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Respiratory Research May 2024The association between tuberculous fibrosis and lung cancer development has been reported by some epidemiological and experimental studies; however, its underlying...
BACKGROUND
The association between tuberculous fibrosis and lung cancer development has been reported by some epidemiological and experimental studies; however, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear, and the role of macrophage (MФ) polarization in cancer progression is unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of M2 Arg-1 MФ in tuberculous pleurisy-assisted tumorigenicity in vitro and in vivo.
METHODS
The interactions between tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE)-induced M2 Arg-1 MФ and A549 lung cancer cells were evaluated. A murine model injected with cancer cells 2 weeks after Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guérin pleural infection was used to validate the involvement of tuberculous fibrosis to tumor invasion.
RESULTS
Increased CXCL9 and CXCL10 levels of TPE induced M2 Arg-1 MФ polarization of murine bone marrow-derived MФ. TPE-induced M2 Arg-1 MФ polarization facilitated lung cancer proliferation via autophagy signaling and E-cadherin signaling in vitro. An inhibitor of arginase-1 targeting M2 Arg-1 MФ both in vitro and in vivo significantly reduced tuberculous fibrosis-induced metastatic potential of lung cancer and decreased autophagy signaling and E-cadherin expression.
CONCLUSION
Tuberculous pleural fibrosis induces M2 Arg-1 polarization, and M2 Arg-1 MФ contribute to lung cancer metastasis via autophagy and E-cadherin signaling. Therefore, M2 Arg-1 tumor associated MФ may be a novel therapeutic target for tuberculous fibrosis-induced lung cancer progression.
Topics: Animals; Lung Neoplasms; Humans; Mice; Autophagy; Arginase; Disease Progression; Signal Transduction; Macrophages; Tuberculosis, Pleural; A549 Cells; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Pleural Effusion; Cell Polarity
PubMed: 38720340
DOI: 10.1186/s12931-024-02829-8 -
BMC Research Notes May 2024Thoracoscopy under local anaesthesia is widely performed to diagnose malignancies and infectious diseases. However, few reports have described the use of this procedure... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
OBJECTIVES
Thoracoscopy under local anaesthesia is widely performed to diagnose malignancies and infectious diseases. However, few reports have described the use of this procedure for diagnosing and treating intrathoracic infections. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of thoracoscopy under local anaesthesia for the management of intrathoracic infections.
RESULTS
Data from patients who underwent thoracoscopy procedures performed by chest physicians under local anaesthesia at our hospital between January 2018 and December 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. We analysed their demographic factors, reasons for the examinations, diseases targeted, examination lengths, anaesthetic methods used, diagnostic and treatment success rates, as well as any adverse events. Thirty patients were included. Of these, 12 (40%) had thoracoscopies to diagnose infections, and 18 (60%) had them to treat pyothorax. In terms of diagnosing pleurisy, the causative microorganism of origin was identified via thoracoscopy in only three of 12 (25.0%) patients. For diagnosing pyothorax, the causative microorganism was identified in 7 of 18 (38.9%) patients. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was the most common causative microorganism identified. The treatment success rates were very high, ranging between 94.4 and 100%, whereas the identification rate of the causative microorganisms behind infections was low, ranging between 25.0 and 38.9%. The most frequent adverse events included perioperative hypoxaemia and pain. There were two (6.7%) serious adverse events of grade ≥ 3, but none resulted in death.
CONCLUSIONS
The efficacy of managing intrathoracic infections through thoracoscopy under local anaesthesia is commendable. Nonetheless, the diagnostic accuracy of the procedure, regarding the precise identification of the causative microorganisms responsible for intrathoracic infections, persists at a notably low level, presenting a substantial clinical hurdle.
Topics: Humans; Thoracoscopy; Male; Anesthesia, Local; Female; Middle Aged; Aged; Retrospective Studies; Adult; Treatment Outcome; Aged, 80 and over; Pleurisy; Empyema, Pleural
PubMed: 38705975
DOI: 10.1186/s13104-024-06794-9 -
Cureus Mar 2024Group B Streptococcus (GBS or ) is a common component of the human flora. However, infections in adults are infrequent, and occurrences of infectious pleurisy or septic...
