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The American Journal of Case Reports Oct 2022BACKGROUND Aerococcus species are a rare cause of endocarditis. Micro-organism identification and antibiotic choice can pose significant management challenges to...
BACKGROUND Aerococcus species are a rare cause of endocarditis. Micro-organism identification and antibiotic choice can pose significant management challenges to clinicians who care for patients with this infection. Aerococcus is a gram-positive micro-organism which is commonly misidentified because it shares many similarities with streptococcus and enterococcus species. Aerococcus urinae is usually found to cause urinary tract infections and occurs more frequently in patients with structural urinary tract abnormalities associated with urethral and ureteral obstruction such as kidney stones, phimosis, and prostate hyperplasia. However, it is reported to rarely cause endocarditis. CASE REPORT A 48-year-old man with a history of cocaine abuse and right hip replacement presented to our emergency department with acute encephalopathy. Through a complicated hospital course, he was found to be septic and the bacteria were initially misidentified as an alpha-hemolytic strep before being correctly identified as Aerococcus urinae. He was found to have multiple cerebral, likely septic, embolic infarcts and aortic valve endocarditis. Identification of the micro-organism on blood cultures was challenging, as were decisions about antibiotic choice. He died despite efforts of a multidisciplinary care team. CONCLUSIONS Our case highlights a unique case of Aerococcus endocarditis and shows the difficulty in initially identifying the bacteria. To our knowledge this is the first case reported in the setting of substance abuse. It also highlights the lack of appropriate guideline-directed therapy with regards to antibiotic choices in this group of patients, emphasizing the importance of further research in this regard.
Topics: Aerococcus; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Aortic Valve; Endocarditis; Endocarditis, Bacterial; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Sepsis
PubMed: 36251625
DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.937596 -
Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2017Emerging evidence indicates that alterations to the urinary microbiome are related to lower urinary tract symptoms. Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common disorder with...
Emerging evidence indicates that alterations to the urinary microbiome are related to lower urinary tract symptoms. Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common disorder with complex etiologies and usually accompanied by psychological diseases. More information concerning the urinary microbiome and psychological factors in OAB is required. The aim of this study was to characterize the female urinary microbiome associated with OAB and investigate the relationships between urinary microbiome and psychological factors. Thirty women with OAB and 25 asymptomatic controls were recruited and asked to finish the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score, Self-Rating Anxiety Scale and Self-Rating Depression Scale. Urine specimens were collected by transurethral catheterization and processed for 16S rRNA gene sequencing using Illumina MiSeq. Sequencing reads were processed using QIIME. LEfSe revealed significant differences in bacterial genera between controls and OAB patients. The relationships between the diversity of the urinary microbiome and psychological scores were identified by Pearson's correlation coefficient. We found that bacterial diversity (Simpson index) and richness (Chao1) were lower in OAB samples compared to controls ( both = 0.038). OAB and control bacterial communities were significantly different (based on weighted UniFrac distance metric, = 0.064, = 0.037). LEfSe demonstrated that 7 genera were increased (e.g., and ) and 13 were reduced (e.g., and ) in OAB group compared to controls. There were negative correlations between scores on Self-Rating Depression Scale and both richness (Chao1, = -0.458, = 0.011) and diversity (Shannon index, = -0.516, = 0.003) of urinary microbiome in OAB group. Some bacterial genera of OAB women with anxiety or depression were significantly different from those without. The aberrant urinary microbiome with decreased diversity and richness may have strong implications in pathogenesis and treatment of OAB. Psychological conditions were correlated with characteristics of urinary microbiome in women with OAB. Further research is needed to understand the connection between central nervous system and urinary microbiome.
Topics: Adult; Bacteria; Biodiversity; China; DNA, Bacterial; Depression; Female; Humans; Microbial Consortia; Microbiota; Middle Aged; Phylogeny; Psychology; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Severity of Illness Index; Urinary Bladder, Overactive; Urinary Tract; Young Adult
PubMed: 29230385
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2017.00488 -
Scientific Reports Oct 2017ALFPm6, a member of antimicrobial peptide in the antilipopolysaccharide factor (ALF) family from Penaeus monodon, plays important roles in shrimp immunity against...
