-
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Jul 2019Mycetoma is a persistent, progressive granulomatous inflammatory disease caused either by fungi or by bacteria. Characteristic of this disease is that the causative...
Mycetoma is a persistent, progressive granulomatous inflammatory disease caused either by fungi or by bacteria. Characteristic of this disease is that the causative agents organise themselves in macroscopic structures called grains. These grains are surrounded by a massive inflammatory reaction. The processes leading to this host tissue reaction and the immunophenotypic characteristics of the mycetoma granuloma are not known. Due to the massive immune reaction and the tissue remodeling involved, we hypothesised that the expression levels of interleukin-17 (IL-17) and matrix metalloprotease-9 (MMP-9) in the mycetoma granuloma formation were correlated to the severity of the disease and that this correlation was independent of the causative agent responsible for the granuloma reaction. To determine the expression of IL-17 and MMP-9 in mycetoma lesions, the present study was conducted at the Mycetoma Research Centre, Sudan. Surgical biopsies from 100 patients with confirmed mycetoma were obtained, and IL-17 and MMP-9 expression in the mycetoma granuloma were evaluated immunohistochemically. IL-17 was mainly expressed in Zones I and II, and far less in Zone III. MMP-9 was detected mainly in Zones II and III, and the least expression was in Zone I. MMP-9 was more highly expressed in Actinomadura pelletierii and Streptomyces somaliensis biopsies compared to Madurella mycetomatis biopsies. MMP-9 levels were directly proportional to the levels of IL-17 (p = 0.001). The only significant association between MMP9 and the patients' characteristics was the disease duration (p<0.001). There was an insignificant correlation between the IL-17 levels and the patients' demographic characteristics.
Topics: Actinobacteria; Actinomadura; Adolescent; Adult; Biopsy; Child; Collagen; Female; Gene Expression; Granuloma; Humans; Immunohistochemistry; Interleukin-17; Madurella; Male; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9; Middle Aged; Mycetoma; Qualitative Research; Severity of Illness Index; Streptomyces; Sudan; Young Adult
PubMed: 31295246
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0007351 -
Antioxidant response of cowpea co-inoculated with plant growth-promoting bacteria under salt stress.Brazilian Journal of Microbiology :... 2018Soil salinity is an important abiotic stress worldwide, and salt-induced oxidative stress can have detrimental effects on the biological nitrogen fixation. We...
Soil salinity is an important abiotic stress worldwide, and salt-induced oxidative stress can have detrimental effects on the biological nitrogen fixation. We hypothesized that co-inoculation of cowpea plants with Bradyrhizobium and plant growth-promoting bacteria would minimize the deleterious effects of salt stress via the induction of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidative protection. To test our hypothesis, cowpea seeds were inoculated with Bradyrhizobium or co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium and plant growth-promoting bacteria and then submitted to salt stress. Afterward, the cowpea nodules were collected, and the levels of hydrogen peroxide; lipid peroxidation; total, reduced and oxidized forms of ascorbate and glutathione; and superoxide dismutase, catalase and phenol peroxidase activities were evaluated. The sodium and potassium ion concentrations were measured in shoot samples. Cowpea plants did not present significant differences in sodium and potassium levels when grown under non-saline conditions, but sodium content was strongly increased under salt stress conditions. Under non-saline and salt stress conditions, plants co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium and Actinomadura or co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium and Paenibacillus graminis showed lower hydrogen peroxide content in their nodules, whereas lipid peroxidation was increased by 31% in plants that were subjected to salt stress. Furthermore, cowpea nodules co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium and plant growth-promoting bacteria and exposed to salt stress displayed significant alterations in the total, reduced and oxidized forms of ascorbate and glutathione. Inoculation with Bradyrhizobium and plant growth-promoting bacteria induced increased superoxide dismutase, catalase and phenol peroxidase activities in the nodules of cowpea plants exposed to salt stress. The catalase activity in plants co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium and Streptomyces was 55% greater than in plants inoculated with Bradyrhizobium alone, and this value was remarkably greater than that in the other treatments. These results reinforce the beneficial effects of plant growth-promoting bacteria on the antioxidant system that detoxifies reactive oxygen species. We concluded that the combination of Bradyrhizobium and plant growth-promoting bacteria induces positive responses for coping with salt-induced oxidative stress in cowpea nodules, mainly in plants co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium and P. graminis or co-inoculated with Bradyrhizobium and Bacillus.
