International journal of medical microbiology : IJMM
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Int. J. Med. Microbiol. · Nov 2014
Pseudomonas quinolone signalling system: a component of quorum sensing cascade is a crucial player in the acute urinary tract infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen which employs quorum sensing system to regulate several genes required for its survival and pathogenicity within the host. Besides acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) mediated las and rhl systems, this organism possesses Pseudomonas quinolone signalling (PQS) system based on alkyl quinolone signal molecules. The quinolone system represents another layer of sophistication in the complex quorum sensing cascade. ⋯ Further, supplementation of strains with PQS resulted in significant enhancement in the virulence as indicated by increased bacterial load, severe histopathological damage and enhanced levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines. These findings provide a new insight into the relevant importance of the Pseudomonas quinolone signalling system in the acute UTI caused by P. aeruginosa. This system can be a potential target for futuristic anti-infective approach against this organism.
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Int. J. Med. Microbiol. · Nov 2014
Virulence attributes in Brazilian clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen responsible for causing a huge variety of acute and chronic infections with significant levels of morbidity and mortality. Its success as a pathogen comes from its genetic/metabolic plasticity, intrinsic/acquired antimicrobial resistance, capacity to form biofilm and expression of numerous virulence factors. Herein, we have analyzed the genetic variability, antimicrobial susceptibility as well as the production of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) and virulence attributes (elastase, pyocyanin and biofilm) in 96 strains of P. aeruginosa isolated from different anatomical sites of patients attended at Brazilian hospitals. ⋯ Urine isolates produced the highest pyocyanin concentration (20.15±5.65 μg/ml), while strains isolated from pleural secretion and mouth produced elevated elastase activity (1441.43±303.08 FAU) and biofilm formation (OD590 0.676±0.32), respectively. Also, MBL-positive strains produced robust biofilm compared to MBL-negative strains. Collectively, the production of site-dependent virulence factors can be highlighted as potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of infections caused by heterogeneous and resistant strains of P. aeruginosa.
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Int. J. Med. Microbiol. · Nov 2014
A complementary tool for management of disseminated Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum infections in AIDS patients.
In South America, disseminated histoplasmosis due to Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum (H. capsulatum), is a severe and frequent opportunistic infection in AIDS patients. In areas outside the USA where specific-Histoplasma antigen detection is not available, the diagnosis is difficult. With the galactomannan antigen (GM) detection, a test commonly used for invasive aspergillosis diagnosis, there is a cross-reactivity with H. capsulatum that can be helpful for the diagnosis of histoplasmosis. ⋯ For the GM detection, the sensitivity (Se) was 76.9% and specificity (Sp) was 100% with the recommended threshold for aspergillosis diagnosis (0.5). The test was more efficient with a threshold of 0.4 (Se: 0.82 [95% CI: 0.66-0.92], Sp: 1.00 [95% CI: 0.86-1.00], LR+: >10, LR-: 0.18). This study confirms that the GM detection can be a surrogate marker for the diagnosis of disseminated histoplasmosis in AIDS patients in endemic areas where Histoplasma EIA is not available.
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Int. J. Med. Microbiol. · Nov 2014
Hypermutation in Burkholderia cepacia complex is mediated by DNA mismatch repair inactivation and is highly prevalent in cystic fibrosis chronic respiratory infection.
The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) represents an important group of pathogens involved in long-term lung infection in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. A positive selection of hypermutators, linked to antimicrobial resistance development, has been previously reported for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in this chronic infection setting. Hypermutability, however, has not yet been systematically evaluated in Bcc species. ⋯ High antimicrobial resistance rates were documented for all the Bcc species recovered from CF patients, but, except for ciprofloxacin, a significant association with hypermutation was not detected. In conclusion, in the present study we demonstrate for the first time that, MRS-deficient Bcc species mutators are highly prevalent and positively selected in CF chronic lung infections. Hypermutation therefore, might be playing a key role in increasing bacterial adaptability to the CF-airway environment, facilitating the persistence of chronic lung infections.