Group B Streptococcus (GBS or ) is a common component of the human flora. However, infections in adults are infrequent, and occurrences of infectious pleurisy or septic arthritis are exceedingly uncommon. To our knowledge, the concurrent manifestation of both conditions has not been previously documented. We present the case of a 61-year-old man who exhibited an unusual association of infectious pleurisy and septic arthritis in the knee, both attributed to GBS. The patient was admitted to the hospital due to thoracic pain and discomfort in the left knee. Clinical examination revealed a pleural effusion in the left lung and arthritis in the left knee. Synovial and pleural fluid samples were sent to the bacteriology laboratory for cytobacteriological examination, confirming the presence of GBS in both fluids. The patient is diabetic and has a history of undergoing total cystoprostatectomy for a urothelial tumor, with the placement of a mono J catheter. The prevailing hypothesis suggests that the colonization of the mono J catheter, followed by hematogenous dissemination, is the probable source of the infection. This unusual clinical case underscores GBS's ability to induce severe invasive infections in adults, particularly in those with underlying medical conditions.
PubMed: 38681291
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.57160 -
Veterinary Research Apr 2024Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) is a bacterium frequently associated with porcine pleuropneumonia. The acute form of the disease is highly contagious and often...
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae (APP) is a bacterium frequently associated with porcine pleuropneumonia. The acute form of the disease is highly contagious and often fatal, resulting in significant economic losses for pig farmers. Serotype diversity and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of APP strains circulating in north Italian farms from 2015 to 2022 were evaluated retrospectively to investigate APP epidemiology in the area. A total of 572 strains isolated from outbreaks occurring in 337 different swine farms were analysed. The majority of isolates belonged to serotypes 9/11 (39.2%) and 2 (28.1%) and serotype diversity increased during the study period, up to nine different serotypes isolated in 2022. The most common resistances were against tetracycline (53% of isolates) and ampicillin (33%), followed by enrofloxacin, florfenicol and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (23% each). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was common, with a third of isolates showing resistance to more than three antimicrobial classes. Resistance to the different classes and MDR varied significantly depending on the serotype. In particular, the widespread serotype 9/11 was strongly associated with florfenicol and enrofloxacin resistance and showed the highest proportion of MDR isolates. Serotype 5, although less common, showed instead a concerning proportion of trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole resistance. Our results highlight how the typing of circulating serotypes and the analysis of their antimicrobial susceptibility profile are crucial to effectively manage APP infection and improve antimicrobial stewardship.
Topics: Swine; Animals; Serogroup; Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Enrofloxacin; Farms; Retrospective Studies; Pleuropneumonia; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Sulfamethoxazole; Trimethoprim; Italy; Swine Diseases; Actinobacillus Infections; Serotyping; Thiamphenicol
PubMed: 38594744
DOI: 10.1186/s13567-024-01305-x -
Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology Apr 2024For the development of a competitive ELISA (cELISA) to detect serum antibodies against the Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. Mycoides (Mmm) (strain PG1), the causative agent of...
For the development of a competitive ELISA (cELISA) to detect serum antibodies against the Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. Mycoides (Mmm) (strain PG1), the causative agent of contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), all the proteins of this pathogen were analyzed. Then, a specific extracellular region of a transmembrane protein with the potential for diagnosis was identified. After that, a monoclonal antibody (Mab) named 3A8 was obtained using this extracellular region as an immunogen. Finally, a cELISA was established with the extracellular domain of this transmembrane protein as the coating antigen, Mab 3A8 as the competitive antibody, and HRP-labeled goat anti-mouse IgG as the enzyme-labeled antibody. This established method was used to detect the antibody dynamic regularity of goats which are artificially immunized Mmm and was also compared with a commercial ELISA kit. Further, the sera of 1011 different cattle from border provinces of China were monitored using a candidate Mab 3A8 cELISA. The detection results of known background sera used in this study indicate that a candidate diagnostic marker was successfully identified by analyzing all the coding proteins of Mmm in this research, and the cELISA established based on the Mab 3A8 against this protein can detect CBPP-positive serum with specificity and has no cross-reaction with other related epidemic disease-positive sera. In addition, we tested the sera collected from the border areas of China using the established ELISA, and no positive sample was detected. The research protocol of the CBPP cELISA established in this study is different from the traditional method, which can greatly reduce the investment of manpower and capital and save development time. We believe that this study's protocol could serve as a reference for the development of detection methods for mycoplasma and other complex pathogens. KEY POINTS: • A Mmm-specific diagnostic marker was obtained based on protein characteristics. • A cELISA was established for CBPP serum antibody detection. • The serological investigation was conducted for CBPP in the border areas of China.
Topics: Animals; Cattle; Antibodies, Monoclonal; Pleuropneumonia; Membrane Proteins; China; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Goats
PubMed: 38587616
DOI: 10.1007/s00253-024-13127-0 -
Cureus Feb 2024Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an inherited autoinflammatory disease characterized by recurrent bouts of fever and serositis. Mediterranean Fever () gene...
Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an inherited autoinflammatory disease characterized by recurrent bouts of fever and serositis. Mediterranean Fever () gene mutations may cause not just FMF but various serositis including arthritis, enterocolitis, aseptic meningitis, pulmonary disease, and pericarditis. In this report, we present a 44-year-old female carrying gene variant. She was admitted to our hospital with a high fever, right back pain during inspiration, and lower-left abdominal pain. Laboratory findings showed high inflammatory response. Computed tomography (CT) indicated pleurisy of the right lobe and inflammation of the left uterine appendage. Transvaginal sonography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) indicated hydrosalpinx of the left oviduct. The symptoms of recurrent fever and transient serositis suggested FMF, and abdominal pain was resolved after taking colchicine. Later, it turned out that she had gene mutation (exon2 G304R heterozygous). Although she did not meet the criteria of FMF, this is the first reported variant carrier with transient hydrosalpinx. Attacks in female patients with FMF are triggered by menstruation. Moreover, FMF and associated amyloidosis may cause both male and female infertility. Although male patients with FMF may present with acute scrotum, diagnostic criteria of FMF do not include inflammation of uterine appendages. Internal medicine physicians need to cooperate with gynecologists to diagnose female patients carrying gene variants.
PubMed: 38558641
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.55188 -
Cureus Feb 2024Infected aortic aneurysm is a rare but fatal disease that occurs through various mechanisms. In this report, we describe the case of a patient who was hospitalized for...
Infected aortic aneurysm is a rare but fatal disease that occurs through various mechanisms. In this report, we describe the case of a patient who was hospitalized for acute pneumonia and developed an infected aortic aneurysm in the descending aorta during the hospitalization. A 73-year-old Japanese man presented to the emergency department with a chief complaint of fever. He had a history of chronic renal failure due to nephrosclerosis and was on regular hemodialysis three times a week. The patient presented with an elevated inflammatory response, anemia, and low platelet counts after various tests. Computed tomography (CT) showed ground-glass opacity in the left lung with a small amount of pleural effusion, leading to a diagnosis of pneumonia. The patient was admitted to the hospital on the same day, and a course of antibiotics (ceftriaxone [CTRX]) was started. On the fourth day of hospitalization, (MSSA) was detected in the blood sample, which was collected from the patient on the day of admission. The patient was treated for MSSA pneumonia and bacteremia, and the antibiotics were changed to cefazolin (CEZ). Treatment with antimicrobials resulted in a negative blood culture retest on day 5 and improvement of the inflammatory response. On the 12th day, improvements in pneumonia and pleurisy were observed on the CT scan; however, an abnormal bulge was seen on the dorsal side of the descending thoracic aorta with suspected partial vessel wall disruption, suggesting a ruptured infected aortic aneurysm. Despite treatment with antibiotics, the thoracic descending aortic aneurysm continued to dilate with progressing rupture, and the patient died on the 25th day of hospitalization. This is the first report of an infected aneurysm caused by Staphylococcus aureus, despite a negative blood culture. Patients at high risk might develop infected aneurysms, and the possibility of rapid dilation should always be considered.
PubMed: 38523983
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.54674 -
Medicine Mar 2024A 32-year-old male patient was diagnosed with a 30% left pneumothorax on November 5, 2020, during which chest imaging indicated abnormalities. Despite this, pulmonary...
BACKGROUND
A 32-year-old male patient was diagnosed with a 30% left pneumothorax on November 5, 2020, during which chest imaging indicated abnormalities. Despite this, pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) was not diagnosed or treated at that time due to a negative result in the MGIT960 culture. The patient experienced symptoms of cough and expectoration on April 24, 2022. Upon repeating the chest imaging, the condition had worsened, confirming the presence of pulmonary TB, leading to the patient's hospitalization. On September 1, 2022, the 11-year-old daughter of the patient was diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis accompanied by bronchial tuberculosis and tuberculous pleurisy.
METHODS
The diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis was confirmed through sputum smears and Gene Xpert MTB/RIF testing, for the patient and his 11-year-old daughter in 2022. The patient underwent a 6-month combination therapy (2HRZE/4HR) comprising isoniazid, rifampicin, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol. His daughter with pulmonary tuberculosis accompanied by bronchial tuberculosis and tuberculous pleurisy underwent a 12-month combination therapy.