Topics: Agricultural Inoculants; Antioxidants; Bradyrhizobium; Catalase; Glutathione; Lipid Peroxidation; Oxidative Stress; Peroxidase; Plant Proteins; Salinity; Sodium Chloride; Stress, Physiological; Superoxide Dismutase; Vigna
PubMed: 29482998
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjm.2017.12.003 -
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety Sep 2021Aerobic composting is commonly used to dispose livestock manure and is an efficient way to reduce antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here, the effects of different...
Aerobic composting is commonly used to dispose livestock manure and is an efficient way to reduce antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Here, the effects of different quality substrates on the fate of ARGs were assessed during manure composting. Results showed that the total relative abundances of ARGs and intI1 in additive treatments were lower than that in control, and high quality treatment with low C/N ratio and lignin significantly decreased the relative abundance of tetW, ermB, ermC, sul1 and sul2 at the end of composting. Additionally, higher quality treatment reduced the relative abundances of some pathogens such as Actinomadura and Pusillimonas, and some thermotolerant degrading-related bacteria comprising Pseudogracilibacillus and Sinibacillus on day 42, probably owing to the change of composting properties in piles. Structural equation models (SEMs) further verified that the physiochemical properties of composting were the dominant contributor to the variations in ARGs and they could also indirectly impact ARGs by influencing bacterial community and the abundance of intI1. Overall, these findings indicated that additives with high quality reduced the reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes of livestock manure compost.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Carbon; Chickens; Composting; Drug Resistance, Microbial; Genes, Bacterial; Lignin; Manure; Microbiota; Nitrogen
PubMed: 34139628
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2021.112413 -
New Microbes and New Infections Nov 2021Two hundred and eighty-six isolates from human clinical samples were identified between 1996 and 2019 as belonging to 8 families, 19 genera and 88 species of . The most...
Two hundred and eighty-six isolates from human clinical samples were identified between 1996 and 2019 as belonging to 8 families, 19 genera and 88 species of . The most identified genera were (182 strains from 45 species), (29 strains, 5 species), (21 strains, 6 species) and (18 strains, 5 species). The rest of the identified genera (15) contained 27 species with 36 isolates. Of the species studied, only 13/88 had been documented previously as isolates from clinical samples, and in some cases, as true pathogens. In this sense, a literature review of the species found in infections or in clinical samples without clear involvement in pathology has been carried out. Finally, the susceptibility to 8 antimicrobial agents has been studied. showed high resistance (80.8%) against cefotaxime and cotrimoxazole (55.5%), and no isolate resistance to amikacin and linezolid have been found. Lower percentages of resistance have been found in other genera, except in (100% against cotrimoxazole and 44.4% against erythromycin). The greatest resistance in these genera was to cotrimoxazole (29.8) and erythromycin (27,9%), and no resistance to linezolid has been found in these genera. In , no resistant isolates have been found against any antibiotic studied. Only 3/104 isolates were resistant to amikacin in , , and One isolate of was resistant to imipenem.
PubMed: 34917388
DOI: 10.1016/j.nmni.2021.100946 -
Mycopathologia Dec 2018Mycetoma is a chronic inflammatory process caused either by fungi (eumycetoma) or bacteria (actinomycetoma). In this retrospective study, we report epidemiologic and...
BACKGROUND
Mycetoma is a chronic inflammatory process caused either by fungi (eumycetoma) or bacteria (actinomycetoma). In this retrospective study, we report epidemiologic and histopathological data of mycetoma observed in the Lome Hospital, Togo in a 25-year period (1992-2016).
METHODOLOGY
This is a retrospective study, over a period of 25 years, to analyze epidemiological and etiological findings of mycetomas seen in the single laboratory of pathological anatomy of the Lomé, Togo.
RESULTS
A total of 61 cases were retrieved from which only 33 cases were included which where clinically and microbiologically confirmed. The mean age of the patients was 29.7 ± 1.34 and a sex ratio (M/F) of 1.5. The majority of patients were farmers (n = 23 cases; 69.7%). Diagnosed etiologic agents were fungal in 24 cases (72.7%) and actinomycotic cases in 9 cases (27.3%). The fungal mycetomas consisted of Madurella mycetomatis (black grains) and Falcifomispora senegaliensis (black grains). The actinomycotic agents were represented by Actinomadura madurae (white grains), Actinomadurae pelletieri (red grains) and Nocardia sp. (yellow grains).
CONCLUSION
This report represents a single-center study which provides epidemiologic and histopathological data of mycetoma cases in Togo.
Topics: Actinobacteria; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Child; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Fungi; Histocytochemistry; Hospitals; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mycetoma; Retrospective Studies; Togo; Young Adult
PubMed: 29557534
DOI: 10.1007/s11046-018-0260-y -
Journal of Virology Jan 2020To counteract the serious health threat posed by known and novel viral pathogens, drugs that target a variety of viruses through a common mechanism have attracted recent...
