Title: Prevalence and patterns of the concurrent use of anticholinergics for the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors in Parkinson's disease patients with dementia: a cross-sectional study using Korea National Health Insurance claims data Baik D, Yu YM, Jung SY, Kang HY Ref: BMC Geriatr, 22:609, 2022 : PubMed
BACKGROUND: The concurrent use of anticholinergics and acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (ACHEIs) in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with dementia should be avoided because the opposing pharmacological actions of both drugs reduce the treatment efficacy. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of the concurrent use of these two types of drugs in Korean patients. METHODS: In the 2017 Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service-National Aged Patient Sample data, comprising insurance claims records for a 10% random sample of patients aged <= 65 years in Korea, "concurrent use" was defined as the overlapping of anticholinergic and ACHEI doses for at least 2 months. RESULTS: Among 8,845 PD patients with dementia, 847 (9.58%) were co-administered anticholinergics, used to treat the motor symptoms of PD, and ACHEIs for a mean duration of 7.7 months. A total of 286 (33.77% of all co-administered) patients used both drug types concurrently all year. About 80% of concurrent users were prescribed each drug by the same prescriber, indicating that coadministration may not be due to a lack of information sharing between providers. Logistic regression analysis showed that patients mainly treated at clinics (odds ratio (OR), 1.541; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.158-2.059), hospitals (OR, 2.135; 95% CI, 1.586-2.883), and general hospitals (OR, 1.568; 95% CI, 1.221-2.028) were more likely to be co-prescribed anticholinergics and ACHEIs than those mainly treated at tertiary-care hospitals. PD patients with dementia treated at healthcare organizations located in areas other than the capital city had an approximately 22% higher risk of concurrent use (OR: 1.227, 95% CI: 1.046-1.441). CONCLUSIONS: The concurrent use of anticholinergics for the motor symptoms of PD and ACHEIs in elderly Korean PD patients with dementia cannot be ignored, and strategies that mitigate potentially inappropriate concurrent drug use are required.
MAIN CONCLUSION: Resistance against anthracnose fungi was enhanced in transgenic pepper plants that accumulated high levels of a carboxylesterase, PepEST in anthracnose-susceptible fruits, with a concurrent induction of antioxidant enzymes and SA-dependent PR proteins. A pepper esterase gene (PepEST) is highly expressed during the incompatible interaction between ripe fruits of pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and a hemibiotrophic anthracnose fungus (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides). In this study, we found that exogenous application of recombinant PepEST protein on the surface of the unripe pepper fruits led to a potentiated state for disease resistance in the fruits, including generation of hydrogen peroxide and expression of pathogenesis-related (PR) genes that encode mostly small proteins with antimicrobial activity. To elucidate the role of PepEST in plant defense, we further developed transgenic pepper plants overexpressing PepEST under the control of CaMV 35S promoter. Molecular analysis confirmed the establishment of three independent transgenic lines carrying single copy of transgenes. The level of PepEST protein was estimated to be approximately 0.002 % of total soluble protein in transgenic fruits. In response to the anthracnose fungus, the transgenic fruits displayed higher expression of PR genes, PR3, PR5, PR10, and PepThi, than non-transgenic control fruits did. Moreover, immunolocalization results showed concurrent localization of ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and PR3 proteins, along with the PepEST protein, in the infected region of transgenic fruits. Disease rate analysis revealed significantly low occurrence of anthracnose disease in the transgenic fruits, approximately 30 % of that in non-transgenic fruits. Furthermore, the transgenic plants also exhibited resistance against C. acutatum and C. coccodes. Collectively, our results suggest that overexpression of PepEST in pepper confers enhanced resistance against the anthracnose fungi by activating the defense signaling pathways.
MELDB is a comprehensive protein database of microbial esterases and lipases which are hydrolytic enzymes important in the modern industry. Proteins in MELDB are clustered into groups according to their sequence similarities based on a local pairwise alignment algorithm and a graph clustering algorithm (TribeMCL). This differs from traditional approaches that use global pairwise alignment and joining methods. Our procedure was able to reduce the noise caused by dubious alignment in the distantly related or unrelated regions in the sequences. In the database, 883 esterase and lipase sequences derived from microbial sources are deposited and conserved parts of each protein are identified. HMM profiles of each cluster were generated to classify unknown sequences. Contents of the database can be keyword-searched and query sequences can be aligned to sequence profiles and sequences themselves.
Harmful algal blooms, caused by rapid growth and accumulation of certain microalgae in the ocean, pose considerable impacts on marine environments, aquatic industries and even public health. Here, we present the 7.2-megabase genome of the marine bacterium Hahella chejuensis including genes responsible for the biosynthesis of a pigment which has the lytic activity against a red-tide dinoflagellate. H.chejuensis is the first sequenced species in the Oceanospiralles clade, and sequence analysis revealed its distant relationship to the Pseudomonas group. The genome was well equipped with genes for basic metabolic capabilities and contained a large number of genes involved in regulation or transport as well as with characteristics as a marine heterotroph. Sequence analysis also revealed a multitude of genes of functional equivalence or of possible foreign origin. Functions encoded in the genomic islands include biosynthesis of exopolysacchrides, toxins, polyketides or non-ribosomal peptides, iron utilization, motility, type III protein secretion and pigmentation. Molecular structure of the algicidal pigment, which was determined through LC-ESI-MS/MS and NMR analyses, indicated that it is prodigiosin. In conclusion, our work provides new insights into mitigating algal blooms in addition to genetic make-up, physiology, biotic interactions and biological roles in the community of a marine bacterium.
