Author Archives: admin
Endotoxin Fingerprinting
The pyrogenicity and immunogenicity of endotoxin are closely related to their chemical structure. Differences in the lenghth and composition of the O-antigen and core oligosaccharide can have significant effects on their biological activity. The number and length of fatty acid … Continue reading
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Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and the Microbiome
Myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), is a condition which is characterized by the onset of severe fatigue, usually between the ages of 20-40. It is often associated with other traits such as impaired memory or … Continue reading
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Cancer Killing Bacteria
This blog has previously highlighted the use of genetically modified bacteria as therapeutics, including a previous post detailing its effectiveness in treating patients impaired in proper nitrogen regulation. Here we focus on recent work from Korea in which a non-virulent … Continue reading
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New Advances in Endotoxin Detection
As previously discussed in this newsletter, LAL is the gold standard for endotoxin detection. However, due to limitations, such as assay interference, alternative non-enzymatic alternatives are being investigated regularly. We recently highlighted an alternative test from China dependent on the … Continue reading
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Altered Gut Microbes Can Cause Obesity
Previous reports have linked the gut microbiome to obesity. A recent study has taken this a step further and provided a mechanism for how this may occur. Scientists at Yale, led by Dr. Gerald Shulman, made the observation that acetate … Continue reading
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Designer Bacteria as Therapeutics
The role the microbiome plays in human disease, such as metabolic, gastrointestinal and neurological disorders, has been well-established. This has led to therapies that, just a few years ago, seemed radical, including fecal transplantation. Currently, several groups are working to … Continue reading
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Low Endotoxin Recovery
Low Endotoxin Recovery (LER) is the product-specific inhibition of the bacterial endotoxin test not due to assay interference. The prevailing thought is that endotoxin detection is dependent on supramolecular structure and excipients in pharmaceutical products can destablilize endotoxin complexes, leading … Continue reading
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Can Bacteria be the Fountain of Youth?
Over the past decade the importance of the bacterial microbiome has become clear with links to gastrointestinal, inflammatory, metabolic and neurological disorders being observed routinely. A new study, published in the journal Current Biology, extends this into longevity. Scientists gathered … Continue reading
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Cell-Based Endotoxin Detection
The gold standard for endotoxin detection is the LAL assay. However, due to its enzymatic nature and the dependence on harvesting a wild species, an alternative method could prove to be valuable. Scientists in China and the US recently published … Continue reading
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A Review on Endotoxemia
The October issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology includes an excellent review article on the issues surrounding endotoxemia and in detecting endotoxin in biological fluids. As is often the topic with this newsletter, the author begins by noting the … Continue reading
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