To counteract the serious health threat posed by known and novel viral pathogens, drugs that target a variety of viruses through a common mechanism have attracted recent attention due to their potential in treating (re)emerging infections, for which direct-acting antivirals are not available. We found that labyrinthopeptins A1 and A2, the prototype congeners of carbacyclic lanthipeptides, inhibit the proliferation of diverse enveloped viruses, including dengue virus, Zika virus, West Nile virus, hepatitis C virus, chikungunya virus, Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus, and herpes simplex virus, in the low micromolar to nanomolar range. Mechanistic studies on viral particles revealed that labyrinthopeptins induce a virolytic effect through binding to the viral membrane lipid phosphatidylethanolamine (PE). These effects are enhanced by a combined equimolar application of both labyrinthopeptins, and a clear synergism was observed across a concentration range corresponding to 10% to 90% inhibitory concentrations of the compounds. Time-resolved experiments with large unilamellar vesicles (LUVs) reveal that membrane lipid raft compositions (phosphatidylcholine [PC]/PE/cholesterol/sphingomyelin at 17:10:33:40) are particularly sensitive to labyrinthopeptins in comparison to PC/PE (90:10) LUVs, even though the overall PE amount remains constant. Labyrinthopeptins exhibited low cytotoxicity and had favorable pharmacokinetic properties in mice (half-life [] = 10.0 h), which designates them promising antiviral compounds acting by an unusual viral lipid targeting mechanism. For many viral infections, current treatment options are insufficient. Because the development of each antiviral drug is time-consuming and expensive, the prospect of finding broad-spectrum antivirals that can fight multiple, diverse viruses-well-known viruses as well as (re)emerging species-has gained attention, especially for the treatment of viral coinfections. While most known broad-spectrum agents address processes in the host cell, we found that targeting lipids of the free virus outside the host cell with the natural products labyrinthopeptin A1 and A2 is a viable strategy to inhibit the proliferation of a broad range of viruses from different families, including chikungunya virus, dengue virus, Zika virus, Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus, and cytomegalovirus. Labyrinthopeptins bind to viral phosphatidylethanolamine and induce virolysis without exerting cytotoxicity on host cells. This represents a novel and unusual mechanism to tackle medically relevant viral infections.
Topics: Aedes; Animals; Bacteriocins; Cell Line; Membrane Microdomains; Phosphatidylethanolamines; Virus Diseases; Viruses
PubMed: 31666384
DOI: 10.1128/JVI.01471-19 -
Microbiological Research Oct 2022Gut microbiota is involved in maintaining homeostasis, and intestinal dysbiosis may lead to opportunistic infections and diseases. Pathogens can disrupt the gut...
Gut microbiota is involved in maintaining homeostasis, and intestinal dysbiosis may lead to opportunistic infections and diseases. Pathogens can disrupt the gut homeostasis and establish colonization, but how they modulate the microbiome and metabolome along the gut-lung axis warrants further investigation. In the present study, we used a classical low virulence Klebsiella pneumoniae (cKp) strain to address this question. We assessed the gut microbiome and lung metabolome in cKp-infected mice by 16S rRNA sequencing and untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Our data revealed that cKp infection reduced gut microbiota diversity and altered microbiome composition. Specifically, cKp infection increased the abundance of MWH-CFBk5 and Actinomadura and reduced the abundance of Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group, Clostridium sensu_stricto 1, Bifidobacterium, and Intestinimonas at the genus level. Notably, caffeine and caffeine metabolism were significantly affected in the lung by cKp infection. Moreover, Spearman correlation analysis revealed remarkable correlations of specific lung metabolites and bacteria species at the genus level. These findings suggest that cKp infection is linked to gut dysbiosis and alterations in the lung metabolome. This study is of significance for developing innovative gut microbiota-directed therapy for respiratory diseases.
Topics: Animals; Caffeine; Dysbiosis; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Lung; Metabolome; Mice; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
PubMed: 35905579
DOI: 10.1016/j.micres.2022.127139 -
Frontiers in Plant Science 2022is an important medicinal plant in traditional Chinese medicine, its rhizome is rich of volatile secondary metabolites with medicinal values and is largely demanded in...
