTIVES

Patients with Crohn's disease (CD) often report food hypersensitivities with gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms despite being in clinical remission. We aimed to identify the most frequent symptoms and dietary triggers in such patients, and also explored whether a strict elimination diet may reduce their GI symptoms.

METHODS

We assessed GI symptoms and dietary triggers in 16 patients with CD in clinical remission. Of these, 12 patients subsequently participated in a dietary intervention trial: two weeks on a habitual diet including wheat and dairy products followed by two weeks of a strict elimination diet. The severity of seven symptoms (overall symptoms, abdominal pain, bloating, abnormal feces, wind, fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain) was measured by using visual analog scales throughout the four weeks intervention period.

MAIN RESULTS

The most common symptoms were abdominal pain, wind, bloating, odorous wind/feces, and diarrhea. Dairy and wheat products were reported as the most frequent dietary symptom triggers. All symptoms improved (p < .05) during the elimination diet period, especially in patients with small intestinal affection.

CONCLUSION

Our exploratory study suggests that dietary interventions such as an elimination diet may reduce GI symptoms in patients with CD in remission.

Gut microbiota imbalance and chaperoning system malfunction are central to ulcerative colitis pathogenesis and can be counteracted with specifically designed probiotics: a working hypothesis

In this work, we propose that for further studies of the physiopathology and treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases, an integral view of the conditions, including the triad of microbiota-heat shock proteins (HSPs)-probiotics, ought to be considered. Microbiota is the complex microbial flora that resides in the gut, affecting not only gut functions but also the health status of the whole body. Alteration in the microbiota's composition has been implicated in a variety of pathological conditions (e.g., ulcerative colitis, UC), involving both gut and extra-intestinal tissues and organs. Some of these pathologies are also associated with an altered expression of HSPs (chaperones) and this is the reason why they may be considered chaperonopathies. Probiotics, which are live microorganisms able to restore the correct, healthy equilibrium of microbiota composition, can ameliorate symptoms in patients suffering from UC and modulate expression levels of HSPs. However, currently probiotic therapy follows ex-adiuvantibus criteria, i.e., treatments with beneficial effects but whose mechanism of action is unknown, which should be changed so the probiotics needed in each case are predetermined on the basis of the patient's microbiota. Consequently, efforts are necessary to develop diagnostic tools for elucidating levels and distribution of HSPs and the microbiota composition (microbiota fingerprint) of each subject and, thus, guide specific probiotic therapy, tailored to meet the needs of the patient. Microbiota fingerprinting ought to include molecular biology techniques for sequencing highly conserved DNA, e.g., genes encoding 16S RNA, for species identification and, in addition, quantification of each relevant microbe.

Virosome: a novel vector to enable multi-modal strategies for cancer therapy

Despite advancements in treatments, cancer remains a life-threatening disease that is resistant to therapy. Single-modal cancer therapy is often insufficient to provide complete remission. A revolution in cancer therapy may someday be provided by vector-based gene and drug delivery systems. However, it remains difficult to achieve this aim because viral and non-viral vectors have their own advantages and limitations. To overcome these limitations, virosomes have been constructed by combining viral components with non-viral vectors or by using pseudovirions without viral genome replication. Viruses, such as influenza virus, HVJ (hemagglutinating virus of Japan; Sendai virus) and hepatitis B virus, have been used in the construction of virosomes. The HVJ-derived vector is particularly promising due to its highly efficient delivery of DNA, siRNA, proteins and anti-cancer drugs. Furthermore, the HVJ envelope (HVJ-E) vector has intrinsic anti-tumor activities including the activation of multiple anti-tumor immunities and the induction of cancer-selective apoptosis. HVJ-E is currently being clinically used for the treatment of melanoma. A promising multi-modal cancer therapy will be achieved when virosomes with intrinsic anti-tumor activities are utilized as vectors for the delivery of anti-tumor drugs and genes.