No abstract

The antitumor effects of a partially purified water extract from Euglena gracilis (EWE) and EWE treated by boiling (bEWE) were evaluated using orthotopic lung cancer syngeneic mouse models with Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. Daily oral administration of either EWE or bEWE started three weeks prior to the inoculation of LLC cells significantly attenuated tumor growth as compared to the phosphate buffered saline (PBS) control, and the attenuation was further enhanced by bEWE. The intestinal microbiota compositions in both extract-treated groups were more diverse than that in the PBS group. Particularly, a decrease in the ratio of Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes and significant increases in Akkermansia and Muribaculum were observed in two types of EWE-treated groups. Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) using bEWE-treated mouse feces attenuated tumor growth to an extent equivalent to bEWE treatment, while tumor growth attenuation by bEWE was abolished by treatment with an antibiotic cocktail. These studies strongly suggest that daily oral administration of partially purified water extracts from Euglena gracilis attenuates lung carcinoma growth via the alteration of the intestinal microbiota.

A colon cancer growth inhibitor partially purified from the isolated cell wall membrane fraction of Chlorella sorokiniana, here referred to as Chlorella membrane factor (CMF), was evaluated for its antitumor and immunomodulatory effects in cell culture and in a colon carcinoma mouse model. The CMF treatment dose- and time-dependently inhibited colon carcinoma cell growth in 2-dimensional cultures. Treatment with CMF also significantly inhibited the growth of colon carcinoma spheroids in 3-dimensional cell culture in coculture with T lymphocytes. In a mouse CT26 colon carcinoma peritoneal dissemination model, intraperitoneal injection of CMF (10 or 30 mg dry weight/kg body weight, every other day) dose-dependently and significantly attenuated the growth of tumor nodules via induction of tumor cell apoptosis. Evaluation of immune cell populations in ascites showed that CMF treatment tended to increase T lymphocytes but lower granulocyte populations. The present study suggests that the cell wall membrane fraction of Chlorella sorokiniana contains a bioactive material that inhibits colon carcinoma growth via direct cell growth inhibition and stimulation of host antitumor immunity. Hence, it is suggested that the Chlorella cell wall membrane extract or a bioactive substance in the extract is an attractive complementary medicine for cancer therapy.

Sporadic outbreaks of Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a zoonotic, mosquitoborne Phlebovirus, cause abortion storms and death in sheep and cattle resulting in catastrophic economic impacts in endemic regions of Africa. More recently, with changes in competent vector distribution, growing international trade, and potential use for bioterrorism, RVFV has become a transboundary animal disease of significant concern.New and sensitive techniques that determine RVFV presence, while lessening the potential for environmental contamination and human risk, through the use of inactivated, non-infectious samples such as formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues are needed. FFPE tissue in situ hybridization (ISH) enables the detection of nucleic acid sequences within the visual context of cellular and tissue morphology. Here we present a chromogenic pan-RVFV ISH assay based on RNAscope  technology that is able to detect multiple RVFV strains in FFPE tissues, enabling visual correlation of RVFV RNA presence with histopathologic lesions.

Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a mosquito-borne, zoonotic pathogen, is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and has spread beyond the continent to the Arabian Peninsula. The high likelihood of RVFV's spread to other non-endemic countries spurs the need for development and implementation of rapid diagnostic tests and surveillance programs. In this preliminary evaluation, we assessed the diagnostic accuracy and precision of a recombinant RVFV nucleoprotein based competitive ELISA (cELISA) assay to detect RVFV antibodies compared to a plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), using sera of cattle and sheep that were experimentally infected with either the MP-12 RVFV vaccine or a wild-type RVFV strain, as well as using known RVFV negative sera. With the manufacturer recommended 60% inhibition for the cELISA and a 1:40 titer for the PRNT, the sensitivity and specificity of the cELISA assay was determined to be 95.1% (95% CI = 83.5-99.4%) and 91.8% (95% CI = 85.0-96.2%), respectively. Antibodies to RVFV were first detected at 5 days post inoculation (dpi) in both species' sera. The prototype cELISA is an easy to implement, sensitive, specific, and safe test for the detection of antibodies to RVFV that can be used in surveillance programs.