Listeria monocytogenes is a Gram-positive facultative anaerobe that is the causative agent of the disease listeriosis and is responsible for nearly 20% of all food-related deaths in the United States. The ability of this bacterium to cause infections is proposed to correlate to its ability to resist the bactericidal properties of bile acids found in bile. Bile resistance mechanisms have exhibited increased activity under anaerobic conditions. Therefore, we hypothesized that limited oxygen could enhance the bile resistance of L. monocytogenes. Upon survival analysis, viability for virulent strains F2365, EGD-e, and 10403S increased upon 10% porcine bile extract under anaerobic conditions. However, avirulent strain HCC23 depicted no difference in bile resistance. The proteomic analysis revealed increased expression of proteins associated with DNA repair and virulence factors under anaerobic conditions in a strain dependent manner. Therefore, oxygen availability may contribute to bile resistance through the regulation of the SOS response.

Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen responsible for the disease listeriosis. The infectious process depends upon survival in high bile salt conditions encountered throughout the gastrointestinal tract, including the gallbladder. However, it is not clear how bile salt resistance mechanisms are induced, especially under physiologically relevant conditions. This study sought to determine how L. monocytogenes responds to bile salts under anaerobic conditions. The study found resistance to be strain specific and not dependent upon virulence. Changes in the expressed proteome were analyzed using multidimensional protein identification technology coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. A general response among virulent and avirulent strains found significant alterations in intensity of cell wall associated proteins, DNA repair proteins, protein folding chaperones and oxidative response proteins. Strain viability was correlated with an initial osmotic stress response followed by strain specific proteins associated with biofilm formation in EGDe and a transmembrane efflux pump in F2365.

Thesis advisor: Christina Faherty / Shigella, a Gram-negative bacterial pathogen, induces inflammation and diarrhea by invading the colonic epithelium. Annually, millions of Shigella infections occur globally, mainly in malnourished children. Despite extensive research, no effective vaccine exists. This work explores the mechanisms of Shigella proliferation before colonic infection, where an adverse environment is encountered, including bile salts exposure. One means of bile salts evasion is possibly lipopolysaccharide (LPS) modification. LPS—O-antigen, the polysaccharide core, and the lipid A—is a crucial outer membrane component for virulence. Transposon mutant analysis suggested a role of LPS in bile salts resistance; thus, the goal of this study was to define Shigella LPS modifications following bile salts exposure. LPS mutants were investigated to distinguish crucial components of the LPS structure for bile salts resistance. Mutants were analyzed relative to wild type for growth in bile salts and biofilm formation. The LPS from all strains was purified and analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Stained gels show modifications in the Oag, lipid A, and core components. Key bands were sent for mass spectrophotometry sequencing. Results indicate that the O-antigen regulates Shigella bile salts resistance, as the complete O-antigen deletion mutant and partial deletion mutants exhibited slow growth in bile salts and failed to form a biofilm in the presence of bile salts. This work highlights the importance of bile salts exposure for Shigella in future targeted antibodies against the pathogen. / Thesis (BS) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Biology.

The human gut microbiome is a complex microbial ecosystem residing in the lumen of our gastrointestinal tract. The type and amounts of microbes present in this ecosystem varies based on numerous factors, including host genetics, diet, and environmental factors. The human gut microbiome plays an important role in normal host physiological functions, including providing energy to colonocytes in the form of short-chain fatty acids. However, gut microbial metabolites have also been associated with numerous disease states. Current tools for analyzing the gut microbiome, such as high-throughput sequencing techniques, are limited in their predictive ability. Additionally, “-omic” approaches of studying the complex array of molecules, such as transcriptomics (RNA), proteomics (proteins), and metabolomics (previously identified physiologically active molecules), give important insight as to the levels of these molecules but do not provide adequate explanations for their production in a complex environment. With a better physiological understanding of why specific metabolites are produced by the gut microbiome, more directed therapies could be developed to target their production. Therefore, it is immensely important to study the specific bacteria that reside within the gut microbiome to gain a better understanding of how their metabolic actions might impact the host. Within this framework, this study aimed to better understand the production of secondary bile acid metabolites by bacterial in the gut microbiome. High levels of secondary bile acids are associated with numerous pathophysiological disorders including colon cancer, liver cancer, and cholesterol gallstone disease. In the current study, three bile acid metabolizing strains of bacteria that are known members of the gut microbiome were studied. A novel strain of Eggerthella lenta was identified and characterized, along with the type strain, for its ability to modulate bile acid and steroid metabolism based on the atmospheric gas composition. Additionally, it was shown that the oxidation of hydroxyl groups on primary bile acids by E. lenta C592 inhibited subsequent 7α-dehydroxylation by Clostridium scindens. The gene involved in the production of a Δ4,6-reductase enzyme, responsible for catalyzing two of the final reductive steps in the 7α-dehydroxylation pathway, was putatively identified and characterized in Clostridium scindens ATCC 35704. Lastly, the transcriptomic profile of Clostridium scindens VPI 12708 in the presence of numerous bile acids and steroid molecules was studied. These studies contribute significantly to the understanding of why specific bile acid metabolites are made by members of the gut microbiome and suggest ways of modulating their production.

This thesis deals with functional equivalents of Italian adjectives with the suffix -bile in present-day Italian based on the Czech-Italian parallel linguistic corpus InterCorp. In the opening theoretical part the main objective of the thesis is introduced - a comparison of the Czech suffix -telný with the Italian suffix -bile. In the next chapters the thesis focuses on corpus material characteristics - on frequency list - from qualitative and quantitative aspects and on Czech equivalents' typology. The last part concentrates on statistical evaluation of Czech translation solutions, on the individual percentage representation of Czech equivalents' variants and on general trends while translating these adjectives with the suffix -bile into Czech.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1993. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1993. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1995. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted. Includes bibliographical references.

Aim of the master thesis was the development and the optimization of the HPLC method with fluorescence detection for the determination of the bile acids in the bile of mice. On the basis of literature, the HPLC-FLD method has been proposed and optimized for the quantification of eight bile acids (cholic acid, glycocholic acid, deoxycholic acid, glycodeoxycholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, glycochenodeoxycholic acid, α-muricholic acid, and λ-muricholic acid) in the biological material. 1,2-benzo-3,4-dihydrocarbazole-9-ethyl-p-toluenesulfonate is suitable derivatization reagent for labeling of the bile acids. The calibration dependences, limits of detection and quantification (in the range of 0.88-1.78 μmol dm -3 ) for all bile acids are measured. In the biological sample five bile acids have been successfully identified and then determined (cholic acid, glycocholic acid, glycodeoxycholic acid, glycochenodeoxycholic acid, and α-muricholic acid). Key words: bile acids, HPLC, fluorescence detector, derivatization reaction, bile