ALFPm6, a member of antimicrobial peptide in the antilipopolysaccharide factor (ALF) family from Penaeus monodon, plays important roles in shrimp immunity against pathogens. However, its antimicrobial activity and underlying mechanism have not been reported. The synthetic cyclic ALFPm6#29-52 peptide (cALFPm6#29-52) corresponding to the ALFPm6 LPS-binding domain can agglutinate and exhibited bacterial killing activity toward a Gram-negative bacterium, Escherichia coli 363 and Gram-positive bacteria, Bacillus megaterium, Aerococcus viridans, and Micrococcus luteus, with MIC values of 25-50 μM. Specifically, ALFPm6 and ALFPm3, the most abundant ALF isoforms, are different in terms of gene expression patterns upon pathogen infections. Herein, the regulation of ALFPm3 and ALFPm6 gene expression was studied. The 5'-upstream and promoter sequences were identified and the putative transcription factor (TF)-binding sites were predicted. The narrow down assay indicated that the ALFPm3 promoter and partial promoter of the ALFPm6 active regions were located at nucleotide positions (-814/+302) and (-282/+85), respectively. Mutagenesis of selected TF-binding sites revealed that Rel/NF-κB (-280/-270) of ALFPm3 and C/EBPβ (-88/-78) and Sp1 (-249/-238) sites of ALFPm6 were the activator-binding sites. Knockdown of the PmMyD88 and PmRelish genes in V. harveyi-infected shrimp suggested that the ALFPm3 gene was regulated by Toll and IMD pathways, while the ALFPm6 gene was regulated by the Toll pathway.
Topics: Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; Arthropod Proteins; Base Sequence; Binding Sites; Gene Expression Regulation; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Models, Biological; Penaeidae; RNA, Messenger; Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid; Signal Transduction; Transcription Factors
PubMed: 28978934
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12137-5 -
The Urobiomes of Adult Women With Various Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Status Differ: A Re-Analysis.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection... 2022The discovery of the urinary microbiome (urobiome) has created opportunities for urinary health researchers who study a wide variety of human health conditions. This...
The discovery of the urinary microbiome (urobiome) has created opportunities for urinary health researchers who study a wide variety of human health conditions. This manuscript describes an analysis of catheterized urine samples obtained from 1,004 urobiome study participants with the goal of identifying the most abundant and/or prevalent (common) taxa in five clinically relevant cohorts: unaffected adult women (n=346, 34.6%), urgency urinary incontinence (UUI) (n=255, 25.5%), stress urinary incontinence (SUI) (n=50, 5.0%), urinary tract infection (UTI) (n=304, 30.4%), and interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome (IC/PBS) (n=49, 4.9%). Urine was collected transurethral catheter and assessed for microbes with the Expanded Quantitative Urine Culture (EQUC) technique. For this combined analytic cohort, the mean age was 59 ± 16; most were Caucasian (n=704, 70.2%), Black (n=137, 13.7%), or Hispanic (n=130, 13.0%), and the mean BMI was 30.4 ± 7.7. Whereas many control or IC/PBS cohort members were EQUC-negative (42.4% and 39.8%, respectively), members of the other 3 cohorts were extremely likely to have detectable microbes. The detected urobiomes of the controls and IC/PBS did not differ by alpha diversity or genus level composition and differed by only a few species. The other 3 cohorts differed significantly from the controls. As expected, was both prevalent and highly abundant in the UTI cohort, but other taxa also were prevalent at more moderate abundances, including members of the genera , , and Members of these genera were also prevalent and highly abundant in members of the UUI cohort, especially . Intriguingly, these taxa were also detected in controls but at vastly lower levels of both prevalence and abundance, suggesting the possibility that UUI-associated symptoms could be the result of an overabundance of typical urobiome constituents. Finally, prevalence and abundance of microbes in the SUI cohort were intermediate to those of the UUI and control cohorts. These observations can inform the next decade of urobiome research, with the goal of clarifying the mechanisms of urobiome community composition and function. There is tremendous potential to improve diagnosis, evaluation and treatment for individuals affected with a wide variety of urinary tract disorders.
