Microbial β-(1→3)-glucans are polysaccharides of biological and technological in-terest whose production depends strongly on strain and culture conditions. This study characterized the temporal relationship between bacterial growth and aniline-blue re-activity in Alcaligenes faecalis A12C under growth and fermentation conditions. Growth, viability, and β-(1→3)-glucan-associated signals were monitored over 96 h using spec-trophotometric, microbiological, and microscopic approaches. In growth culture me-dium (GCM), OD600 increased after 24–30 h and reached approximately 2.4 at 72 h, coinciding with the highest viable count (2.49 × 10²¹ CFU/mL). Aniline-blue coloration became clearly detectable after approximately 30 h and persisted through 96 h, when microscopy showed blue staining associated with bacterial cells. In fermentation culture medium (FCM), OD600 increased progressively to approximately 2.8 at 96 h, whereas viable counts followed a distinct temporal profile. Aniline-blue reactivity increased during early fermentation and remained stable at an A610 of approximately 1.0 from 24 h onward. The divergence among OD600, viable counts, and aniline-blue reactivity in-dicates that bacterial proliferation and development of the aniline-blue-reactive signal followed distinct temporal patterns. These findings characterize this temporal rela-tionship in A12C cultures, although chemical and structural characterization is required to determine whether the detected polymer corresponds to curdlan.

Microbial exopolysaccharides (EPSs) are functional biopolymers of growing scientific and industrial interest because of their structural diversity, biocompatibility, and rheological properties. Microbial β-(1→3)-glucans are of particular biological and technological interest, and their production depends strongly on strain characteristics, medium composition, and culture conditions. This study characterized the temporal relationship among bacterial growth, viability, and aniline-blue reactivity in Alcaligenes faecalis A12C under batch growth and fermentation conditions. Growth turbidity, viable bacterial concentration, and β-(1→3)-glucan-associated signals were monitored over 96 h using spectrophotometric, microbiological, and microscopic approaches. In growth culture medium (GCM), OD600 increased after 24–30 h and reached approximately 2.4 at 72 h, coinciding with the highest viable count (2.44 × 10²¹ CFU/mL). Aniline-blue coloration became clearly detectable after 30 h and persisted through 96 h, when microscopy showed blue staining associated with bacterial cells. In fermentation culture medium (FCM), OD600 increased progressively to approximately 2.8 at 96 h, whereas viable counts followed a distinct temporal profile. Aniline-blue reactivity changed during the first 24 h and remained close to an A610 of approximately 1.0 thereafter. These findings indicate distinct temporal patterns among culture turbidity, viability, and aniline-blue reactivity and provide a framework for subsequent structural characterization of the detected material.

Sepsis is characterized by a dysregulated host response to infection; this can lead to multiorgan dysfunction where liver and kidneys play a key role. This study evaluated whether long-term oral administration of A12C modulates hepatic and renal homeostasis under basal conditions and during polymicrobial sepsis. Forty-five male Sprague–Dawley rats were allocated to healthy control (SAN), healthy A12C-treated (STO), septic control (IC), or septic A12C-treated (IA) groups. A12C was administered in drinking water at 6×10⁸ CFU/mL for 30 days, and sepsis was induced by caecal ligation and puncture (CLP). Gene expression, protein abundance, antioxidant enzyme activities, and histopathological alterations were evaluated in liver and kidney. Under basal conditions, A12C reduced hepatic Tlr4 and Tgfb1 expression and TLR4, ICAM-1, and SOD2 protein abundance, whereas renal Tnf and Icam1 expression and SOD and GRd activities increased. During sepsis, A12C-treated rats showed lower hepatic expression of Tnf, Il6, Ccl2, Icam1, and Nos2, together with increased SOD1 protein abundance. In kidney, A12C reduced Tlr4, Il6 and Icam1 expression and increase CAT, GPx, and GRd activities. Reduced expression of several inflammatory and endothelial mediators was detected in both organs and a marked enhancement of renal antioxidant defences during sepsis. The present results support the potential of A12C to improve the host response to sepsis and limit sepsis-associated organ dysfunction, possibly through a preconditioning-like mechanism.

Ten dogs with oral malignant melanoma were evaluated and treated with surgery, of which four dogs were diagnosed with melanotic melanoma and six were diagnosed with amelanotic melanoma. Serum samples from oral malignant melanoma (OMM) were collected at baseline, the day of the surgery, and every 3–4 months, during which time a clinical examination and chest X-rays were performed. Concentrations of GM-CSF, IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-15, IL-18, IP-10, KC-like, MCP-1, and TNFα were quantified. Follow-up samples indicated that after the removal of malignant melanoma, the serum levels of GM-CSF, IFN-γ, MCP-1, IL-18, and IL-2 increased significantly. In contrast, when comparing samples from dogs with OMM to those of patients in remission, the concentrations of IL-7 and MCP-1 were significantly higher in the remission samples than in the OMM samples. Furthermore, when comparing the serum concentrations between the OMM-metastasis samples and those patients in remission, elevated levels of MCP-1 were associated with poorer overall survival due to the development of OMM metastasis. Finally, a comparison of cytokines in the melanotic OMM and amelanotic OMM samples revealed that the amelanotic OMM samples exhibited higher concentrations of IL-6, IL-10, and IL-15 compared to the melanotic OMM samples.

Major depressive disorder pathophysiology involves complex gut-brain axis interactions, yet the systemic non-neurochemical impacts of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors re-main poorly defined. This study evaluated the multidimensional effects of chronic fluoxe-tine administration in Sprague-Dawley rats. Male rats received fluoxetine (10 mg/kg/day) or water for 60 days, followed by behavioral phenotyping, fecal microbiological quantifi-cation, serum biochemistry, complete blood count analysis, and immunohistochemical assessment of the immediate-early gene product c-Fos (cellular proto-oncogene protein) in the striatum. Fluoxetine treatment significantly reduced immobility time in the forced swim test, whereas object recognition memory deteriorated without alterations in anxie-ty-like behavior. Pharmacological intervention markedly depleted fecal bacterial popula-tions and significantly decreased serum vitamin D concentrations. Hematologically, treated animals exhibited significant reductions in total leukocytes, red blood cells, and platelets, alongside elevated hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume. Concurrently, c-Fos-positive neuronal activation increased significantly within the striatal nucleus ac-cumbens. In conclusion, chronic fluoxetine exposure induces profound systemic disrup-tion, altering gut microbial homeostasis, depleting vitamin D, and modulating peripheral blood profiles while enhancing central striatal neuronal plasticity. These findings under-score the necessity of monitoring gut-brain axis integrity during prolonged antidepressant therapy.