is an important medicinal plant in traditional Chinese medicine, its rhizome is rich of volatile secondary metabolites with medicinal values and is largely demanded in modern markets. Currently, supply of high-yield, high-quality is mainly achieved cultivation. Certain soil microbes can benefit plant growth, secondary metabolism and induce resistance to environmental stresses. Hence, studies on the effects of soil microbe communities and isolates microorganisms on is extremely meaningful for future application of microbes on cultivation. Here we investigated the effects of the inoculation with an entire soil microbial community on the growth, resistance to drought, and accumulation of major medicinal compounds (hinesol, β-eudesmol, atractylon and atractylodin) of . We analyzed the interaction between and the soil microbes at the phylum and genus levels under drought stress of different severities (inflicted by 0%, 10% and 25% PEG6000 treatments). Our results showed that inoculation with soil microbes promoted the growth, root biomass yield, medicinal compound accumulation, and rendered drought-resistant traits of , including relatively high root:shoot ratio and high root water content under drought. Moreover, our results suggested drought stress was more powerful than the selectivity of in shaping the root-associated microbial communities; also, the fungal communities had a stronger role than the bacterial communities in protecting from drought. Specific microbial clades that might have a role in protecting from drought stress were identified: at the genus level, the rhizospheric bacteria , and , and rhizospheric fungi , , and , the root endophytic bacteria , , and , and the root endophytic fungus were closely associated with under drought stress. Additionally, we acquired several endophytic , and strains and verified they had differential promoting effects on the medicinal compound accumulation in root. This study reports the interaction between and soil microbe communities under drought stress, and provides insights for improving the outcomes in farming applying microbe inoculation.
PubMed: 36531372
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1032480 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2021Bovine colostrum silage (BCS) is a technique used by milk producers for the conservation of bovine colostrum. However, it is necessary to ensure the safety and quality...
Bovine colostrum silage (BCS) is a technique used by milk producers for the conservation of bovine colostrum. However, it is necessary to ensure the safety and quality of BCS, as this food will be supplied to the animals. This study aimed to compare the physicochemical and microbiological compositions of colostrum silage at different fermentation times with milk and bovine colostrum (BC) quality parameters. BC samples were obtained from Jersey animals from one dairy farm. The BC samples ( = 21) were placed in 500-mL plastic bottles, stored vertically and anaerobically fermented for periods of 61-437 days. The following parameters of the physicochemical composition of the BCS were evaluated: acidity, protein, total solids and ash, using the methodologies of Adolfo Lutz Institute (2008). The microbiological analysis was developed according to the methodology proposed by Saalfeld et al. (2013), with adaptations. The acidity, total solids and protein over fermentation time (group 1: 61 to 154, group 2: 200 to 273, and group 3: 280 to 437 days) were not significantly different ( > 0.05). The ash content was significantly different ( < 0.05) in groups 1 and 3 and showed a decrease (moderate negative correlation of -0.63) with increasing fermentation time. Positive correlations were observed between total solids and the protein and ash contents. The genus of microorganisms with the highest occurrence was spp. (95.2% of BCS) and those of lesser occurrence included spp., spp., spp. and spp. (4.8% of BCS). BCS has a physicochemical composition similar to BC and showed changes during the fermentation period; however, the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in BCSs reinforces the need to further explore the quality parameters for BCS to ensure the safety of animals who receive this food.
PubMed: 34589069
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.708189 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Jul 2022Mycetoma is a neglected tropical chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissues. More than 70 species with a broad taxonomic diversity...
Mycetoma is a neglected tropical chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease of the skin and subcutaneous tissues. More than 70 species with a broad taxonomic diversity have been implicated as agents of mycetoma. Understanding the full range of causative organisms and their antibiotic sensitivity profiles are essential for the appropriate treatment of infections. The present study focuses on the analysis of full genome sequences and antibiotic inhibitory concentration profiles of actinomycetoma strains from patients seen at the Mycetoma Research Centre in Sudan with a view to developing rapid diagnostic tests. Seventeen pathogenic isolates obtained by surgical biopsies were sequenced using MinION and Illumina methods, and their antibiotic inhibitory concentration profiles determined. The results highlight an unexpected diversity of actinomycetoma causing pathogens, including three Streptomyces isolates assigned to species not previously associated with human actinomycetoma and one new Streptomyces species. Thus, current approaches for clinical and histopathological classification of mycetoma may need to be updated. The standard treatment for actinomycetoma is a combination of sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Most tested isolates had a high IC (inhibitory concentration) to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim or to amoxicillin alone. However, the addition of the β-lactamase inhibitor clavulanic acid to amoxicillin increased susceptibility, particularly for Streptomyces somaliensis and Streptomyces sudanensis. Actinomadura madurae isolates appear to have a particularly high IC under laboratory conditions, suggesting that alternative agents, such as amikacin, could be considered for more effective treatment. The results obtained will inform future diagnostic methods for the identification of actinomycetoma and treatment.
Topics: Amoxicillin; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Clavulanic Acid; Humans; Mycetoma; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination
PubMed: 35877680
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010128