RESULTS
Late diagnosis and treatment delays contribute to tuberculosis infections within families. Fortunately, after more than 3 months of antituberculosis treatment, the patient experienced relief from cough and sputum secretion, and there was improvement observed in the chest CT scan. Six months later, the patient was successfully cured of TB. 12 months later, his daughter also was successfully cured of TB.
CONCLUSION SUBSECTIONS
Early diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) is vital to reduce transmission, morbidity, and mortality.
Topics: Adult; Child; Humans; Male; Cough; Delayed Diagnosis; Latent Tuberculosis; Mycobacterium tuberculosis; Rifampin; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sputum; Tuberculosis, Pleural; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary; Female
PubMed: 38489738
DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000037406 -
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2024Excessive and imbalance of free radicals within the body lead to inflammation. The objective of the current research work was to explore the anti-inflammatory and...
Excessive and imbalance of free radicals within the body lead to inflammation. The objective of the current research work was to explore the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of the isolated compounds from In this study, the isolated phenolic compounds were investigated for and anti-inflammatory potential along with the antioxidant enzyme. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant potential of the phenolic compounds was assayed via various enzymes like COX-1/2, 5-LOX and ABTS, DPPH, and HO free radical enzyme inhibitory assay. These compounds were also explored for their antioxidant activity like examining SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, and MDA levels in the brain, heart, and liver. The anti-inflammatory potential was evaluated using the carrageenan-induced pleurisy model in mice. On the basis of initial screening of isolated compounds, the most potent compound was further evaluated for the anti-inflammatory mechanism. Furthermore, the molecular docking study was also performed for the potent compound. The phenolic compounds were isolated and identified by GC-MS/NMR analysis by comparing its spectra to the library spectra. The isolated phenolic compounds from were 5-methylpyrimidine-24,4-diol (1), 3,5-dihydroxy-6-methyl-2,3-dihydropyran-4-one (2), 2-isopropyl-5-methylphenol (3), 3-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (), and 2,6-dimethoxy-4-vinylphenol (5). In antioxidant assay, the most potent compound was compound having IC values of 0.98, 0.90, and 5 μg/mL against ABTS, DPPH, and HO, respectively. Similarly, against COX1/2 and 5-LOX ,compound was again the potent compound with IC values of 42.76, 10.70, and 7.40 μg/mL. Based on the results, compound was further evaluated for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential. Findings of the study suggest that contains active compounds with potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. These compounds could be screened as drug candidates for pharmaceutical research, targeting conditions associated with oxidative stress and inflammatory conditions in medicinal chemistry and support their ethnomedicinal use for inflammation and oxidative stress.
PubMed: 38487169
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1346526 -
BMC Veterinary Research Mar 2024Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia [CBPP] is a transboundary animal disease of cattle caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides [Mmm]. CBPP causes severe economic...
BACKGROUND
Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia [CBPP] is a transboundary animal disease of cattle caused by Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides [Mmm]. CBPP causes severe economic losses to livestock producers in sub-Saharan Africa mainly due to high mortality, morbidity, reduction in productivity as well as livestock trade restrictions. This study aimed at determining seroprevalence of Mmm in cattle from Karamoja region, north-eastern Uganda; data that are required to design and implement risk based CBPP control program.
METHODS
We randomly collected blood samples from 2,300 cattle spread across Karamoja region. Serum was extracted and screened for antibodies against Mycoplasma mycoides subsp. mycoides [Mmm] using the competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay [cELISA].
RESULTS
A quarter [25.4%; 95% CI: 23.7-27.3] of the screened cattle [n = 2,300] were sero-positive for Mmm. Amudat and Kaabong districts recorded the lowest [12.3%] and highest [30.7%] Mmm seroprevalence respectively. Increasing age, overnight stay in cattle kraals and location [certain districts, villages, herds and sub counties] of the cattle herds, the factors that promote animal commingling, were the most significant risk factors of seroconversion with Mmm.
CONCLUSION
Results from this study indicated a higher seroprevalence of Mmm in Karamoja region cattle herds. This could be due to the increased frequency of CBPP outbreaks in recent years. To be effective, CBPP vaccination programs should target high risk herds along the international borders and other hotspot areas [e.g., parishes or sub counties] where cattle commingling is high.
Topics: Cattle; Animals; Mycoplasma mycoides; Uganda; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Pleuropneumonia; Cattle Diseases; Pleuropneumonia, Contagious; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma; Mycoplasma
PubMed: 38461244
DOI: 10.1186/s12917-024-03938-8