Aims: Dietary intake of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) by human is insufficient to exhibit properties of anti-cancer, antiinflammatory, anti-atherosclerosis, anti-obesity and enhancing immune system. Thus, enrichment of CLA in chicken by bacteria is a suggestion to solve the problem. It would be an advantage to have bacteria capable of producing CLA and has probiotic potential in chicken. Thus, probiotic properties of CLA-producing bacteria were accessed in this study. Methodology and results: In this study, 47 lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from gastrointestinal tract of chickens were screened for conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) production. Lactobacillus salivarius strain P2, Enterococcus faecium strain P1 and Lactobacillus agilis strain P3 were shown to produce 21.97, 23.35 and 31.08 µg/mL of CLA in MRS broth containing free linoleic acid (0.5 mg/mL) and 2% (w/v) Tween 80, respectively. Lactobacillus salivarius strain P2, E. faecium strain P1 and L. agilis strain P3 were found to be able to tolerate 0.3% oxgall (Difco, France) and pH 2.5. Lactobacillus agilis strain P3 and L. salivarius strain P2 showed better acid tolerance compared to E. faecium strain P1. Besides that, L. agilis strain P3 and L. salivarius strain P2 were resistant to two out of eight types of antibiotics tested, able to produce 220.04 mM lactic acid and 200.17 mM of lactic acid, respectively. Enterococcus faecium strain P1 was resistant to five out of eight types of antibiotic tested, produced 90.39 mM lactic acid and showed hemolytic activity. Only L. agilis strain P3 can produce acetic acid at a concentration of 2.71 mM. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: These results showed that the CLA-producing L. salivarius strain P2 and L. agilis strain P3 could be potential probiotic bacteria for chickens, which may eventually lead to production of chicken with better meat quality.
Linoleic Acids, Conjugated ; Probiotics

Resveratrol, an anti-inflammatory agent, can inhibit pro-inflammatory mediators by activating Sirt1, which is a class III histone deacetylase. However, whether resveratrol can regulate inhibitory or anti-inflammatory molecules has been less studied. FcγRIIB, a receptor for IgG, is an essential inhibitory receptor of B cells for blocking B-cell receptor-mediated activation and for directly inducing apoptosis of B cells. Because mice deficient in either Sirt1 or FcγRIIB develop lupus-like diseases, we investigated whether resveratrol can alleviate lupus through FcγRIIB. We found that resveratrol enhanced the expression of FcγRIIB in B cells, resulting in a marked depletion of plasma cells in the spleen and notably in the bone marrow, thereby decreasing serum autoantibody titers in MRL/lpr mice. The upregulation of FcγRIIB by resveratrol involved an increase of Sirt1 protein and deacetylation of p65 NF-κB (K310). Moreover, increased binding of phosphor-p65 NF-κB (S536) but decreased association of acetylated p65 NF-κB (K310) and phosphor-p65 NF-κB (S468) to the −480 promoter region of Fcgr2b gene was responsible for the resveratrol-mediated enhancement of FcγRIIB gene transcription. Consequently, B cells, especially plasma cells, were considerably reduced in MRL/lpr mice, leading to improvement of nephritis and prolonged survival. Taken together, we provide evidence that pharmacological upregulation of FcγRIIB expression in B cells via resveratrol can selectively reduce B cells, decrease serum autoantibodies and ameliorate lupus nephritis. Our findings lead us to propose FcγRIIB as a new target for therapeutic exploitation, particularly for lupus patients whose FcγRIIB expression levels in B cells are downregulated.
Animals ; Apoptosis ; Autoantibodies ; B-Lymphocytes* ; Bone Marrow ; Histone Deacetylases ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Lupus Nephritis ; Mice ; Nephritis ; Plasma Cells ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Spleen ; Up-Regulation*

A biosynthetic gene cluster for the bioactive fungal sesterterpenoids variecolin ( 1) and variecolactone ( 2) was identified in Aspergillus aculeatus ATCC 16872. Heterologous production of 1 and 2 was achieved in Aspergillus oryzae by expressing the sesterterpene synthase VrcA and the cytochrome P450 VrcB. Intriguingly, the replacement of VrcB with homologous P450s from other fungal terpenoid pathways yielded three new variecolin analogues ( 5- 7). Analysis of the compounds' anticancer activity in vitro and in vivo revealed that although 5 and 1 had comparable activities, 5 was associated with significantly reduced toxic side effects in cancer-bearing mice, indicating its potentially broader therapeutic window. Our study describes the first tests of variecolin and its analogues in animals and demonstrates the utility of synthetic biology for creating molecules with improved biological activities.