Topics: Adult; Aged; Cystitis, Interstitial; Female; Humans; Lactobacillus; Microbiota; Middle Aged; Urinary Incontinence; Urinary Tract; Urinary Tract Infections
PubMed: 35755842
DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2022.860408 -
Animals : An Open Access Journal From... Jun 2022With the development of modern pig raising technology, the increasing density of animals in pig houses leads to the accumulation of microbial aerosols in pig houses. It...
With the development of modern pig raising technology, the increasing density of animals in pig houses leads to the accumulation of microbial aerosols in pig houses. It is an important prerequisite to grasp the characteristics of bacteria in aerosols in different pig houses to solve the problems of air pollution and disease prevention and control in different pig houses. This work investigated the effects of growth stages on bacterial aerosol concentrations and bacterial communities in pig houses. Three traditional types of closed pig houses were studied: farrowing (FAR) houses, weaning (WEA) houses, and fattening (FAT) houses. The Andersen six-stage sampler and high-volume air sampler were used to assess the concentrations and size distribution of airborne bacteria, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was used to identify the bacterial communities. We found that the airborne bacterial concentration, community richness, and diversity index increased with pig age. We found that , , , , and in the microbial aerosols of pig houses have the potential risk of causing disease. These differences lead us to believe that disinfection strategies for pig houses should involve a situational focus on environmental aerosol composition on a case-by-case basis.
PubMed: 35739876
DOI: 10.3390/ani12121540 -
Journal of Dairy Science Jan 2018Refrigerated raw milk may contain psychrotrophic microorganisms that produce thermoresistant exoproteases and lipases, which may compromise the quality of processed...
Refrigerated raw milk may contain psychrotrophic microorganisms that produce thermoresistant exoproteases and lipases, which may compromise the quality of processed fluid milk and dairy products during storage. The aim of this work was to quantify and identify the deteriorating psychrotrophic microbiota in Brazilian refrigerated raw milk using genetic diversity analysis. The mean psychrotrophic count was 1.1 × 10 cfu/mL. Of the total isolates, 47.8 and 29.8% showed deteriorating activity at 35°C within 48 h and 7°C within 10 d, respectively. Among the proteolytic species, more isolated by this study were Lactococcus lactis (27.3%), Enterobacter kobei (14.8%), Serratia ureilytica (8%), Aerococcus urinaeequi (6.8%), and Bacillus licheniformis (6.8%). Observed among lipolytics were E. kobei (17.7%), L. lactis (15.6%), A. urinaeequi (12.5%), and Acinetobacter lwoffii (9.4%). The isolates S. ureilytica, E. kobei, Pseudomonas spp., and Yersinia enterocolitica potentially produced alkaline metalloprotease (aprX). Despite the low counts, a considerable portion of the psychrotrophic microbiota presented spoilage potential, which reaffirms the need for rigor in the control of contamination and the importance of rapid processing as factors that maintain the quality of milk and dairy products.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins; Brazil; Cattle; Food Microbiology; Lipase; Microbiota; Milk
PubMed: 29102138
DOI: 10.3168/jds.2017-13069 -
Federal Practitioner : For the Health... Dec 2022(), considered a rare pathogen, has been identified with increasing frequency in urine cultures. Only 8 cases of spondylodiscitis due to have been reported. Optimal...
BACKGROUND
(), considered a rare pathogen, has been identified with increasing frequency in urine cultures. Only 8 cases of spondylodiscitis due to have been reported. Optimal treatment for invasive infection is undefined. However, the reported cases were treated successfully with diverse antibiotic regimen combinations, all including a β-lactam and beginning with at least 2 weeks of IV antibiotics.
