Biology subjects

Arzi, B.

Publications and source records attributed to Arzi, B..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Metatranscriptomic Profiling Reveals Species-Level Microbial Shifts and Metabolic Remodeling in Feline Oral Inflammatory Disease

Progressive oral mucosal inflammatory diseases are common among mammals. Cats are a valuable natural model for these conditions because they frequently develop oral diseases with varying severity, yet causative microbes remain unidentified in part because longitudinal studies are challenging and sampling is difficult. The lack of individual pathobionts suggests community-scale taxonomic and functional remodeling of the microbiome may be a contributor to oral disease. This study evaluated the microbiome composition and function of 33 cats across three cohorts with different levels of inflammation: healthy, aggressive periodontitis, and feline gingivostomatitis. Ultradeep metatranscriptomic sequencing was used to assign microbial taxonomy and examine functional changes via differential gene expression analysis to reveal genera that maintained stable relative abundance across all three disease states, including Porphyromonas and Treponema, while others had more subtle shifts in species activity, including multiple members of Moraxella and Mycoplasmopsis. Disease status was marked by co-occurring changes in low activity species accompanied by microbiome-level changes in protein, arginine, and nitrogen metabolism. Cats with aggressive periodontitis and gingivostomatitis displayed microbiome shifts in species that correlated to disease state. Microbial differential expression analysis revealed induction of stress-related genes and metabolic genes involved in amino acid metabolism, polyamine production, and nitric oxide production. Together, species identification and functional profiling suggest oral inflammation was correlated to shifts in the activity of multiple species that were involved with NO and polyamines. These coordinated metabolic signatures represent potential diagnostic targets for feline oral inflammatory disease.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Assessment of Augmented Reality Glasses for Spatial Tracking and Intraoperative Annotation in Veterinary Surgery

ObjectivesAugmented reality (AR) glasses may improve surgical precision by projecting holographic overlays directly onto the surgical field. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of AR technology for enhancing spatial tracking. MethodsWe developed an AR application in Unity compatible with XReal glasses that allowed users to annotate and interact with a realistic 3D hologram of a dog head. Resident and specialist veterinarians were recruited to completed coordinate (distance) and outline (area) annotations under two conditions: (1) transfer: memorizing targets from a computer screen, and (2) direct: seeing the targets directly on the head. Distance errors, area metrics, and completion times were recorded from each participant. ResultsThe mean distance error (N = 22) was significantly lower for direct versus transfer coordinates (2.73 {+/-} 0.79 mm vs. 3.42 {+/-} 1.81 mm). Area coverage (N = 20) was higher (83.7% {+/-} 13.4% vs. 63.3% {+/-} 16.2) and non-overlap was similarly reduced with AR-guidance. Completion times differed significantly between the transfer and direct groups for coordinate tasks (11.2 {+/-} 10.4 sec versus 8.19 {+/-} sec) but not for area tracing (25.7 {+/-} 18.3 sec versus 26.8 {+/-} 26.5 sec). ConclusionAR-guided visualization improved spatial accuracy for both distance and area metrics without reducing speed. The effects observed for specialty, eyewear, or arm length were negligible. However, the level of experience with a cutoff of 2 years did have a significant effect on distance error. Clinical RelevanceThese findings support the utility of AR for optimizing surgical precision in veterinary medicine.

bioengineering↗

bioRxiv2025

Controlled delivery of immunomodulatory factors for mineralized tissue formation in an inflammatory microenvironment

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a promising cell-based therapy for bone healing, contributing to tissue regeneration through direct differentiation or immunomodulatory factor secretion. However, diseases that feature chronic or dysregulated inflammation, such as non-union fractures and osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ), have proven difficult to treat with current MSC-based approaches. Here, we investigated whether controlled delivery of immunomodulatory factors would allow MSCs to simultaneously undergo osteogenic differentiation and modulate inflammation. We first used a Design of Experiments approach to identify the type and concentrations of immunomodulatory factors (IMFs) that most effectively induce concurrent pro-regenerative macrophages and MSC osteogenic differentiation, then loaded these IMFs into polymeric microparticles for controlled release. Through our in vitro models, we demonstrated that microparticles releasing IL-10 and IL-4 promote naive MSC osteogenesis and modulate immune response, even in chronic, physiologically relevant, inflammatory conditions. We then applied this approach to an in vivo rat model of ONJ as a clinically relevant example of such conditions. We observed clinically relevant sex-based differences in inflammation and bone formation that have not yet been reported. These data represent key findings that will facilitate the reversal of diseases that are linked to chronic bone loss and inflammation, such as ONJ.

bioengineering↗