CASE PRESENTATION
A 74-year-old man presented to the emergency department after 2 weeks of midthoracic back pain, lower extremity weakness, gait imbalance, fatigue, anorexia, rigors, and subjective fevers. The patient was presumed to have discitis secondary to a urinary tract infection with possible pyelonephritis and was given empiric vancomycin and ceftriaxone. Spinal magnetic resonance imaging with contrast supported spondylodiscitis. Preliminary results from the admission blood and urine cultures showed gram-positive cocci in clusters.
CONCLUSIONS
urinary tract infection in the absence of obvious predisposing factors should prompt evaluation for urinary outflow obstruction. We suspect a review of a US Department of Veterans Affairs population might uncover a higher incidence of infection than previously suspected.
PubMed: 37025983
DOI: 10.12788/fp.0340 -
The Journal of Infectious Diseases Sep 2022We determined how the vaginal and penile microbiomes contribute to herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) serostatus within sexual partnerships.
BACKGROUND
We determined how the vaginal and penile microbiomes contribute to herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) serostatus within sexual partnerships.
METHODS
Microbiomes were characterized in cervicovaginal lavage and penile meatal swab specimens through high-throughput 16s ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing. HSV-2 antibody was detected in serum specimens. We modeled vaginal and penile taxa and covariates contributing to HSV-2 status in women and men using bivariate probit analysis.
RESULTS
Among 231 couples, HSV-2 was detected in both partners in 78 couples (33.8%), in the woman only in 52 (22.5%),in the man only in 27 (11.7%), and in neither in 74 (32.0%). Among the women (median age, 22 years) 10.9% had human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and 21.4% had Bacterial vaginosis. Among men (median age, 26 years), 11.8% had HIV, and 55.0% circumcised. In an analysis with adjustment for sociodemographics and Bacterial vaginosis, enrichment of vaginal Gardnerella vaginalis and Lactobacillus iners was associated with increased likelihood of HSV-2 in both partners. Penile taxa (including Ureaplasma and Aerococcus) were associated with HSV-2 in women.
CONCLUSIONS
We demonstrate that penile taxa are associated with HSV-2 in female partners, and vaginal taxa are associated with HSV-2 in male partners. Our findings suggest that couples-level joint consideration of genital microbiome and sexually transmitted infection or related outcomes could lead to new avenues for prevention.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Young Adult; Adult; Herpesvirus 2, Human; Herpes Genitalis; Vaginosis, Bacterial; Sexual Partners; HIV Infections; Microbiota
PubMed: 32822500
DOI: 10.1093/infdis/jiaa529 -
NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes Sep 2021The composition of the maternal vaginal microbiome influences the duration of pregnancy, onset of labor, and even neonatal outcomes. Maternal microbiome research in...
The composition of the maternal vaginal microbiome influences the duration of pregnancy, onset of labor, and even neonatal outcomes. Maternal microbiome research in sub-Saharan Africa has focused on non-pregnant and postpartum composition of the vaginal microbiome. Here we aimed to illustrate the relationship between the vaginal microbiome of 99 laboring Ugandan women and intrapartum fever using routine microbiology and 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing from two hypervariable regions (V1-V2 and V3-V4). To describe the vaginal microbes associated with vaginal microbial communities, we pursued two approaches: hierarchical clustering methods and a novel Grades of Membership (GoM) modeling approach for vaginal microbiome characterization. Leveraging GoM models, we created a basis composed of a preassigned number of microbial topics whose linear combination optimally represents each patient yielding more comprehensive associations and characterization between maternal clinical features and the microbial communities. Using a random forest model, we showed that by including microbial topic models we improved upon clinical variables to predict maternal fever. Overall, we found a higher prevalence of Granulicatella, Streptococcus, Fusobacterium, Anaerococcus, Sneathia, Clostridium, Gemella, Mobiluncus, and Veillonella genera in febrile mothers, and higher prevalence of Lactobacillus genera (in particular L. crispatus and L. jensenii), Acinobacter, Aerococcus, and Prevotella species in afebrile mothers. By including clinical variables with microbial topics in this model, we observed young maternal age, fever reported earlier in the pregnancy, longer labor duration, and microbial communities with reduced Lactobacillus diversity were associated with intrapartum fever. These results better defined relationships between the presence or absence of intrapartum fever, demographics, peripartum course, and vaginal microbial topics, and expanded our understanding of the impact of the microbiome on maternal and potentially neonatal outcome risk.
Topics: Adult; Bacteria; Biodiversity; Cluster Analysis; Female; Humans; Labor, Obstetric; Lactobacillus; Microbiota; Pregnancy; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Uganda; Vagina
PubMed: 34508087
DOI: 10.1038/s41522-021-00244-1 -
Journal of Dairy Science May 2021The objective of this prospective cohort study was to explore associations between intramammary infection (IMI) in late-lactation cows and postcalving udder health and...
Postcalving udder health and productivity in cows approaching dry-off with intramammary infections caused by non-aureus Staphylococcus, Aerococcus, Enterococcus, Lactococcus, and Streptococcus species.
The objective of this prospective cohort study was to explore associations between intramammary infection (IMI) in late-lactation cows and postcalving udder health and productivity. Cows (n = 2,763) from 74 US dairy herds were recruited as part of a previously published cross-sectional study of bedding management and IMI in late-lactation cows. Each herd was visited twice for sampling. At each visit, aseptic quarter milk samples were collected from 20 cows approaching dry-off (>180 d pregnant), which were cultured using standard bacteriological methods and MALDI-TOF for identification of isolates. Quarter-level culture results were used to establish cow-level IMI status at enrollment. Cows were followed from enrollment until 120 d in milk (DIM) in the subsequent lactation. Herd records were used to establish whether subjects experienced clinical mastitis or removal from the herd, and DHIA test-day data were used to record subclinical mastitis events (somatic cell count >200,000 cells/mL) and milk yield (kg/d) during the follow-up period. Cox regression and generalized estimating equations were used to evaluate the associations between IMI and the outcome of interest. The presence of late-lactation IMI caused by major pathogens was positively associated with postcalving clinical mastitis [hazard ratio = 1.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.2, 2.0] and subclinical mastitis (risk ratio = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.3, 1.9). Species within the non-aureus Staphylococcus (NAS) group varied in their associations with postcalving udder health, with some species being associated with increases in clinical and subclinical mastitis in the subsequent lactation. Late-lactation IMI caused by Streptococcus and Streptococcus (Strep)-like organisms, other than Aerococcus spp. (i.e., Enterococcus, Lactococcus, and Streptococcus spp.) were associated with increases in postcalving clinical and subclinical mastitis. Test-day milk yield from 1 to 120 DIM was lower (-0.9 kg, 95% CI: -1.6, -0.3) in late-lactation cows with any IMI compared with cows without IMI. No associations were detected between IMI in late lactation and risk for postcalving removal from the herd within the first 120 DIM. Effect estimates reported in this study may be less than the underlying quarter-level effect size for IMI at dry-off and postcalving clinical and subclinical mastitis, because of the use of late-lactation IMI as a proxy for IMI at dry-off and the use of cow-level exposure and outcome measurements. Furthermore, the large number of models run in this study (n = 94) increases the chance of identifying chance associations. Therefore, confirmatory studies should be conducted. We conclude that IMI in late lactation may increase risk of clinical and subclinical mastitis in the subsequent lactation. The relationship between IMI and postcalving health and productivity is likely to vary among pathogens, with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., and Lactococcus spp. being the most important pathogens identified in the current study.
Topics: Aerococcus; Animals; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Cell Count; Cross-Sectional Studies; Enterococcus; Female; Lactation; Lactococcus; Mammary Glands, Animal; Mastitis, Bovine; Milk; Pregnancy; Prospective Studies; Staphylococcus; Streptococcus
PubMed: 33685704
DOI: 10.3168/jds.2020-19288